Hollywood Discern In Action!

Our Assistant Director, Marvin Wadlow Jr and Kyle Wahe, our third year Discern team captain, have launched an amazing summer of seeing the face of God in our own city with our team.  It involves art and video projects, service work, prayer time, learning how to interview well, learning how to create resumes, and listening and sharing each other's stories and testimonies.  Here's some fun photos of the team mid-way through the summer.  They are also working nearly full-time at Alexandria House, a transitional home for women and children, PATH Gramercy (a daycare of a similar nature to Alexandria House), and YoungLife Hollywood.

Please pray for Odalys, Christian, Madee, Arthur, Wendy, Pule, and Kevyn, and check them out on our facebook page often.  With Christ's Love, Matthew

See the face of God in Hollywood, in each other, in those who come to serve and learn, in those who have lived here their entire lives, in those who are living on the streets, in those who are living in mansions, in celebrities and nobodies.  See God's face in all.

 

The Beauty of Inconvenience

I admit it.  I like 7-Eleven.  Popping a quick protein bar, quick coffee, or, dare I say it, a nitrite-laden hot dog for some "real food" from time to time.  I love the convenience, the maximizing my workdays and not spending too much time or money on eating.  

I'm also the hypochondriac kid who learned about "tampered with" food a wee-bit too young (ref: the 80's stories of tampered/poisoned Tylenol and Lipton Soup packs).  If it's open, looks a little imperfect, dirty, I wouldn't eat it.

My wife comes from a wiser, thriftier, heartier camp than I.  Many early marriage arguments involved her picking out, back from the bottom of our kitchen trash can, a block of cheese I had just tossed.  "What, ONE mold spot and the entire block is garbage?" she smirked as she cut off the tiny blue corner.  I admit, I was a little over-paranoid.

You can imagine the internal stretch I experienced when one of our 2011 Dwellers, ben adam, showed up and spoke of all the glories and benefits of dumpster diving.  I put on my good "city-director-love-everyone show," but inside, I admit I was siding with his housemates who were a bit grossed out that breakfast food options had come from the dumpster behind a bagel shop.  

But last Wednesday, I finally volunteered to serve in the Food Ministry that my family has been benefiting from for almost a year.  It was really a beautiful experience.  Obvious fact I learn: our country wastes, or opts against, tons of good food.  Literally.  Apparently, there are many versions of my former self seeing a slightly dirty or damaged package, and not buying it.  That food, on it's expiration date, is sent off to places like the LA Food Bank and other food re-distribution organizations.  It's still edible, just not marketable.  After those tons of food items go, there is even still some left, and my wife, and the lessons of ben adam, have urged me to embrace this new diet.

Andrea, who's been doing this for over a year, met and trained me at a local grocery store at 9am.  We ask for the "spoils".  An employee wheels out 7 grocery carts of eggs, bread, desserts, produce, some even organic, frozen meats of all kinds, even chocolate bars sometimes.  We load up our vans, drive to two other stores, same process. 

Along the way, I get to know Andrea, about her family.  She obviously knows the store employees who come out, knows the process, has great moments of kindness and catching up.  She teaches me that Heidi, God bless her soul, used to do this all by herself for 5 years.  Slowly but very surely, it has grown into a great community effort, and here we are.   And this is just one of the days of the week.  The others involve gathering the same foods and distributing it to local shelters and youth homes.  Again, there's more than enough NOT being sold.  Totally blew my mind.

After picking it up, we arrange it carefully under umbrellas on a driveway.  A committed group of us come, donate some money to help cover gas for the weekly pick-ups.  You are to take what you need, and be thoughtful to not take everything for yourself.  People respect this, love this.  People pray for one another and family members over bags of bread, over ears of corn, over this very "inconvenient" and beautiful ministry.

As I ate my Vietnamese Spring Rolls with peanut sauce that day, (something I had picked up a few hours earlier), I thought how much this beats 7-eleven to a pulp, anyday.  It is DECISIVELY NOT convenient. Took 4 hours. But I met Andrea, heard the history of the ministry, met John and Carlos and Emma and Peter and countless others who had bagged up the food at the stores before we came.  I prayed for people along the way, and was prayed for myself.

And, I felt an internal "thank God" for ben adam and my wife's stretching and nudging.  We are saving hundreds of dollars on groceries, eating so much better than ever before as we can opt for more organics and fair-traded products when we need to buy, and we are on a weekly family food adventure, that we get to share with many other families.  Yogurt lasts a long time after it's expiration date.  And a bag of Kale that got accidentally slashed open by an Exacto-knife on delivery just needs a wash.  Tastes fine.

Our Dwell program is focused on stretching young adults to a simpler and more interconnected way of living.  I've led this for five years here in Hollywood, and sheepishly recognize it took me awhile to embrace something like this.  But, nonetheless, we are all works in progress, and thank God we're designed this way.  It's so much better to work together for everyone's benefit.  So much better, indeed, and way more delicious.  - Matthew

Why I Do What I Do, by Dweller Savanah

People ask me all the time why I work with the most vulnerable and at-risk people on the streets. Why wouldn’t I help the people on the edge of homelessness, so they don’t fall down to the bottom? Why wouldn’t I focus on those easiest to help and help as many people as I can?

My answer has a few different parts. If we are looking at a very shallow view of the issue, I would say: Money. To house one person on the streets costs very little money relative to the amount of money it takes to keep someone on the streets. If you add up every ER cost, every police encounter, every social service expense, the numbers are astounding. House this person and the numbers go down significantly.

But that’s not why I care. I care because when I am talking to a woman with matted hair, diseased feet and urine soaked blankets next to her, she teaches me something. She teaches me that she has a story and a life that I will never have. She teaches me something about strength and perseverance and stubbornness. She teaches me to appreciate life and appreciate something as simple as a new bra. She teaches me that it does not matter what a person looks like, smells like or talks like, it is something deep down that matters. She gives me this wisdom and I get the opportunity to dream with her about a better life. And that is something that no other job is quite like.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever sat down and talked to someone who has not been talked to in a very long time, but there’s some magic in it. Sometimes the person breaks out into long stories and speeches and everything they have ever memorized, sometimes, without a filter, they will tell you ever painful memory, every happy memory and every important moment in their lives. And sometimes, they won’t say anything at all…but their eyes light up and they stare and wonder why you are talking to them and why you care and wonder if you are just using them. This look should not be taken lightly. This look is often a skeptic, but sometimes filled with just enough hope that you know that this person in front of you is still in there; this person has a future and a past and their own dreams. I remember that each person on this earth is connected, each person has a story, each person has wishes and hopes and fears. And each person deserves the chance to live the life that they want to live.

There’s a man that I see quite frequently that other agencies say won’t talk and doesn’t want services. Maybe I am just a little more stubborn than they are. Day after day we go and see this man and slowly but surely he opens up to us. When he speaks, it is rapid with a thick accent a lot of hand signals. His big hands point to his head and say that he needs help. He points to his mouth and says he is hungry. We hand him a lunch and he slowly but surely puts each morsel in his mouth and points at his head again. He tells us he hears things and wants medication. We realize that the man who has been seen throwing things, screaming and sitting shirtless on the Boulevard, was simply afraid of what was going on in his head. This man couldn’t open up because he was afraid. While this man’s problems are much deeper than a single magic pill, it gives us a stepping stone to a more trusting relationship. People claim that those experiencing homelessness are lazy or don’t want help. I disagree. I think each person who sleeps on the ground wants to sleep in a real bed and have people around them that they love. The problem is that the world we live in is not set up for the masses. It is set up for the few people who are lucky enough to be born into privilege. It is set up so if you look a certain way, act a certain way or believe certain things, you are sent to the bottom. Someone has to speak up or nothing will change.

On a daily basis, I see injustices in the world. Why is it that if a white, rich man in Ohio doesn’t wake up one morning, everyone who is anyone seems to know and care. But if a man in LA who lives on the streets falls into his own deep sleep—no one cries. No one knows. It’s not news—it’s daily life. Too many people die in this world without a single real relationship. Too many people live without being heard. Too many people suffer in silence. I do what I do so at least someone hears. I do what I do because I want to hear. Sometimes all it takes is an ear to listen. Sometimes it takes more. But it is always worth the try.

A wise man once said, “It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can do little.”

So I try to do a little.

Am I Still Working? - by Dweller Kendra

yes, i didn’t get fired for those of you wondering. i know it’s been a long time since i’ve posted anything about my friend’s place. it’s been busy and full of new opportunities to learn. my co-worker and i had the opportunity to take one of our young male clients to court for a loitering citation that he received from the cops while sitting in front of our gate-waiting for our agency to open. he was wanting to be first in line so that he could receive a shower, get some new clothes, and eat breakfast. he’s a brillant young man and was actually one of six who got the citation to show up and attempt to clear his ticket. luckily, when we got to the court office, we found out charges had never been filed. i wish you could have seen brian’s face as he fist-pumped me to show his excitement and relief about not having to  actually go to court.

another woman i have to mention is alina. alina and i have gotten to be really great friends. she is 19 and tougher than i would ever know how to be. alina has been on her own since she was 12 years old, and traveled to L.A. from New York City on her own. She has been in and out of school, and has been experimenting with meth while she stays on the streets of hollywood. she transitions in and out of shelters, but recently has been making HUGE changes for herself.she got a job at a local grocery store and started saving her money.she made a $100 deposit to the W.O.O.W program-a transitional housing program that encourages healthy behaviors to improve a person’s overall wellness.she has quit using meth.she has surrounded herself with people who want her to succeed.she has started to believe in herself.alina’s brother passed away when she was 10, and she asked me to come and be with her while she visited her brother’s grave for the very first time. i love the work i do-it’s meaningful, beautiful, and life-changing.

i have decided that this kind of work is what i want to do for the rest of my life. i’m not anxious or stressed about what this next year brings for me, because i know where i’m meant to be. God has given me a gift to work with young people experiencing homelessness and i see His loving care and grace every day when i talk and get to know them. i know for sure that i want to continue my education in social work and for now that’s enough..

and when i need a break, i get to walk these adorable little pups 

DOOR HOLLYWOOD 2013!

DOOR Hollywood Spring, Summer, and Fall 2013

Looking to serve, learn, and experience the face of God through the people of Los Angeles?

Sign up NOW for:

DISCOVER: weeklong service learning project June through August.

DISCERN: Summer-long internships for individuals looking for leadership experiences in urban missions

DWELL: year-long service and intentional Christian community living

Do You Know What I Know?

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king, “Do you know what I know? In your palace wall mighty king, do you know what I know? A child, a child shivers in the cold. Let us bring him silver and gold.”

Lately, I’ve thought about the fanfare, the trumpeting angels, the spectacular birth announcement of Jesus Christ that terrified shepherds in the night.  The Star of Bethlehem, the Angel Gabriel, all of these fantastic signs.  It only now has dawned on me, that God had to do this, what with Jesus being born in the margins and laid in a feeding trough.  How else would anyone know that the words of ancient prophets were being fulfilled?  Had he been born in an earthly palace, there would have been parades and pomps and circumstances with all the trimmings.  But, Jesus was born in the outskirts, and the heavenly and celestial birth announcement was noticed by the poor shepherd boys, out of town.

 

And, then, as this song that we hear in every shopping mall in every city every December, the news of Jesus’ birth had to also come from the bottom up, in terms of human hierarchy.  The shepherd boy asks, “do you know what I know?” to a king.  And what’s amazing, in this song anyway, is that this earthly king listens.  Listens, and spreads the word of this upside-down Kingdom.

Listening.  Do you hear what I hear?  Do you see what I see?  Do you know what I know?  Maybe 2013 we can work on listening, that we might know what others know, see what others see, know how one another live.  There is a flurry of discussions right now, rightfully so, about gun controls and safety and mental health and why, why, why?  And I’m impressed, actually, that people are talking about having real, civil, discourse.  Talking about it, anyway.  But to do this, we will have to not only spout our mouths off, but we will have to listen.  2^nd Amendment die-hards need to listen, really listen, to the voices of people affected by gun tragedies.  Anti-gun folks ought to listen to histories of hunting families, especially those that do so with respect and a sense of balance.  Anglo folks, especially those who believe racism is over, ought to listen to what it means to not be white in today’s United States, from those who have to think about that day in and day out.  People adamantly against Mexican immigration ought to listen to a father doing anything he can to provide for his family, and try not to refer to him as an illegal alien.  Christians ought to listen to the ideas of Jews and Muslims, which doesn’t mean we adopt the same beliefs, but dear Lord, we should be able to listen.

 

I ought to listen to my wife, what it means to be the mother of two, more than I currently do.

Do you know what I know?  Do I know what you know?  Is there a place we can sit down and listen to one another?

Thankfully, Jesus has already set that table. 

Merry Christmas Everyone,

Matthew

Thoughts on Welcome, by Callie

Harvest Festival at the Community House!

For Thanksgiving our house hosted a party for the neighborhood and any friends and church people who wanted to come. We made tons of food and everyone brought goodies to share. We did a cake walk, doughnut eating competition (pictured above), and pinata! Lots of people showed up including some young folks who are involved in similar programs like DOOR around the city. We all had a wonderful time!

Getting to know the neighbors and neighborhood here around Gregory Ave. has been one of the most fulfilling and enjoyable aspects of my time here so far. From the moment I walked through the gate for the first time, our neighbors welcomed me with open arms and warm hearts. Our mission as Dwellers is to create a space of openness and hospitality for the people we live alongside. Since coming here, though, the sweet people of this neighborhood have done more to make me feel at home than I could ever do for them. I am so grateful for them and for the hard work and dedication of past Dwellers to make this place what it is and build the reputation of this house as a place of welcome. 

Posted on Nove