Wednesday, December 25, 2013

The Gift of Giving



The Bellflower Christmas Toy Store is just one way we are able to love our Bellflower neighbors. Toys are donated and low income families are able to purchase them as Christmas presents for their children. We were able to help bless approximately 200 families this year at our Christmas Toy Store. We thank everyone that donated gifts, gave a monetary donation, and donated their time to serve their Bellflower neighbors. I’m impressed on how much more organized it gets, we receive bigger and better donations, and that more people are interested in volunteering each year. Bellflower residents are great at loving their neighbors in need. I am thankful to be a part of this event and I always look forward to the next one.

By April MardueƱo

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

Dominic and Desarie


It would be easy to write off Dominic and Desarie. Former drug users, unemployed, kids in the system, etc. It would be easy to access their problems, do our best to help, and then send them on their way. It would be easy to look at them as projects, instead of people.

It would be easy… but it would be wrong.

Dominic and Desarie are not simply the sum of their life choices. They are not statistics. They are people created in God’s image, and thus they are endowed with gifts and abilities that we don’t always acknowledge.

It’s been so fun to watch them grow in the past few months. They have jumped in wherever they can, and have quickly become our most consistent volunteers. Desarie answers the phones when April has to run errands, they do chores around our office, bring tamales for our staff, and even act as informal case managers for their friends in need.

Last week I overheard a desperate sounding women come to the front desk looking for food. Before she had even finishing speaking, Dominic quickly came to her side and said, “I know where you can get food. I’ll take you there myself.”  He then walked her down to his church to see about getting her some food.

When I thanked him later for his act of kindness, he replied that because he knows what it’s like to feel desperate, and he just wants to give back and help others in the same situation.

Dominic and Desarie have taught me that if we wait to solve our own brokenness before reaching out to others, we’ll be waiting forever. God calls us to give in spite of our own weakness and poverty. In fact, he often USES our own brokenness to meet others in their time of need.


I’m glad we didn’t write off Dominic and Desarie, and I’m excited to see how God continues to use them in Bellflower.