Friday, November 14, 2008
NoiseTrade Widget
Monday, July 16, 2007
Hey friends,
so I don't have anything in particular to write about, but I decided to update my blog anyways, because I want to do this more, and I've got 5 minutes, so why not? I just finished reading about 8 pages of Calvin and Hobbes. It's a wonderful way to unwind after a long day at work :). Calvin's imagination is inspiring in it's own hilarious way. The way he sees endless opportunity in the mundane is really cool. On a kind of related note, my roommate and I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix yesterday afternoon. It was inspiring in a different way. Our capacity for good and evil, and the choice we have in the matter, as well as our need for love and the power it has over even the most horrible happenings are just a few themes I walked away pondering as the credits rolled. It wore it's film-status well, as a book-to-film project, and did things with the story that couldn't have been done in a book. So for what it lacked in breadth of plot, it soared in depth of meaning and cinematography. So yeah, I liked it. And book 7 is coming on Saturday. Sah-weet!
Speaking of stories, for how much I enjoyed Harry Potter A.T.O.O.T.P., I really enjoyed church yesterday. The gospel of Mark is so packed with meaning and beauty, that it almost feels unapproachable to me sometimes. Jesus is doing things that don't fit even his own family's expectations of him, and he really knows what he is doing, or he would have given up for all the death threats and pressure he got from the religious leaders and his family to stop saying the things he was saying and healing on the sabbath. I have alot of unformed thoughts about this. It's almost dinner time.
This week is Library Camp at the central library in LA. Today was really fun. We all received a free copy of Lemony Snicket's 10th novel, "A Slippery Slope". Three of our kids came, and we're expecting more tomorrow. It's going to be really hard to say goodbye to the kids next month. They are amazing.
That's it for now. Moral of the story: read more Calvin and Hobbes, Harry Potter, and the Gospel of Mark. :)
Justin
so I don't have anything in particular to write about, but I decided to update my blog anyways, because I want to do this more, and I've got 5 minutes, so why not? I just finished reading about 8 pages of Calvin and Hobbes. It's a wonderful way to unwind after a long day at work :). Calvin's imagination is inspiring in it's own hilarious way. The way he sees endless opportunity in the mundane is really cool. On a kind of related note, my roommate and I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix yesterday afternoon. It was inspiring in a different way. Our capacity for good and evil, and the choice we have in the matter, as well as our need for love and the power it has over even the most horrible happenings are just a few themes I walked away pondering as the credits rolled. It wore it's film-status well, as a book-to-film project, and did things with the story that couldn't have been done in a book. So for what it lacked in breadth of plot, it soared in depth of meaning and cinematography. So yeah, I liked it. And book 7 is coming on Saturday. Sah-weet!
Speaking of stories, for how much I enjoyed Harry Potter A.T.O.O.T.P., I really enjoyed church yesterday. The gospel of Mark is so packed with meaning and beauty, that it almost feels unapproachable to me sometimes. Jesus is doing things that don't fit even his own family's expectations of him, and he really knows what he is doing, or he would have given up for all the death threats and pressure he got from the religious leaders and his family to stop saying the things he was saying and healing on the sabbath. I have alot of unformed thoughts about this. It's almost dinner time.
This week is Library Camp at the central library in LA. Today was really fun. We all received a free copy of Lemony Snicket's 10th novel, "A Slippery Slope". Three of our kids came, and we're expecting more tomorrow. It's going to be really hard to say goodbye to the kids next month. They are amazing.
That's it for now. Moral of the story: read more Calvin and Hobbes, Harry Potter, and the Gospel of Mark. :)
Justin
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Aaron and I just dropped off three boys who stayed at our house Monday night through this morning. The boys live in the Huntington Hotel downtown, and they have all been in our program long enough for us to develop deeper relationships with them. Yesterday we took the boys hiking in Santa Anita Canyon (I'll put pictures up soon...). We had a great day searching for lizards, playing with other people's dogs, eating wild black berries, swimming at the base of a waterfall, not whining about the uphill climb back, and going out for Thai food when we were through (it was a 4 mile hike, so we were very happy to sit at a table full of tasty Thai cuisine about two hours after leaving the canyon). We settled down with popcorn and ice cream to watch the Princess Bride after dinner, and the boys liked it so much they watched half of it again during breakfast this morning :) This made me really happy, because the Princess Bride is a classic no child in America should miss! It took some work to make sure the boys were staying clean and helping with chores around the house, but it was a good few days with them. It gets hard when a child repeatedly ignores you, shoots down your ideas, and tests you to see how much room they have to break the rules before you get angry. There were several times since Monday night when I felt my anger and hurt coming to the surface, but with Aaron there and only three boys to take care of, I was able to let it go and distance myself when it was needed. This is so different from the norm at SAY Yes during the year, when there can be up to 15 kids demanding your attention, testing their boundaries, and needing encouragement and love. An atmosphere like that can really drain a person's patience and desire to understand the children's behavior, and the temptation to speak out of anger or control with threats or belittlement comes often. Jesus says that new wine needs fresh wineskins. His love for these kids needs to find a place in our hearts that is willing to let go of revenge and pride, and embrace forgiveness and healing that we all need so desperately. It is hard to choose to let go of our sin, but the good news is that Jesus came to see it done. And so when a child hurts you, you give them boundaries and forgive. And they hurt you again, and again you give boundaries and forgive. And again. And again. New wineskins. There is so much to hope for, and forgiveness points to it.
"Another day, another chance to get it right. Must I still be learning, must I still be learning?" Ben Harper
Love,
Justin
"Another day, another chance to get it right. Must I still be learning, must I still be learning?" Ben Harper
Love,
Justin
Monday, July 09, 2007
Wow, quite alot has happened since I last updated this blog... It's been almost 6 months, and school is now out, which means the main part of our job at Central City is finished until the fall, when the kids start school again after summer break. So much to write about in these last 6 months, where do I begin? Or where do I end? Let's work backwards.
School is out (June 20), and I get on a plane for Sioux Falls, South Dakota to spend a few days with Kadie, my girlfriend, and her family. It is wonderful. Kadie and her family are amazing, and spending time with them is good for me. It reminds me of God's love for me. They take me for who I am and let me belong. The love of Christ is wide and deep.
While in Sioux Falls, a sadness hits me. I think about a boy in my class who has suffered abuse. I think about another boy in my class who lives without his father in a slum hotel with his mother and older brother. I think about another brother and sister in my class who live without their father, being moved with their mother and siblings from one temporary house to the next. I think about another two brothers who live with both parents, but who are struggling to make it to school every day because of the long bus ride from their temporary home. I think of another boy in my class who recently came to downtown with his mother and three siblings and are staying in the Union Rescue Mission. All of these children are between the ages of 5 and 7 years old. All have amazing smiles, beautiful laughs, eyes full of wonder and playfulness, bodies that rarely run out of energy (!!), questions about the world, an eagerness to learn and be good kids, hearts that ache for reasons they sometimes don't understand, hair that is braided in rows or cut short or grown long, clothes that stay on their back for several days at a time, mouths that never seem to eat enough candy, cavities that cause them pain because they rarely see a dentist or are disciplined to brush their teeth and floss everyday, hands that draw and paint and write and throw and hold and wash and hit and plug their ears and scratch backs. Normal children. With parents who were normal children. Living in a city that is so diverse and spread out and polluted, full of opportunity but still cold at night. And in a culture of individualism. Living in rooms infested with cockroaches or rats, or sleeping against a wall containing harmful chemicals that the health inspector seems to have missed. Living on the bus, on the sidewalk, in the hallway, in the playground, in the crosswalk, in a shared hotel bed, in a mission room, in a temporary apartment, in a classroom, in a sanctuary, rarely in a park, in a bathroom shared by everyone on that floor, in the city of angels. How many of her angels have bent their ear to hear the story of the homeless? How many are ready to refuse the labels "illegal immigrant" or "irresponsible mother" and instead listen to the years of struggle and pain and joy the families of skid row have endured together? God, forgive us for wanting easy labels to file our would-be friends away and get back to our television sets or our fantasy novels. Forgive me for being more passionate about the story of Harry Potter than the story of my brothers and sisters filling the streets of downtown.
The sadness remains as I return home to Los Angeles after spending my last days with Kadie until September. Now on top of it all, I miss my girlfriend! And sometime between then and now, God reminds me: He will make things right. He is making me like Him. He is coming to establish His kingdom (or nation) on the earth, including the soil that cradles LA. Promises, promises. His promises are good and sure. And I find hope, somewhere in the waiting for Him, and let go of my desire to save the poor and the rich from their troubles. Jesus saves. Not me. And the sadness changes into a peaceful kind of ache. I'm not sure how to pray, but I know He knows me and won't let me wander off from His embrace for very long. So I'm free. And I pray for this freedom for my friends. For the children. For the earth.
There will be more to come, as this blog only covered the last two and a half weeks! Thanks for reading, and I'm sorry for not updating this more often. It feels really good, you'd think I'd do it more for that reason alone!
Justin
School is out (June 20), and I get on a plane for Sioux Falls, South Dakota to spend a few days with Kadie, my girlfriend, and her family. It is wonderful. Kadie and her family are amazing, and spending time with them is good for me. It reminds me of God's love for me. They take me for who I am and let me belong. The love of Christ is wide and deep.
While in Sioux Falls, a sadness hits me. I think about a boy in my class who has suffered abuse. I think about another boy in my class who lives without his father in a slum hotel with his mother and older brother. I think about another brother and sister in my class who live without their father, being moved with their mother and siblings from one temporary house to the next. I think about another two brothers who live with both parents, but who are struggling to make it to school every day because of the long bus ride from their temporary home. I think of another boy in my class who recently came to downtown with his mother and three siblings and are staying in the Union Rescue Mission. All of these children are between the ages of 5 and 7 years old. All have amazing smiles, beautiful laughs, eyes full of wonder and playfulness, bodies that rarely run out of energy (!!), questions about the world, an eagerness to learn and be good kids, hearts that ache for reasons they sometimes don't understand, hair that is braided in rows or cut short or grown long, clothes that stay on their back for several days at a time, mouths that never seem to eat enough candy, cavities that cause them pain because they rarely see a dentist or are disciplined to brush their teeth and floss everyday, hands that draw and paint and write and throw and hold and wash and hit and plug their ears and scratch backs. Normal children. With parents who were normal children. Living in a city that is so diverse and spread out and polluted, full of opportunity but still cold at night. And in a culture of individualism. Living in rooms infested with cockroaches or rats, or sleeping against a wall containing harmful chemicals that the health inspector seems to have missed. Living on the bus, on the sidewalk, in the hallway, in the playground, in the crosswalk, in a shared hotel bed, in a mission room, in a temporary apartment, in a classroom, in a sanctuary, rarely in a park, in a bathroom shared by everyone on that floor, in the city of angels. How many of her angels have bent their ear to hear the story of the homeless? How many are ready to refuse the labels "illegal immigrant" or "irresponsible mother" and instead listen to the years of struggle and pain and joy the families of skid row have endured together? God, forgive us for wanting easy labels to file our would-be friends away and get back to our television sets or our fantasy novels. Forgive me for being more passionate about the story of Harry Potter than the story of my brothers and sisters filling the streets of downtown.
The sadness remains as I return home to Los Angeles after spending my last days with Kadie until September. Now on top of it all, I miss my girlfriend! And sometime between then and now, God reminds me: He will make things right. He is making me like Him. He is coming to establish His kingdom (or nation) on the earth, including the soil that cradles LA. Promises, promises. His promises are good and sure. And I find hope, somewhere in the waiting for Him, and let go of my desire to save the poor and the rich from their troubles. Jesus saves. Not me. And the sadness changes into a peaceful kind of ache. I'm not sure how to pray, but I know He knows me and won't let me wander off from His embrace for very long. So I'm free. And I pray for this freedom for my friends. For the children. For the earth.
There will be more to come, as this blog only covered the last two and a half weeks! Thanks for reading, and I'm sorry for not updating this more often. It feels really good, you'd think I'd do it more for that reason alone!
Justin
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Friends and family scattered across the states and globe,
This is Justin, still alive and well in sunny/smoggy Los Angeles CA. I haven’t written in a long while, and it feels like so much has happened and I’ve learned some important things since last I updated ☺ How to start, what to share? I’m not sure, but I have a few thoughts and I’ll start with those.
Imagination. This word has been sticking in my mind a lot over the past few weeks. How we imagine the world to be guides how we live, what we say, how we see, how we listen. Everyone has an imagination, and every community or body of people is guided by a certain way of seeing the world around them and themselves in it. I’ve been challenged by people who have such beautiful imaginations, many of whom are close to me and I talk to daily/weekly, to let my heart and mind be changed to see the world more as it is, as being a world in which God is moving and loving, and this gives me hope and makes me very nervous or uncomfortable much of the time. I see how different my imagination is from the imagination of the people I look up to, especially my Lord Jesus, and I see how much potential there is for my imagination to change, to be more like the good people’s way of seeing things.
Listening. I’ve heard of a psychologist who said that she would be struggling to find work if humans, in general, would be good listeners to one another. I’ve heard close friends talk about the church’s ministry of listening to others, and how we’ve lost it, and I’ve seen how I change for the better when I stop and listen to the community I find myself in, it’s pain and joy and questions and claimed answers. And most of all, when I listen to God and stop assuming I know what He’s thinking, I hear His love and that changes me to be a better lover of the people in my life. I’ve gone through periods lately where I’ve been such a bad listener, where I’ve given up trying to understand other people and just run and hide because I don’t want to deal with the thoughts inside of me that I don’t like, my crooked imagination of who I am, and I’ve found it such a struggle to quiet my thoughts and just be a good listener again, to the people in my life and to God most of all. It is so worth it, but it can be very hard to do. I am a worrier, and a worried mind doesn’t listen to anything but the worries. So I’ve been trying to stop worrying, and listen to anything else or anyone else around me instead of my own worried thoughts, and this has been a good thing. I had a thought the other day that I can only know the love someone else has for me if they express it, and this means that I can only know God’s love if He expresses it to me, and if I in return listen to the expression. This brings up questions like, “Well, God, how do you express your love to me? Because I can’t know it if you don’t sing it or show it or speak it to me.” This question has answers, I know, and I’m doing my best to not jump to conclusions but just keep listening, especially to Scripture and the people in my life who love me and who are patient with me when I can be so wrapped up in my own thoughts.
Work is going well, as far as I can tell at this point. The staff at SAY Yes! is amazing and they help me lighten up and laugh and look for what’s really important in life and in work. I really am starting to love them and appreciate their voice in my life. I am so happy about where I work and who I work with, and the kids are beautiful and full of life in the midst of a somewhat chaotic environment they find themselves in. Please pray for the families in our program, that the parents would get a break when they need it, and that the pain they go through would be shared and turned over to God for healing and comfort. Please pray that our staff would be open with each other and that God would help us see where our time and energy should be going. Please pray that I wouldn’t lose my creativity or energy in the classroom with the kids, because they need a loving and fun environment to learn and grow, and I want to be there to provide that with God’s help and with the help of the volunteers who faithfully come every week to help.
I’m about to pack up and head to work (public transportation has been a really cool discovery over the past few months, and I’ll be reading LA Times articles while I ride the train into downtown today, SO cool and more enjoyable than driving on the freeway, although my roommate and I have a good time listening to music when we do have to drive). The freeway can be dehumanizing, though, because you don’t have to deal with people and you can get mad at them for being selfish and not have to deal with them. The bus and the train are much more people-friendly. Sorry, this is a tangent ☺
I love you and miss you, each of you, and I’m trying to be better at picking up the phone and call when I miss you, so feel free to do so as well ☺. I have 5000 nights and weekends minutes, which starts at 7 PM Pacific Standard Time weekdays. Let this inform your decision! Until next time (which will hopefully be in a few weeks),
Justin (626-807-0334)
PS Sorry, there are no pictures this time :( I would take some new ones, but my camera recently was damaged. Not sure when it will be fixed, but that's the situation.
This is Justin, still alive and well in sunny/smoggy Los Angeles CA. I haven’t written in a long while, and it feels like so much has happened and I’ve learned some important things since last I updated ☺ How to start, what to share? I’m not sure, but I have a few thoughts and I’ll start with those.
Imagination. This word has been sticking in my mind a lot over the past few weeks. How we imagine the world to be guides how we live, what we say, how we see, how we listen. Everyone has an imagination, and every community or body of people is guided by a certain way of seeing the world around them and themselves in it. I’ve been challenged by people who have such beautiful imaginations, many of whom are close to me and I talk to daily/weekly, to let my heart and mind be changed to see the world more as it is, as being a world in which God is moving and loving, and this gives me hope and makes me very nervous or uncomfortable much of the time. I see how different my imagination is from the imagination of the people I look up to, especially my Lord Jesus, and I see how much potential there is for my imagination to change, to be more like the good people’s way of seeing things.
Listening. I’ve heard of a psychologist who said that she would be struggling to find work if humans, in general, would be good listeners to one another. I’ve heard close friends talk about the church’s ministry of listening to others, and how we’ve lost it, and I’ve seen how I change for the better when I stop and listen to the community I find myself in, it’s pain and joy and questions and claimed answers. And most of all, when I listen to God and stop assuming I know what He’s thinking, I hear His love and that changes me to be a better lover of the people in my life. I’ve gone through periods lately where I’ve been such a bad listener, where I’ve given up trying to understand other people and just run and hide because I don’t want to deal with the thoughts inside of me that I don’t like, my crooked imagination of who I am, and I’ve found it such a struggle to quiet my thoughts and just be a good listener again, to the people in my life and to God most of all. It is so worth it, but it can be very hard to do. I am a worrier, and a worried mind doesn’t listen to anything but the worries. So I’ve been trying to stop worrying, and listen to anything else or anyone else around me instead of my own worried thoughts, and this has been a good thing. I had a thought the other day that I can only know the love someone else has for me if they express it, and this means that I can only know God’s love if He expresses it to me, and if I in return listen to the expression. This brings up questions like, “Well, God, how do you express your love to me? Because I can’t know it if you don’t sing it or show it or speak it to me.” This question has answers, I know, and I’m doing my best to not jump to conclusions but just keep listening, especially to Scripture and the people in my life who love me and who are patient with me when I can be so wrapped up in my own thoughts.
Work is going well, as far as I can tell at this point. The staff at SAY Yes! is amazing and they help me lighten up and laugh and look for what’s really important in life and in work. I really am starting to love them and appreciate their voice in my life. I am so happy about where I work and who I work with, and the kids are beautiful and full of life in the midst of a somewhat chaotic environment they find themselves in. Please pray for the families in our program, that the parents would get a break when they need it, and that the pain they go through would be shared and turned over to God for healing and comfort. Please pray that our staff would be open with each other and that God would help us see where our time and energy should be going. Please pray that I wouldn’t lose my creativity or energy in the classroom with the kids, because they need a loving and fun environment to learn and grow, and I want to be there to provide that with God’s help and with the help of the volunteers who faithfully come every week to help.
I’m about to pack up and head to work (public transportation has been a really cool discovery over the past few months, and I’ll be reading LA Times articles while I ride the train into downtown today, SO cool and more enjoyable than driving on the freeway, although my roommate and I have a good time listening to music when we do have to drive). The freeway can be dehumanizing, though, because you don’t have to deal with people and you can get mad at them for being selfish and not have to deal with them. The bus and the train are much more people-friendly. Sorry, this is a tangent ☺
I love you and miss you, each of you, and I’m trying to be better at picking up the phone and call when I miss you, so feel free to do so as well ☺. I have 5000 nights and weekends minutes, which starts at 7 PM Pacific Standard Time weekdays. Let this inform your decision! Until next time (which will hopefully be in a few weeks),
Justin (626-807-0334)
PS Sorry, there are no pictures this time :( I would take some new ones, but my camera recently was damaged. Not sure when it will be fixed, but that's the situation.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Hey everyone,
Two prayer requests:
One, that I would be able to love these kids and myself enough to not take some of the things they say and do personally. I love them and they love me, but they can hurt a person who loves them very easily, especially when that person expects the best out of them and believes in them and holds them to high standards, which they need and want but don't like in the moment they are being disciplined. Please pray that our staff would persevere in loving discipline for them, because we are called to love them in this way, and it can get so hard.
Two, that I would continue to make steps towards accepting God's love for me; this is something I have always struggled with, and with the emotional intensity of being apart of the SAY Yes! program and investing in these kids, I can get pretty down on myself. The Lord calls us to recieve His love and love ourselves in a way that honors Him and what He has done for us, the good news that Jesus spoke about, that "we are all bastards but God loves us anyways", and "how great the Father's love for us that we should be called children of God". Pray that I would believe truth and not lies, and that I would let that truth change how I treat myself and the people around me, especially the ones I hold dear.
Thank you for your prayers.
Justin
Two prayer requests:
One, that I would be able to love these kids and myself enough to not take some of the things they say and do personally. I love them and they love me, but they can hurt a person who loves them very easily, especially when that person expects the best out of them and believes in them and holds them to high standards, which they need and want but don't like in the moment they are being disciplined. Please pray that our staff would persevere in loving discipline for them, because we are called to love them in this way, and it can get so hard.
Two, that I would continue to make steps towards accepting God's love for me; this is something I have always struggled with, and with the emotional intensity of being apart of the SAY Yes! program and investing in these kids, I can get pretty down on myself. The Lord calls us to recieve His love and love ourselves in a way that honors Him and what He has done for us, the good news that Jesus spoke about, that "we are all bastards but God loves us anyways", and "how great the Father's love for us that we should be called children of God". Pray that I would believe truth and not lies, and that I would let that truth change how I treat myself and the people around me, especially the ones I hold dear.
Thank you for your prayers.
Justin
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
October 16, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this letter finds you well. I miss you all and I would love for you to update me on your lives. This letter/blog is my attempt to let you in on what the Lord has been doing in my life lately. I’ve learned that to love is to share yourself with the people you find yourself with. I seem to have found myself with all of you, even though distance prevents some of us from having face-to-face conversations, or the chance of living life more together. Please know that I wouldn’t be where I am or who I am today without the work of Christ in me through you.
Since the end of August I have been a staff member at S.A.Y. Yes! Center for Youth Development, an after school program that is one of the many ministries of Central City Community Outreach (lacentralcity.org), located on 6th and San Pedro in the city of angels, Los Angeles, CA. We are located central city east (an area which contains L.A.’s Skid Row, and is only several square blocks larger itself). There are approximately 20,000 people living in central city east, many of whom live in SRO (Single Room Occupancy) hotels, rescue missions, and on the sidewalks of Skid Row. S.A.Y. Yes! exists to serve the children of families living in Skid Row, by providing them with a holistic after-school program and family ministry. We have 6 full time staff and 30 children (10-15 families) in our program, which runs from 3-6 PM on Monday-Thursday. It is a truly amazing place to work, and I am humbled to be in a position to learn from the servants of Christ who make up the S.A.Y. Yes! staff, the weekly volunteers who come from local colleges to serve and tutor the children, as well as the larger body of Christians who make up Central City Community Outreach. I don’t think I could have a better job than the one I have right now.
Speaking of my job, I am officially the K-1st “teacher”, and this means that, for one hour a day, 7 children are under my care as I equip our volunteers to tutor them as they do their homework, learn to read, acquire basic math skills, and simply have fun as we play games, sing songs and read stories together (usually Dr. Seuss). Our class is called "The Little Angeles", hence the name of this blog :). I have a classroom with 3 beautiful murals on the walls (see pictures below) of a caterpillar, a tree with a cocoon, and a butterfly. We have books, phonics cards and games, board games, lots of alphabet and number learning tools, desks, chairs, two computers with educational and fun software, cool blocks to play with, etc. It’s a great room, to say the least. If all goes well, on a typical day the children will have done their homework with the help of a volunteer tutor, have practiced their alphabet and number skills in any area they are lacking, will have read with a volunteer for 5-15 minutes, and sometimes they will have the opportunity to play educational games on the computers (this helps them both with their reading and math skills, but also in gaining computer skills which have become so necessary in our culture).
Daily, we teach the kids and hold them to our “Community Standards”, which are Respect, Safety, Commitment, Accountability, and Rewards. We expect the best out of them, and will not settle for anything less. Loving discipline is sadly a rarity in the lives of many of these children, and a vital part of our ministry to them is to set clear boundaries for them, have high expectations for what they can accomplish and who they can become, and hold them to the consequences of their actions when they deliberately break one of the Community Standards. As I learn and grow in this new position, I am realizing that the children want and need these boundaries, but in the moment when they break a rule and are punished (time-outs or loss of rewards and priveleges), they really do not like to be disciplined. In the long run, however, they love us for it and know that we love them and will not let them break their commitment to our program’s standards because we believe in them and expect the best from them. This brings them hope and teaches us to see them as God sees them, as His children who have so much potential for great things and so much love for Him and for others.
The stories of many of these families are very broken and full of events no one should ever have to experience. It is often said of the homeless (in settings usually lacking the actual presence of a homeless man or woman or child) that they are on the streets because they have chosen to be there, and that if they truly desired to change and make things better for themselves, they could. I am not ashamed to say that there are many factors that go into a person (or a family) ending up on the streets of downtown Los Angeles, or the streets of America in general. Abandonment, debt, tragedy, lack of a support structure or social network, despair, abuse, fear, anger, deception, addiction, generational poverty, lack of education, lack of healthy community or positive role models, and many other things contribute to the stories of the families we serve at S.A.Y. Yes! Of course, many on Skid Row have made very poor decisions and are living there because of their own choices. However, a bad choice is a forgivable one, and for the children and families of Skid Row who need help as they struggle to survive and make the changes necessary for healthy and stable living, we are there to help and see them through the process in any way we can.
Love at S.A.Y. Yes! looks like helping a 1st grader practice his phonics cards, or a 5th grader learn about the history of California. It looks like loving a child enough to send them to time-out when they are disrespectful to an adult, or teaching them how they can serve and honor their parents. It looks like watching the toddlers and infants of a family when their mom needs to run errands with another staff member because she doesn’t have a car and has to jump through hoops of paperwork to find a place for her family to stay that night. It looks like holding the kids in your arms and spinning them around until you feel sick and they can’t laugh anymore. For me, it looks like going to work everyday trusting that the Lord has so much that He wants to do in the lives of these children and their families, that He wants to bring His justice and compassion to them, and that He has chosen His people to be His hands and feet and voice to a suffering, imperfect, undeserving population, a population just like you and just like me.
Please keep me in your prayers as I learn what the gospel of Jesus looks like and smells like and sounds like to the community of S.A.Y. Yes! and Central City Community Outreach. In addition to working at the after-school program, starting this week I will be volunteering on Wednesday mornings at the children's school, 9th Street Elementary. I know that I will learn so much from this position on staff at S.A.Y. Yes!, and I want to be faithful to share my experiences with all of you. If you are in the L.A. area and would like to come down and volunteer for an afternoon or a year, please contact me and we can talk ☺. Know that I miss you and love you, and I hope that wherever you are, you are experiencing the love and joy of Christ in the community of those called to be His people, His body in the world that is right across the street.
Yours,
Justin Little
The caterpillar, cocoon and butterfly on the walls of my classroom...
Meg, Sarah (two volunteers from BIOLA University) and I working to get the class ready for the kids (Sep. 1)
The finished product...
Carol, a volunteer from Azusa Pacific University, working with one of my students on the letter "Ii"
Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this letter finds you well. I miss you all and I would love for you to update me on your lives. This letter/blog is my attempt to let you in on what the Lord has been doing in my life lately. I’ve learned that to love is to share yourself with the people you find yourself with. I seem to have found myself with all of you, even though distance prevents some of us from having face-to-face conversations, or the chance of living life more together. Please know that I wouldn’t be where I am or who I am today without the work of Christ in me through you.
Since the end of August I have been a staff member at S.A.Y. Yes! Center for Youth Development, an after school program that is one of the many ministries of Central City Community Outreach (lacentralcity.org), located on 6th and San Pedro in the city of angels, Los Angeles, CA. We are located central city east (an area which contains L.A.’s Skid Row, and is only several square blocks larger itself). There are approximately 20,000 people living in central city east, many of whom live in SRO (Single Room Occupancy) hotels, rescue missions, and on the sidewalks of Skid Row. S.A.Y. Yes! exists to serve the children of families living in Skid Row, by providing them with a holistic after-school program and family ministry. We have 6 full time staff and 30 children (10-15 families) in our program, which runs from 3-6 PM on Monday-Thursday. It is a truly amazing place to work, and I am humbled to be in a position to learn from the servants of Christ who make up the S.A.Y. Yes! staff, the weekly volunteers who come from local colleges to serve and tutor the children, as well as the larger body of Christians who make up Central City Community Outreach. I don’t think I could have a better job than the one I have right now.
Speaking of my job, I am officially the K-1st “teacher”, and this means that, for one hour a day, 7 children are under my care as I equip our volunteers to tutor them as they do their homework, learn to read, acquire basic math skills, and simply have fun as we play games, sing songs and read stories together (usually Dr. Seuss). Our class is called "The Little Angeles", hence the name of this blog :). I have a classroom with 3 beautiful murals on the walls (see pictures below) of a caterpillar, a tree with a cocoon, and a butterfly. We have books, phonics cards and games, board games, lots of alphabet and number learning tools, desks, chairs, two computers with educational and fun software, cool blocks to play with, etc. It’s a great room, to say the least. If all goes well, on a typical day the children will have done their homework with the help of a volunteer tutor, have practiced their alphabet and number skills in any area they are lacking, will have read with a volunteer for 5-15 minutes, and sometimes they will have the opportunity to play educational games on the computers (this helps them both with their reading and math skills, but also in gaining computer skills which have become so necessary in our culture).
Daily, we teach the kids and hold them to our “Community Standards”, which are Respect, Safety, Commitment, Accountability, and Rewards. We expect the best out of them, and will not settle for anything less. Loving discipline is sadly a rarity in the lives of many of these children, and a vital part of our ministry to them is to set clear boundaries for them, have high expectations for what they can accomplish and who they can become, and hold them to the consequences of their actions when they deliberately break one of the Community Standards. As I learn and grow in this new position, I am realizing that the children want and need these boundaries, but in the moment when they break a rule and are punished (time-outs or loss of rewards and priveleges), they really do not like to be disciplined. In the long run, however, they love us for it and know that we love them and will not let them break their commitment to our program’s standards because we believe in them and expect the best from them. This brings them hope and teaches us to see them as God sees them, as His children who have so much potential for great things and so much love for Him and for others.
The stories of many of these families are very broken and full of events no one should ever have to experience. It is often said of the homeless (in settings usually lacking the actual presence of a homeless man or woman or child) that they are on the streets because they have chosen to be there, and that if they truly desired to change and make things better for themselves, they could. I am not ashamed to say that there are many factors that go into a person (or a family) ending up on the streets of downtown Los Angeles, or the streets of America in general. Abandonment, debt, tragedy, lack of a support structure or social network, despair, abuse, fear, anger, deception, addiction, generational poverty, lack of education, lack of healthy community or positive role models, and many other things contribute to the stories of the families we serve at S.A.Y. Yes! Of course, many on Skid Row have made very poor decisions and are living there because of their own choices. However, a bad choice is a forgivable one, and for the children and families of Skid Row who need help as they struggle to survive and make the changes necessary for healthy and stable living, we are there to help and see them through the process in any way we can.
Love at S.A.Y. Yes! looks like helping a 1st grader practice his phonics cards, or a 5th grader learn about the history of California. It looks like loving a child enough to send them to time-out when they are disrespectful to an adult, or teaching them how they can serve and honor their parents. It looks like watching the toddlers and infants of a family when their mom needs to run errands with another staff member because she doesn’t have a car and has to jump through hoops of paperwork to find a place for her family to stay that night. It looks like holding the kids in your arms and spinning them around until you feel sick and they can’t laugh anymore. For me, it looks like going to work everyday trusting that the Lord has so much that He wants to do in the lives of these children and their families, that He wants to bring His justice and compassion to them, and that He has chosen His people to be His hands and feet and voice to a suffering, imperfect, undeserving population, a population just like you and just like me.
Please keep me in your prayers as I learn what the gospel of Jesus looks like and smells like and sounds like to the community of S.A.Y. Yes! and Central City Community Outreach. In addition to working at the after-school program, starting this week I will be volunteering on Wednesday mornings at the children's school, 9th Street Elementary. I know that I will learn so much from this position on staff at S.A.Y. Yes!, and I want to be faithful to share my experiences with all of you. If you are in the L.A. area and would like to come down and volunteer for an afternoon or a year, please contact me and we can talk ☺. Know that I miss you and love you, and I hope that wherever you are, you are experiencing the love and joy of Christ in the community of those called to be His people, His body in the world that is right across the street.
Yours,
Justin Little
The caterpillar, cocoon and butterfly on the walls of my classroom...
Meg, Sarah (two volunteers from BIOLA University) and I working to get the class ready for the kids (Sep. 1)
The finished product...
Carol, a volunteer from Azusa Pacific University, working with one of my students on the letter "Ii"
