Birthday Club

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Name changed for privacy

Community Fellows Update: Sarah

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

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

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

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

Fellows Update: Noemi

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

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

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

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

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

Community Fellows Update: Janet

Hello All.

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

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

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

Prayer Request

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

Life Happens

Life happens.

This simple phrase is a no-brainer. Everyone knows that life happens. We experience it every day. Yet, somehow, I am continually surprised and thrown off guard by this simple fact. By the quickness of time’s passing. By the unexpected pain and trials. By the immeasurably joyful moments. By the monotony of the mundane.

Regardless of my surprise though, life continues to happen.

Jesus continues to draw me deeper into his life, into the pain and brokenness of this world as he walks through it with me, into the peace and grace of his love as he extends it to me and asks me to extend it to others.

Jesus continues to remind me. He reminds me of the fact that I do not have control over how life happens. He reminds me that when life happens, I have to trust him. Yet, he also reminds me that I have incredibly important choices to make when life happens. I may not be able to control how or when the hard, the joyful or the mundane happen, but I can control how I live in the midst of those things. I get to choose who to share those things with, who to love in the midst of those things and to whom I will surrender those things.

I confess, these last few months, I have been inconsistent in all of those areas-in my response to life when it happens. Jesus has shown me, in the midst of all of it, though, how important it is to be present. Life happens. All the time, life is happening: hard things are coming or going, happy moments are in constant movement, popping up all over the place. Yet, in the fluidness of life and all that it brings, Jesus gives me the opportunity to be in constant communion with him and with those around me, especially those I live with.

I have a friend who is in first grade. She lives in the apartment across from us. There are times when I get home and life has happened that day, in a big, hard way... And my friend wants to play with me or just sit and talk with me. In the second that I have to process her request and form my response, Jesus is also inviting me. He invites me into the life of my friend, into his love for her and reminds me to be present. It is far too easy for me to write off relationships and invitations from Jesus into the lives of those around me because I am ‘too tired,’ too exhausted from the happenings of life to do what he’s inviting me to: to rest in him and let his love consume and control me.

Yet, when I accept his invitation, there is truly no greater joy, no greater life on this earth, than the life I live with Him. I am praying for his reminders to lay aside my preoccupations with the happenings of life, past or future, and, instead, to be present in those happenings, walking with him, choosing to be a friend to others and to be sensitive to those around me.

-Gabi, Community Fellow 2014-15

Neighboring Takes Practice

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.

“Teacher,” he asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Luke 10:25-29

Recently as I read the passage of Luke 10:25-29 (which I quoted above), I have found myself viewing it with a new lens and understanding. So often when I've seen this passage, it's been easy to cast judgement upon that so-called "expert in the law." I'd think to myself, "how silly and childish it is for him to be asking Jesus for the golden ticket to glory... How does he not get the so-called "Golden Rule?!" Even after Jesus states the command so plainly, this squirrelly expert seems to continue searching for loop holes, playing dumb like he doesn't even know who his neighbors are..."

So here I sit, two and a half years removed from my entrance into the Community Fellows program, and my move into the neighborhood here on Eucalyptus. I'd love to think I've got this neighbor-loving thing down pat by now, at least a little bit... But I don't, and it's still hard. What I hadn't seen in that passage, is how often that "expert in the law" is me.

When I moved onto my block and entered the Fellows Program, I thought I'd become an expert. I was drawn to the program because I thought I didn't have any qualms with Jesus' command of loving my neighbor as myself. What I didn't realize was the enormity of the task. I hate to break it to you, but loving our neighbors isn't a naturally occurring phenomenon. It doesn't just happen. Actually, neighboring probably goes against most of our human DNA, that is,without Jesus. Without Jesus, living vulnerably with one another, allowing other people into our space/homes is just too great of a risk.

I'm starting to realize that Jesus knew what He was asking for when He stated that great command. He was asking for everything. Everything is really hard to let go of and I'm not very good at it. The beautiful thing about Jesus and the good news of the Gospel though, is that it is through these daily acts of surrender that we experience and receive the Kingdom in our lives. But it takes practice, and that's what the Fellows Program exposed and grew within me, and hopes to continue developing in others on into the future.

Through the Fellows Program we hope to provide a space, and a context for the Kingdom and shalom to take root in our lives, relationships and communities. This year we have 6 Fellows investing time and commitment in two local neighborhoods, grappling with what it means to faithfully love their neighbor. We have been incredibly blessed and honored by the local church support we've received to make this learning opportunity possible. We thank you for your continued prayers, encouragement and in involvement, as we all daily seek to see a little bit more of God's Kingdom amongst us in our homes, neighborhoods and city!

-Robert VerWys

Our Daily Bread

"Give us this day our daily bread"

This line from the Lord's Prayer gives me a lot of trouble. Surely Jesus didn't actually mean "daily" bread? As in, no bread for next week... definitely not next month... not even for tomorrow! This had to be a figure of speech, because actually receiving daily bread (and nothing more) runs completely counter to my desire to feel safe and secure. Doesn't Jesus know I like to meal plan?! 

As a non-profit organization, finances are always uncertain. We depend on the generosity of others to pay the bills, care for our neighbors, and compensate our employees. We're constantly asking the Lord to provide for our "daily bread". In November of this year, we realized that we would need about $32,000 in year-end gifts in order to balance our budget for 2014. We sent out letter, Facebook updates, and emails sharing the need and asking people to give generously. And we prayed for daily bread. 

Checks came in slowly, but steadily throughout the first few weeks of December. After Christmas, I opened up a few more pieces of mail with checks enclosed. We were so thankful for the generosity of all these donors, but also recognized that we were short of our goal by several thousand dollars. I'll admit that at this point I had very little faith that we would reach our goal. After all, there were only a few days left until the end of the year! Still, we prayed for daily bread. 

Then, as He is so faithful to do, God surprised by providing through a generous gift just in the nick of time! We ended 2014 with a balanced budget! 

I was reflecting on this great news earlier this week when one of our outreach workers, Kenny, came into the office and said that he had been given some bread to pass out to our neighbors. I walked out to his truck, and saw that the entire bed was filled with bread! Kenny was thrilled to be able to distribute all this food to our neighbors without address. It seems Jesus is still in the business of multiplication miracles, and now so many of the most vulnerable members of our community were blessed with daily bread.

-Abbey Nishimoto

It's Worth It

My own words, the ones I’ve spoken countless times at various trainings and KCB classes, were bouncing around in my brain all day. I couldn’t get my own voice out of my head:

“You have to establish a real relationship with your marginalized neighbors.

It’s hard.

It takes time.”

“You have to form an actual friendship to make any kind of sustainable difference.

It’s hard.

It takes time.

It COSTS YOU something”

I was spending the day with a young friend who was currently homeless, trying to help her get access to a stable roof over her head. Since my role at KCB these days involves mostly administrative tasks… my case management skills were a little rusty. Nevertheless, I did my best to ask good questions, listen a LOT, and wrack my brain for tangible ways that I could love and support my neighbor.

It was hard.

It took time.

It cost me something.

Yet, those 12 hours drove me to the feet of Jesus in a way that I don’t believe I have ever experienced before. On my own, I couldn’t solve the glaring problems and impossible hurts that my friend was facing. I couldn’t wave a magic wand and conjure up a workable solution. I came to the end of my rope, desperate for the Lord to intervene. In hindsight, it’s clear that’s exactly where He needed me to be.

Jehovah Jireh, God the provider, did provide a solution for my friend. Yet, His provision is not the end of the story. Sure, she has a roof over her head and regular meals to count on, but a real relationship… a real friendship… wouldn’t be content with just that. A real relationship means I follow up regularly. A real relationship means I make a space at my family’s table this Christmas. A real relationship mean I continue riding out the lows and celebrating the successes.

It’s hard.

It takes time.

It will cost me something.

And it’s SO worth it.

Matthew 25:30

I tell you the truth: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.

-Abbey Nishimoto

Community Fellows Reflections: Sarah

Hello All!

                  Hoping and praying that this letter finds you well.  I am well into my fourth month of the Kingdom Causes Bellflower: Fellows program and it has continued to be quite a whirlwind.  To jog your memory, I am still living in a low-income area and reaching out to neighbors to create a type of community that we do not find as much these days.  We are striving to be a light for Jesus and share our faith with those around us.  I am learning more and more how many of our neighbors have been hurt by the Christians and turned off to going to church.  I am just hoping that we are able to shine light and project the great things about the Lord in some small way, and I know the best way to do that is by just praying that I become less and less.  Please join me in praying that my words and interactions are not from my own futile and foolish brain, but rather that the Lord would just step in and guide my every conversation

                  It has been a pretty crazy few months for me in several different areas.  The hospital is, as usual, very busy and exhausting, one of my best friends got engaged so we are planning lots of fun things for her, several friends and coworkers have either become pregnant or given birth, and I am getting to know some of my neighbors a little better.  I have been juggling a lot and learning even more in the last couple months.  I've been learning how to do laundry at the laundromat, how important bug spray is, how to live in a one bedroom apartment and sleep during the day, how to be kind to a neighbor who doesn't even know how to say positive words, how to say "no" to things when I have too much on my plate (although I am still really bad at turning down activities). The most interesting thing that I'm learning about this program is that it's not just something that I am doing; but rather, it is a part of who I am. When I signed on for this, in the back of my head, I this is viewed the whole program as an "after work is over I will do this and that and get to know my neighbors la la la" kind of deal.  No. That is not the case.  The reality of it is that this is my life 100% of the time.  It's not just something I can do when I have free time.  It is enmeshed in everything that I do.  It's not just a hobby or an after school program.  It is every time Lindsay and I go to our favorite restaurant and the owner now knows us by name.  It is mourning with our friend over the loss of a loved one.  It is the struggle of trying to park my big car in my tiny space when my neighbor does not leave me enough room. It is when the manager of the laundromat brings his customers a bottle of water because it's really hot outside.   It is real life.  It is hard and dirty and gritty, much like most relationships.  It is loving Jesus and, because He loves us, being able to love those around us.  I don't think love is meant to be easy.  It definitely was not easy for Jesus to suffer a barbaric death and it wasn't easy for a 16 year-old virgin to tell her parents and fiancé that she was somehow miraculously pregnant.  Now, I'm not trying to compare myself to those two, my point is simply that God calls us to do things that are hard for us so that we can reach for Him in the middle of trying to understand why life is so challenging.   

                  This verse has been my jam over the last few months as I struggle with balancing the challenges of living in a low-income area and working on a floor with very high acuity patients and many stressful nights.

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." Peter 5:6-7

Thank you for your prayers and support.  Please continue to pray for the town of Bellflower.

Community Fellows Reflections: Lucy

Hello friends,

I am writing to update you on my experiences with the fellow’s program and life on Eucalyptus Avenue. I am right in the middle of my fourth month and it’s too scary how fast this year is going! I’m pleased to report that my disposition is still cheery and hopeful! However, I can also say that my mindset and heart are being challenged each and every day that I spend in this dynamic neighborhood.

Thus far I have had multiple opportunities to engage with the neighborhood girls who make our front porch (I guess you could call it) their imaginary classroom, stage or home. There are about 6 of them and they range from 1st grade through 7th. They are all so energetic and always greet us by name, which they usually yell. These girls have been a huge blessing because their attitudes towards us, has really facilitated conversation with their parents as well as the surrounding neighbors.

Just recently I got to sit in my neighbor's house while she gave me a haircut. This is her part time job, doing people’s hair by appointment. I got to listen to her story of coming to America, working, starting a family and eventually ending up in the apartment directly across from us. This time spent with her has been one of my most cherished experiences from the last four months. I got to listen to her describe her experiences, learn about her family through her eyes and truly learn about her heart’s passions. I thank God that he gave me this opportunity, and I want to pray that he allows me more of these unique conversations where I get to step into my neighbor’s comfort zone and hear them speak with out reservations.

I want to ask for your support in prayer and thank you so so much if you have been keeping me, Gabi, Janet, and Noemi in your prayers already. I want to ask specifically for prayer that I may continue to get to know my neighbors on a deeper level. That God continues to facilitate these relationships and that I rely on Him to show my neighbor’s Jesus’ love. I also want to ask for prayer in my hospitality. I want to open my doors to my neighbors but I want that to be in a manner that helps them get to know God. Lastly I want to ask prayer for my view on the rest of this year, prayer that I never forget that my neighbors are people with hearts that God created uniquely, not projects.

Thank you so so much,

Lucy Lopez

Community Fellows Reflections: Lindsay

Hello! It is November already and I'm finally able to wear a sweater; time rapidly flies by, and at the same time goes at a snail's pace. I pray time has been good to you if you're reading this blog post. It certainly has been to me.

First of all, thank you to everyone who not only prays for KCB but for the fellows in the Fellows Program. I feel it and appreciate it. God provides, protects, guides, and reveals His will in so many big and small ways. 

Christian Community Development is messy. I'm discovering the further into the program I get, the more I cannot compartmentalize my life- and I know this is good. Living life with others is rarely uncomplicated, neat and tidy, which does cause friction to my Dutch, CRC upbringing. (Amiright??? *nudge *wink...ugh) 

There is an element to this lifestyle which holds me even more accountable to myself, to my friends and community, and to my Lord. It is almost as if I'm choosing to live in a glass house to a large degree. And even though I'm making a metaphorical comparison, our neighbors have looked in our windows to see if we're home and want to chat, so... take that for what you will. 

Our neighbors. Night falls earlier so this tends to make it more difficult to be social on our property and in our neighborhood. I am now working almost full-time hours at InJoy Life Resources, which is a blessing, but causes me to feel a bit stretched thin. Time management... (Once again amiright???) Opportunities still come up and I'm ever grateful for the conversation and laughs I can have with one of our neighbors about her cats, her truck, or the basil plant I 'let' her adopt. Oh man. The stories and honest relationships that give me joy... Our property has few children on it, mostly strong, single women with full-time jobs, and as such, our experience has looked quite different from the girls on Eucalyptus.  I ask for prayers for more and more opportunities for walls to fall down and for relationships to become stronger. We want roots in these friendships.

Our Church. Bell One shares space with two other church bodies- the potential is so great! And since I was raised in this church's traditions, I am already equipped and comfortable there. (Can be both good and bad.) I ask for prayers to become an advocate for CCD ideas and actions at our church. They have welcomed me with open arms and each Sunday I meet someone new. It is already home! But please pray that the Lord guides these relationships and doesn't allow me to become too comfortable in the familiar. 

And finally, God has been so loving to me. IS so loving to me. He is lifting a magnifying glass to all areas of my life, and especially within my own heart and mind. To say there have been changes in these two areas is an understatement. God is rearranging me and mixing me up causing me to fully, 100%, rely on Him. THIS IS REALLY REALLY REALLY DIFFICULT. I can say I've trusted him and that I had faith, but in the past I've always had at least one foot on the ground in terms of control. This is not the case anymore. Lastly, I ask for prayers that this becomes the norm and not the exception. 

I love coffee, by the way. And I love meeting new people! Consider this an open invitation to chat and laugh together. Have a wonderful week!

Linds~