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"
