Our Place Housing Solutions

This past Sunday, Our Place Housing Solutions officially got off the ground. This new "daughter organization" will serve as a Community Housing Development Organization seeking housing justice for our neighbors in Bellflower. Our hope is that this organization will be a leading force in preserving and creating new affordable housing that impacts individuals and empowers and strengthens neighborhoods and communities. Stay tuned for exciting news from this team!

A un-expected worker

I get a phone call the other day from a guy with a British accent and it goes something like this,
"Hey, i've been buying coffee and donuts for this homeless lady every morning. She is hunched over, about 60 and speaks clearly and considerately. I just keep thinking to myself that something should be done for this lady. Someone in this Country should be able to help her. I went to three different Churches and they said that they don't help homeless people. I tracked you down because I saw in the Bellflower paper that some award was given to a guy for helping homeless people. I tried to get a hold of him but couldn't. Is there anything you can do to help me?"
I was kinda shocked and blown away at this phone call. This guy who isn't even a believer calls me with a concern for someone in his community that seems to be in need. I smiled grew on my face once I began to think about the variety of people that God uses to bring about his Kingdom.
We've talked in Bible Study about the idea that no one can enter or even see the Kingdom unless they are born again. This guy is doing Kingdom work and he doesn't even realize it.
I've met with this guy and the homeless lady and we are taking steps towards bringing peace into her life. I hope and pray that God would use me to impact this guys perspective on life and why we do what we do!
I thank Calvary Baptist Church for giving this guy my number. While thier staff doesn't directly serve the Homeless population, they do a great job of listening and praying with people and then referring them to others.

Kelty Enters rehab

Our Journey with Nick goes back two years ago when we met him on the Riverbed near a Park we would have Church at. He was an "irish man"; rugged and foul in all his ways but sweet at the core.

Fast forward to about 6 months ago when he re-surfaced to Bellflowers streets and alley ways. He would join us every saturday for Breakfast and we would see him on Tuesdays.

I had helped out a friend of his and so his friend wanted me to help him out. We took him to a detox in Costa Mesa and visited him there. This is a detox facility for people cutting Alcohol cold Turkey. When we arrived for intake that day, a guy was being carted off in the Ambulence for having seizures (typical detox symptom).

He was there for the full 10 days and then went to Beacon Mission in San Pedro. This place is sweet. Old and creaky, yet super clean and organized.

He'll be there for 1 year without any outside contact. I wish we could go see him but we can't. He's in good hands.

We prayed before he went in. He was looking for a "new life".

Kelty: We pray that God cures you friend and that you can gain new eyes so you can see and enter the Kingdom.

Kingdom Cause Volunteer recognized in Bellflower

This article appeared in the Bellflower Citizen in August. Corwin Schenk won the "We are Bellflower" nomination.

Homeless Helper
Named ‘We Are
Bellflower’ Honoree

Corwin Schenk has a wife, two kids and eight grandchildren to keep him
busy. Yet every week, he still makes time to volunteer his help to Bellflower's homeless community. To recognize his service, the City has named Corwin this month's "We Are Bellflower"
honoree. Corwin, a resident of Bellflower for the past 37 years, has
logged more than 240 hours helping the homeless this year.
Corwin visits different "homeless camps" every Tuesday and wakes up at 6:30 a.m.
each Saturday to take homeless individuals to Calvary Baptist Church for breakfast
and a shower. Corwin, a Deacon at Bethany Christian Reformed Church, has a relationship with Teen Challenge, a Christian-based rehabilitation program in Lynwood, and helps promote a community meal that many homeless people frequent. He also regularly helps the
homeless by making phone calls, charging dead batteries, budgeting and giving car rides to those in need.

Proclaiming freedom for the prisoners of addictions

Last Tuesday, as is our routine, the volunteers prayed together for our friends and neighbors who are homeless before we hit the streets to share lunches and conversation with them.

Pulling into the parking lot of the vacant strip mall, we had little idea of what we would encounter. We'd suspected that the heroin traffic has been increasing in this area and more and more of our neighbors here seemed to be getting involved with it. I hadn't encountered someone in the throws of heroin withdrawl before. But as "Tom" approached me, I knew he was experiencing extreme symptoms of withdrawl. Our team has some history with Tom and he recognized us as Christians. His body was twitching as he walked up to me and immediately asked me to pray for him. He openly confessed that he was sick and addicted to heroin. So I laid my hands on his shoulders, and he put his on mine and we prayed.

We prayed for forgiveness of sins, we prayed that God would release him from this addiction, we prayed that any spirits that had attached to him during his drug use would leave in Jesus name. When we finished praying he was still twitching. He began a scattered monologue on his past with the church, as a minister and singer. He yelled at a few of his companions who owed him $5, threatening them with violence if they didnt pay up soon. I was scared and wondered if God could really get a hold of this guy. I wondered, is Tom responsible for his recovery now? I know the official party line for social work is that he is. But how is it that we expect someone so dependant on a chemical that his soul is buried under addiction to make daily phone calls to the detox in order to stay on thier 2 week waiting list and get help?

In Luke 4: 18-19, Jesus says "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Sometimes we wonder if what we are doing is really gospel work. If we don't disciple people in a program are we really doing God's work? The simple act of proclamation, while it often doesn't result in immediate transformation in an individual or nieghborhood, is obedience and therefore success. I struggle some times because I don't see immediate change for our neighbors like Tom. But when I reflect on my own journey with God, and the ongoing nature of my own sanctification process I recognize that God's time frame is different than ours.

May this year be the year of the Lord's favor for Tom.

School Year Officially Starts... Sanity Returns

This summer was crazy busy. At times I felt like we took on too many events, but in the end it was worth it. Between the neighborhood soccer games, VBS, bread sales, and hang outs we made good connections with our neighbors. One of the coolest things that came out of our events is a group of high school students that meets once a week to come up with plans to help their neighborhood. I know good things will come from this group of talented youth.

As great as the summer was, I couldn't wait for school to start again. There's something very appealing to a routine. In the summer, every day was different. Kids would show up at random times making it difficult to keep a schedule. I'm not complaining, though. I have a great job.

Last Thursday was the first day back to school. I pulled out my lawn chair and sat in the front yard like I did last year, except for this time I knew almost all of the faces passing by. It was a good feeling.

Definitions of Success

Eric and I have been talking about success this week. What does it mean for us to be successful in our work with the homeless? Has the Homeless Task Force been successful this year? Have we been successful even if no one has gotten off of the streets lately because of our efforts?

The answer is a resounding "yes"! Here is what we have seen God doing in our midst. We are seeing more Christians from Bellflower intentionally building relationships with our homeless neighbors. Every week we are witnessing the truth of the Gospel, that God has reaches out to us in the midst of our brokenness, calling us away from paths of destruction into relationship with him. He has divinely mobilized his people in Bellflower to be his hands and feet to these our homeless neighbors that he loves. That is success.

Thoughts on being a neighbor

We are such a busy people! One has to be extremely intentional to not be busy. Most of us are pretty lousy at it... including myself. I mean, really, what is my excuse? My job involves being a good neighbor to my neighbors through community development, yet I am still too busy doing that to actually be at home. We have to be present to build a relationship. Can you imagine if all Christians were intentional with how they related to their neighbors? It would be beautiful!

With this on my mind for the last couple of weeks, I've made more of an effort to be around. Even with these efforts, I've only made time for an extra hour to be available for whatever sporatic conversation or "hello" I get from people walking by. The amazing thing is, God uses the time. You can't predict it. Sometimes I'll be around and not have a meaningful conversation with anyone... and sometimes I will. As I was pulling into the driveway late Saturday night, a neighbor that I've talked to a few times before was walking by. We ended up talking for a half an hour about life, God, work, and everything else. She's an amazing single mother with a bunch of talents that are not being used. She moved to this neighborhood a few months ago and is looking for friendships. We're going to lunch today to hang out.

I wonder how many relationships we miss out on because we're too busy. Even when we're home we stay inside and watch TV. I challenge you to go outside. You never know what God has in store.

Judgement

Last night after soccer I gave a few of the kids a ride back home. As I drove down our street there was a car stopped in the middle of the road, making it almost impossible to pass on either side. So I slowed down, thinking he would move. He moved a little, giving me enough to room to squeeze through, but then a group of guys walked out where I was going to pass. I was a little annoyed, but I recognized one of them so I honked and jokingly yelled at them to get out of the street. Then, a guy on a bike who I've never seen before nearly ran into the front of my car. They wouldn't move. In fact, they almost ignored me completely. I decided the only way to make them move is if I started driving slowly to "push" them out of the way. It worked. But after I got through I felt a little uncomfortable. I looked in my mirror to see if they were laughing, but they weren't. I wondered if I had disrespected them and began to second guess my "good" connection with the neighbors. After I dropped off the kids I had to drive by the same spot. All the same guys were outside, but the car had moved. I waved and smiled, but they didn't respond. Not good.

Later on that night I heard a commosion in my front yard. I looked out my window and saw a girl passed out on my driveway. I went outside to investigate. I turned out she was a friend of one of my neighbors and had drank too much Jack Daniels. She woke up and tried to stand up but ended up falling flat on her face on the cement. I got her some water but she hit it out of my hand and it landed all over me. By that time about a dozen neighbors had walked by. Her friends pulled up the car but we couldn't get her in. Then one of the guys that I had an incident with earlier pulled up on his bike. He offered to help but told I him we were okay. He motioned for me to come over and talk to him. When I came over he explained that people "talk" in the neighborhood and that it didn't look good to have a girl passed out in front of my house, even if it wasn't my guest. He told me that in our neighborhood, people watch out for each other and that's what he was trying to do. I felt convicted. A few hours earlier I had him written off as a disrespectful gangster that could potentially be a threat to me. And here he was trying to help me by carrying this complete stranger covered in vomit over to the car. I was humbled.

Saying Goodbye

I can't believe my summer with Kingdom Causes is almost over. In a week I'll be back in Grand Rapids, Michigan buying books and soaking up my last breaths of summer air. This summer has truly been a remarkable summer. I have learned so much and have really seen God working throughout the city. I have been amazed at the many signs of transformation I have seen throughout the past three months. I have gotten to know a lot of neighbors while working on Eucalyptus street and it has been great seeing them get more involved throughout the summer. I think the importance of building relationships has been one of the biggest lessons I have learned while working here. It is amazing what happens when we just hang-out and talk with people. I am sad to be saying goodbye and will miss so many things about working here. I will miss swim days with the girls Chrissy and I are mentoring, playing soccer with the neighborhood boys, playing intense games of fuseball and ping-pong, sitting out on Chrissy front lawn connecting with her neighbors, and morning prayers with Pat Holwerda and other neighbors. But most of all, I will miss the friendships I have made. Working here has helped me grow in so many ways and has truly been a great experience. I know that God has great plans for Bellflower and Kingdom Causes and I cant wait to hear more stories of transformation when I come home at Christmas.

Canaan Presbyterian Church -- Local Missions

Over the past two weeks we have had the joy of hosting a group of young adults from Canaan Presbyterian Church here in Bellflower. What a great group of Christians, willing to learn and serve, wanting to be obedient to Jesus and engage thier local community! Chrissy and Eric have done an excellent job of orienting them to Kingdom Causes and giving them practical training in homeless outreach and asset based community development.

I love to see new connections being made and young people committed to blessing Bellflower!

Choices

You never know what you will learn when you decide to sit and listen. Not talk or converse, just listen. I was able to do that a couple weeks ago with someone at the park and it was incredible what I learned. This man shared how he went from being a church going youth leader in love with sports to a drug addicted dad living with constant fear of finding money for his daughter and girlfriend. The most eye-opening thing was that he wasn’t much different than me. We both loved sports, loved youth group, love family and have both faced hard times. So what’s the difference? What made it so this man is in such a different place than me? Choices. We all make choices, big ones, small ones, and even medium-sized ones. When it comes down to it, what will our decision be each and every time we are faced with a decision? Will we continue to go down the road that the world has for us or will we turn to the truth. Choices. What will we decide?

Soccer Started!!!

Praise God! After weeks of overcoming obstacles, we finally started our Eucalyptus Soccer Program! We had a great group of kids ranging from ages 4 to 14. Most of the kids are between 6th & 8th grades. About 5 kids that live across the street from me played with us on Wednesday night. I'd always said hello or smiled to their families, but never had the chance to connect with them until this week. Please continue to pray that God blesses our interactions with the kids and their families. The purpose for this program is to give the kids a safe place to go to do something they love. Our hope is to get to know the parents through these types of programs. We'd love to see more neighbors at our meetings for the street.

Streetfest!

This Thursday was the first Streetfest of the summer. It was a blast! Two of my neighbors came with me. We saw so many people that we recognized. I'd encourage you, if you live in Bellflower, to make Thursday night Streetfests a part of your weekly schedule. What a great time to hang out with neighbors!

'Our Place'

Last week Chrissy took Kristin (her 10 year old neighbor) to Rosewood Church for family night. Kristin had such a blast that she asked Chrissy if she could go to church again the next day! There were no church activities the next day so Chrissy invited her to ‘Our Place’ to hang out and pray with the prayer group that meets every Friday morning. Kristin took her up on the offer and showed up the next morning. While we were at the prayer meeting Kristin shared about what she did the night before and told us that she couldn’t wait to go back. Pat Holwerda (a prayer partner who attends Rosewood Church and lives on Eucalyptus) volunteered to take Kristin to the next family night at Rosewood.
This morning we had our weekly prayer meeting and Pat shared some awesome stories about Kristin and family night. One story that Pat shared made us all realize what an impact ‘Our Place’ is having on the neighbors. While Pat and Kristin where eating dinner at Rosewood a couple they were sitting with asked Kristin how she knew Pat. Kristin answered in a matter of fact way, “From ‘Our Place’”. It was awesome to know that she thought of ‘Our Place’ as a place to hang out and meet new people. It was great to see a connection and know that God is using this resource center to make a difference. We are super excited that Kristin got connected with Rosewood and we are excited to see what God has in store for her life.

Neighbor!

I have a neighbor that lives in the apartments next door. He is always there. Always! If you listen carefully, you can almost always hear him. Some people might be annoyed by his loudness, but I'm comforted by it. He's always home & always watching what's going on our street. When I walk by, he yells "Neighbor!" and I reply "Hi neighbor!" back. That's usually the extent of our conversation, but I'd still consider him a friend.

On Friday mornings during the summer we are working with Pat Holwerda to pass out bread to the neighbors. It's good bread! High quality. But this last week, we had tons of it and all of the people that are good at networking in the neighborhood were not available. Katie and I decided to take a basket to my front yard and pass it out to people walking by. On our way down we ran into Neighbor (I found out his name is Manuel). He was so excited about the bread. He went door to door in his complex to tell people about it. It seemed like everyone that came up to the center the rest of that day was referred by him. What a great connection!

"Bull In The China Shop"

Have you ever played phrase pictionary? I hadn’t either until last week Thursday. We had our fist open house at ‘Our Place’ last Thursday afternoon. I was a little nervous that no one would show up because we didn’t advertise as much as we should have for it. But I was wrong! About five kids showed up at 2:30pm and we played ping-pong, foosball, told stories, ate ice cream, and played pictionary with them. The best part of the afternoon, for me personally, was when Chrissy and I played phrase pictionary with the three neighborhood boys that showed up. Chrissy went first and was going to attempt to draw the phrase “bull in the china shop”. As she started drawing it out we easily guessed the first four words, but guessing the fifth word is when we ran into trouble. The word ‘shop’ is very hard to draw; we guessed things like the mall, various department stores, restaurants, a house, and even a casino. We guessed word after word and could not figure it out! Chrissy finally told us that the last word was shop – “bull in the china shop”. The boys and I looked at each other in confusion, we had never heard that phrase before – no wonder we couldn’t figure it out! We had a great laugh after that one.
I felt a real bond with the boys as we played that game. We were all laughing and working together to figure out the mystery word. We were just hanging out and being ourselves, it was a great way for all of us to get to know each other. I am so amazed at how God provides opportunity after opportunity to form relationships with the neighbors. Chrissy and I are already thinking of phrases for this week’s open house!

Two Homeless Guys enter rehab

This past tuesday, one of our dedicated Volunteers Corwin took two guys to interview for spots at Teen Challenge. They got accepted! Teen Challenge has been providing Christian based recovery to addicts for over 50 Years (www.teenchallenge.com). The title could be confusing- it serves anyone who is 18 or older.

The day was an answer to our prayers. We've been buildin trusting relationships with these guys for over a year now so for them to make a decision to get sober, was an encouragement to us. Both have been in programs before- a common fact with many of the Homeless we interact with. It was very comforting to hear from the guy who runs the house they will be staying in. He was 54 by the time he was ready to quite his past- running with Hell's Angels and using Heroin. I could sense that his words were assuring for the two guys we brought there. The idea that it's never too late.

Part of our Model is to not only connect homeless to resources but to stay connected once they are in a program.
Our team will write to the guys, visit them on family days and give them calls.

Since we are Christians dealing with individuals who enter rehab, it's important for us to understand the principles of the Twelve Steps. We find them to be very applicable to our daily walk with the Lord. I wanted to share a twelve step principle and it's Biblical comparison with you:

Step #1 We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.

I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it our. (Romans 7:18)

The first ten days are a real test for these guys as they Detox and regain thier faculties. We pray that as they enter into working on thier 1st step, they will be strengthened.

Double The Fun

This week Chrissy and I were able to hang out with the teen girls we’ve been connecting with twice. Usually on Tuesday afternoons we take the girls swimming, but this week they had 8th grade graduation. Chrissy and I didn’t want to scrap the ‘hang-out’ time completely so instead we went to a little graduation party for them. I don’t think the girls were expecting to see us because they seemed surprised when we showed up. It was so fun to hang out with them and see them all dressed up. Before Chrissy and I left the party the girls asked if we could still do a swim day sometime during the week. It was exciting to see them initiate a swim/ hang-out day with us. This was a huge step in our relationships! So, today we were able to swim with the girls and eat lots of fruit with lemon and chill powder. It is so awesome getting to know these girls and I can’t wait to see how these relationships develop.

The Plunge

Seeing God work is such an amazing sight. I got a glimpse of that last Tuesday as I met with the Oak Street Pastors. Before I returned from school the pastors had met and brainstormed ideas on ways to impact the Oak Street Community. From that came an idea of a service retreat that would unify the churches and build up the community. From those ideas came The Plunge. This is a 2 day retreat for all youth groups in the area to come and serve the community that I have the opportunity to coordinate. Seeing the cooperation of all the churches and their leaders was an amazing sight and I am so excited to see how God will use this retreat as a tool to spread His Kingdom to everyone in Bellflower.