“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)
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