New Year Resolutions

I heard a quote once that said...
"If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, Let it."

I feel like after Christmas there are two groups of people.
1-Those that spend a huge amount of time trying to think of a quality new years resolution they can stick to.
And
2-Those that never have the idea of making a resolution cross their mind.

I have to admit, I rarely consider it. I have always thought of resolutions as sort of silly commitments that no one sticks to. We make them and stick to them for a few weeks and then the business of life takes over and we forget about those promises we made to ourselves to '...Do better at work, To do better in school, lose that ten pounds...'
But I was thinking today as I was thinking about my life right now and I wondered...what if we made resolutions for our LIVES and not just the new year?
What if we resolved...determined and made up our minds about something that REALLY mattered to us?

What is that thing for you?
I know you have something.

It's 2AM here in Vancouver, Washington where I am spending the holidays and I cant stop thinking, for some reason, about the people all over the world who will be making these resolutions.
Here's a little encouragement--
I BELIEVE in you.
Wherever you are, whatever you are dealing with...
Whether you are hoping to be a better parent...Whether you are dealing with some sort of addiction...Whether you are depressed, struggling with your life, worried about the economy and caring for your family...whether it is school, or relationships, or habits or a lack of people loving you in your life...Please know..there are people praying for you.

People you don't know. People that don't know your name or where you come from..but people are praying for you.
I am praying for you.
I want to see us make resolutions that will help change our lives.
Once you figure out what that resolution is, please know, no matter how far fetched it may seem, there is someone praying for you. And believing in you.

If you get a chance, take it.
If it changes your life, let it.

This is your chance.

Merry Christmas Eve!!

Are you home for Christmas??

I left Sunday afternoon to fly home to Portland to spend the holidays with my family.
I don't know if anyone heard, but flights had been cancelled to Portland for DAYS.
I got to the airport at 2 in the afternoon and at 5 pm my flight was cancelled. I caught a flight to Sacramento in hopes of getting on stand by to Portland. Slept in the airport that night and at 4:15 AM got on the stand by list. Around 1pm all the flights to Portland were cancelled again. I cried. A lot. I couldn't stand the thought of being stuck in the airport for Christmas. Determined, I switched to Seattle Stand by and switched my bags and went through security (that was the third time that day). A plane was a half hour late leaving and luckily, SO VERY LUCKILY, they had one open seat and out of all the people waiting..I got on.

I got to Seattle, got a hotel room and my parents picked me up the next morning. The whole city is COVERED in snow. Everything is white. It is so beautiful.
I just wanted to write a little quick blog and remind you to be thankful for what you have right now.

There are so many families that I know personally who are stuck at home with no way to get to their families, no presents for the kids, and trying to think up ways to explain why Santa didn't come. There are hundreds of people stuck in airports until christmas day...If you can do anything this Christmas, appreciate the people in your life that love you, are there for you, and make the Holidays warm.

Merry Christmas from the Dream Center!!

On to the Next

Have you ever seen the face of a little girl who had just been handed the only Christmas present she would get that year?

I heard a story this week about a mom who was scolded by her friends because she refused to tell her children that Santa was real. It wasn't because she didn't want them to believe, or to imagine. It was because, come Christmas day, she couldn't bear to look into the eyes of her little ones when they saw that there was nothing under the tree for them. She had tears in her eyes as she watched her little girl open a package wrapped in snowman paper and saw a huge gleaming smile come across her daughter's face. "Some people come out to these toy giveaway's just because they are free...." She told me. "But some people come out because this is the only real Christmas that their kids will experience." My heart dropped a little as I looked down at the cute spanish girl who probably lived in one of the areas we bussed in for the show. She smiled up at me and held up her new toy to show me. I smiled back and wished them a Merry Christmas.

I haven't been able to get that woman out of my head. I don't know her name, or her daughter's name. It was the only Toy Giveaway I went to after the shows. We had 7 of them. Can you imagine how many ecstatic children there were? And not only that...but can you imagine how many grateful parents there were?

There are only 9 days until Christmas.
9 more days.
What can you do in 9 days to make a permanent difference in someone's life?

There are so many opportunities here at the Dream Center to get involved that sometimes we take it for granted. Don't miss those opportunities where you are. They are all around you and people are just waiting and praying for you to come and be the person that makes a difference in their life. You can be that person. Stop waiting, and just go do it.

Figure out what is holding you back and then get rid of it.
Christmas is a good time to make a difference.
Right now is always a good time to make a difference.

Opening Night

Tonight was opening night of Joy of Christmas.

The show was great but let's be honest, the tickets and organization were a bit rough on the end of our team.
I have spent most of the week stressing out about getting things printed, getting things on time, making sure things are in order...and guess what? I still didn't have things printed, I still didn't have things on time and things were still a bit chaotic.
What good did worrying all week do me?

I was standing in the back of the auditorium tonight watching part of the show and it was so beautiful. There is a scene where two fantastic singers sing a song called "The Prayer" and a ballerina dances, and it is one of the most powerful parts of the whole show. The whole time I am standing back there I am wondering, "Who is realizing right now, for the first time, how passionately and deeply in love with them God really is?" If we put aside the busyness and calm ourselves down long enough...we can remember why we are doing what we are doing.

To let people know.
To tell them.
To help save them.
To give them the greatest Christmas present they will ever receive...Everlasting love, salvation, peace and hope.

It has been so easy for me to get sidetracked.
I love what I do, but on those days when you are confused, frustrated and just find yourself wanting to cry and give up, it is so so easy to do just that. Give up. Throw in the towel. Walk away.
But I think, and this is just my opinion, that those moments are the ones where we need to remember the most.
We are doing this for Him. We are working and trying to get things done on time and trying to get things accomplished so that more people have the opportunity to hear about Jesus.

So in the midst of a night where maybe some things could have gone smoother, I have to just breathe and remind myself of what REALLY matters. And that's despite our mistakes, the message was strong, the message was loud, and the message was clear.
God loves you.
And people heard it. People listened to it. And people reacted to it.
There were people saved tonight. People that came home to God.

I think that at the end of the day, THAT is what he sees and though it is so important to thrive in what we are doing, we have to remember why we are doing it.

This is only night one. It can only go up from here.
Don't miss the show!! Whatever you do, make sure you get to show!!

Shan

Where Are You?

I was standing in this trash dump in Jalapa, Guatemala taking in my surroundings. There have been very few instances that have left me utterly speechless, but that was right up there with watching my Dad walk out on our family and flick his cigarette butt out the window when he drove away. I didn't know how to respond. I stood in the trash and let my feet be attacked by flees as my gaze stayed on a little girl with brown curls and browner eyes. Her feet were bare. Hair tattered. Face hard and emotionless. But she was beautiful. She held the hand of an older girl in torn up pink pants and looked at me with a look of confusion. We just stared at one another. Clutching the side of my bag, I watched, horrified, as dozens and dozens of flies crawled over her perfect face. She couldn't have been more than 4 years old. But she just kept staring at me. What was she thinking? What was going through her mind? Our gaze was broken by the older girl shooing the flies from the little girls brown skin. My steps faltered and I returned to reality.

The reality of the whole situation was sinking in. Children, as young as two, being drug through dirty trash. Walking barefoot on glass and things that could only harm you. I didn't know what to do. I immediately called out to God and asked Him, "Where ARE you in all of this?" It didn't take long before God replied quietly to me and asked me, "Where are YOU in all of this?"

And that's the true question isn't it?
We look at our world and we look at the horrible things going on in our world, and we say 'How awful. How terrible. How dreadful.'
We want to see change. I think a lot of people WANT to see change. But I don't think a lot of people want to go through the work to CREATE change.
Why do we sell ourselves short? Why do we expect so little of ourselves? Why do we think things are so impossible? Why can't we trust the vision, pursue the ideas, live the passion, make the difference?

Where are we in the mess of the world? What are we REALLY doing?

Because what happens if one day I look back on my life and I ask myself, "What did I do?" And the answer really is nothing? I went on a couple trips...helped a few people...gave some food out...But what real difference was made?
When God asks me, "Where are you in this?" I want to be able to stand confidently and say, "Right here. Holding the hand that needs me."

So...who's ready to be in it with me?

-Shan

Home Sweet Home

It's been a couple days now since the World Missions Department and the team we had in Guatemala have been back in L.A.
We got back to the Dream Center around 2 AM on Thanksgiving night.

No words can describe the intensity of the month we spent there.
It was heartbreaking, incredible, touching, hard, amazing....People were healed, lives were saved, individuals were changed.
There are so many stories and moments that it's hard to think about writing it all.

I don't think I will ever have the same view of things again. Its so different to spend time in a place that is so desperate for so many tangible things and spiritual as well. But they don't know how to get it. We go down and we help. We do what we can and we pray for God to move, and He does. But then we leave. I find it a very hard thing to deal with that we go for a small amount of time and then we just leave. Its a struggle to remember that God calls us places and He asks us to do as much as we can in the time we are there and then the rest is up to Him. He will bring more people to water the seed you plant, but it's a struggle, huh?

I am amazed at how God works. Had I not been at The Dream Center for the time I was and experienced the things I did before going to Guatemala, it would have been an extremely unsuccessful month for me. Would God have still succeeded? Of course. But would He have accomplished what he wanted out of my life? Doubtful. He had been preparing me for that long before I knew.

Be careful in tough situations. Every choice we make affects our next opportunity and whatever you are going through now, God is preparing you for something bigger. Buckle up. The ride is sometimes bumpy...but the people you meet, the chances you get, the blessings you get to give...make it so worth while. God is big. Don't forget He sees the whole picture when we see just a cropped version.

love,
Shan.

P.S. JOY OF CHRISTMAS Is right around the corner!! Order advanced seating so you get great seats, the show is going to be amazing and you wont want to miss it.

Turkey and Thanks

In a couple days it will be Thanksgiving. I cant believe that!!

I wish we could all take a moment every day to think about all the blessings we have been given, instead of just focusing on it once a year.
Have you thought about that lately?
Have you told your kids how much you love them today or your wife or husband?
Have you looked at the food on your table and thought, "wow I am blessed that I can have this"? Have you looked at the place where you live and thought about how blessed you are to have somewhere safe to go home to??

It's easy, as humans, to be unsatisfied with what we have or where we are in life.
It's easy to look at the things other people have and wish we had them.
I have only been out of highschool for a year and a half and in that time, and since coming to the Dream Center as a volunteer, God has shown me so much.
How can you see a child working in a dump, barefoot, sick and starving and still be selfish enough to wish you had more?? Personally, I am finding it hard to do.
Maybe this week and this holiday season, instead of focusing on the stress or the presents or the lights...we should focus on something a little more permanement.

Can we look past what we struggle with to see what we have been blessed with?
Can we see our families that love us, or our friends that challenge us? Can we see God's provision in our lives and trust that He has everything under control? Can we see the sky a little bluer and smile a little bigger?

YOU ARE ALIVE!!!
You have the opportunity to do ANYTHING with your life...Dont waste it.
Be Thankful that God has placed you where you are at for a reason and He knows better than us what is good for us.
Notice your blessings, because not everyone is fortunate enough to have those blessings.
Enjoy your Turkey and eat an extra scoop of stuffing for me!!

Shan

Faithfulness

God never ceases to amaze me with the amazing, crazy, ridiculous ways that He works.

My life has been completely changed in the time that I have been here. In one week, I will have been here for a year.
I still remember last Halloween, sitting in the airport at 6 AM with anticipation so thick I could hardly breathe.
Now, I cant even imagine what my life would have been like had I not bought that one way ticket to LA.
My family has been restored, my life has been changed, my attitude towards so many things has completely turned around.
God has been so faithful in so many ways it's hard to even write about it.

On Wednesday I, and a team of about 14, will be leaving with the World Missions dept here at the Dream Center to go serve in Guatemala for a month. I had eleven days to go and about $600 + dollars to raise. I was starting to get weary. I had started opening on Saturday mornings to raise money for this trip. The great thing about Saturdays is all our regular costumers. One of them is this tall good looking older guy named Patrick. We started chatting a few weeks ago and my trip came up. I explained to him what I was doing and why I was going and he was so excited about it. I brought him one of my letters about my trip so he could read more about why I wanted to go. That was probably 2 weeks ago.

That morning Patrick showed up to get his iced grande red eye and gave me an envelope with "Shannon Rae Galford" written on the front. He told me that he probably wouldn't see me before I left (in eleven days) but to have an amazing trip. I had a huge line so I couldnt open the envelope. Once my line was gone and people were waiting for the drinks, I went to the back and opened the card. This is what the card read...
"Shannon,
I think what you're doing is a wonderful, giving, selfless gift to those children. That kind of spirit is what this world needs more of. You definitely do shine. I, too, was a complete mess and a discovery and surrendering to a higher power saved me and my life. Please take this contribution to your trip with all my love and prayers.
Best,
Patrick."
I was so touched. In the envelope was another envelope. Inside was a check for one thousand dollars. ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. I started crying immediately. I could not believe that someone, who is virtually a stranger, would invest so much into something I believed in. Not only did this pay for my trip but everything else I would need. I went to thank him but he was already gone.

The really cool part, that Patrick doesn't know, is that not only is helping send me, but he created a walking testimony to so many people. A lot of the people I work with and even most of my family are not christians. But they have heard me going on and on and on about how I knew God was going to take care of it all. Even in my few moments of doubt, I told them. And now, they can see first hand, just how big, and how amazing and how faithful God really is.

The Dream Center has shown me in some HUGE ways and also tiny ways just what God really can do. Whether it's a nice stranger sending me to another country to help kids or whether its getting on a truck to go and serve food to a family who is struggling on the other side of town. God's faithfulness is real. His power is real. And His love is real.

I can't wait to see what the next few years bring and how the Dream Center will continue to help people, just like me, to see how faithful God really is.

Bus ministry

Bus ministry.
Wow.
It’s a life-changing event, unless you’ve been through it- you truly can’t relate.
Someone came up with the idea to buy a school bus, fill it with gas and pay a driver to take it into the projects of Los Angeles and pick up juvenile delinquents, fatherless children, single mothers, gang members and others who will never be able to repay back all we plan to bless them with.

First, we load the bus up with bus pastors; imagine 4-6 (mainly White) suburban young adults who God had called to do missionary work in the inner city. Drive 30 minutes to Watts, knock on doors, wake up the teenagers, (who were out too late last night) mediate a couple minor disputes, load the bus, stop an argument from turning into a fight and head off to Angelus Temple.

Once we get all the kids off the bus, the true ministry begins; we must convince them that they can’t leave their seats during service so they must go to the bathroom before or after, attempt to persuade the younger kids that kids church is definitely more fun than big church and then corral the teenage boys to their seats, separate from the teenage girls. What a joy.
The service goes amazing, another wonderful word from Pastor Matthew, then back to the busses, and we can’t forget to grab the pizza and sodas along the way and get everyone comfortably settled.

The trips home are usually the best, engaging those beautiful children with the reality that they are children of God. We discuss everything from the sermon that morning to the latest rap CD. It doesn’t matter what you talk about, they are fully enamored with the idea that someone has taken time from their schedule to pour into them.
Sure it’s overwhelming and we don’t get paid to do it; but I find the blessings of watching these young men and women grow up to become Godly role models for the next generation is so much more rewarding than any amount of money.

If you haven’t done it yet, do it now, it will change your perspective and enhance your relationship with God more than anything else I’ve ever found.

Adrienne

Beauty in the City

Something I have tried to teach myself while I have been growing up is how to see the beauty in everything.
That is one thing that the Dream Center does so well.

A lot of people come to L.A. and they see the glamour and fame. But they also see the hurt and the garbage. Some people will look at where we are and who we are helping and not see what is they really are doing. I think it is so easy to sometimes forget that the homeless man on the street has a family somewhere. Or that the prostitute on Skid Row once had dreams and ambitions that are probably boxed away in the back of her heart. Its easy to forget that God has a plan for all of these people. Something amazing about L.A. though, is that it has some of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen.

Sometimes I will be in my office late, or walking by a window on my way to my room and my breath will get caught because it is so awe inspiring. How can something so beautiful fall over a place that has so much pain?
But thats the thing--- here at the Dream Center we look at this city and we look at these people and we see how beautiful they are. We see the masterpiece, wonderful and complex, that God created them to be. We see the hope for the city and the beauty that God has laid upon it.

There is so much more than just what meets the eye. Like a sunset, though it is silent and doesn't speak, our city and the people here often are so beautiful and so breathtaking that it leaves me with a loss of words.
Look for the beauty in things...God created them, I promise the beauty is there.

Am I ready?

It was a hot and muggy summery evening. An almost absent breeze of fresh air made the smells of my surrounding environment so much more pungent. It was my first outreach with the Dream Center and I was feeling excited and yet a little apprehensive at the same time. Was I ready for this? Did I pray enough, was I filled with Faith and the Holy Spirit enough? Was I wearing the right clothes and not looking too much like a tourist? I came to realize that you could never be prepared enough to see what I saw on that first evening at Skid Row.

Some gutters were lined with pools of urine; rats were disappearing in and out of gutter holes, hundreds of people were lining either side of Skid Row, and there were makeshift tents - some made with cardboard, and others, shopping carts, plastic canopies, umbrellas, you name it. People were dressed in clothing I only imagined a third world would see. Groups of people were beat boxing, smoking, drinking, screaming and yelling obscenities. Some were, it seemed, taking drugs right in front of my nose, using needles and turning around so I couldn’t see properly. I was starting to feel overwhelmed and almost a little afraid.

Then on our right, a young lady was being consoled by some of her friends. She was high on drugs, drinking heavily, and not making much sense. It looked like she had had a really rough night. Her T-shirt was dirty and her black pants ripped and showing less than a little modesty. A thought went through my mind and in an instant the feelings of fear and intimidation were replaced by a sharp sense of disgust with satan’s vitriolic ways to heap upon mankind, guilt, shame, fear, a little humiliation, and pain to finally debase, disgrace, demean and turn God’s creation into an ugly mess.

Hoping to give her some sense of worth we were keen to give her a rose. “Hi, we’re with the Dream Center, would you like to accept this rose?” She stopped and looked at my friend and I, then smiled and said, “Oh that’s beautiful, thank you”. She seemed lucid for a little while and attempted to explain her situation. She had had a rough night the night before and said “it was never always like this. I once had a job and everything but then I just got hooked and ended up here. I wanted to go and get a job again but I don’t want to leave my friends here”. We saw her heart and her love for her friends and realized that even though she was living on Skid Row, God was still there. He was still waiting for His daughter and for so many of them to simply just call upon His name and He would answer them. But like so many of them in some way or other got hooked in by satan’s bait and never knew how to get out again. We ended up praying with her and gave her the scripture Jeremiah 29:11 and told her that god has a plan for her, plans to prosper her, not a life to harm her but to give her a hope and a future.

I realized that I couldn’t carry the burden of her pain and suffering, and that Jesus had already done this. All I could do further was to pray for her to understand that God loves her so much, and that He alone is the answer to her freedom from bondage. All God asks of me and from all of us, is to pray - The most powerful tool available to us.

Ladybug on skid row

I was talking with Latonya when I first saw him. She was still getting over the cold she had the week before. We were on the corner of 6th and San Julian. He passed by, not noticing me, his eyes unable to fix on one thing. He had on jeans, a dirty t-shirt, and well-worn tennis shoes. He paused and turned around looking and watching everyone and every little thing that moved. His long, golden curls bounced with every turn of his head. Finally, his eyes fixed on mine, but only for a second then were distracted by something else. They were like two blue stars, captivating everyone that looked into them. Even in that brief moment they locked with mine, I had already fallen deep under their spell. I had forgotten about my conversation and could not keep my eyes off him. His sweet face, curious of the world around him. He ran up a ways and lifted his little hand up to place it in one much bigger.

"Daddy!" he said in his wobbly voice. He turned around, tugging on the big hand and pointing at something near me. They turned around to come back and look at a ladybug that was crawling up the lamp post. By then it was much too high up for the little hand to grab, so the big hand reached out and coaxed the little bug to crawl on. I looked up and smiled.
"What is his name?" I asked.
"Eddie"
"Hi, Eddie." He looked up at me and curiously studied my face and then reached out to hold the ladybug. I crouched down to be level with his eyes. "What do you have there?" I said. He looked up and stared at me for a second.
"Daddy's the only word he knows yet." The big man grunted with a raspy chuckle to follow. He then turned to talk with a friend sitting on some cardboard on the sidewalk.

I reached out and touched Eddie's head. His hair was soft and the only part of him that was clean. His face had dirt all over it and crumbs lined his mouth.
"What are you doing out here Eddie?" I whispered. "An angel like you does not belong in a place like this." I turned and glanced at the big hands, which were now holding a lighter and a small glass pipe. He was still talking with his friend. I looked back at the little body in front of me. He was engrossed watching the little bug crawl up his arm. A tear slowly lingered down my cheek.

Eddie jumped and giggled when the ladybug finally took flight. He watched it fly away until he could no longer see it. He looked back at me and suddenly gasped. His eyes widened and eyebrows rose with concern. "Owee!" he said. He took a dirty little finger and roughly wiped the tear off my face and then kissed the spot where it had been. He stood back and smiled. I smiled back.

"C'mon Eddie." The big voice startled me. Eddie jumped up and skipped past his dad down the sidewalk, exploring and studying everything he passed, sometimes lingering behind until the big voice called out.
I still see him occasionally. I gave him a stuffed bear last week. He now has a red wagon that the big man pulls him in behind him. I want to take him home with me. I could be a mom…maybe one day I will be brave enough to ask.

-Jess

First Impressions VS Lasting Impressions

I had always loved inner city-on-the-streets-being-in-danger type mission work, so when I came to the Dream Center and was placed in the marketing department I was a bit baffled at what God was doing. At home, I taught at an alternative school that was filled with kids who didn’t fit the regular public school mold. Many of them were involved in gangs and drugs. Working with them was a huge passion in my life. Going from that to being placed in an 8-5 office job was a bit of a transition.

I spent a lot of time in prayer when I first got here. I didn’t understand God’s purpose. I went from gangs and drugs to being the red carpet check in person at an event we had my first working week! Of course, God revealed many things to me within time.

God reminded me that it was always my desire to learn more about ministries and possibly start my own one day. It occurred to me that I knew nothing of the business side of a ministry. I had always been in the streets, in places like Haiti, Jamaica, and Romania; but I knew nothing about raising support or marketing the ministry. Since I’ve been here, I’ve realized how important the marketing department is. Without the marketing department, we can’t do most of what we’re able to do at the Dream Center! We get the word out; we raise support. I feel like I’ve been attending college because I’m ingesting a surplus of valuable knowledge.

Last week I went out with the food truck. I saw the pain and hurt in some of their eyes; especially the families that came through. But then I also saw the glimmer of hope they received as their physical needs were being met by receiving free food and love from us. If we can take care of that burden in their lives, it frees them up to focus on working on bettering other areas of their lives. We can be “Jesus with skin on” and that beacon of light in the darkness; which is what all of us, as Christians, are called to do.

I’ve grown to deeply value and love my position at the Dream Center. Not only do I get to experience the marketing side but also publicity and public relations. Publicity is a field I never desired to work in but now I’ve come to welcome and love it!
I no longer question why God placed me in this department, but I feel blessed that I get the best of both worlds. I get to do my office work, but then I can go out on outreaches and see the effect of what we do. I can see the process as a whole. It’s important that we properly market the vision, receive support, and then go out and pour into the lives of others and restore their dreams and give them hope!

Carrie Miller

When God speaks

God has been to speaking in new ways so much lately that I find myself constantly wanting to explode with joy.

Something I have learned being at The Dream Center is how to search and seek for God in new ways.
I have been reading Jeremiah lately and if you haven't read it, I certainly would reccomend it. It's blowing me away!!
It's so interesting to see how God reacts to Israel's unfaithfulness and how He offers them chance and chance again to redeem themselves. I have had quite a few verses that I have read just leave me speechless. I found this one tonight and I HAD to come share it.

Jeremiah is telling God that he is being ridiculed. That everyday he is mocked for the prophesies he is bringing to these people. That the word of the Lord is bringing him insult and reproach. But he goes on to say this in Jeremiah 20,
9 But if I say, "I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,"
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.

How powerful is that?!
I read that and was completely blown away. That is exactly what I want. I want God's word to be like fire shut up in my bones so that I have nothing I can do except tell people, and share it constantly because it is burning in me. I want God to be the flame in me that ignites me, inspires me and brings me to life. I want His love to burn in my soul. I want His touch to burn right to core of who I am to remind me of WHO HE IS.

Whoever is reading this, my prayer for you is that God would ignite something in you. That whatever is bringing you to read this blog would be a flame...a fire. A fire that is shut up in your bones like Jeremiah so that you cannot hold on to it and HAVE to share it. I pray that God would establish an atmosphere of freedom and that nothing would hold you back. I hope God puts a love in you (and me) that we cannot hold back.

He knows us the best and loves us the most.
Let that start the fire.

Praying for you.
Shan

Outreach

Another of the exciting things at The Dream Center is that there are so many oppurtunities to help people.

I just want to remind you we also have an outreach blog (on the right of this blog) titled Beyond On The Walls.
Check it out to see what it's like beyond the walls of The Dream Center.

Adopt A Block

I bet you have read a lot about what Adopt A Block is on our website.
It's a time where everyone goes out to different parts of LA and the sourounding areas and builds relationships with people.
Over the years, The Dream Center has built some pretty amazing foundations for this outreach.
We go to areas like Jordan Downs/Watts, Skid Row, Ramona Gardens, Imperial Courts, and hotels.
People that would probably never speak to you, eventually end up developing a relationship with you and trusting you.

It's amazing to see the same people every week. Sometimes it's really tough to see the circumstances people are in. The places kids have to play in and live, and they don't really have much of a choice. It's all they know and it's all they see. It's a huge blessing to be able to go into those neighborhoods that are gang infested, violence filled, and poverty stricken and be able to show those people they have another choice. It's amazing to see children just completely delighted by you wanting to play with them and give them the attention they deserve, and don't always receive.

By our actions, we hope to show them of a love much deeper than they (or any of us) can comprehend. By building trusting relationships, consistent relationships and unconditional relationships, we begin to see a real change in these people.
Sometimes it takes years of knocking on people's doors before they come to church with us. Sometimes it takes years of knocking on someone's door before they even TALK to us...but when they do...when you finally see that all your effort to help them has been well worth waiting for...when you KNOW that you didn't give up on them and they are finally sitting with you on that bus back to church...its a joy that can't be described.

Any chance to change a life is a chance worth taking.
The Adopt A Block meeting starts at 10 am on saturday mornings in The Dream Center gym and the busses usually leave around 10:30.
Come and see for yourself just how life changing it really is.
Gotta go catch my bus!!

Happy weekend.

Holidays and Magic

What's your favorite part about the holidays?
I love Christmas time. I think the whole season is so enchanting and captivating. It's full of hope that you don't always see in people year round.
There are only 81 days until the Joy Of Christmas show starts.
Joy of Christmas is magical.
There is an amazing show (free for all ages) that leaves you feeling like you have stepped into a winter-wonderland-tale.
"I'm dreaming of a white christmas" becomes real when half way through the show snow begins to fall from the ceiling.

But what's even better then the magic of the holiday is seeing the magic in the people's eyes. So many families that come to these shows want so badly to take their children to events. To have big Christmas moments and to let their kids experience the feeling of it all. This show gives them that oppurtunity. It leaves them with eyes wide and imaginations sparked. Not only that, but it leaves people with changed lives.

At the end of the show, Pastor Matthew Barnett gives an altar call and I am not exaggerating when I say people truly leave with a new light in their eye. There is something special about taking a day that means so much and opening people's hearts to show them just how special it really is. It's pretty amazing to be a part of putting this kind of thing on. It's an event that virtually everyone at The Dream Center is a part of. Whether they are greeting, in the show or doing tickets, there is always a way for people to help.

81 days may seem like a lot, but it's really right around the corner! Keep looking at our website to see updates. These few nights are sensational and I want you to be a part of it.
You will leave feeling inspired and full of love.
I promise.

Shan

Welcome!!

Hi!
So we are starting this new thing here at The Dream Center.
We really want you, reading this, to be able to experience what it is like to be here in sunny Los Angeles.
I know that if you are reading this then there are probably a few possibilities as to why you are here.

There could be a big chance that God has been speaking to your heart about The Dream Center and you are curious as to what it's all really about. Or perhaps you accidentally stumbled about our website and ended up at this page, though I don't really believe in accidents at all :]. Maybe you were bored and needed some new reading material. In any even, I'm excited you are here because I truly believe you are here for a reason.

My name is Shannon but most people here know me as Shan. I am one of the hundreds of full time volunteers here at The Dream Center and I work in the Marketing Department with an incredible team of people. I have been here for almost a year and it has been the most challenging, growing and exciting year of my life. There are constantly a thousand things to do down here. Not only are we sourounded by the world (it truly is another world) of Los Angeles, but there are so many chances to change lives and impact people here. DAILY there are outreaches going out, there are small groups being formed, new people coming in, miracles happening, families being restored and vices being overcome. Sometimes I have to remind myself to breathe because I remember just how blessed I am that God called me to a place where I can have so much influence, if I choose to have it.

If you have heard a calling in your heart to explore The Dream Center, I encourage you to do just that. Look at the website, come for a service if you are in the area, come for a short term mission, come volunteer for a day but whatever you do, don't ignore the call. God is moving in Los Angeles and, trust me, if He is calling you to be a part of it, it is something you DON'T want to miss.

More soon!

All in kindness,
Shan.