From Stephanie

HELP US WIN AMERICA'S GIVING CHALLENGE ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE

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 18^th 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

Everything as it Should Be....

HELP US WIN AMERICA'S GIVING CHALLENGE ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING HERE

"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

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!

"Miranda, a little girl that attends our after-school program told me the first day she met me that I talk like a farmer (ha). As I tried not to laugh too much I said, “most people where I am from talk like this.” She said, “girls talk like that too?” Laughing I said, “no but pretty similar.” We now have an agreement that she can call me farmer john as long as the other kids don’t call me that too. Today one of the kids told me I sound like a cowboy, which I liked a little better...." - From Curtis' blog about beginning work at Door Of Hope.

"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

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.....

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:

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

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