Wednesday Ministry, Testimonies, and Fun

Hi everyone! 

Today we continued the door painting of the family residence floor rooms and serving at Kids Club/VBS. We learned about following Jesus just like the disciples did. We had between 50-90 kids attend between Monday-Wednesday, so hopefully a lot show up for the final day. We're doing a BBQ too. After VBS we were treated to an awesome dinner at a Mexican restaurant where some of the students got super burritos, and yes, they were huge! A memorable part of the evening was hearing from some of the men in the program at the URM about their lives and how they got caught up in the wrong things that landed them in prison, an addictive lifestyle, or on the streets. Ask the kids about the stories they heard and how it impacted them. Finally, we ended the evening with some karaoke. Look for the video clips in the day 6 photos!

Juliet's Reflection

On Monday, my group helped clean up Skid Row and passed out hygiene kits to the homeless. I enjoyed seeing the community there because everyone seemed very connected and our guide knew a lot of people. My favorite part was when we gave a kit to a lady and she told us about God’s goodness and prayed for us. Many of the people we gave the kits to were really happy and grateful for them, and it brought me joy to see that.

Lydia's Reflection

Originally I was going to write about hearing the story if someone who had gone through many hardships and how it touched me a lot. However, I what caused a greater realization for me were daily interactions with the residents at URM and children at the camps. Evidently, these people have gone through many challenges to be living at the URM. However, there is a great sense of community there and most of the people are extremely kind and generous, even though they don't have much. Soap is not provided and toilet paper often runs out in the bathrooms, but many of the residents offer to share their supplies. The kids are also mature, loving, and outgoing. It was inspiring to see how great these people's attitudes were despite difficulties in their lives and made me realize how important community and helping each other is in times that are hard.

Ian's Reflection

It has been very inspiring to hear the stories of people I have met in skid row. Many of the people whose stories I have heard have talked of how they fell into a bad stretch and were able to get their life together and help people in the areas they damaged. These stories are very inspiring to me because they show how people who are in the lowest places can turn their life around help the people they harmed.

Aden's Reflection

 Aden's Reflection 

Aaron's Reflection

On the first day of VBS I was walking around waiting for a kid to hang out with. Mrs. Huber assigned me this kid named Alexander, and at first I thought we were just going around jump roping or playing catch. Eventually we split into groups and he and I were separated. When it ended I tried to find him, but every time I turned to him, he turned away. I thought he hated me. Eventually we ended up playing together and then the next day he came back and even looked for me. He said it was good to see me again and it was a very wholesome encounter. I realized maybe he was just shy, but I was very glad he warmed up to me.

-Aaron 

Emerson's Reflection

While I was painting doors at the URM, this little girl Reyna came up to me. She was asking me if I have to go. I told her I need to go home. She then said, "You really have a home?" This really opened my eyes to how blessed I am.

Bryce's Reflection

After the third day of VBS at South Park, while we were walking back to the cars from cleaning up, the kid I bonded with the most named Lameyre, ran up behind me and gave me a huge hug. His little brother then ran up to me and jumped into my arms. This shows me that being a loving big brother to them really is important for them, even if they don’t see it now.

Tom's Reflection

On Monday, the group I was in (Shangri-LA) visited the Homegirl Cafe and took a tour throughout the Homeboys Industries building, which housed a large portion of those who they worked with/employed.

Our tour guide, Robert, shared his story of gang affiliation, prison, and substance abuse. What left a impression on me was the fact that even though he underwent all these hardships, and had his kids taken from him, he continued to push through and sought help from Homeboys. When I first saw him, it never crossed my mind that he was a victim of gang violence or drugs, and it was really inspiring to hear his story and recovery.

Additionally, I found that the entire Homeboys Industries organization to be very special, as unlike others, they also give help to those involved in gangs, not just the homeless. It was very surprising to hear about how rival gang enemies could both come to Homeboys, join their program, and get along as if they were friends, erasing these gangs' differences.

Hengrui's Reflection

On Wednesday, March 27, I had a particularly eye opening experience. I found a small toddler wandering around during VBS, so I decided to try to  direct her toward her color group. She did not understand any language I could speak and did not seem interested in the group activity. This led to me following her around keeping her entertained. What was interesting to me was how fascinated she was at bubbles flying through the air. It was a very small thing, amidst the bigger activities going on. This interaction reminded me to appreciate the smaller things and to live in the moment. 

Vivaan's Reflection

Over the course of the trip, I learned several things. I learned about how hard the life out there on skid row is. Before the trip, I had never actually realized just how bad some of the people's conditions got, and how hard it was for them to really make it out of a place like that. I also got to meet various kinds of people at different events including when we were passing flowers out and when we were hosting the events for the kids. I really enjoyed spending time with the kids and it was fun to see them really enjoy the games and events that we had created for them. There were also many lessons that I had learned, like being grateful for my family and to not take simple and basic things like food, water, and a shelter for granted. I also enjoyed spending time with some friends while going around the city. Overall, I think that it was a great experience for us students to come to skid row because I feel like I have really learned a lot about the hard life here but I also enjoyed spending time with others and socializing with the community of Los Angeles.

Annie's Reflection

 Annie's Video

Max and Michael's Amazing Vlog!

 

Michael's Reflection

The LA trip has had a great impact on my spirit, faith, and personality as a whole. I’ve never had a service trip that was this eye opening to the problems that occur in this world. I've never really anticipated that problems in our world like drugs and poverty would look like this. Seeing the economic struggles, the drugs, the homelessness, the cleanliness of the streets really makes me think deeply into how fortunate I truly am and how much help our world needs. I’m grateful to have this experience because it has taught me many things that I can apply to life. 

Trey's Reflection

Firstly, I noticed that the homeless actually care about what we did and are thankful. Also, not all the homeless are crazy and many have love for the community and want a way out. Finally, I noticed that a lot of people want to help the homeless and provide for them. 

-Trey 

Rushil's Reflection

As I was taking the tour at Homeboy Industries, our tour guide Marvin gave us his life story. His story was very profound and taught me the values of persistence and determination. He was a man who was sentenced to life plus 33 years of imprisonment without parole. This man looked like an ordinary person and I would not have guessed this was his past. He persisted to receive parole and was denied twice before finally being granted parole 32 years later. His story goes to show how your life can be turned around from the darkest places to a place you never thought you could thrive in. Without having any prior experience in LA, this experience helped me realize how different and unique people's experiences and pasts are and it is important to acknowledge them.

-Rushil

Owen's Reflection

This is not my first time in skid row, so the initial shock of the conditions did not affect me as if it was my first experience. This is not saying I was not impacted in several ways by things I have seen. One example which made me skid row in a more positive light is how respectful everyone is, even just passing out hygiene kits to the homeless. They have almost nothing, but still you can see the effort that they put in to be respectful and genuine. Another experience that warmed my heart is seeing the kids in South Park. One girl kept dragging me everywhere and right as I was about to leave, she comes up to me and gives me a drawing and a hug. These experiences changed my perception of skid row from basically like zone zero of a disease that needs to be contained, to a strong community of people in unfortunate situations putting in everything to be their best selves.

-Owen

Rocco's Reflection

 

Jessica and Viana's Reflection

 

Alina's Reflection