Whether walking through downtown Los Angeles, or shopping on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, it is nearly impossible to travel more than five blocks without seeing a homeless individual, lying in front of a “For Lease” storefront or holding up a cardboard sign with a plea for money or food written on it in permanent marker. Even if we wanted to ignore these individuals, their shabby clothing and exhausted eyes beg to be noticed. Society has affectionately referred to them as “the homeless” as opposed to bums or hobos, which is, if we are honest, how our eyes see them.
I have crossed over to the other side of the street so that I will not have to deal with them. I see that they are having a nice conversation by themselves, with themselves, so they do not need me to interrupt their schizophrenia. Or demon possession. In addition, they smell like urine and unwashed linens, and I just took a shower last night, and do not want to catch their germs. I’d rather watch them from a distance and pity them from a distance and love them from a distance if that were even possible.
But God says in 1 Samuel 16:7, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” I am not only called to get a little closer to these broken and hurting people, but God has created each and every one of them in His holy image, which makes them beautiful and worthy of love, no matter how ugly they look through my fleeting, earthly eyes. Each of them has a name and a story of why they became homeless in the first place. Perhaps it was an addiction to drugs because they could no longer cope with life. Maybe they worked hard on their jobs, became unemployed because of layoffs, and had nowhere to turn but to the streets.
On Tuesdays, weather permitting, there is a team from the Dream Center’s Hope For Homeless Youth ministry that goes down to Venice Beach each week, which is a tourist attraction for thousands of people. The sand is ripe for sunbathing and castle-building and the Pacific Ocean for getting cool and surfboarding. But the Hope for Homeless Youth team does not go down to the beach to catch the waves, but to catch souls for Jesus Christ. With cardboard boxes loaded with bags of sandwiches, snacks, and water; this team looks for “the homeless” who are being walked passed by the tourists… and they love them up close. They listen to their stories and feed them. They pray for them. Some have even come back to the Dream Center to get cleaned up and get another chance at life off of the streets.
As Christians, we are called to love like that. Maybe your city or town does not have an overwhelming homeless population the way that Los Angeles does. Maybe it is easier to avoid them, but why don’t we be like God’s children and look for that homeless man or woman or teenager who just might need a cookie and a conversation. If you’re like me, maybe the thought of it makes you a little uncomfortable, but these people are in need and our little smile or sacked lunch for them can make a huge difference. They are not hobos. They are human beings loved by God.
-Shimmy
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Never a Language Barrier
The food truck here at the Dream Center visits many, many neighborhoods weekly. Many of those areas are predominately Spanish speaking. So, even though the smiles are evident of their gratitude, it’s difficult at times to communicate. At first this was frustrating to me. I wanted to talk with them and have deep conversations about God and what He can do in their life. But after awhile I began to see the beauty in it all. The genuine smiles represented much more than a couple sentences of "How’re you doing?" –"I’m fine, thanks."
More than most things in this world, I love children. I feel as if this language barrier encourages me to play and giggle with them more. A toddler’s vocabulary is limited anyway; so playing tag, giving piggyback rides, or pushing them on a swing is a wonderful way of showing love. A way that they think is fun and their parents and neighbors see as actual caring.
A couple days ago, as I visited the Pueblos food truck site, I met a little Hispanic boy named Andrew. He had lots of energy and grinned from ear to ear the entire time we played. Jumping from one playground structure to the next, he motioned me to follow every step. I could tell he was just happy someone was taking the time to actually play with him. This same little boy, I had seen earlier run away from his mother’s instruction, who seemed frustrated and tired. The mother now looked towards us with a relieved smile on her face.
I hope that evening she left thanking God for the bags of food we handed her, and along with that recognized that the love I showed towards her son was brought by the very same God. The more I know about Him, the more I realize that any outreach I go on, anything good or loving in me, comes solely from Him. And in order for more abundant love to flow out of us, for Andrew’s sake, we must remember just that.
-Courtnay, Ohio
Pastor’s & Leader’s School
Being a volunteer at the Dream Center stretches you, makes you grow in ways you thought you never could, and is continuously developing you into a leader. A leader in the sense of taking responsibility for the purpose God has placed on your life, and leading yourself and the others around you in that right direction.
Every year here at the Dream Center, the volunteers attend Pastor’s and Leader’s School at a church in Phoenix. My fellow volunteer friends who had already attended this conference were excited for the week, and reassured me I should be too. Sure enough, it was fun, relaxing and just the spiritual boost I needed. I’m sure everyone left feeling that same difference made in their spirit. It was refreshing for everyone.
Going into the conference I thought about the concept of being a leader. My personality isn’t much of a take-over and lead type. Actually, the word ‘leader’ used to scare me. But I’ve gradually been coming out of that mindset. Pastor’s School encouraged me even more to take ownership of the leader inside me, the leader that’s inside every Christ follower. If we’ve decided to accept Jesus Christ as our savior we are acknowledging that we represent Him, we are the physical beings of Christ here on earth. And with accepting the responsibility of that, we become leaders towards Him. Unfortunately, at times we are more like ‘distracters’, leading people away from Christ. With our words, our demeanor and hypocrisy. And what an eternally horrible thing that is. May we constantly remember the level of influence we have on others, may we always remember our calling to lead others to a life lived for Christ.
-Courtnay, Ohio
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Hope is needed…and beds please
It is the second time that I have been out with Project Prevention and have had the privilege to meet Eva 38 and Peter 41 at their place in the Rampart neighborhood. The first time I met them I was just standing quietly in the background helping bring the food into their apartment and talking a little bit with their youngest son. They speak very little English and so most of our conversations were stilted and had to be repeated through a translator.
This time I was left alone with Eva, while Becky and Rosa from Project Prevention had to return to the truck to get more diapers and food for the family. It was very awkward at first, we stared at the floor and intermittently looked at each other and smiled shyly hello. I finally asked her in really broken Spanish about her children and she gestured for me to follow her through the apartment. It was then that I really started to see how much they truly needed the Dream Center’s help. Her youngest daughter at two years old was curled up on the floor under a make shift blanket of coats.
Rita let me see the all of the other rooms, all which were almost empty and had no beds. There were only piles of clothes on the floor where a chest of drawers or a wardrobe should have been standing in their place. She told me that she had five children in total ranging from 2-17 years old. This information hit me more powerfully this time round, maybe it was because I was focused more on Rita rather than Rosa who was acting as my interpreter. It’s really hard to look into a proud mothers eye and not want to be a part of the solution to her family’s problems when you can see how hard they are working at just surviving.
Maybe it’s a good idea for all of us to stop looking at people in need from the comfort of our television sets, camera lenses or our even our friend’s experiences and spend time one on one to truly empathize and want to be a part of the positive change in these precious peoples lives. I don’t think that God ever called us just to be comfortable…
-Chaka
This time I was left alone with Eva, while Becky and Rosa from Project Prevention had to return to the truck to get more diapers and food for the family. It was very awkward at first, we stared at the floor and intermittently looked at each other and smiled shyly hello. I finally asked her in really broken Spanish about her children and she gestured for me to follow her through the apartment. It was then that I really started to see how much they truly needed the Dream Center’s help. Her youngest daughter at two years old was curled up on the floor under a make shift blanket of coats.
Rita let me see the all of the other rooms, all which were almost empty and had no beds. There were only piles of clothes on the floor where a chest of drawers or a wardrobe should have been standing in their place. She told me that she had five children in total ranging from 2-17 years old. This information hit me more powerfully this time round, maybe it was because I was focused more on Rita rather than Rosa who was acting as my interpreter. It’s really hard to look into a proud mothers eye and not want to be a part of the solution to her family’s problems when you can see how hard they are working at just surviving.
Maybe it’s a good idea for all of us to stop looking at people in need from the comfort of our television sets, camera lenses or our even our friend’s experiences and spend time one on one to truly empathize and want to be a part of the positive change in these precious peoples lives. I don’t think that God ever called us just to be comfortable…
-Chaka
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
The Body of Christ at Christmas
At the Dream Center, family is usually not a luxury its’ volunteers have on a day to day basis. Most of us travel here from all around the world, leaving our families behind and serving our Lord together here in the heart of LA. So when this special holiday comes around, the Dream Center staff lovingly puts together several little Christmas get-togethers. Last night was the first one of this year. “A Christmas Tree Lighting Party”. The air was chilly for a December night in Los Angeles, which made the sparkling lights and hot chocolate that much better. I looked around and felt the Christmas love that sometimes I feared wouldn’t be there, due to the miles between my family and I. But it was. Cheerful Christmas music played loud, and the night ended in some off-key caroling and a fun little dance-off. The activities were a fun addition, but what made the night so special was the companionship we all shared. The body of Christ is the surely the most beautiful thing on earth, and seeing it for myself, during one of the most loving season of the year, was the most magical.
-Courtnay
Friday, December 4, 2009
1,800
When I first got to the Turkey Give-Away event at the Dream Center, I was trying to imagine what one to two thousand people would look like. Seeing men, women and children from every demographic was incredible. I spent time just walking along the line catching smiles from old proud Chinese and Mexican women, seeing couples holding each other with their young children in push chairs looking forward to when eleven o’clock would roll around and the turkey give-away would begin. It was a lot to take in; the atmosphere was peaceful but also full of excitement.
That’s when I noticed a small group of young people gathered around a middle-aged Hispanic lady. I went over to them and enquired what was going on, it turned out that they were from the Movement and they excitedly told me, that they were walking through the line and asking people if they needed prayer. They were asking God for healing miracles and the amazing thing was that they were seeing them happen all over the place first-hand. One of the Movement guys invited me to follow them and document what was happening.
In the beginning I was just going to watch and write what was taking place but quickly changed my mind as I felt the holy spirit urge me to participate in the praying, and I’m glad that I was obedient!
Genoveva was the first lady I saw healed when we prayed for her. She told us that she suffered from excruciating back pain and was out of work recently due to the lay-offs at her job. As soon as we prayed for her I saw the look of surprise on her face as she told us, that she felt a warm heat sensation on her back, and then said that God had healed her!
Next in the line we met Eloiza, a forty-eight year old lady originally from Guatemala who suffered from a condition that sent pain up and down her nerves on her right side of her body. She also experienced a similar heat sensation during her healing from God. And Juanita a seventy-five year old Pilipino lady who had lived with arthritis for many years and was telling us how while she was waiting in line, “I was complaining to my friend that I can’t sit down or bend my legs” After being prayed for was jumping around crying thank you Jesus and hugged me several times when she was healed!
God did supernatural things in the line of the Turkey Give-Away and to me it was as important to see signs of God’s amazing love for his people, as it was to see up to eighteen hundred people blessed with their physical needs being met by the food donations. God is able to use us to do the miraculous if we are obedient to his call on our lives.
-Chaka
That’s when I noticed a small group of young people gathered around a middle-aged Hispanic lady. I went over to them and enquired what was going on, it turned out that they were from the Movement and they excitedly told me, that they were walking through the line and asking people if they needed prayer. They were asking God for healing miracles and the amazing thing was that they were seeing them happen all over the place first-hand. One of the Movement guys invited me to follow them and document what was happening.
In the beginning I was just going to watch and write what was taking place but quickly changed my mind as I felt the holy spirit urge me to participate in the praying, and I’m glad that I was obedient!
Genoveva was the first lady I saw healed when we prayed for her. She told us that she suffered from excruciating back pain and was out of work recently due to the lay-offs at her job. As soon as we prayed for her I saw the look of surprise on her face as she told us, that she felt a warm heat sensation on her back, and then said that God had healed her!
Next in the line we met Eloiza, a forty-eight year old lady originally from Guatemala who suffered from a condition that sent pain up and down her nerves on her right side of her body. She also experienced a similar heat sensation during her healing from God. And Juanita a seventy-five year old Pilipino lady who had lived with arthritis for many years and was telling us how while she was waiting in line, “I was complaining to my friend that I can’t sit down or bend my legs” After being prayed for was jumping around crying thank you Jesus and hugged me several times when she was healed!
God did supernatural things in the line of the Turkey Give-Away and to me it was as important to see signs of God’s amazing love for his people, as it was to see up to eighteen hundred people blessed with their physical needs being met by the food donations. God is able to use us to do the miraculous if we are obedient to his call on our lives.
-Chaka
Friday, October 30, 2009
An Organization, a Refuge, a Community
I’m new at the Dream Center, so when word got around about an “all-campus meeting”, I wasn’t sure at all what was about to take place. I did know the word “meeting” didn’t sound very enjoyable. But my mindset changed not too long after we gathered together in the campus gym.
There was a big, bright, banner on the stage, commemorating the special get-together. The guys with microphones were energetic and ready for us all to have fun as a group. There was a messy pie eating contest, a funny “how well do you know your spouse?” game, a frozen turkey basketball game and free breakfast for the whole campus; it didn’t at all seem like the proverbial meeting I had mentally prepared for.
And more than the events themselves, the sense of community I felt during the hour-long meeting was such a blessing. The Dream Center functions as a major outreach in our area, the multitude of ministries we provide make this campus such a busy, busy place. And even with the sometimes chaotic lifestyle the volunteers and administration have here, they make time to come together and recognize the companionship that a body of Christians ought to have. And more than just knowing it, more than just recognizing it, that love Christ calls us to have is felt within our community here. And because of that, simple monthly meetings are such a beautiful thing to be apart of.
-Courtnay
There was a big, bright, banner on the stage, commemorating the special get-together. The guys with microphones were energetic and ready for us all to have fun as a group. There was a messy pie eating contest, a funny “how well do you know your spouse?” game, a frozen turkey basketball game and free breakfast for the whole campus; it didn’t at all seem like the proverbial meeting I had mentally prepared for.
And more than the events themselves, the sense of community I felt during the hour-long meeting was such a blessing. The Dream Center functions as a major outreach in our area, the multitude of ministries we provide make this campus such a busy, busy place. And even with the sometimes chaotic lifestyle the volunteers and administration have here, they make time to come together and recognize the companionship that a body of Christians ought to have. And more than just knowing it, more than just recognizing it, that love Christ calls us to have is felt within our community here. And because of that, simple monthly meetings are such a beautiful thing to be apart of.
-Courtnay
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