For the past month or so, our elementary school students have been exploring the community. This has included team building experiences, reviewing our program’s community standards, lessons on the body of Christ, unity and diversity, “about me” inventories where children look at how they are can serve the entire community, etc.
This week we held an amazing activity on “good community versus bad community” that couldn’t have gone better. In a nutshell, a volunteer from Biola University succinctly led the children in a productive look at how their actions can cause good or bad community.
I was excited that perhaps the content of this lesson might yield change in the lives of the children I love so much – children who often come from situations punctuated by dysfunction and brokenness.
The next night I had a sober reminder of what we are up against. About half of the children in our program live in two notorious downtown residential hotels. We return them to these hotels every night. During a normal drop off at one of the hotels where six children live, we arrived to see all but one of their respective parents in an out and out brawl. It was a painful disappointment to need to protect the children from their own parents.
I don’t know the reason for the fight, and could care less about who was right and who was wrong. I do care very much that six children whose lives have intersected with mine in a remarkable way for the past few years, in witnessing this fight, learned a lesson on community that will likely win out as they steer the course of their lives.
My hope for the children I serve is that their formative years and adulthood could be a sharp contrast from their childhoods. And as much as I want these children to bravely stand up against the systems they have inherited, I am beginning to think that will be unlikely when the power of the parents’ lifestyles is so pervasive. No one will have a greater influence in a life of a child than their parents. Sadly this is especially true for parents who fight with their neighbors in front of their children.
JH
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
An Intern Remembers
Recently we asked an intern to sum up their experiences at CCCO and she responded with many great thoughts. Highlights below...
I really enjoyed working with the Little Angels. I got a chance to do one on ones with the kids and I really got to know who they were as individuals. I felt like at the end of my time I got to know the Little Angels on a deeper, more personal level than I had originally thought I would. Being with them was a delight. For example, I loved working with "T" and encouraging him in his homework and seeing what a smart 5 year old he is! Also, one day I sat with "Z" and we had "Princess time" together. She bought a princess dress with her Say YES money and I helped her try it on and then we sat and put eye shadow and lip gloss on each other. It was pure joy for me to do something with her that I knew she loved.
Yes, there were challenges. Two of the biggest challenges were patience and emotional issues. Many of the days I would go home and be frustrated at myself because I know I had lost my patience with the kids, or because I felt like all I did all day was tell they kids what to do/and put them in time out. It was hard for me to find the balance of having fun and allowing
them to have their freedom, along with keeping structure and doing what needed to be done that day. I either felt like things were out of control, or I felt like I was too strict and no fun for them. So, it was finding the balance that was hard for me.
Another struggle for me was the emotional side of things, on my part and on the kids part. These kids have so many
different struggles and internal issues that are so different from the middle class, suburban kids that I am used to being around. Especially the Little Angels who are so young and have a hard time understanding their feelings or knowing how to express them. So some days I would find one of them in the corner crying for no apparent reason, or I would say something
to them that I didn't feel was harsh, but they would break down crying or get upset. So I had to learn positive ways of dealing with that and learn to be sensitive towards it.
Although there were those challenges and at times it was tough, the highlights and the lessons I learned from it made it all worth it. I don't feel like anyone grows as much without challenges. The love that I was able to give and the love that
I received from the kids and the staff made it all worth it.
I would definitely recommend this placement to others. I think Say YES is a great program. God is truly impacting and changing children's lives through this program. I am so thankful and blessed to have been a part of it.
LB
I really enjoyed working with the Little Angels. I got a chance to do one on ones with the kids and I really got to know who they were as individuals. I felt like at the end of my time I got to know the Little Angels on a deeper, more personal level than I had originally thought I would. Being with them was a delight. For example, I loved working with "T" and encouraging him in his homework and seeing what a smart 5 year old he is! Also, one day I sat with "Z" and we had "Princess time" together. She bought a princess dress with her Say YES money and I helped her try it on and then we sat and put eye shadow and lip gloss on each other. It was pure joy for me to do something with her that I knew she loved.
Yes, there were challenges. Two of the biggest challenges were patience and emotional issues. Many of the days I would go home and be frustrated at myself because I know I had lost my patience with the kids, or because I felt like all I did all day was tell they kids what to do/and put them in time out. It was hard for me to find the balance of having fun and allowing
them to have their freedom, along with keeping structure and doing what needed to be done that day. I either felt like things were out of control, or I felt like I was too strict and no fun for them. So, it was finding the balance that was hard for me.
Another struggle for me was the emotional side of things, on my part and on the kids part. These kids have so many
different struggles and internal issues that are so different from the middle class, suburban kids that I am used to being around. Especially the Little Angels who are so young and have a hard time understanding their feelings or knowing how to express them. So some days I would find one of them in the corner crying for no apparent reason, or I would say something
to them that I didn't feel was harsh, but they would break down crying or get upset. So I had to learn positive ways of dealing with that and learn to be sensitive towards it.
Although there were those challenges and at times it was tough, the highlights and the lessons I learned from it made it all worth it. I don't feel like anyone grows as much without challenges. The love that I was able to give and the love that
I received from the kids and the staff made it all worth it.
I would definitely recommend this placement to others. I think Say YES is a great program. God is truly impacting and changing children's lives through this program. I am so thankful and blessed to have been a part of it.
LB
Thursday, May 17, 2007
How to Define Success
Every single child in this program is also in school. We offer tutoring, learning how to work together and live life together. I’m interested in the picture as a whole.
So where these kids are at when they graduate? I don’t know exactly.
I know there was a point when I was giving a tour of the sanctuary, and there was a woman who came in with her kid. And she was listening to what I was saying about the place and what was happening, and I didn’t even know this woman. She was about twenty-three, twenty-four years old, had a kid. And she raises her hand and says, “ I don’t even know who this guy is, and he’s a part of Central City, and I’ve messed up with my life and had a kid when I didn’t want to, but this is the best place a child can come.”
Now if you want to define success by getting a college degree and all that, we have kids who will have that, we have kids who’ve gone to college. But these kids are living lives. It’s a place that works because they will become who they need to be. And that's very different from where they started.
CV
So where these kids are at when they graduate? I don’t know exactly.
I know there was a point when I was giving a tour of the sanctuary, and there was a woman who came in with her kid. And she was listening to what I was saying about the place and what was happening, and I didn’t even know this woman. She was about twenty-three, twenty-four years old, had a kid. And she raises her hand and says, “ I don’t even know who this guy is, and he’s a part of Central City, and I’ve messed up with my life and had a kid when I didn’t want to, but this is the best place a child can come.”
Now if you want to define success by getting a college degree and all that, we have kids who will have that, we have kids who’ve gone to college. But these kids are living lives. It’s a place that works because they will become who they need to be. And that's very different from where they started.
CV
Monday, May 14, 2007
Under Construction
This past week I worked with some guys who live on the streets. One was a construction worker and the other two were painters. We had an awesome time together. They did work that most professionals would be proud of. And these are guys who have been in the military and prison.
So why are they living on the street? Well, mostly because they have "things" at this time. Filling out forms and papers for this and that is all well, but then you have to wait for them to be processed, so there you are, still on the street.
Too many people sleeping on the street have talents that go unnoticed. There are so many testimonies that are never heard. WHY?
AJG
So why are they living on the street? Well, mostly because they have "things" at this time. Filling out forms and papers for this and that is all well, but then you have to wait for them to be processed, so there you are, still on the street.
Too many people sleeping on the street have talents that go unnoticed. There are so many testimonies that are never heard. WHY?
AJG
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Untouchables
So I visited Central City Community Church last week. It's a building right in the heart of Skid Row. Most of its members are former drug addicts, prostitutes, homeless and other "untouchables" of society. Some still are.
In the middle of a hymn, a man with no shirt on who was obviously high on something walks in. One of the church members proceeds to try and stop him, telling him to go back out. Not too unusual - if that happened at any other church, the ushers would do the same thing. It happened with a homeless guy at my church. Heaven forbid we should disrupt the service or distract any of the members.
However, the pastor, who was playing percussion with the worship band, leaves the stage, walks to the man, takes his hand and leads him to a seat in the congregation.
That single act said more about that church than a thousand sermons or doctrinal statements could. It was a message that the love of God knows no boundaries, and that no one is beyond His grace.
It was a church made up of and made for the broken, the poor, the outcasts, the sinners. A light in one of the darkest and poorest communities in the nation, it was one of the richest churches I've ever seen.
SM
In the middle of a hymn, a man with no shirt on who was obviously high on something walks in. One of the church members proceeds to try and stop him, telling him to go back out. Not too unusual - if that happened at any other church, the ushers would do the same thing. It happened with a homeless guy at my church. Heaven forbid we should disrupt the service or distract any of the members.
However, the pastor, who was playing percussion with the worship band, leaves the stage, walks to the man, takes his hand and leads him to a seat in the congregation.
That single act said more about that church than a thousand sermons or doctrinal statements could. It was a message that the love of God knows no boundaries, and that no one is beyond His grace.
It was a church made up of and made for the broken, the poor, the outcasts, the sinners. A light in one of the darkest and poorest communities in the nation, it was one of the richest churches I've ever seen.
SM
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Crazy Larry
My favorite homeless person’s name is Crazy Larry. I am not sure that is his real name but it is how my coworkers and I affectionately come to refer to him by. Crazy Larry is African-American, shorter than me and seldom wears a shirt. He pushes around a shopping cart that he sometimes perches himself upon it in a way reminiscent of a yoga pose. Sometimes he mumbles to himself and or makes kissy noises to no one in particular. I have only heard Crazy Larry speak coherently once in the years I have known him.
For a long time, Crazy Larry lived right outside the sliding glass doors on Sixth Street. For awhile he disappeared in a way that reminded me of my cat running away when I was a little girl. Crazy Larry, like my cat, returned and I wanted so much to know where he had been but knew, like with my cat I would never knew where he had been. A day doesn’t pass that I don’t look for Crazy Larry. Usually I see him somewhere between CCCO’s front door and the lot I park my car in. On the occasions I do see him, I make a point to look him in the eyes and say hello. He nods back in way that reassures me he knows me. On the days I don’t see him, I wonder if I will ever see him again.
There is something tender and endearing about Crazy Larry and most times I see him it is all I can do to not give him a bear hug. I know he is a deeply troubled soul, the product of his own demons but our lives have intersected in a way and in a place that is as absurd as it is healing and it is for this reason he is etched in my soul. Intellectually, I recognize Crazy Larry probably needs more mental health care than our broken system affords him, but he endures despite it. But emotionally, I hope for Crazy Larry that somehow the world becomes a better place for him despite the frail capacities of well-meaning do gooders, like me perhaps, in our fragile community.
JH
For a long time, Crazy Larry lived right outside the sliding glass doors on Sixth Street. For awhile he disappeared in a way that reminded me of my cat running away when I was a little girl. Crazy Larry, like my cat, returned and I wanted so much to know where he had been but knew, like with my cat I would never knew where he had been. A day doesn’t pass that I don’t look for Crazy Larry. Usually I see him somewhere between CCCO’s front door and the lot I park my car in. On the occasions I do see him, I make a point to look him in the eyes and say hello. He nods back in way that reassures me he knows me. On the days I don’t see him, I wonder if I will ever see him again.
There is something tender and endearing about Crazy Larry and most times I see him it is all I can do to not give him a bear hug. I know he is a deeply troubled soul, the product of his own demons but our lives have intersected in a way and in a place that is as absurd as it is healing and it is for this reason he is etched in my soul. Intellectually, I recognize Crazy Larry probably needs more mental health care than our broken system affords him, but he endures despite it. But emotionally, I hope for Crazy Larry that somehow the world becomes a better place for him despite the frail capacities of well-meaning do gooders, like me perhaps, in our fragile community.
JH
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Make-Believe
There was one 7-year-old boy, at the beginning of the school year we didn’t have a spot for him yet. He used to show up after his older sister, riding in on a BMX bike. And I’m thinking, this is not a safe neighborhood for a boy of his age to be riding around on his own. But he would do that for a while and we’d have to take him back home, because he wasn’t in the program. That was very telling that his mom thought it was okay that he ride around in this neighborhood, when I wouldn’t walk through here alone.
Eventually we found a spot for him in the program. But he was hanging out with older kids for a while, bad influences, 14-year-old truants who were up to no good. Needless to say this boy was hardened to a level that no 7-year-old should be.
Then one day, he’d been in the program for maybe a month, and we took the kids to Universal Studios for a field trip. We went on the Mummy ride, where you’re going through these dark tunnels, and all of a sudden this boy is terrified out of his mind, scared of the things coming out of the walls, crying, wanting to get off the ride. And while it’s never fun to see a crying child, to see him so scared over something so silly was kind of great… because finally he could be a little boy again.
No harsh reality, no BMX rides through bad neighborhoods. Just make-believe.
CV JH
Eventually we found a spot for him in the program. But he was hanging out with older kids for a while, bad influences, 14-year-old truants who were up to no good. Needless to say this boy was hardened to a level that no 7-year-old should be.
Then one day, he’d been in the program for maybe a month, and we took the kids to Universal Studios for a field trip. We went on the Mummy ride, where you’re going through these dark tunnels, and all of a sudden this boy is terrified out of his mind, scared of the things coming out of the walls, crying, wanting to get off the ride. And while it’s never fun to see a crying child, to see him so scared over something so silly was kind of great… because finally he could be a little boy again.
No harsh reality, no BMX rides through bad neighborhoods. Just make-believe.
CV JH
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