Thank you Chrissy!

It was about three years ago that I met Chrissy Padilla at the Sheriff Station here in town at a meeting I was having with a deputy in charge of homeless issues. She was there to find others in Bellflower who had a heart for the community.  It wasn’t long before she was serving as a volunteer and eventually became a board member for Kingdom Causes Bellflower. In 2006, Chrissy left her well-paying job in Orange County to move into the Eucalyptus Ave. neighborhood (a place notorious for drug dealing and violence) to become an Americorps member. Volunteering full-time for two years now, Chrissy has been a catalytic influence in this neighborhood. She has worked hard to organize neighbors and other community members; identifying THEIR dreams and THEIR plans for the neighborhood.  After listening, she then went to work helping to make them a reality.

Here are just a few changes we’ve witnessed in the neighborhood as a result of Chrissy’s faithful service:
• Two photography classes provided creative outlet for neighborhood kids
• A team of neighbor women meet weekly to pray for the neighborhood
• A weekly time after school for algebra tutoring started this fall
• Two Summer Soccer programs provided over 40 kids with a place to play
• Teens from the neighborhood were identified and invested in as leaders

While her time with Americorps comes to an end, she remains committed to her neighborhood and will continue to live there as her role with Kingdom Causes changes.  This fall she will become our Operations Director helping with a variety of tasks including directing a Reciprocal Language Class that will teach English and Spanish to community members who want to expand their language competency.  I bless God for bringing Chrissy to Bellflower and for her partnership in seeking first the Kingdom here. Special thanks to Chrissy for her servant’s heart, may God move many more in his church to serve as she does.