Birthday Club

My birthday was on Wednesday. I had so many people texting, calling, and sending Facebook greetings that I eventually put my phone away on silent because I was constantly being interrupted from my work. Don't get me wrong, I love and appreciate all the attention I can get on my birthday--I just didn't have the bandwidth to respond to each one. Bottom line -- I felt incredibly loved and known.

Contrast that with Alice*. Alice has been living on the streets of Bellflower for a couple of years. I see Alice almost every day as I walk to the office. We usually chit chat, sometimes even getting into deeper issues of how her and her daughter ended up homeless. But I realized something. Even though I see her every day, I have no clue when her birthday is. More than likely, it passed without anyone making her a cake or even taking her out for a warm meal. Who is celebrating Alice?

Over the last couple of months, the team at Kingdom Causes has been struggling to find more tangible intersections between the church and our disenfranchised neighbors, like Alice. We have Saturday morning breakfast and showers, and various other food ministries among the local churches where volunteers can serve and become familiar with the faces of such neighbors. But where are the opportunities for relationship building... like really really getting to know each other's stories?

I think we need to learn the birthdays and celebrate some of the faces we see wandering the streets at night without a home. What if a women's small group celebrated Alice on her birthday with a meal, birthday cards and a cake? What if that same group also knew Alice's prayer requests during the month and checked in with her when they saw her walking around the city?

We are in the business of transforming lives. We see the most success when people of faith are walking alongside our neighbors. Will you take a small step towards that by joining our Birthday Club?

Click here to sign up and write "Birthday Club" in the comment section.

*Name changed for privacy

Community Fellows Update: Sarah

Hello Family and friends! I hope this finds you well. Thank you so much for all of your prayer and support over the last couple of months. It is hard to believe that I have been in this program for almost a year now. We only have two months left. I feel like we just moved into our apartment that we have lovingly dubbed “Hood Unit”. There are still some problems that have just become a
part of our everyday lives: such as our neighbor always parking in front of our garage, the ants,
our neighbor yelling to her cats at odd hours in the day while I’m trying to sleep, and random strangers ambling down the driveway. Such is life.  We are learning how to live in Bellflower and be truly comfortable with the wacky things that once irritated us.

There has been a lot going on in the neighborhood since I last updated you all. One of the more exciting things is that our church, which is a Christian Reformed Church, has decided to allow women to hold a position of leadership. I would say that, on a personal level, this issue has been the hardest to understand while I’ve been engaged with our church; but the church has prayed about it quite a bit and decided to implement that decision.  Our pastor has been very gracious about discussing the issue openly.  It has been quite encouraging to see the church coming together over this difficult decision, and I am excited to see how God will continue working in this place.  I am encouraged by meeting more members of the church and getting to know them better.

The second thing that I have been the most excited about in the last few months is that Lindsay and I are now part of a weekly youth group with some kids in our friends neighborhood. It has been such a blast! They are high school students and a couple students who are recent graduates.  God has been opening doors for some really great conversation and I have really loved getting to know them better.  It is so much fun to be involved with these kids and be learning more about the way they grew up, their relationship with their parents, and discovering how much their family and past influences how they view themselves.  I can only pray that I can help them understand how much Jesus loves them and is chasing after them.

I still am in need of your prayers. Always. I so appreciate them. I would really love prayers for direction in the coming season.  As lovely as it would be to just enjoy my last few months here, I do have to be thinking about next year and where God will be leading me.  I know it will be something great but I have no idea what it will look like.  Thank you again, for walking with me through this year.

Fellows Update: Noemi

I’ve noticed, in more than one way, the world tells us that we are not enough. Not strong enough smart enough, rich enough. The world tends to highlight everything that is wrong with us and then gives us a temporary “solution”. In reality, the world puts a Band-Aid on people who are looking for a cure. I think most of us would agree that being accepted into a group, no matter how good or bad, gives us a sense of purpose.

I like to think of myself as a person who is not judgmental and overall very accepting. In the past 9 months of getting to know my neighbors, I’ve noticed that’s not the case. I realized around month 5,that I saw my neighbors as projects and not people. I weighed there worth based on appearance, education and income. This realization made me feel guilty and self-righteous. I put people, who God designed in His image, into a category the world has already put them in.

I did not expect a particular neighbor to change my perspective. Here I thought I was going to come in like some white knight, but instead I got schooled. I think God used my neighbor to show me how He sees us. While we are underserving of God’s grace, He accepts us and adopts us as His own. God welcomed me with open arms into His family and it was like I forgot! I needed to accept my neighbor, like God did with me. I think that when we accept those who are struggling, we help them find their purpose. Hopefully leading them to find their value and purpose in Christ.

Romans 15:5-7 paints the picture I hope to one day experience:

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God”

Community Fellows Update: Janet

Hello All.

I am well into the 9 month, and going into the 10 month of the Kingdom Causes program. I can’t believe how time has passed living on Eucalyptus Street. Living in Bellflower has been eye opener, in meeting neighbors, hearing their stories and our growing relationships.

Seeing my neighbors nearly everyday has been a neat living experience because I have gotten to  know more neighbors even more. It is different from where I used to live because my previous neighborhood is quiet and there does not seem to be much neighborhood interaction. Jesus has definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone to be social and converse about anything with my neighbors. Jesus has shown me how sweet it is to engage in conversations at any time of the day with neighbors. Even if it was just a good morning or good-bye, it can be something that helps me get to know my neighbors.  

There are two neighbors in particular, who have welcomed me into their stories. I couldn’t believe how honest and open my neighbors were in sharing their life stories. One neighbor candidly shared her childhood, teenage years and family stories. It was neat how Jesus made things happen and I am glad she was willing to share, because it helped grow a relationship. I had the chance to connect with another neighbor when she shared her life story over coffee and snacks at a gathering we hosted in our neighborhood.  She began by sharing about her experience living in Bellflower and then she went on to share about herself and her family. She shared about how much she loves her sister and how she had to raise her. She also shared her challenges and struggles she personally has gone through. I see her as such a strong person because even through everything she went through, she does not let those things stop her from living her life. My neighbor does not let challenges keep her down, she always does something about it, to see the change. She is a kind and caring person and I am grateful for the opportunity Jesus opened for her to share her story with me. Jesus has taught me a lot about relationships and how important it is to be there for neighbors and friends. I also learned it takes time for community to develop and I definitely saw this living with my neighbors. I am very thankful for having the opportunity to be part of the Fellows program and Kingdom Causes because I definitely see the impact they make for Bellflower. –Thank you!

Prayer Request

Please continue to pray for Bellflower and its community.  Pray also for our Eucalyptus community that they can see Jesus wants them to be part of his huge family. Please pray over the friendships/relationships I have made with the neighbors I have gotten to know and for new ones to grow. Thank you for your prayers and God Bless.