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
