Bringing it to the Table

Food has this magical property. I’m convinced of it. Somehow it can make the most different of people come together in community. Jesus used this tactic, and I consider Him to be quite smart. Well, I got to enjoy the magic of a meal recently when I went over to a Bellflower neighbor’s home. Every Tuesday, Adam and I head over to Bellflower Manor to hang out with a couple of really great women who are interested in impoving their English. Adam and I aren’t professional teachers, by any means, but we enjoy working through the English books with our “students.” I was so honored when one of the individuals in our class, named Hue, invited all of us over to her home for Vietnamese food. Of course we immediately said YES!

We ate some of the most delicious Vietnamese food I’d ever had. Actually, I don’t know that I had ever had Vietnamese food, but man was it good. I now know why it was so good – she spent the entire day preparing it! We asked about her techniques and she explained how she would start hours before and prepare different portions of the meal at different times, just so that it would all come out just right. I felt so blessed that she took such care and pride in the meal that she was preparing for us. Well the food was great, but the company was greater. While at lunch all together, we shared about the different traditions that we all have, being that we came from a variety of countries and customs. Hue even took the time to show us her Vietnamese calendar and inform Adam and I of what animal sign we would be considered in that culture! This was actually the first time I had been inside a Bellflower neighbor’s home, being that I am not from around here, and I felt so incredibly welcomed. It was truly such a privilege to get to spend time with amazing people, eat delicious food that I had never tried before, and have quality conversations. I left that afternoon feeling so full, in more ways than one.

Bellflower Counts: We Count our Homeless Because our Homeless Count

As I think back on this past weekend, I’m not quite sure where to begin. How do I write just one little blog post that does justice to all of the incredible stories I was told these past couple days by our homeless neighbors? I got the privilege of being involved with Bellflower Counts this weekend, and I can’t think of many other times where I have felt more content than during this event. Bellflower Counts was what I was working towards all summer, as a Kingdom Causes intern. I think that, prior to the actual event, my thoughts were consumed by the logistics of making Bellflower Counts happen (Did we collect enough donations? Will we have enough volunteers? Are all of our volunteer packets put together?). However, once Bellflower Counts actually arrived, the only thing that was important was the people. Our homeless neighbors. I spent consecutive 4am mornings on the streets of Bellflower, interacting with homeless Bellflower residents and finding out what exactly their health and housing needs are. Although I had a survey full of questions to guide my conversation with the neighbors, we never entirely stuck to just the survey. Somehow, I always found myself engulfed by a life story that was being shared with me. Nearly every homeless neighbor that I interacted with was more than willing to stop what s/he was doing to talk to me about life. Conversation flowed so simply, and each time it happened, my heart would get a little sadder. My heart would get sadder because it’s always so evident to me, when involved with the homeless population, that this group is so heavily marginalized and not many people stop to talk to them. The minute someone takes a second to genuinely ask, “How is your day?” endless amounts of conversation come pouring out. Granted, not every person responds in the same way, but in my interactions, this so often seems to be the case. I feel so filled after this weekend because I got to spend time in good conversation with our homeless neighbors. I also leave feeling very hopeful that the Bellflower Counts survey results will put us onto a path of housing some of the most amazing individuals I’ve ever met, who truly are interested in being housed.

My prayer for the neighbors I got to spend time with this weekend…
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh."

Luke 6:20-21

Although I am disappointed that Bella Art Fest had to be cancelled this year, I learned an important lesson about Christian Community Development through it. One of the main ideas in CCD is the importance of a program’s relevance to the community. The biggest carnival of an event can happen, but if it is irrelevant to what the community is concerned about or interested in, then it is useless. It is important to read the signs of what a community is saying that it needs support for at any given time. Members of the community will come out to support and be involved with an event they think is important to their community, but they will not be motivated to be involved with something that seems unimportant in the community.

Another thing I learned that just because something has been relevant in the past does not mean that it will always be relevant. The soul of a city is constantly changing and will not have the same support needs from one year to the next. This is why it is important for me, as a supporter of the community, to observe and inquire into the needs of the community. It is also important for those in the community to speak up and be heard! For the action of CCD to be effective, it must be a joint effort between the community and the supporters of the community. If a project is not a joint effort, then it probably is not relevant.

This is why I am happy to be working on another event for the city of Bellflower, The Bellflower Youth Art Gallery, featuring art from young artists at Bellflower High and Middle School. The art and artist for the Bellflower Blvd. mural will be selected from the art displayed at the Gallery. This event is definitely relevant because a lot of young citizens of Bellflower are involved with the Gallery. Many are excited about the repainting of the mural as well. See you there!
- Natalie

GSI elevator speech

The elevator speech: the daunting 30 second pitch for you or your product, told to anyone who makes semi-prolonged eye contact. While awkward, the “elevator speech” is an effective tool to explain what your product is and how it is value-adding. We’ll skip the stuffy elevator, but this is Good Soil Industries:

“Good Soil Industries (GSI) is a social enterprise that helps low-income individuals work their way out of poverty. Local residents receive job acquisition and retention training, goal setting and accountability, financial planning, and life coaching. GSI also employs hard-to-hire neighbors, in hopes of systematically reducing homelessness and dependency on financial assistance. The participants receive transitional job opportunities lasting between 3 and 6 months through GSI Landscape Services, which provides landscape maintenance for commercial and residential properties. As a result of the job training and current work history, 90% of program participants have graduated from the program and found steady, full-time employment.”

We encourage you to share our story, and we hope this elevator speech gives you words to share it clearly.