Thanks to Bethany CRC Servants

Bethany CRC conducted a congregation wide service day in Bellflower today. 150 of their members were out volunteering today picking up trash, cleaning, and serving in other ways.



A team of 8 came to the community center to help us bless our neighboring business neighbors by washing windows, pressure washing the parking lot, and weeding the flower bed in front. The place looks great!


Before we cleaned the windows, I went to the neighboring businesses to make sure it was okay with them that we do that. The new owners of Liquor Land, the tiny store on the corner, were very reluctant to let us wash their windows at first.


"What do you expect from me?"asked the owner, a middle aged man immigrant from India or Pakistan. "I do not want to pay!"
"No sir, no payment is necessary. We simply want to help." I replied. "These folks are here just because they want to serve."
"I need to talk with the property manager, is he paying them?"
"No sir, we're just helping out."
"You expect nothing?" he asked yet again incredulously.
"Nothing. We're just trying to be good neighbors that's all."


Finally assured that we weren't selling our services and a little confused about our motives, he consented to let us wash his windows.


What a great first impression for our new neighbors down the way.


Lord your kingdom come and your will be done in the life of that liquor store owner as it is in heaven.

Prayer Walk

I was eating lunch with one of our Volunteers the other day and we were talking about a Church nearby a park just down the street here in Bellflower. He told me a short story about how when he used to live in that neighborhood, he and a group would prayer walk the neighborhood. Every time they would go by this Church, named 1st Baptist, they would pray that it would be a "Neighborhood Church". Here is where it all comes together; within the past year, this Church has taken a much more "Neighborhood" approach and even re-named it's building to "Neighborhood Fellowship". I went by yesterday and spoke with the pastor and told him the story. He was pretty encouraged!

God is active and shows up in his timing!

Local Business Highlight: Adelita's Mexican Restaurant

We're working on a neighborhood newsletter for Eucalyptus & Cornuta. It will be published in English & Spanish. The stories will be about things happening in our neighborhood and each issue will contain a neighbor of the month and a business of the month. We'll also include a section for a community calendar & announcements.

The first business we're highlighting is Adelita's Mexican Restaurant on Artesia & Clark. The owners, Elida & Lugo, lived in our neighborhood for many years. Elida was famous for her tamales. They moved a few years ago, but are talking about moving back into the neighborhood. We met with Elida on Wednesday to share our idea. She teared up and expressed her gratitude for the support of their business.

So... if you're looking for a place to eat, I recommend stopping by Adelita's. Their chilaquiles breakfast is wonderful!

Maria Maria

This last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting two new neighbors. On Saturday we worked with a local Bible Study group of Greenleaf Church that meets in the neighborhood to host an arts & crafts day for the kids on our street. I've learned over the past year that passing out flyers a week before doesn't work. So an hour before the event began we went out into the neighborhood and invited the kids that were around. Ryan invited two sisters named Maria to bring their families and hang out with us. They spoke a little English, but mostly Spanish. Luckily, they had a good sense of humor making my attempts to communicate in Spanish a little more welcome. As we were chatting about the neighborhood I was working on a loom to make a scarf. The Marias were very excited because looming was part of their childhood in Mexico. They asked where I got the loom and if I'd be willing to teach a class for the neighbors.

Since last weekend I've ran into the Marias twice. I'm sure we walked passed each other many other times without knowing that one day we'd be friends.

I'm exploring the idea of a sewing/knitting/looming night with the ladies in the neighborhood and some friends. It might be nice, especially before Christmas. I'll keep you posted.

Mentor Outing!

As a reward for meeting and accomplishing goals, our mentor team goes on an outing together. We recently went to the LA Zoo and saw many of the animals there. We were sad that there were no beavers!

I can't tell you how proud I am of both the mentors and the "mentees". We talk about Signs of Transformation, or ways in which God is changing people, and I am so encouraged that change is happening in peoples lives through the efforts of those who listen and walk alongside others. One particular "mentee" has accomplished so much in a year and continually makes strides towards self-sufficiency.

Every month we make goals and her goal this month is to walk independently and safely across a busy intersection. She is working to overcome fears that have kept her from being active for some time. She is learning to trust God to protect her, and to trust us to support her.

Great JOB!

Graduation at the LA Mission

I was recently invited to the Graduation Ceremony for our friend Art Torres. We helped him get into the LA mission over a year ago and now he has completed over a year of spiritual rehabilitation. I was so encouraged at his graduation. Each graduate read a verse from memory that meant something to them and received a certificate on stage. I was able to meet his family afterwards and they were blessed by his progress.

I see such value in sending individuals to Christian recovery programs. We have seen others come out of non-Bible based programs and sometimes they lack the spiritual connection.

Great Job ART. We look forward to hearing your testimony on a Saturday at the showers.

Kingdom Contributors

A couple of weeks ago we realized that after the showers the Homeless Task Force offers each week the stalls would be filled with bottles of shampoo and partially used bars of soap. We were having a hard time keeping these items stocked so we decided something needed to change.

In the past, we've simply offered free food and free showers with nothing expected in return. While that felt good at first, we began to see that giving stuff for free with out any expectation of exchange, actually separates us from the neighbors we are called to love. One-way charity at arms length is easy and feels good for the givers but creates a false perception that we the givers have everything, and our homeless neighbors are empty vessels with nothing to offer.

So when the shampoo and soap problem came along we decided rather than perpetuating the charity mindset, we would put it in the hands of the people who use the showers. We alerted all of the "regulars" of the problem and appointed three leaders to take care of it.

Since then, Jessie, one of the homeless appointees has been regularly picking up shampoo, soap, powder and other items that are used on Saturday mornings. When we recognized that the neighbors weren't just needy, and invited them to take part, leaders emerged. Had we the "givers" simply solved the problem ourselves, we would have missed out on the opportunity involve Jessie in the solution. That to me is a picture of the Kingdom... neighbors moving from recipient to partner, from poor to contributor.

Urban Youth Workers RELOAD Conference

This weekend we took a small group to the Urban Youth Workers RELOAD Conference in Los Angeles. Heather, Lee, Mike & Madison came from Canaan Presbyterian on Palm & Clark. We love working with that church! Desiree, an awesome young leader from our neighborhood came with us, as well.

One of the workshops I went to really challenged me on how I work with the youth in the neighborhood. The worshop speaker asked if we were imposing our "middle-class" on to the kids as if that was the only way. I think I have done that from time to time without even noticing. She was teaching out of a book by Dr. Ruby Payne called "What every church member should know about poverty." It's sitting on my shelf, but I really haven't gone through in depth. I walked away resolving that I would spend more time researching the culture that surrounds me in my neighborhood. The other workshop I went to highlighted the importance of rest & Sabbath for those working with youth in an urban setting. Really... it applies to us all. They talked about how being burnt out has turned into a badge of honor. People say "I'm so busy!" as if it's something good. I'm very guilty of that. Burn out is not what God intended for his workers. If we're burnt out we're probably doing more than he asked of us.

Mi Casa Es Su Casa

Last night my neighbors invited me over to their house for their 10-year-old son's birthday. I couldn't make it until after 8, but they insisted that I still stop by. It was mainly a family party, but they made me feel very welcomed. The parents mainly speak Spanish, but their kids are bilingual. I sat around the dinner table with the adults and we chatted about the day. Oscar, the dad, has the biggest heart and loves to tell stories. He told story after story about his week and funny things that happened. His stories were in Spanish, so I only got about half of it. The kids were laughing at me because they knew I didn't really understand it all, but they re-assured me that even though they speak Spanish... they only understood half of it, as well. They went on to give me a lesson in Spanish.

I use the language barrier between me and most of my neighbors as an excuse not to visit as much. Last night proved to me that being a little uncomfortable about my lack of Spanish skills is not a good enough excuse to miss out on building relationships.

As I was leaving, the mom hugged me and told me that I am welcome in their home any time.

Case Closed

"We close cases if clients refuse service".

These were the words I recently heard from an Adult Protective Services Case worker regarding a lady that I have been meeting with who is Homeless. I was introduced to her by a Bellflower community resident who has been buying her coffee daily at 8:30am at the nearby Grannies donughts. She is frail with a hunched back and a walker. She speaks of having little feeling in her legs and a shortness of breath. We have suggested that she ought to go to a Hospital to have a doctor to look at her eye injured when someone recently beat her. When I called Adult Protective Services informed me that if she won't take assistance, they close her case. I don't blame them. It's the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink"

I wonder what my role is with Theresa? Should I take the same stance as the Adult Protective Services Case Worker, or am I called to something different? I have found that people who are homeless are so, not because of a lack of resources, but rather a lack of relationships.

I have been wondering what this relationship (without the contingent of an exchange of resources attached to it) looks like? A wise friend of mine commented that Jesus was called to be "with" people. Jesus had a ministry of presence among those he served. How do I do this? We are soo tempted to Cure people. Henry Nouwen speaks of the concept of Caring for people rather than curing them. God lead me!

Any thoughts?

Church Sponsorship

There is a recent article in the LA Times about the Denver Rescue Mission's work of partnering Church mentors with homeless families transitioning into housing. The story is told from the mentor's point of view and captures the challenge, yet reward of working with these families.

Kingdom Causes is doing similar work with families in Bellflower and the Long Beach Rescue Mission is looking at a similar approach. We'll see what the future unfolds. The key would be to get Churches to sponsor first months rent and deposit for families or individuals. Anyone have any thoughts?

Our Place in the Liberty Day Parade

Last Saturday was the Liberty Day Parade in Bellflower and we were well represented by two of our most gregarious team members, Check it out!

Coach Betty Sandoval

Taffy the Clown: aka Teri Larsen

Eucalyptus Kids go to Chivas USA Game

This last Sunday we had the joy of accompanying 20 kids from our neighborhood to the Chivas USA vs Colorado Rapids soccer game. The Chivas lost, but we had a blast anyway. Four of our teenagers from EUCY (Eucalyptus Urban Council of Youth) were the designated ballboys and Desiree was the field manager's assistant. In fact, Desiree was invited back by the manager to help out at future games. Score!

Anyway, here are some pictures from the day:

From building walls to building bridges

“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13,14). The first paradigm shift pertains to where we, as the church, see ourselves in relation to our communities. Will we remain outside of the community inviting people in or will we go to our
communities, seeking to be a transforming agent? The church is called to be separate in lifestyle but never called to be isolated from the people it seeks to influence.

excerpt from Eric Swanson's 10 Paradigm Shifts for Community Transformation.

As Eric wrote in an earlier post, he has been working with the "un-expected worker" to help one of our homeless neighbors. This is a great example of this principle of bridge building. Eric is building a bridge with the "worker", an unbeliever, via someone they both care deeply about, a homeless neighbor. It is exciting to see that this "worker" has been exposed to the Gospel and a representative of the church (Eric). The work of the Kingdom Causes Homeless Task Force is building bridges as a "transforming agent" not only to our homeless neighbors but also those unbelieving neighbors who think, "Something must be done."

10 paradigm shifts towards community transformation

I have been reading through a paper by Eric Swanson entitled 10 Paradigm Shifts Towards Community Transformation. He shares what he believes "takes us [the church] from model of thinking that we must discard to a new model that we must embrace."

1. From building walls to building bridges.


2. From measuring attendance to measuring impact.


3. From encouraging saints to attend the service to equipping the saints for works of service


4. From "serve us" to service


5. From duplication of human services and ministries to partnering wiht existing services and ministries.


6. From fellowship to functional unity


7. From condemning the city to blessing the city and praying for it.


8. From being a minister in a congregation to being a minister in a parish.


9. From anecdote and speculation to valid information


10. From teacher to learner.

Over the next few months it is my intent to take one of these paradigm shifts per week and unpack it in light of what is happening here in Bellflower. Stay tuned.

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.

Community Development via Foosball

Our storefront neighbors are playing foosball in the front of the community center right now. It's great! We already have plans to battle it out on the ping pong table as soon as that arrives.

On Tuesday a neighbor-boy that stops in almost everyday brought his mom and siblings over to play. What a good ice breaker! The Foosball Table has only been here for a week and it's already doing a good job in connecting neighbors. Thanks Katie!! Great idea!!

Pastors BBQ at my place

A few weeks ago Rachel and I hosted a barbeque at our home for the pastors of the churches in the Oak Street neighborhood. We had just invited Andrew to join the team to do some of the initial community development ground work and we wanted to get together to celebrate. We had a great time of fellowship. At one point I just sat back and thanked God for the answer to prayer that I was witnessing. Brothers and sisters, pastors from different churches all gathered in a spirit of unity. What a blessing! God is on the move.

Shrieks of Excitement

Yesterday I went into the neighborhood with Nicole McGahey to hand out flyers about Bethel day camp and the soccer program that will be starting within the next couple of weeks. Many of the kids’ voices shrieked with excitement as they heard about the various opportunities available to them this summer. As I handed out the soccer flyers I would ask the kids if they liked soccer, one little boy in particular screamed out, “SOCCER? I love soccer!” The excitement in his voice, along with all the other shrieks of excitement, makes all the planning that goes into starting up a program worth every second. Working on Eucalyptus Street and with Kingdom Causes has been an ongoing blessing. Everyday I am just amazed by what God is doing in this neighborhood and how He is a constant provider.

A picture of involvement

So not everyone is called to build a relationship with or minister to Homeless people.

A friend and brother at a Church in Bellflower has found a way to be involved with the Homeless and those transitioning out of Homelessness. God has gifted him with the abilities to run a successful business. He provides water to all his employees and puts out recycle bins for the bottles. He donated about 6 bags of recyclables for our Homeless Task Force team. We decided to give the bags to two of the individuals in transitional housing. A little extra money after they pay off thier monthly bills is a real blessing. The cool thing about the Recyclables is that they have to do a little work for the money and it's not just free cash. I took Patrick and the son of another tenant to Ralphs where they recycled about $25 worth of bottles. The "little guy" who is about 4 got some early work experience which him and his mom were grateful for. By the way, his mother sacrifices her small pay check once a month to cook food for the homeless on Tuesdays. Sometimes i want to tell her to keep her money but she insists that God wants her to bless others.

Thank you to our friends at Sparkle Water Management for your kind donations. It's pretty simple but impactful.

Mentor Outing

We provide incentives for the individuals in trailers who are working on goals such as budgeting or life skills. We ask them what kind of activity they would like to do. This past month, we took our friend Elane to Redondo for Fish and Chips. She is part of The Lords Church in Bellflower and is connected with a Mentor from that Church. She has memories of going to Redondo with her friends so we wanted to create more memories. We ate, played with birds, watched the ocean, laughed and admired God's creation as we drove the coast. Great Job Dena and Elane! (Dena we'll make sure you can make the next outing and thank you for all your hard work!)

Project Turned To BBQ

Students from Valley Christians Missions class got an assignment to take $1.00 and see how far it could go towards helping someone. Four girls from the class combined thier dollars and bought window washing supplies. They washed enough windows to make $70. After going down to Harbor Light Mission in LA and seeing Karaoke in the Park with the Homeless they wanted to do something similar. At the same time that the students contacted me, our Homeless friends were talking about getting together in the Park. We combined the ideas and had a BBQ in the Park. We laid out mats and chairs for people to relax in while eating and having conversation. People cooked and ate side by side. We had a water balloon toss game and a Pinata. About 25 volunteers and homeless people gathered together to build Christ centered relationships.
Every Tuesday and Saturday we interact with the Homeless and so this has been a fun memory that many still reflect upon.

Thank you Valley Christian for inspiring students to be creative with Mission. It's amazing what combining resources can accomplish. Thank you Justine and Shiloh for throwing the party!

noticing beauty in the neighborhood

"There are beautiful dynamics to urban life that most rural and suburban folks can’t understand. There is variety in its ethnic mixes and this often produces a sense of neighborhood or face-to-face community not known in the suburbs. Suburban residents sometimes don’t know neighbors who live only a few doors a way. When inner city kids visit the suburbs, they often think it looks like a ghost town: all those empty lawns, swimming pools with no one swimming, decks but no one sitting on them, sidewalks and no one walking." (Dean Borgman cCYS http://www.centerforyouth.org/Encyclopedia.aspx?id=47613)

Growing up in a suburb with tons of track homes and corner parks, it took me a long time to appreciate the beauty of inner-city neighborhoods. I was born & raised in Corona... land of new housing developments and cookie cutter corner shopping centers. Corona is pretty... on a clear day. Corona is clean. The grass is green & landscaped. The buildings all look the same... stucco and plain. Bellflower has a different beauty. The beauty isn't based on its cleanliness or buildings... although I do prefer older houses with character compared to track homes with no yards. Bellflower's beauty, specifically my neighborhood, is somewhat hidden. You have to really pay attention to notice it. But once you do, you realize it's all around.

On Eucalyptus there is always someone walking by... even late at night. There are people talking. Mamacitas chatting to one another as they walk their kids to school. Men carrying water bottles up the street to get water for their family. Kids playing games that they made up.

There's an old man that walks around Bellflower all day. He wears a gray sweater, blue polyester pants and walks with a forward slant. I see him everyday! He just walks. Sometimes he has a bag from the grocery store, but mostly he's just walking. He speaks Spanish, so I have yet to converse with him. But he is part of what makes my neighborhood beautiful.

The other night I ate dinner outside on the porch because my house was warm and a little messy. There were two little boys (maybe 7 or 8) across the street giggling. As soon as the street was clear of traffic, they would run out to the middle and each put a plastic bottle where they thought a car would hit it. Then, sure enough, a car would come by and run over one of the bottles... and the kids would laugh and do it again. They found joy with a piece of trash and a busy street. Beautiful.

Lemon, Chili & Salt

Today Katie and I spent time with three junior high girls that hang out on Cornuta. I'd met them before, but barely got a word out of all three of them combined. We're having them help us create a program or "hang out" time with girls their age. I'd love to see this turn into a mentoring relationship. Today we went swimming for a couple of hours and they opened up a little more. We bonded over eating lemons with chili & salt. SICK! Gooo! They were all eating it so they made Katie and I try it. I don't like sour or salty... so a combination of both is not appealing whatsoever. But we tried it. They kept on pouring more salt on after each bite. My lips were stinging and they thought it was hilarious. We actually went through an entire salt shaker!

So Katie and I decided that our goal is to enjoy the whole fruit & salt & chili thing before the end of the summer.

I will say... orange with salt & chili isn't too bad. I might actually like that.

Starting Out

A Post by Katie Zondervan

Last week I started my first day as an intern with Kingdom Causes, working specifically on Eucalyptus Street with Chrissy. Coming in I had a general idea of what my summer would consist of, but my first days at Kingdom Causes were a little different from what I was expecting. The first day we had orientation and then went out in the neighborhood to get a feel for where I would be spending a lot of my time. We spent most of the afternoon building relationships with kids in the neighborhood. It was awesome! I was amazed to see all the relationships Chrissy has already made and was excited to start forming my own.

Since I have started I have experienced so many great things. I got to ride the Bethel blue bus, which drives down Eucalyptus street to pick up kids for youth group at Bethel Church. I saw the photo exhibit and the wonderful talent these kids have. I have been able to brainstorm ideas with the team, and hear stories of transformation, specifically that of Laticia, a lady who lives in the neighborhood and has been very involved with Kingdom Causes. She wants to see the neighborhood transform and is always willing to lend a hand.

If there is one thing I have learned or had reinforced since starting last week it would be to not place judgment too quickly. Growing up around Bellflower I had heard stories about Eucalyptus Street and its reputation, and automatically I had a pre-conception about it. Knowing that I would be working specifically on the street I was a little nervous, but now realize I had no need to be. I agree that there are defiantly bad parts on Eucalyptus Street, but there are also a lot of good things that go unrecognized. There are so many good people, families, relationships, and resources throughout the street. It is amazing see God at work in those good areas! I am excited to see what the summer will bring.

Peace

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). That's a hard one to follow this week. I felt like there was a target on my back for attack by means of discouragement. In the back of my mind I could recognize that it was spiritual attack, but it didn't make it any easier. At the beginning of the week it was hard for me to focus on the things that needed to be done for this weekend's Advancement Dinner. But God is faithful. I asked... begged for peace and strength and He gave it.

So today is the big day. Our Second Annual Advancement Dinner is in a few hours. You would think we all would be running around going crazy with last minute tasks, but the mood in this office is peace. This morning Pat Holwerda led us in a time of prayer and I walked away from that feeling a sense of awe for God's faithfulness. I'm excited for those of you who come tonight to see and hear what the Lord is doing in Bellflower. It's good stuff.

Did the Good Samaritan ever come back?

My mom always asks me what I do and so mom if you read this you'll understand a little more.

About 7 churches in and around Bellflower participate in some type of food ministry to the "poor", or homeless. Oftentimes, it is merely an exchange of foods and services. I have connected with a couple of Churches and offered myself as a resource to assist people who come through the lines and are asking for more than food.

Yesterday is a good story.

"Ray" ended up limping into our office pretty beat up. Sick, fatigued, tired, dirty and looking for help, he told me that he had just come from a food pantry and talked with a lady for about an hour who referred him over to us. I assessed the situation. 54 years old. Alcoholic. Divorced. Recently Homeless. The main cause of Homelessness is a lack of supportive relationships. Mostly because "they" burn bridges. Addicts create a confusing environment in a relationship. It's like dealing with two people- the sober one and the intoxicated one. Confusing!
He went to the Church to get help. He had no place to go. He was pretty rock bottom.
He is thankful for the lady who ministered to him.

I ended up driving him to a detox in Orange County. They looked at him and requested that he fix his broken foot. I took him to the Emergency room and left him there with the number to get back to the detox.
He called me this morning. He'll spend 10 days there and then make a decision to enter more intensive rehab(which is what i suggest)

There is a little complexity that underlies all of this. A Good Samaritan ministers for an hour and then referrs him to me who referred him somewhere. He will then be referred to another place who will referr him to a job and then to a house. When does it end?

I feel like the story of the Good Samaritan leaves us hanging a litle bit. We know that the Samaritan stops, assesses and then referrs the person to an inn. They are then on their way. Does the Samaritan ever come back to see the person that was helped? Maybe the Samaritan wanted to come back but had some really important business to take care of? Who knows?

What is our responsibility as a Church for those who come to us in need? How much of our time and lives are we required to give?

I called the Church and tried to speak to the "Good Samaritan" who ministered to "Ray". The secretary said the lady wasn't a member and seemed shocked that I would call back to get her involved. I wanted to give her the opportunity to stay involved in "ray's" rehabilitation process if she would like. He needs to rebuild his supportive network!

I hope she calls and we can speak.

Oak Street: The Trials in the “Real World”

May 25, 2007
Blogged by: Andrew Nishimoto

So I was walking down Oak Street the other day to just pray and better acquaint myself with the neighborhood and what it has to offer when I walked through a group of late teen early twenty year olds. One of them reminded me of someone I knew in high school so I asked him where he went to school and once it was realized we didn’t go to the same school I attempted to make some small talk with them. I quickly realized they did not want, or trust this “white boy” in their neighborhood. I then left and was quickly disheartened about my mission this summer.

I was driving home, trying to collect my thoughts and figure out my emotions. I had been on a “spiritual high” since beginning this work a couple weeks ago and this was my first real down to earth experience. Cloud nine was pulled away and I felt like I was falling. This is when I realized that God is there to catch me and that this is His work and it is not going to be easy. All this to say that, those who think everything can be fixed with some formulated plan, as I once did, have never worked these neighborhoods. This work is hard, time consuming, and takes ones whole being. Please continue to pray for me, and all of us here at Kingdom Causes and other organizations with the same mission.

Meet our new interns!

Katie Zondervan (Eucalyptus Intern)

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A veterinarian
What is your best childhood memory?
Playing hot lava around the house
How did you get involved with Kingdom Causes?
I didn't want another filing job this summer. I wanted to do something with more meaning. So my dad talked with Ryan... and now I'm here.
What's your most embarrassing moment?
I got de-pantsed in the middle of lunch my sophomore year in high school. I still cry myself to sleep at night.

Andrew Nishimoto (Oak Street Intern)

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Professional Wrestler
What is your best childhood memory?
Going to Disneyland with my Grandma
How did you get involved with Kingdom Causes?
Pastor Tom (Brethren Church) hooked it up.
What's your most embarrassing moment?
When I was 12 I went to a park with the spinny thing. I was dizzy and needed to go potty, so I went into the bathroom. When I walked out, I realized I had been in the girls restroom.

post exhibit bliss

What an amazing experience! The expressions on the kids faces when they walked in to see their work displayed was worth all the hours of prep. Oscar brought his entire family... and then some. They stayed the entire 2 hours that the exhibit was open. The night before we found out that one of the largest soccer games would be on during the same hours that our exhibit was open. I was worried that nobody would show up because of the game, but we ended up with well over 100 guests, including the mayor, Scott Larsen. If you missed the opportunity to visit the exhibit on Sunday, we'll keep the pictures up until next week. Stop by & see for yourself! Here are some pictures from the night:

Oscar's brother and nephew enjoying their time

Thank you Andrew & Eric for making the ladder idea work

Jaclyn & her mom pose next to her exhibit

Yeah... that's our Mayor with Kevin

Story Telling w/ Pictures

The theme of last week's photography classes was "story telling with pictures." On Thursday we took the class to the Eucalyptus & Cornuta neighborhood, where many of them live. Below are some of my favorite shots from the day. Can you guess the story behind each photo?