A letter from Ryan

                                                                                                                        April 23, 2014

“a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.” Matthew 26:7

Dear Friends, 

It seems like God uses the season of Lent consistently to grow our faith.  Last year, God moved during this season to call KCB to the faith-growing step of buying Margaret’s House and turning it into a family shelter.  This year there’s been another faith stretching call. 

In late February a friend and former Bellflower Pastor, Moses Chung, who is now the director of a church-planting and renewal agency based out of Michigan, called Home Missions, called me out of the blue.  Since November he had been looking for a team member that could help him with the skills and gifts needed to help with the implementation of some significant organizational culture and strategy changes within this agency.  He could not find the right fit from among the applicants for the position, and he said the Spirit had led him to ask me, “Is there any chance you would consider taking on a role like this?”  I had a quick response.  “No.”  He said he thought I would be “a good candidate for the role” and asked if I would just look at the position description over the weekend and call him if anything changed in my openness to the idea.   I told him politely that I was “about 3%” interested and so while I was honored to be considered he better continue his search elsewhere.  “We are living the dream here in Bellflower and it’s not likely that God would change that.”

I was NOT looking,  nor could I imagine applying for, any other role or assignment than the one that God has had me on.  It would be too costly for us… We’ve lived our entire married lives here in Bellflower, our family enjoys a depth of community with you, the KCB board members, our co-workers, neighbors, and church, that not many get to experience.  We do “live the dream”.  Our daily lives are so FULL and BLESSED with a wholistic experience of what it means to live as Kingdom people with other followers of Jesus, beyond what we imagined or envisioned when we started out our lives here.  We are proud and honored to be a part of a “tribe” of Jesus followers who consistently lay down their agendas and priorities for the sake of God’s Kingdom priorities.  We couldn’t imagine that God would want or ask us to give this up.

You have to be careful when you assume that God will not change His assignments.  Since that “out of the blue” phone call, God has been making it overwhelmingly (and at times painfully) clear to Rachel and I through a series of “coincidental” dreams, conversations, “divine” appointments, other circumstances, and prayerful discernment that He is calling me to take this position that will require us to give up the “dream” and resign from my role as Executive Director of KCB/OPHS/LH.

The story in Matthew 26 of Mary anointing Jesus has been particularly poignant for Rachel and I in this season of discernment.  In the story, Mary, out of her love for Jesus, extravagantly anoints Him with an alabaster jar of perfume.  This perfume was extremely costly and valuable, a family heirloom, a source of comfort and security, and she takes it and pours it all out in an expression of her love for Jesus.  The disciples can’t understand this “wasteful” expense.  They have better ideas for how this precious resource should have been used.  At a conference I attended in March, as we were just starting to discern this call, one of the speakers taught on this text and asked pointedly, “What is your alabaster jar of perfume?  What is it that you cling to for security and comfort?  What do you tie your identity to?  Would you pour even that out in an expression of love for Jesus?  Is Jesus better to you than all of this?

Many secret tears have flowed in these weeks as it became clear that God was in fact asking us to pour out this offering of love and surrender our ideal life, community, church, home, job, connections and influence in what feels at times like blind obedience, trusting that he will provide for our family and for you all. 

God used our 10 year celebration to remind us of all that God has done, and will continue to do amazing things through the ministry of KCB (OPHS and Little House) to advance His kingdom in Bellflower.  From our beginning we have professed that Jesus is the leader of this organization and I am sure that He has the right person to fill the leadership role for KCB.  KCB has worked because this organization is HIS and because He uses you on a daily basis.  Home Missions has said that it wants to embrace missional approaches similar to the one that God has been doing in our midst, to help new and struggling churches and communities engage in similar work.

It has been an honor and privilege to serve alongside you brothers and sisters who are radically committed to this work and I am confident that “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.”  The leadership at Home Missions has given a generous period of time (start date of June 1) to ensure that we can carefully plan for my transition from the role as Executive Director and I am committed to finishing well.  I remain committed to KCB’s mission and vision and want to help as much as you see fit during this season.   Please feel free to contact me with any questions as they come up.

Thank you for all of your servant leadership and for allowing me the great privilege of serving as the Executive Director over the last ten years.  I am confident our success has been due to our God’s great love for our city and because KCB/OPHS/LH are HIS and He will continue to bless the work on into the future. 

To God be the Glory,

Ryan

KCB Celebrates 10 Years!

This past Thurrsday, KCB celebrated 10 years of service in Bellflower! We had a wonderful celebration with over 300 KCB volunteers, donors, and friends! It was incredible to be recognized by the City of Bellflower and partner organizations for our work, and to be able to thank the HUNDREDS of people who have worked together to do some pretty incredible stuff in our city. 

Most importantly, it was a time to give credit and thanks to God for His faithfulness in using His people to bless His city. We are excited to see all that He has in store for the next ten years!

If you were unable to make it to the celebration. Check out the video that we shared here. It does a great job telling our story of working together to love our city.

If you want to celebrate with us... here are three easy options!

1. Commit to praying for KCB 10 minutes each week (email us at admin@kcbellflower.org if you would like to receive a weekly prayer request email)

2. Invite 10 friends to like us on on Facebook. Check out our page here.

3. Partner with us by becoming a monthly donor of $10/month! Click here to give online, or call our office at 562-804-2189 to sign up.

We're thankful for the part that YOU have played in these past 10 years!

By: Abbey Nishimoto

Reflection From Teaching an ESL Class

Over the past month at KCB I have been given the opportunity to begin an English conversation class for primarily the women with young children of Bellflower. At first this venture was frustrating, facing the great challenge of learning how to best help these women learn and practice English, oftentimes with few to no women attending the class. After the second week, in which no one showed up, I was ready to give up. I began to really doubt my abilities and my purpose in teaching this class. But God had a purpose for this class far better than my purpose and in the weeks that followed He began to reveal to me the importance of this class.

Many of the women who began to attend in the weeks that followed and still continue to attend are eager to improve their English. Some desire to be able to communicate with their children’s teachers, to find jobs, or just to be able to interact with people they encounter around the city. The interesting thing I’ve learned is that while many of these women understand and speak a lot of English, they struggle to have confidence in their abilities. Several of the women shared with me that they feel self-conscious about their accent and are worried that people won’t understand them or may make fun of them. As an English-speaking student learning Spanish, I can completely relate as I struggle with the same insecurities and anxieties!

God truly equipped me not only with the technical ability to teach but also with the understanding and relatability necessary to allow these women to feel comfortable practicing their English and asking questions when something may be unclear. I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 9:8, which says “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” In prayerfully dedicating time to do the work of the Lord, He takes our feelings of inadequacy and equips us to accomplish His purposes.


Miranda Starbeck, Spring Intern

Why I Keep Working With Kids

This week I was hanging out with some Washington kids, we were just talking about life. Out of no where one student turns to me and asks when our tutoring program would be over. I hadn't planned that far ahead so I didn't have an immediate answer. I would characterize this particular student as an "at risk" youth; he has so much potential but needs a little encouragement and positive reinforcement.

Thinking he was asking me when it was to end because he wasn't enjoying our program I responded with, "I don't know. Why? Do you not want to come anymore?" To my amazement he replied, "No! I want to come! If it wasn't for this tutoring program I wouldn't be able to get help at home, because my mom doesn't know how to do my homework, neither does my dad."

Every time I start questioning my time and effort at Washington Elementary, I am reminded, by the kids themselves, that God is using our volunteers in ways that surpass our imagination. So when I stop to think that so far we're impacting a small percentage of students at one of the eleven elementary schools I get saddened for the other elementary schools who have "at risk" kids waiting for a volunteer, a friend, to inspire them to be who God created them to be!


By Edgar Guzman

A Second Chance At Work

Forty three individuals last year found a second chance at work here at Good Soil Industries. Whether it is a visible tattoo, a criminal past, a long battle with addiction, or a gap in their work history, Good Soil provides an a place for dignity to be restored through work. As many can attest, it is easier to find a job when you have a job. We give a foot in the door for individuals who continually find themselves shut out.

But Good Soil is not just work; it is relationships. And on this day there are 18 new employees excited to complete an I-9 and W4 for the first time in years. They are eager to show that they are ready and worthy of work.

They are a reminder to me to always be grateful for the work I have, and I hope it does the same for you today.
By Joel Holwerda

Thoughts From The Riverbed

Over the past year, I’ve started running for exercise. Usually I go on my runs on the riverbed that goes through Bellflower. Fellow runners have tried to persuade me that there are better options, and I understand their point. The “riverbed” is basically a flat, cement path without tons of scenic views, and with the occasional shady character making crude remarks.

However, one of the reasons that I continue to run along this path is because of the opportunity that it gives me to pray for my homeless neighbors. At several locations along my route, there are homeless “encampments” under overpasses and roads. When I see these folks, I’m reminded to pray for transformation in their lives, and for strength for my coworkers at KCB who work with them on a daily basis.

It was immediately apparent on my run this weekend that something was up. There were lots of trucks, city workers, and trashcans filling up my normal route. When I asked one of the men what was going on, he informed me that they were clearing out one of the main encampments and putting up stronger fences to prevent the homeless from coming back.

Now, I completely understand the perspective of these workers (and the city). The encampments are filled with trash, reek of urine, and are the locations of illicit activities in various forms. It’s probably healthier for the city, and for our homeless neighbors, to clear them.

However, I can’t help but think about where the folks who called this underpass home. I wondered where they would sleep now. I wondered if they knew that all their possessions were being loaded into trash trucks.

 The worker who told me the news probably assumed that I was happy about the news. I believe he said something along the lines of “you won’t have to worry about those people on your runs anymore!” What saddens me most about his statement is that before I worked for Kingdom Causes and began interacting with “those people” on a near-daily basis in our office… I probably would have been happy. Even as a Christian. Because until we make space in our lives for “those people” to become simply people, they will continue to just be nuisances to be moved from place to place.

I’m really not sure what is best for my neighbors without addresses.  Should they be forced out of encampments? Should they have a right to their stuff that we call junk? I’m not sure. I’ll leave that to our homeless outreach team to figure out.

What I do know, is that I want to do a better job at recognizing what is the same between me and my homeless neighbors, instead of focusing on what’s different. This is the idea of “kinship” that Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries discusses so often. “Seek,” he says,  “to build a sense of kinship in a community where there is no 'them' - there is just 'us.' Stand against forgetting we belong to each other.”

Jesus had something similar to say in Luke 14, while addressing His dinner host, “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

My friends on the riverbed were created in God’s image just like me and my family. I wonder if they feel the dignity that truth should bring? I wonder how even I could show them that dignity this week?

Welcoming Our New Staff Member!

We are so excited to welcome Becky to our KCB Family! She graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2004 with a Bachelors degree in Social Work, and then from California State University, Long Beach with a Masters in Social Work in 2008. During her time as a graduate student, Becky moved to Bellflower from Chino, California where she was raised. She has spent the last 6.5 years working with people living with HIV all over Los Angeles County. She became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in April 2012. Her work with KCB and OPHS started in 2011 when she began her service as a member of the Board of Directors. Now, she leaves her position as a board member to join the OPHS staff. Becky is excited to be working to help her neighbors within the community of people who love the Lord and are passionate about seeing His love tangibly spread throughout the community.

Spring Intern... Miranda Starbeck!

Hello! My name is Miranda Starbeck and I am an intern this spring for Kingdom Causes Bellflower. I am a first semester senior at Biola University where I am studying Sociology with an emphasis in Social Work. At this point I feel confident that I am called to do social work of some kind although I am open to God’s direction as I am drawn to multiple different communities of people and different areas of social work.

So, why am I interning at Kingdom Causes? One of my classes at Biola requires an internship for this semester and I initially found Kingdom Causes through a google search for Christian non-profit organizations that have Social Work related internships. There were many places I considered interning but after coming in for an interview and learning more about Kingdom Causes I was very excited about the possibility of interning here. From past life experiences I have learned that sometimes God closes every door except the one you least expect, and that door turns out to be much more than you could ever hope for. I am so excited to see how God is going to stretch me and use me as I love and serve the people in the community of Bellflower. I’m also looking forward to the opportunity to practice my Spanish with the individuals I encounter, and continue to establish deeper relationships with people. I don’t know what all this internship will hold but I am eager to see what opportunities God places before me.

The picture above is of my siblings and I at our church’s Christmas Eve service this past December. (from left to right: my sister Mikayla, my brother Skyler, and me)

The Gift of Giving

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

By April Mardueño

Dominic and Desarie

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

It would be easy… but it would be wrong.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Bellflower Community Christmas Store

One of the things we are thankful for this holiday season is the Bellflower Community Christmas Store. The Bellflower Community Christmas Store invites people from the community who find Christmas to be a time of financial strain to come and buy gifts for their children at 80-90% off retail value. All gifts are priced at $5 or less, and all proceeds go directly back into the community via Kingdom Causes Bellflower and Rosewood Church.

Our goal this year is to collect over 700 gifts for the store...so we need your help! Please donate gifts of at least $10 value at our office, 16429 Bellflower Blvd. Bellflower, CA 90706 or at Rosewood Church 10115 Rose St. Bellflower, CA 90706.

The last day to donate gifts for the Community Christmas Store is December 13, 2013.

We also need volunteers to help run the store as well as wrapping the gifts!

For more information contact:

Denise Tamminga  (562)804-4778  or  dtamminga@rosewoodchurch.com

Abbey Nishimoto  (562)804-2189  or  admin@kcbellflower.org

Items That Are Popular:

Skateboards

Scooters

MP3 players

Cameras

Electronics

Boom Boxes

Hair Straighteners

Blow Dryers

Good Quality Sports Equipment

Curling Irons

Make-up Kits

Princess & Superhero Items

Hot Wheels

Watches

Baby Dolls & Barbies

Movie Passes

Gift Cards (iTunes, Forever 21, Game Stop)

CCDA Conference

In September, the Kingdom Causes Bellflower staff was blessed to attend the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference in New Orleans. This annual gathering of 2,500 community ministry practitioners provided our team with a chance to learn and glean new ideas from other incredible ministries from across the country. CCDA was started by my hero John Perkins in order to encourage, train and equip people who are engaged in Christian ministry with the poor.  Next year the conference will be held in North Carolina…I’d love to take you along!

-Ryan VerWys

Love Our City 2013

Last Saturday we hosted the first “Love Our City” training at Kingdom Causes. It was encouraging to see about 25 Christians gather together to learn and discuss how we can best care for our neighbors and our city. Some of the topics we covered were:

• How to love your next door neighbors
• How to love your homeless neighbors
• How you can love Bellflower with your wallet
• How we can love Bellflower by challenging broken systems

Some of my favorite moments from the training were hearing how people are already engaging with their neighborhoods, and seeing people make commitments to make small but significant changes in their lives.

Christ commanded His disciples to go into the world to make disciples, but challenged them to begin in Jerusalem, their own backyard. I’m excited to see how the participants at LOC 2013 will love the neighbors in the backyards of Bellflower!

If you missed the training, but are interested in bringing it to your church or organization, just shoot an email to anishimoto@kcbellflower.org.

Coming Together for Margaret's House

This summer I have been greatly encouraged by the story behind Margaret’s House and by witnessing the efforts of everyone coming together to make Margaret’s House a home. People’s selfless willingness to serve and help in any way possible has served as a testimony to the power and perfection of God’s plans.

One Saturday, I had the opportunity to help move furniture into Margaret’s House. Many of us caravanned from Downey with donations in tow, and I was overwhelmed when I heard the story of Margaret’s House retold to each new volunteer who had showed up to help.

This is one thing that has stood out to me the most this summer, and it is a lesson that was solidified as people met us at the house with truckloads of furniture they were ready to give, without knowing the purpose of Margaret’s House.  People are so willing to come together to help and sacrifice when a need is known, and the coming together of a community to meet the needs that were necessary to make Margaret’s House less of a thought and more of a reality has been incredible.

Hanging on the living room wall of Margaret’s House is a white canvas with the blueprints of the house, with thumbprints hanging above the house like balloons for every person who has walked into the house and made any contribution to its needs. This visual depiction of people coming together to meet needs in order to help their community is incredible.

It was exciting to see furniture inhabit the empty rooms and to picture families living in the loving space. I could imagine kids spending time in the upstairs loft and adults sitting together in community with visitors. It is heartening to know that this house will be a home for so many families in the years to come.

While the basic needs of Margaret’s House have been met (with furniture in the rooms), there are still several needs that we can all contribute to make Margaret’s House a home.
This includes:
Toys
Books
Movies for kids
Basic cleaning supplies
Safety gates

Thank you to everyone for your support, and please keep Margaret’s House in your prayers.

-Shannon Turner

The Latest Projects from GSI

Serve, Love, and Live... right where you are!

Coming into this summer, I was unsure if I would make much of an impact or learn much at all. However, it is amazing to see how God is working providentially in my life this summer to grow and equip me.

            God has been reinforcing in me the lesson of “Serve, love, and live right where you are.”  Our weekly intern meetings are not the only places I hear this message.  Just this past weekend when I went to an alumni day event in L.A. as part of a conference I went to over 3 years ago called Wheatstone. I was not expecting the theme of the day to coincide so perfectly with what I have been learning. The title and theme of the day conference was “Where are you?” and the main text for discussion was the book of Esther. Though His name is never mentioned, God’s providence is striking in this book.  He places Esther exactly where she needs to be so that she can act to save the people of Israel.

Esther 4:14 “¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
At the day conference we started the day with the Jeremiah 29 emphasizing verses 4-7  “⁴ This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.⁶ Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. ⁷ Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  This was the exact passage that I heard David Feiser preach on at Neighborhood Christian Fellowship that Sunday morning.

As someone who has had an eye on the foreign land for some time, this bombardment and repetition of the message of “live well now, right where you are” has been changing my perspective and helping me look at my community with new eyes and has made me recognize further that God has good plans for my life, and even if they don’t line up where I had intended, they will still be the best.

            I thought that this summer could end up being a summer of preparation for this next semester, but I think it is actually a summer of equipping for the rest of my life.

-Heidi Furlong

Waiting

There are these things called wait lists. We hear about them all the time in the homeless services world. There are wait lists for Section 8. Wait lists for permanent supportive housing. Wait lists for new buildings being opened up. The term is as common as is the concept of a homeless neighbor. But today the word wait list sounds different to me. Tony was on a wait list for housing. I met him last fall, when someone from a local health clinic called my work to alert us to the fact that their very sick patient was also homeless. Tony was very polite when I met him, laughing that he couldn’t see his tattered social security card without his glasses. You could tell he was probably handsome when he was younger. He told me his story, and we connected the dots. He was from Downey and regularly attended the homeless breakfasts at Calvary Bellflower. He had participated in the folk lift certification classes at Kingdom Causes, so he knew the office where I worked. He explained that he’d been homeless for the last two years, and that he was suffering from poor health; he had heart disease and cancer – specifically, brain tumors. The timing of our conversation was perfect. We had just received word that we were going to be able to receive a limited number of housing vouchers for homeless individuals who were also currently struggling with health issues. My meeting with Tony seemed providential. We immediately helped him to apply for housing, submitting his application within the week. We were elated at the possibility of being able to help a neighbor in need by ending his homelessness.  But then that dreaded word surfaced: wait list. These vouchers were supposed to materialize quickly, we were told, but likely as a result of sequestration, the process slowed. We counted Tony as one of the lucky ones; his application was submitted just before the door slammed shut. The answer for him, unlike so many others for whom we submitted, wasn’t “no”; it was “wait.” And waiting is better than nothing. …right? And so, Tony waited. He checked in with his case manager faithfully every week, to which we responded that we were still waiting. The excitement at the possibility of housing diminished, as we sent emails, made phone calls, and pushed on systems that did not give way. On August 8^th, 2013, while sleeping next to a friend, Tony died on the street of natural causes. He passed away quietly, resting on concrete. He was 51 years old. He was homeless. He was sick. He was on a wait list.

Waiting is an interesting thing. Sometimes we wait patiently, without perhaps even realizing we’re waiting – waiting for a change of luck, waiting for the seasons to change, waiting for life to perhaps get better. Mostly, I think, we wait impatiently. When will I lose that weight? When will I get that raise? When will I meet that special someone? My boss recently commented that perhaps we do not wait with enough anticipation, enough almost anguish for the arrival of what’s hoped for. He was referring to the stance of the church, waiting for its bridegroom Jesus to return. What should our waiting look like, he pondered? What would it look like to wait with hopeful anticipation, deeply desiring the arrival of something good for which we long? The conversation makes me reflect: what are the things that we are too impatient for – the fruits of change to be realized, things to be more comfortable for ourselves – and what things should we be more impatient to see come to fruition -  the arrival of justice in our cities, the realization of compassion in ourselves. Tony died waiting. I don’t know if he waited with patience, with hope, with dejection. And while he waited, we waited also. But did we wait in the right way? Did we pursue help for the helpless, to extent that we were able? I believe that we did. But what then, do we say, when all of our waiting, and all of his waiting, produces this result?

The only thing I can think of is a phrase that has never meant much to me before today: “Come Lord Jesus, come.” We are waiting for your Kingdom. And I know that next time I utter the prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” I’ll mean it even more than I did last time that I said it.

"I thought it would be like a soup kitchen"

When we hear the words of the Great Commission, to “go out and make disciples of all nations” Christians often overlook our own communities.

                  But there is a certain glamour attached to helping the homeless. There is a soup kitchen mentality that exists. Many believe that the best way to serve the homeless is to literally serve them.

                   But that is not necessarily what helping a homeless neighbor looks like. Any time we have an idea in our head of how helping someone will turn out, God will often remind us of how awfully small we are in comparison to the wonderful world he designed.

                  At my second community barbecue of the summer, the first one ever held in Downey, there was a picture in my head of what it would look like, although I knew that the results would be unpredictable.

                  But there were plenty of volunteers and the tables were lined with fresh, yummy food. So if I have volunteers, and if I have food, the homeless would just HAVE to come, right??

                  After 5:00 rolled around and people started to pack up and leave, a handful of homeless neighbors had come by. But the last thing I felt was disappointment.  Amazing things had happened in two hours. A group of people who would not normally spend a Friday afternoon together were able to enjoy each other’s company. A man who was struggling to get an ID who had never heard of Kingdom Causes Bellflower was interested in learning more about the opportunities that were available to him. People, both neighbors and volunteers, were able to reach out, build relationships with one another, and get a glimpse of God’s Kingdom in action.

I heard a group of volunteers discussing their disappointment by their less than warm and fuzzy hearts.

One muttered, “I thought it would be like a soup kitchen.”

The other day a friend of mine was at an event where samples were being given, and when he had more free samples than he could bear, he offered a homeless man on the street a bag of pretzels. The man turned the pretzels down, and my friend recalled he felt insulted that the man would not take his free pretzels, “when he didn’t know where his next meal would come from.”

We have this stereotype of homelessness. Hungry. Dirty. Drunkards and Druggies. And we have preconceptions of what “helping” them looks like.

Like any stereotype, these characteristics do at times apply, but there is no reason to justify mistreatment, judgment, or complete apathy because someone seems to fit into a certain group of people. Nor does it validate our self-righteous attitudes when we set out to help those who are homeless.

                  The volunteers at the barbecue and my friend at the street event exhibit this mentality that they are doing those who are homeless a favor through hand outs and pity.

                  When our “good deeds” don’t turn out the way we expect, we often feel disappointed and discouraged. But oftentimes our good deeds are not what are needed by the community.  It might take creativity and good listening to truly understand what is needed of you to build God’s Kingdom, but when we listen and are aware of one another through building relationships first to even begin to understand a need, amazing things can happen in a community.

It is crucial to remain not only humble and selfless but to remain flexible, and understand that God has a plan for the Kingdom that we cannot even begin to comprehend.

 -Shannon Turner