Friday, December 4, 2009

WENCESLAS




Dignify those who are down on their luck; you'll feel good—that's what God does. God looks after us all, makes us robust with life— Lucky to be in the land, we're free from enemy worries. Whenever we're sick and in bed, God becomes our nurse, nurses us back to health. - Psalm 41:1-3, The Message



My all-time favorite musician, Tori Amos, recently put out a holiday album. The daughter of a Methodist minister, she is well-known for challenging the church (and yet, I find she sings about Jesus more than many Christian artists). But shouldn't we all be challenging the church, in other words, ourselves, to follow the path Jesus has laid out for us? It is, indeed, a narrow path.

On Amos' album, she includes the song "Good King Wenceslas." Her version caused me to actually pause and listen to what the song is about, though I've heard it many times throughout the Christmases of my past. The story of a king who notices a poor man and decides to not only deliver him a feast, but actually spend time dining with him. It is brutally cold and the king's page fears the weather, but Wenceslas assures him that if he follows in the king's footsteps, the winter's rage will not be harmful:

"In his master's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.
Therefore [Christians] be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now shall bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing."

Heat was in the very sod, how lovely. The warmth of God's spirit and grace. That if we set out on the task of blessing others, God will care for our needs. But we have to remember what Psalm 41 says, God makes us "robust in life." It's not to say that if we pour money onto others, God necessarily pours money back into our bank accounts. You "shall yourselves find blessings"..... and that just might mean finding newfound joy right within your very heart. A new fervour for this walk, a new light along this narrow path.

Mark Horvath, a member of the DOOR Hollywood Board and founder of Invisible People, has recently returned from a nationwide journey to bring stories of homeless folks to the light of day. Click the photo for the full CNN report:
Mark recently challenged me to make December about reaching out to the homeless, and so I, in turn, challenge all of you who are reading this. To learn about this rally for homelessness and what you can do in LA and your own towns and cities, click here: http://hardlynormal.com/blog/2009/12/13/tis-the-season-to-get-dirty-and-help-fight-homelessness-12for12k/


We pray, constantly, that seeing the face of God in Hollywood is, indeed, all about spreading God's blessing to all people through reaching out, building relationships, volunteering, and sharing our stories. If you would like to come to Hollywood and serve for a week, please explore our Discover program. If you'd like to come serve in Hollywood for a year as part of an intentional community, check out our Dwell program.

Either way, please explore the ways you have been blessed this year and always look for ways to share that light with others.

In Christ's Joy and Peace,
Matthew


Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Jesus Set Me Free!



Wendy and Kenna freely exploring during Curtis' Community Day in Laguna Beach.


Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! - Galatians 5:1, The Message


Last week I was driving along the historic Arroyo Seco Parkway on my way to Pasadena to visit Curtis at his worksite. Otherwise known as The 110, it's probably one of the most dangerous highways in America with all of its sharp turns and curves through the mountains between exits and entrance ramps that are smaller than most driveways. Carefully winding my way north, my eyes fell upon the side of a small house with the following painted as big as a billboard:


JESUS SET ME FREE


Immediately, I began pondering whether the sentence was a joyful proclamation or a desperate plea. And then, I realized, it's probably both.


For those of us who believe in Christ as our savior, we can probably reckon back to a moment, or series of moments, where we felt the burden on our souls significantly lifted by the love of Jesus. But the story continues, and I for one can admit that even though that has occurred in my life, I constantly feel the need to ask for a renewed sense of freedom. Especially as the burdens of life begin to build up again, like sediment collecting and stopping up a river every now and again.


Jesus, please, set us free.


The interesting balance I find, is that often the moment we ask Jesus to do this, we find that it's already done. As we step towards thanksgiving, or really, just the reminder that if we haven't been thankful in awhile, now is as good a time as any to begin, I hope we can find ways to celebrate the Freedom of Christ with grace and gratitude.


Many blessings, and thanks for reading!

"Aqua Man" celebrating new freedom in a bigger home.


Will celebrating his love of futbol with many of the kids from the Bible Study.



You're free to join us for Thanksgiving along with the rest of the neighborhood! We've been making pies since Monday!


Friday, November 13, 2009

Holding to Hope, Thoughts from Will

HELP US RAISE $2010 by 2010 on FACEBOOK (click here)


“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
-Hebrews 10:23-25



In the mornings I work with the finance department at the Alegria transitional homeless shelter (right outside of downtown LA), finding ways to save on purchasing and free up more money for their struggling budget. In the afternoons, I have been tutoring many kids that are behind in school, both at work at Alegria House and in the neighborhood. There are a total of around 10 neighborhood kids and 20 kids at the transitional shelter’s after school program. To get an idea of how many schools struggle out here, one high school in the community has a 30% graduation rate. It has been humbling to serve the kids and to love on them as Christ would, especially since many of them come from broken families or have a parent that has HIV/AIDS. A high majority of these kids don’t realize the extent of the hardship in the life ahead of them. However, being able to tutor and also give them a glimpse of the love of Christ through encouragement and playing with them has been a privilege for me. I am starting to see how tutoring and positive role models are crucial in the complexity of escaping poverty and finding hope for their future.


Aside from my placement at the homeless shelter, we also have a neighborhood ministry in urban Hollywood. During the second week a couple of Hispanic teens in the neighborhood, who were new in their faith, came to our house asking to start a Bible study. It started small and grew to 35 kids last week, where they are coming either to search out God or continue to grow in their faith. Two teenage boys shared testimonies that were very powerful. Both were once involved in gangs, alcoholism and drugs, and were nearly killed. One went to jail four times. But God has radically transformed their lives as they now are active in their church and reaching out to their friends that have the same struggles they had. There are no explanations except God’s gracious working. I joined a soccer team with most of the guys, which has been great opportunity for mentorship and getting them off the streets into a positive environment. Please pray for these kids in their growth, that they flourish in good soil, instead of falling back into the rocky paths or thorns of the inner city. (Matt 13:1-23)


If you would like to learn more about how to serve in our Dwell program, please click here.


Thursday, November 5, 2009

2 1/2 Hours, By Curtis



"Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything!" - Psalm 46:10, The Message


4 days a week I spend a total of 2 1/2 hours a day riding on the bus. The 780 Metro Rapid is the exact one, Hollywood and Vine to Colorado and Los Robles. You would think that riding on the bus that long would get really old and boring, but it has been a time that I almost catch myself looking forward to. I ride my bike up the street a little over a mile and begin to wait for the bus. I have waited on buses anywhere from 2 seconds to an hour, but usually around 10 minutes. I put my bike on the front of the bus, tap my TAP card (prepaid card each month) on the machine, and head to find a seat. I usually head to the back and hope for a corner seat in the back row because that gives me a little more leg room and a window to lean on, but sometimes I just have to sit where I can find a spot. Friday afternoons are the most crowded on my way home from work for whatever reason, it's usually standing room only, but most of the time there are several seats available at my stop. Most days I have my headphones in listening to either some soft Christian music or some country songs to make me feel at home. I choose that music because I try to read and listen at the same time. I typically read a chapter or so and then try to spend some time in prayer and just being silent in the midst of the busy traffic. I have found this time to be exactly what I was missing in my relationship with God over the last four years. I didn't take very much time in college to really just be still and quiet with God.


If you'd like to learn more about Dwell, a year of intentional Christian community, service, and simple living, please click here.





Saturday, October 31, 2009

God Gives, God Takes

"God gives. God takes. God's name be ever blessed. "- Job 1:21, The Message


This week, I saw the face of God in Alex, Wendy, Kenna, Will, and Curtis. I am so humbled by their patience and grace in the midst of a week of losses, and it got me contemplating Job. Late last week, the house internet went down and repairing it was going to take about a week. A few days later after a wickedly brutal windstorm that downed and uprooted many trees throughout LA, the house's water heater died completely, rendering the water supply cold directly during the first briskly "fall" days of their year together. On my personal home front, last week would usher in a new phase for our newborn: frequent fussiness. Goodbye to sleep, my wife and I quietly lamented.


And yet, there was a posture of positivity, and that touched me deeply. Will recognized that life without the internet for a week may have been a blessing, as he noted that he might be spending too much time on it. Curtis called me, even laughing, that in his attempt to take a warm shower during the several days without, he traveled uptown to his gym, only to find that THEIR water heater was broken as well! (Others seemed fine with "roughing it" or thickening their souls with cold showers :) And how good is God: Kenna called me to say that our new friend Jose, who is helping to lead an exciting Bible study at the community house for the neighborhood teenagers, offered to install a new water heater, free of charge. Made me begin to think the reverse of the verse: "God taketh away, and God indeed giveth..."


But I truly feel that, if we focus on blessing God's name as the verse commands, we can learn to see that even God's "taking" involves "giving." At the very moment something is removed from our lives, new blessings come pouring in. The internet's absence caused progress in face to face communication. The broken water heater provided us the blessing of a stronger friendship with Jose and his partner Alfonso. And, even though my wife and I are struggling with more significant sleep deprivation, we both realized that our teamwork is growing stronger and we are beginning to talk to each other like we used to, back before our baby was born.


So, indeed, may God's name be forever blessed, and thankful am I that we get to encourage one another in abundances and shortages. God is forever great.


Amen,
Matthew

Friday, October 23, 2009

From Stephanie


This week's blog is excerpts from Stephanie's end of the year reflection letter. Stephanie was a Dweller for the 2008/2009 season.




Dear Friends and Family,

I hope that this letter finds you doing well and that you are getting back into the swing of things as, sadly, summer is officially over and fall has begun! As most of you know already, I have “finished ” my year of service in the Los Angeles area (specifically Hollywood and Pasadena) and have been living back in Arizona for a little over a month now. I apologize for the delay in getting this final letter to you. As you can probably imagine, I experienced, witnessed and grew a lot in this past year, and it has taken some time to process it all.


A lot has happened this past year, for all of us, so let me take a minute to give a quick recap of what I did while I was in Los Angeles. Last September, I moved to an urban part of Hollywood to live in an intentional Christian community with 3 other women. In addition to working with the families, especially the children, in the neighborhood, I worked 32 hours a week at a transitional house for homeless families in Pasadena. The name of the organization is Door of Hope and I was the director of the after school program for kids ages 3-13. I have been keeping you all updated throughout my year of service, however I would like to take this time to reflect with you now that the year has come to an end.


One question people have consistently been asking me since I have returned home is: “What did you learn during your year of service?” There really is not a simple answer to that question. I was working with such a diverse group of people and situations that the lessons I learned are just as diverse. Let me expand upon a few of the lessons.

Something God has taught me throughout this past year is the importance of being able to trust Him and opening my eyes to see how He is working in my life as well as in those around me. If I can trust God, I will see that He is always there for me and He will guide me through anything and everything.


At Door of Hope, I learned a lot about the ins and outs of the non-profit world, but I also learned more about the seriousness of homelessness in the United States, specifically in LA. I also discovered the generosity of people who are in need themselves and how families facing homelessness do their best to survive.


By living in my neighborhood, I met families who were struggling to make ends meet; yet somehow they still remained positive. I also learned of the heartbreaking realities that teenagers face on a daily basis that leave them hoping they will simply make it to their 18th birthday.


To continue with the diverse lessons that I learned, my roommates and I learned how to work as a team, start a community garden, live simply, and how to live together and support each other despite our very different personalities. We also got the incredible opportunity to learn in depth the problem with immigration laws and actually got to know some families directly affected by them.


Along with the many lessons that are permanently ingrained in my memory, there were also many people I was fortunate enough to meet and know on a more personal level, including my roommates, co-workers, city director, board members, and neighbors. There were also a lot of great families at Door of Hope, but there was one family in particular that I had a special bond with. The family consisted of a single mom and her daughter. The little girl was a part of my after-school program even though she was just under 3 years old. For no particular reason, she was behind developmentally, especially when it came to speech. Even though she was the youngest kid, she was the most helpful and has such a kind spirit. When I would drop my papers or the spoons for snack time, she would be the first to hop out of her chair and come help me, without me even asking.


After having her in the program for a little over a month, her mom expressed, to me, her concern and frustration over her daughter’s slow speech development. I told her that I would see what I could do to help. For the next couple of months, after some research, her mother and I started working with the little girl on letters and pronunciations. Her speech started improving slowly but surely. In October, you could only understand her say hello and goodbye and maybe catch a few other words here and there, but come February she was able to speak more clearly and express herself, instead of simply screaming or yelling. Over the year, I started to form a special bond with this family. Every time I saw her, I couldn’t help but smile because she would jump and give me a huge hug and yell, “ Hi, Stephanie!”


A week before I finished at Door of Hope, I received some wonderful news that they had found affordable permanent housing, meaning they would be graduating from the Door of Hope program in just a couple of weeks. After gradually building this personal bond with their family, this was a perfect way to end my year, by seeing the two of them graduate from our program. What a blessing! God truly showed me His love through this incredible family.


I will close with this, as I was packing up and cleaning my desk at Door of Hope, one of my co-workers asked me, “So Stephanie, how do you feel as you are about to exit your life of service and mission?” This question shocked me, as I had not thought of my year of service ending as an exit from the mission field. This got me thinking, “Does one really leave a life of service and mission?” I came to the conclusion that no, we do not leave. I strongly believe that God has called each of us to serve Him by serving the people around us each and every day of our lives. This does not mean we all have to stop what we are doing and move to serve long term, in a location in need. I believe living a life of service can be lived out by simply holding the door open for someone to doing a random act of kindness for a complete stranger to serving at a local soup kitchen. This is my challenge to you: think of how you can serve God by serving others in your day–to-day life.


Much love,

Stephanie

Friday, October 16, 2009

Everything as it Should Be....


"But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! We're waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him." - Philippians 3:20-21, The Message


Last weekend, the Dwellers and I, (Alex, Will, Matthew, Curtis, Kenna, and Wendy above, (click on colored names for personal blogs)) joined Hollywood Presbyterian Church's annual All-Church camp at Forest Home in the San Bernardino Mountains. It would just so happen that the theme of the sermon series was "Transformation!" How topical it was for all of us: the Dwellers, a month into their year of service and community in the dense urban landscape of Hollywood, and me, a brand new father. The speaker brilliantly wove together Scriptural nods to how following Christ provides and requires transformation with moments from the Wizard of Oz, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Little Mermaid, The Velveteen Rabbit, and other well known tales. He was juxtaposing the Hollywood notion of "happily ever after," with the Biblical promise of paradise, or "everything as it should be."


For me, Forest Home has always served as a touchstone in my faith. It was there I first began to argue my complications with Christianity, and there I learned that while following Christ can be hard and painful at times, there is room for fun and celebration. What a blessing it was, then, for me to just observe these 5 newly arrived missionaries undergo a piece of transformation during the weekend. As we concluded our testimonial sharing, God came shining through in surprising and powerful ways, completely catching us all off guard. But isn't that what we always long for? Isn't that, in part, what we hope 'happily ever after' is all about? Isn't that a piece of heaven on earth, that when the road is rocky or the climb is steep, that God provides us the strength and the courage to keep going, to press on towards the place he calls us back to? And, wow, the joy that can be felt in the climb once you feel God cheering you on:




Now I know that whenever I try to make everything "as it should be," it fails miserably. (Case in point: attempting to develop a schedule for our 3-week old daughter! Ha! She has literally thrown up and wailed through every moment we think we've got her all figured out. Oh well, :) ) But when I step out of the way and trust that this Transformation business is God's and God's alone, and all I have to do, all anyone has to do, is yield to that and trust in the glory of the change, true miracles result. This weekend proved that: what once was lost was suddenly found; what once was confusing was suddenly clear; what once was frightening was suddenly relief; what once was tension was sliding into grace and laughter. Amen.

God is so good. And as we stood around that campfire on the final night, I was washed again in the feeling I found years ago: that there is indeed far more to life for us, and there is so much warmth and glow and encouragement in that realization.



Many blessings and prayers for your own campfires and for good friends to link arms with and revel in God's love,

Matthew

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Opening....


"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." - Matthew 7:7 NIV

Doors and eyes are opening here at DOOR Hollywood. Here are windows into the blogs of Curtis and Alex. Click on the text to read the full blog!


"Although it has an important biological function, fear can sometimes be a bad thing. In the Bible, God is frequently telling folks to relax and "be not afraid." Fear can make us act violently and hatefully. Fear is probably the number one reason why most of us don't really pay too much attention when Jesus tells us to "love our enemies." Fear is why a lot of kids join gangs. Fear is why we build walls between us and them, and also why we steer clear of certain "wrong" sides of town.

The reason I would refer to South Central as the "wrong" side of town for guys like me and Curtis has a little to do with race and a lot to do with money and power. I've said it before (almost exactly a year ago, as a matter of fact) and I'll say it again: if you don't have money or power, you have very little reason to be afraid in the inner city. Not coincidentally, that's what this year of dwelling in the inner city is about. Freeing ourselves from enslavement to worldly money and power. Coming face to face with people that are different than us and that sometimes scare us....." -From Alex's blog about an experience after a USC football game (shown above.)

Blessings and peace to you all!

Matthew




Friday, September 11, 2009

Strength Will Rise


Will, Kenna, Curtis, Wendy, & Alex


"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord. Our God, you reign forever, our Hope, our Strong Deliverer." -Lyric from Everlasting God, by Brenton Brown


This week was orientation for Wendy, Will, Kenna, Alex, and Curtis (you can click on their names for their personal blogs), our incredible new Hollywood Dwellers. I'm already so blessed and thankful for the amount of courage, in the face of the unknown, these five have shown. Who are these new roommates of mine? What are they going to be like? What will our commute look like each day as bus riders, subway takers, or pedestrians? How will we fit into our new work placements? Will the neighborhood accept us? And who is this Matthew character?


The song lyric above has been playing in my head all week as a sort of anchor. Not only with the Dwellers, but in my own personal life. As I type this, my wife is in an extended early labor with our first child. Our caregivers have instructed us to go about our day and not to worry about it too much. So here I sit and reflect, trying not to think about it, and trying my best to remember to hinge my mounting anxieties upon our God. So much unknown here too: how will we know when it's REALLY time to go? What will she look like? How will we feel if she's born today, on September 11th? But God is our Hope. Our strong Deliverer. Amen. And again I say, amen (I have to keep going there, like, every 5 minutes!)


It was after some great meals, some intense conversations about the birth of a new intentional community, after serving a day at Project Angel Food together and seeing a taping of E!'s The Soup, that these five Dwellers reminded me about our loving and strong Lord before I rushed home to be with my wife. We gathered in prayer, and I felt a divine patience and strength well up inside me as this newborn community prayed for my family. My prayer for them is that they find that same strength in waiting and watching for the Lord together both today, and for the exciting days ahead.


If you'd like to learn more about how to get involved, click on any photo below. We all ask for your prayers and encouragement, especially to remember to stay on this path of patience and trusting in God!



In Christ,

Matthew


With Joel McHale at a taping of E!'s The Soup.



Will and Curtis disguised as lunch ladies at Project Angel Food.



Kenna and Alex get started on helping to make 1600 meals in a morning.



"With all of our strengths combined, we will rule 5846 Gregory!"



on her way.....

Friday, September 4, 2009

Putting Things Right

"God's business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, setting us straight. Once we're standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye." -Psalm 11:7, The Message

A new Dwell year has begun! Curtis, Alex, and Wendy arrived on Monday and have already been meeting and hanging out with the neighborhood children, re-discovering the painful truth that okra is not edible once it reaches a certain growth, and giving the basketball hoop a good workout! This house is meant to be alive and lively, and everything is feeling "right" again, setting us straight on the path of witnessing God in new and exciting ways here in Hollywood.

Kenna and Will are on their way this weekend.....please keep this entire new group in your thoughts and prayers as they come together from Kansas, Mississippi, Georgia, Arizona, and Ohio!

Blessings!
Matthew

Click on the photos to learn more:





Thursday, August 6, 2009

Jesus was (and still is) here!

"When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." - Matthew 18:19-20 (The Message)

This week, three separate factions came together to serve and worship here in Hollywood. A lively Methodist group from Las Vegas, a mellow Presbyterian group from Alameda, CA, and one courageous young woman from Germany. And, indeed, this verse proved to be powerfully true! The week wasn't without conflict and uncomfortability, but God was very present as we worked through all the lessons and challenges of the week.








For more photos from the week, as well as the entire summer, please click here.

This is also a sad week in many ways as it is our last Discover group for the summer, and next week we will begin to say goodbye to our Dwellers: Alison, Mary, Sara, and Stephanie. It is emotional and difficult as it's been such an amazing year.....

But one thing I know, and this verse promises, that when we are gathered together, in person or in prayer, we can trust God will be there in the connection. So I know that God can shine through in a blog, and that God can shine through a long distance phone call, or a letter, or an email. We can still come together in the name of our Lord, even as changes are upon us.

I will be taking some time off from writing this blog for a few weeks and will be back up again in September.

May God bless you and be found where you come together, where you connect in prayer, where you're at right now....

Amen


Friday, July 31, 2009

Us Christians


No scripture today, just a sidewalk chalk statement that has been buzzing in my head all week. Saw it while walking between the church and La Casa de la Comunidad. Course, it's a little off to a Christian, as we believe Jesus is still very much alive, but what about what it implies? What are we doing repeatedly wrong that would compel this individual to grab a piece of chalk, find a good enough spot of sidewalk, and proclaim this criticism to us all?

My gut tells me: pain.

So, what do we do with this, us Christians?

I marvel in the idea, here, that Jesus still prevails as the positive within this statement. It's His followers that are mucking it all up. If we're supposed to be spreading light and love, where is it turning sour? Where is it turning from that which uplifts, to that which downcasts?

And then it struck me, perhaps worrying about this question is where I'm going wrong. Because my initial response is to walk away from the sidewalk and start, I don't know, apologizing, asking folks what they think of Christians, and other in-your-face, forceful measures. Perhaps it wouldn't be detrimental, but it could be quite annoying.

But didn't Jesus command us to go build relationships, real relationships with others? Isn't that what is at the heart of all of Paul's letters? Now, I don't know about you, but real relationships for me don't occur when someone comes up to me and says, "hey, I've got something you need, you really ought to listen to me, you really need what I've got here." That sounds like a business convention, and who finds lasting friendships there?

Real relationships take time, take trust, and take commitment. Real relationships occur over a barbecue, over hitting a pinata together with kids in the neighborhood, over reaching out to someone when they've suffered a loss and letting them reach out to you when you have, over listening, listening, and listening. Maybe we needn't worry about if we convert people to Christianity, because isn't that an agreement between them and Jesus anyway?

A light bulb doesn't have to explain to me that when it's on, things get brighter and warmer. I just see it. I just feel it. I don't need commercials explaining that light bulbs are a helpful and good idea on many levels. So maybe I ought to just turn my light on, let the brightness and warmth out, and let it be seen and felt.

Maybe I ought to stop typing now and just listen, look, and love.

Matthew




Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Grace and Humility

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Galatians 5:22, NIV


With some students coming all the way from Spokane, WA, and some coming from all corners of the country through the Timothy Project, there was certainly a potential for great revelation and possibly great conflict, especially with so many kids and leaders who didn't know one another until this week. On top of this, it seemed, amongst our DOOR staff anyway, that so many little things kept getting in the way, going wrong, or annoying us: the mosquitos on the first night (who's ever seen so many mosquitos in arid California?!), the forgetting to pick up certain groceries, the several times I myself wanted to stick my foot in my mouth for saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. And yet, we were still blessed with so much FRUIT! It must have been prayer, it must have been God. I am humbled again by the power of God's grace, and am so thankful that you all helped us experience that in a fresh new way. Amen!


LOVE came forth with all the generosity from the homeless and all the compassionate work you all poured into this city and its people.
JOY abounded at the relief of being well-fed, worshipping on the beach, and seeing things never seen before.
SUFFERING indeed occurred in moments of hunger, being chased away by raccoons, being made uncomfortable, having our hearts broken by the hardships others are going through.
So much KINDNESS all around us, so many givers and caretakers.
The GOODNESS of those who have "nothing" but still want to help is astounding.
The FAITHFULNESS of all these leaders to their groups, even in difficult times like when SUVs completely break down.
The GENTLENESS all of you had when listening to people share their life stories, digging very deep and personal, and being heard by you all with open hearts and open minds.
And the SELF-CONTROL exhibited in following rules for fun and safety, and in the sacrifices you all made to be here in Hollywood and make this corner of the globe shine a little brighter.

So much gratitude and blessing back upon you all as you go on your way. Please click on any photo here to be taken to our Facebook Discover Hollywood page, and for more updates on the homeless, please visit Invisible People.










Amen and may God be with you on your way back home!
Matthew

Thursday, July 9, 2009

As Told by Alison

For the blog this week, I am simply posting Alison's (center in the photo below) latest update, as it shares, in many ways, a very well-rounded perspective of what it means to be serving in Hollywood this year. Blessings to you all!

Dear Friends and Family,


I deeply hope that this finds you all in good health and full of joy. We have been diligently working on many things here in Los Angeles since the last time I wrote all of you. In the past few months our community has experienced much excitement and some great sadness as well. Our tutoring program swelled with a record number of children at the end of the school year. Beyond school work, basketball, soccer, water games on hot Saturday afternoons, and movie nights have been great hits. The number of community programs in the past few months have kept my roommates and I constantly on the go, and at times near exhaustion. However, we are experiencing much growth in these times of physical and spiritual exertion. We have seen a beautiful community garden come together in our front yard with the help of neighbors and countless volunteers.

On Sunday afternoons it has been a blessing to step outside a space that was once only a front yard, brush the dirt off my hands, and greet a neighbor for the first time. While taking breaks from working in the garden we have developed many new relationships with neighbors who before had no reason to stop and chat. Now as they run errands or walk their dogs, we can converse about the size of the zucchinis or the growth of the pole beans across the once barren fence line. Lately people have been wandering over out of pure curiosity about what we are doing. For the first few weeks it must have looked like we were crazy ripping up all the grass in our front yard by hand. However, with lots of sweat, eager kids, volunteers, and a neighborhood dad who brought years of farming experience from Mexico we cleared all the grass out and thoroughly tilled the soil. This task took over two months and at times we all had doubts that it would ever be completed. Personally I felt quite a bit of anxiety about our project during this time, because with the removal of the grass we crossed a point of no return. I was afraid that we would never get all the grass completely out and that if we did we would never get anything planted in its place. Like with many things in life, we had to spend lots of time and energy on a task that was not our ultimate goal, but a necessary part of the process. This year I have learned what it is like to live in these moments as a community and not an individual. As an individual it is easy to succumb to worry and anxiety because you only see what is possible through your own eyes. However, as a community we are able to expand our vision to include the hopes and dreams of our neighbors. I have found this common vision to be filled with more beauty and grace than even the grandest dream of any single individual.

The garden came together marvelously through our collective efforts. A friend named Lawrence drew a beautiful design for our garden which divides the bed space into the shape of a stained glass window. A stranger in Long Beach named Roger donated a truckload of bricks, thanks to Craig’s List, and these became the pathways. In addition to donating citrus trees and lots of supplies, Lisa, our volunteer horticulturalist, gave hours of guidance on gardening in Southern California’s climate. Many people gave cash donations for starter plants and seeds. The first seeds were planted by eager little hands which only weeks before struggled to rip out the deep rooted grass.


As our neighbors became more confident that we would succeed they began to offer suggestions of what should be planted. Herbs, hot peppers, and tomatoes were near the top of most lists. I have a special affection for okra, so there are four okra plants right in the center of the garden. I like to think that this year the garden has a southern heart since the okra is in the middle. We enjoy generous encouragement about the work that has been completed so far, even from neighbors who were initially skeptical about our intentions in their community. People have this deep desire to be part of the growth. After my experience this year with our garden, I feel like I have a grater appreciation for the creation story found in Genesis. For people of many faith backgrounds life begins in the context of a garden. This year many beautiful relationships have grown out of our work in a place filled with plants. Anytime we set foot in the garden kids wander over to help, they love to play in the dirt, feel the earthworms wriggle, and imagine what the produce will look like in a weeks time.


I have been surprised by one thing, and that is the desire for flowers in the garden. In my mind we would plant as many vegetables as possible that would mean lots of produce and that would be success. Adults and children alike have been adamant that we include a variety of flowers in the mix, so sowed among the rows of vegetables are Dahlias, Zinnias, and Four O’ Clocks. Against our back fence line, we have planted a row of Sun flowers that will soon be taller than some of our youngest friends. Living in community constantly reminds me that we can find a balance in life where beauty is a synthesis of many ideas. The flowers that I overlooked and considered unnecessary will bring little creatures to spread pollen among our vegetable plants and neighbors who find vibrant colors more appealing that squash and string beans.


Another part of my life during the past few months here in Los Angeles was a four day service—learning retreat. My roommates and I really wanted to visit Mexico and serve in an orphanage, but many factors, specifically escalating violence across the border, caused us to consider staying in the LA area. After some deliberation we decided to redirect our attention domestically and found several incredible opportunities to serve and learn. Instead of heading south across the border into central America, my roommates, program director, and I spent a weekend with two families who came to the United States hoping for a better life. In addition to learning the stories of these two families, we served at Project Angel Food and 826LA.

Immigration is one of the hottest and most controversial issues in Los Angeles. I have come to understand this a little by observing the coverage of this topic in local media. Reading a book by a LA Times columnist Hector Tobar, “Translation Nation” also provided me the foundation to begin asking important questions. I look at immigration in a new way now that I have relationships with people who are directly affected; many of my neighbors, my homeless clients, and members of my church personally feel the effects of immigration law. While living is South Carolina and Georgia I seldom crossed the invisible wall and language barrier separating me from my Spanish speaking brothers and sisters. I enjoyed going out for Mexican food with my family in Walterboro and shopping at Tres Hermanos market in Atlanta, but I never worshiped with people from Central and South America. I never wondered why there were not Spanish speaking people living in my parents neighborhood, despite the fact that they care for many of the lawns and gardens up and down our street. I never sat down and shared common meals with people who did not speak my native language. I have read the stories of the Tower of Babel and Pentecost many times, but this year is the first time I have really heard God’s voice in any language but my own. I listen for what God is telling me through my Spanish speaking brothers and sisters and I know that my God is a God of all people. Until life in Los Angeles I never made an effort to cross lines of blatant segregation in my community and the Christian Church. In the South we are not strangers to segregation, people my parents’ age saw this practice in place. We have together abolished laws that separate Americans by color, but we have not moved beyond living in communities that are still divided by color, language, and income.


In our effort to learn more about immigration issues we spent a weekend with two women, Liliana and Yolanda, both of whom are living in Sanctuary. Liliana is a vibrant individual, the wife of an American and mother of three beautiful American children. For the past couple of years she has been living inside Los Angeles churches because our government has deemed her “illegal” and ordered her deportation. Before her deportation orders Liliana had been living and working in the United States for over fifteen years. She has built her life and a family on California soil and considers it her home. The circumstances surrounding Liliana’s entry into the United States are complex yet rather common. While there is a case against her based on present laws, it is difficult for anyone to overlook the fact that she has an American family and three children under the age of eight who need their mother. When we asked her why she came to the United States she explained that economic downfall and instability in Mexico made employment almost impossible; however, in the United States opportunities appeared to be endless. We asked her why she chooses to stay in the United States now even though our government, and many anti-immigration activists have told her she is not welcome. Like any mother she looked at each of her children taking inventory of their little smiles and bright eyes, she paused for a moment and with a certainty that I have often seen in my own mother and father replied, my family is why I want to stay in the United States they are the most important thing in my life.


My roommates and I decided not to leave this country for a weekend because we feared the chaos and instability in parts of Mexico. If I feel like a place is not safe for a four day retreat then who am I to send someone else there, especially if this person is needed by three little children who deserve the care and love of their mother. Our other new friend Yolanda has been living in the United States long enough to raise an American daughter who graduated from high school this year. She like Liliana built a life here, but a little over a year ago Yolanda was told that she is “illegal” and must leave the United States. She moved into a church in Los Angeles with her teenage daughter who will begin college in the fall. Until legal issues surrounding her immigration status have been sorted out Yolanda will continue to seek the protection that one Christian congregation in this city offers her. Yolanda, a single mother, is able to work at a school inside her church to support her family. Liliana and Yolanda never leave the church properties where they have been offered sanctuary, because doing so would put them at risk of arrest. Both women express that at moments isolation and loneliness overwhelm them. They do not dwell in despair because they feel blessed by the church communities who have taken a risk and offered a way to keep their families intact. I am not sure of my exact stance on immigration issues because of my experiences, but the love and compassion two churches are showing Liliana, Yolanda, and their families feels like the Gospel to me.


On the Saturday night of our retreat we received a phone message that one of our neighbors, Cecilia, had been killed by a drunk driver at 4:30 in the morning. Her husband and eleven year old son, Alexis were taking her to another part of the city where she works cleaning houses. Cecilia’s husband is the neighborhood dad I mentioned above who helped us get our garden stated. Cecilia and her four beautiful children have been active participants in our programming since the day we moved in to the community house last September. Bubbling over with hospitality, she invited my roommates and I to her home before she even knew us to celebrate the first birthday of her daughter Arelli. We hosted a traditional Latin American Christmas event called the Posada, and Cecilia came with her family. She was one of the only people at the event who knew how to sing the traditional song correctly. Even though she was often the most quiet person in the room she boldly lifted her voice in Spanish announcing to the neighborhood that at the community house Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child were always welcome to find shelter, safety, and gracious hosts. I cannot say that I have always lived up to the charge found in the lyrics of the Posada song this year, but Cecilia’s voice still serves as a powerful blessing over this space where we daily encounter God’s children.

This spring Cecilia and her best friend Emma, another neighbor, helped prepare a traditional Mexican meal for a fundraising event at our house. I feel so grateful that I was able to spend hours in a kitchen while they taught me to make tamales by hand. I feel like there is something sacred that happens when more than one my female neighbors from Latin America enters a kitchen. If they don’t chase you out in the first five minutes you will be blessed by their beautiful language, humor, strength, and femininity, I feel so grateful to have shared this with Cecilia even if only a few times.


She and her husband had been living in the US for over seventeen years and their children are all American citizens. However, he does not have any documentation making him “legal.” In the accident he suffered broken ribs and was transported to the hospital for care, he was also driving, both of these things mean that his status in this county may now be in jeopardy. Investigations of the accident are taking place right now. If these proceedings bring attention to his immigration status he may face deportation orders. This will cause an even greater strain on a family that has already suffered so much. Cecilia’s two older daughters Wendy, thirteen, and Alicia, fourteen, have already taken on most of the responsibility of their one year old sister Arelli. I can’t imagine what would happen to this family if their father was forced to leave the United States.


This series of events has really caused me to look at immigration in a new light. It is no longer a problem that I hear about taking place on the borders of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and California. Immigration is an issue that grips many members of my community. I am not trying to talk about laws in this letter, there is a place for that and it is important. Here I am just sharing what I have learned and felt this year. I know that my faith calls me to respond to this issue through a Gospel perspective. The Good News tells me that I am responsible for the poor and oppressed fleeing their homeland seeking safety. The Good News tells me that the garden in front of our house does not belong to me or my roommates, but it belongs to all of God’s children. Jesus teaches us to create an upside down world where the poor have plenty, because even if we refuse to acknowledge it they already have the rights to God’s Kingdom.


Living in intentional community constantly leads me to the question: what is mine? The longer I live this way, the more I realize my sense of ownership over portions of God’s creation is an illusion caused by sin. I use the word sin here to indicate, separation from a God of grace and Love. For me reconciliation with God comes when I bond with the grumpy neighbor over some green beans, when we feed the family that has noting to eat, or when we simply take a moment to recognize that the plenty of creation has been given to all of humanity.

With Love and Peace,

Alison