I'm not quite sure where to start....it was a long, eventful night on Santa Monica Blvd...about 5 hours and 5 or 6 conversations long. I had a feeling as we pulled up to the Del Taco that it would be an evening full of opportunity for good conversation. Between the warm weather and school being out, the streets were full of more people than I have seen in a long time. What made me most excited - besides being able to wear short sleeves and not freeze - was that I saw several familiar faces which I have not seen in a long time. Faces and stories who I have thought about many times in recent weeks and months, the people I've been praying for and hoping to see again. (Well, hoping to see because I want to build a relationship and know how they're doing, not hoping to see them still living on the street). And not only did I see them, but they actually wanted to talk and seemed semi-excited to see us! You never know, sometimes people get in moods (often drug-induced moods) where they basically ignore us, even when we know them well. So easily entering into conversation is always a blessing.


I saw Alex, whom a few of us had a great bond with several months ago but hadn't seen since. He was happy to catch up as we talked about his plans for school, my haircut, and our clothes. A good conversation until a guy in a car got his attention and had picked him up before I knew it. After he left, a guy we had talked to a few weeks back picked up the conversation with us. The first time we met he introduced himself as "Ryan", and we talked about his family's Buddhist beliefs and how he believes it too because they do. He didn't have much knowledge on Christianity, but we were able to discuss it for a while, as well as just find out more about him. This time he came up to us as soon as Alex left asking, "Do you remember me?" with a friendly smile on his face. Though there was something vaguely familiar about him, I had no idea who he was. "I'm the Buddhist," he told me, which brought it back to me. And though that previous conversation was easy to recall, placing this new face in front of me was not. His hair was long, held back with a headband, and his small shirt and skirt a vast difference from the t-shirt and jeans he had worn when we first met. Sadly, this is not a rare occurence...to know someone as a male, then one day have to adjust when you recognize that face underneath a wig a girl's clothing. The good news was that he has gotten a job, is going back to school, and said he had started looking into Christianity. He told us that he'd been reading the bible, even though it doesn't make much sense to him at times. I told him to come back with it and any questions next time and we'd talk about it.

That conversation then led into one with a kid who I have written about on here before, a 16 year-old runaway who had been living on the streets and selling himself for money. We haven't seen him in a long time, so I was very excited to see him again and hear that he is not living on the streets and doesn't plan to be out there next week.


When that group of friends headed off, we started up conversation with some guys who were visiting LA, from other states and outside of the country. My longest and most meaningful conversation was with a young guy about Jesus, God and the bible. He didn't have much knowledge of salvation, heaven, hell, or what the bible has to say about any of that. He said he hadn't thought about it much and didn't really believe in religion. It was a good, productive conversation, but I think the weed, or whatever drug he was on, was hindering his thinking a bit and he was having trouble connecting thoughts. I convinced him to come to our bible study... but unfortunately he left with his friends before it began.


Only two people outside of our group came to bible study, "Big Mama" and "Frank". Frank had met us when we started our night off with prayer at Del Taco. We had met the friend he was with before, but not him. When I introduced myself and he realized we were Christians, the only thing he said was, "my uncle's a Christian....I don't like Christians, they're judgmental." Based on his gentle voice and feminine characteristics, I had a pretty good idea of what he might be referring to. I didn't see or speak to him again until our bible study. His friend we had seen him with before came to get him so that they could get a hotel room for the night, but surprisingly, Frank stood his ground and decided to stay with us at the bible study. Though seemingly small, it is a rare occurence that someone will choose to hang out with us over doing what they're friends want to do...and in my opinion often a clue that the Holy Spirit is at work.

After bible study ended, the conversation pretty much went straight to Frank, his need to change, and many other issues. Most of our team stayed around while he talked and listened, though as time went on some of the team spread out again to meet more people and begin new conversations. I think one of the coolest parts of the next hour for me was watching Big Mama talk to Frank, and tell him how he needed to change, what he needed to do, and set him straight. She'd been there herself, she'd been in his shoes, she lives in the same place as he does. So she is able to say things that the rest of us can't quite get away with. And when he cried, sharing about his relationship with his mom and feeling like she doesn't love him, she also told him about her love for her own children - kids that she can't see and who won't speak to her, but who she loves more than anything. She was able to preach, and reach out to him in such a unique way, and it was so awesome to see how God has changed her and been shaping her, and even through some foul language and harsh words about people in her life, he is now able to use her to reach someone else. Several times she asked him the question that is perhaps the most important to ask, "Are you ready to change? Do you want to change?" Because without that, there is little that we can do to help those on the street.

I could go on and on about all he shared for the next 3 hours....hatred for his mom's boyfriend, lack of love from his mom, the amount he was paid for a sexual favor earlier that day, the love he seeks from other men, his anger for many people, the lack of being accepted for being a homosexual, his emptiness and dependence on drugs and alcohol to numb his pain, his addiction to prostitution and sex. It was not a PG conversation, but it was real and honest, and he had so much to share with us. It ended with us trying to determine tangible ways that we could help him in the process of getting an ID, a place to live and a real job, and praying for him. Of course, when God is doing as much work as he was at this moment, Satan is frightened and begins his attack right away. Walking back to our cars, Frank began to have an anxiety attack and we had to sit down so that he could catch his breath and calm his nerves. "Life is so hard...this is so stressful," he gasped as he cried and tried to breath. As he started to calm down again, he told me that he needed to make some money tonight so he could eat. Satan doesn't waste any time....

So I asked him to call Antquan that same day to arrange to get his ID and get some food, and begged him to borrow from friends for just the next few hours, be a "freeloader" for just a few more hours (an issue we had also discussed earlier), until we could help him get back up on his feet. To go for just a little longer without selling his body or services so that we could help him.

I haven't heard the update yet from Antquan or Big Mama on how he's doing, but please join me in praying that his soul will be saved from the streets before it's too late...

I finally got back to the now-familiar streets of Hollywood last night, after being gone for 2 weeks. It's always nice to get a break from time to time, but I was very happy to get back and see some familiar faces. There were a lot of people out as the night went on, and we had several brief but interesting conversations.

Our first was with a guy who several people on our team talk to every week, who works at the liquor store. I've never actually had a conversation with him, but George talks to him every week, so we joined him in hanging out in the liquor store for a while. Because this Muslim man knows what we're about and what we're there for, his conversation apparently always moves quickly to hot topics such as homosexuality and Islam. Though these parts of the conversation aren't particularly productive, in between we were able to have some normal dialogue and get to know each other a bit. Talking to the people who work in the area is generally a great opportunity for us to share Christ, because we know they will be there every week, they have no where to go, and they're generally sober. So we chatted in the store for a while and made conversation with some other people who came and went while we were there.


After a while we wandered down to where we hold our bible study, and stopped into the 7-11 to get snacks and chat with the clerk there, who is also working each week and knows most of our team. Again, another man who's there every week, knows us and what we're there for and seems to enjoy talking to members of our team. He has not yet given his life to Christ, from what I know, but that's where our prayer and consistency come alongside the Holy Spirit, and hopefully in time, we will see his life changed.



After chatting with him, bible study was about to start, so we headed into the donut shop to say hi to one of my favorite people down there, the owner of the shop who supplies us with food each week for bible study. He always gives us a few extra donuts for free, because he says it's his way of contributing to what we're doing. :) This is a man I don't think I've blogged much about...a man from Cambodia who works 7 days a week in his 24 hour shop, trading off shifts with his wife. They never have a day off, although he told me this week that Father's Day will be a day of vacation for him. He and his wife rarely see each other because they have to work opposite shifts to keep their store open in order to make enough money. I always hope that our brief moments with him each week will at least bring a smile to his face and some comfort and relief to his long week, and that he too will see the love of God through us and be brought to Christ.



During our bible study, Krista was having a conversation with a young man who knew he needed to get off of the streets and that the drugs and lifestyle would kill him eventually if he didn't leave. And who knew that his relationship with his transexual roomate was not pleasing to God. At one point after the service, she brought him over for prayer from all of us as we fought against Satan in his lies to this man and prayed that his heart would be opened and ready for change. I don't know the fully story, but I know that by the end of the night, Krista was so excited about her talk with him, seeing God moving, and feeling that it was one of the best encounters she's had there in 4 years as she watched him slowly surrender...



What maybe struck me more than these conversations this particular week, was how God spoke to me. Truthfully, I have been feeling slightly distant from God, knowing it's my own complacency, lack of dedication to prayer, and ease in life which Satan uses to tell me that I don't need God as desperately as I do. And I have been praying that this would change, seeking God and his tangible movement in my heart, hoping all week long to learn something new.



This week, in a brief 15 minute speech about the Good Samaritan, a story I have heard dozens of times, I understood the story in a new way. So many times I hear these types of stories, and like a pharisee, assume I'm just like the good Samaritan...always doing the right thing, helping out a brother or sister, knowing exactly what God wants from me. But looking at how the religious men in the story walked on by someone in desperate need, for whatever reason, suddenly struck me as mirror-images of myself. How often have I ignored a need, turned my face from someone I knew I should go back to help, or simply to talk to...or even on the streets of Hollywood, pretended like something didn't exist because I was too tired or scared or had more "important" things to deal with. How humbling...and humiliating, to come to this realization. I had asked God to challenge me, to grow me with opportunities of faith, etc. This challenged me significantly, and gave me a picture, though I've had it in my head since I was a child, to really grasp and look to as I go through my days...to open my eyes, and pause and seek what God would have me to do whenever opportunities to help arise. Because more than just helping someone, it may be the only chance to share the love of Christ and the gospel with them...and a chance for God to change my own inwardly focused heart....

Runaways

As temperatures start to rise outside, the sun shines longer, and summer approaches, the numbers on the street late at night seem to rise accordingly. The bitter cold is no longer threatening to people who usually like to linger outside of the shops and restaurants into the early hours of the morning. Last night seemed to indicate this, anyway, as there was a significantly greater amount of teenagers, prostitutes, drug dealers and homeless out on the street. The energy levels were much higher than I’ve seen in weeks, and that sense of “community” was beginning to percolate once again.

And with those winds of change came an exciting night of ministry. It started off at the donut shop, after prayer, where many people were congregating as usual. We ran into a friend, “Matt” who we’ve known for a while, who had just come from a job interview, saying he was ready to spend less time hanging out on the street and hold a credible job instead. While talking with him we met a guy who, when we asked, gave us no name besides, “Stayin’ Out of Trouble”. A pretty entertaining guy, but has clearly reaped the consequences of too many drugs, too much alcohol, and a messy life. He rambled on and on, making little to no sense at all, but with a great spirit and lots of laughter. As we talked with him, a cop car pulled up and began asking Rob questions (which happens occasionally, when the cops who don't yet know our group wonder why there's a gathering of people on the street).

After his conversation he informed me that they let him know that if they're ever doing a round-up, or a sweep, and we're with drug dealers or anyone else who might look suspicious, that we might be cuffed or arrested. We agreed that would make for an awesome story to tell. Knowing that we are not doing anything wrong (and also a bunch of white kids) the worst that would probably happen would be getting cuffed and interrogated, then let go. We have God on our side, so there's nothing to worry about....but it's also a reminder that getting mixed up with the wrong people, or being at the wrong place at the wrong time can be dangerous when we're there.

Eventually we decided to make better use of our time inside the donut shop, and invite some people to our bible study. About 4 other people from the team were already inside, and by the time we left we had a large group of about 12 people walking down the street together, headed to bible study. On the way, Greg talked with "Bobby" about how he wanted to change his life and get things together and maybe get into a program or shelter. Being on probation, however, there are few places that will take him at this point in his life. After the bible study, we broke up into smaller groups as usual to talk and pray, and a few of us sat with Bobby and his friends "Charlie" and "Lillie". Charlie and Lillie are both teenage boys, a couple, so young and pre-pubescent was Lillie that it wasn't until the end of the night I discovered she was actually a he. As a 15 year-old taking hormones and wearing a pink "dress" which left very little to the imagination, he's so convincing as a girl that I had no idea until Krista told me. The way he avoided all of our questions, answering with a simple 'no' or 'yes' and refusing to give details, and the way Charlie also avoided direct conversation was troubling to me. Most people on the street will give you a fair amount of details about their situation, but for these 2, it must have been so bad that they were that unwilling to talk. To see a kid, probably entirely confused and disturbed and scared, so lost hurts to see. And hearing a question like, "what's wrong with doing crystal meth?" because he literally doesn't know what's wrong with it. We will need a lot of prayer for them, and lots of intentional love and time for them to even possibly open up.

However, despite their stand-offish behavior, their friend Bobby wanted nothing more than to talk and talk and listen and hear and soak it all in. He told us much of his story - gang banging, armed robbery as a teenager, juvenile hall, jail, friends who'd been shot, a 1-month old son he's not allowed to see, a sister and brother-in-law who kicked him out because of the trouble he caused in their home, homeless because his mom won't let him come back home, the meaning behind his many tattoos, witchcraft, and even a past in the church and working with youth. He's pretty much done and seen it all, at least when he wasn't in jail. He also explained that his plan that night was to go steal from someone so he and his friends could eat and have a place to stay. But because he's on probation and trying to get his life back together, he made one significant choice not to do what would get him in trouble. And his other option, because he had stayed around and sat in the donut shop, was that he ended up meeting us. In other words, God spared him from one bad choice, and instead chose to reveal Himself as the one who relentlessly pursues all of us, no matter how far we've strayed.

Bobby said he'd like to go back to church, but it afraid of failing again and losing everything, not ready to face the people he'd failed once already. He admitted he wants to kill himself, is completely hopeless, feels like he's screwed up his life...but is trying to find a way to hang on, for his son..to be there like his father was not there for him.

I rarely meet people who are so sincere, so ready to change, so aware of their brokenness and need to change their lives. He was asking for it, he was sharing his whole story with us, his eyes showed how desperately he wanted it, how he would pursue it even in his state of hopelessness. "I don't want to fall" he said, "I mean, I've already fallen, but I don't want to fall farther."

I have a friend at church who recently got out of jail and became one of the most passionate Christians I know while in jail. His advice to me several months ago when I told him about this ministry is to look for people who are broken. Who are aware of their brokenness and are ready to change. if they're not aware, and not ready, it's not of much use. And I realized sitting before me was someone I had been praying for...each week I pray that God will bring us people who are ready, who are willing...and here was Bobby, looking so young and innocent, thirsting after any ounce of hope and encouragement and soaking it up like a sponge. It's hard to believe, talking to this sweet 21 year-old guy, the things that he's done and been through...but that's the power of God. To give someone a hatred of their former life, to recount his stories of locking himself in his car for a week smoking crystal, completely addicted and paranoid and lost...of disappearing from his gang and knowing his life is still in danger if he runs into anyone from his gang or rival gangs...to give someone the clarity to see what they have been doing and how it has messed up their lives, and to give them a shining hope of something more, in the pit of despair.

I could go on and on about all that we talked about...but at the end of the night, Greg took he and his friends to a motel room and paid for it so they'd have a place to stay. When his friends were anxious to leave, he said he could stay and talk much longer, wanting to hear all he could because it was of so much help to him to hear everything we had to say. He gave his number to Dave, whose plan is to pick him up today in Hollywood and see if he can get into a program at a Christian transitional living center, and to pick him up on Sunday to go to church...so that he can get back into the body of Christ without the fear of facing what he had failed at before. To start anew...

There is little in this life that brings as much joy as seeing someone ready to give up their old life and start a new one with Christ, full of hope after so much despair.

...Even when light is shining in one spot of Hollywood, however, there is always darkness surrounding us, as we were reminded walking back to our cars. We ran into Krista and Rob at the Mexican food joint, along with a few cop cars and a few other people. As it turned out, during our bible study, some guys that they were talking to were laughing and joking about something from earlier in the evening. But a transgender prostitute who was also sitting there thought they were laughing about him, and it quickly turned into a fight as he went after one guy and threatened Krista when she called the cops. He was arrested and the guy was pressing charges as we walked up. Thankfully, everyone was safe and fine, and no major harm was done. Praise God for protecting our team, and keeping their spirits high and faith strong even in those circumstances.

All in all, a very eventful night on Santa Monica Blvd..I have no doubt that last night, and even now as I write, there is a much bigger battle that we cannot see going on between the demons and angels, fighting and wrestling for each soul on that street. And praise God that another team is out tonight, harvesting what God has planted in those souls!

Another Week...

"Jesus loves me, this I know; For the bible tells me so..."

The simple song generally makes one think of little kids learning a new song in Sunday school, singing about a Jesus that they can't fully grasp...a children's song, a joyful tune sung in a church building.

What a different sound it takes on when proceeding from the lips of a 30-something year old man, former gang member, living on the streets of L.A; singing it for a young man laying on the dirty sidewalk of Santa Monica Blvd who's ready to surrender his life to Jesus, giving up his addictions and homelessness and ready to be restored. A strange tune in the midst of darkness; outside of a donut shop surrounded by the sound of honking horns and police cars racing by, hurried footsteps of groups headed to a nightclub, neon lights and prostitutes working into the early hours of the morning.

At least for me, it was a unique time in Hollywood this week. The streets have been quiet for some time, more cops out apparently, more people in jail for prostitution and drugs. Less familiar faces, less conversation, a different crowd that we've gotten to know. I often struggle with being able to see what God is doing, trust that he's actually there and moving, wondering why we're out every week when no one is ready to respond, or to even come to a 15 minute bible-study. It takes a lot of time and patience, and I often wonder why God doesn't just speed along the process. But last night was a clear visual to me that God is at work and opens doors and softens hearts and is just as present in Hollywood as anywhere else.

Our first stop was in Donut Time to say hi to Willy, a friend to our group. We chatted with him for quite a while, getting the update on his life and stopping to invite him to bible study. "Maybe" was his response when we invited him, a typical answer from most people that generally means they won't come. But as it neared midnight, we asked him again and he said he'd come. That in and of itself was a unique occurence, and so we headed out of the shop with a quick hello to "Red", another guy we see frequently. Outside stood someone who looked somewhat familiar and who I assumed by appearances that he was a transgender working on the street. Greg had given us Tootsie Pops to hand out, so I offered one to him as we headed out. When offering food, and invitations to bible study, I generally expect a "no", and maybe an "are you kidding me?" look...so you can imagine my surprise when he said, "Sure" to the offer of candy...and after I followed up by inviting him to bible study to hear "yeah, sure". Really? I thought. Wow! So he joined up with us without hesitation and we all took off down the street for bible study outside of the donut shop and 7-11.

A few more steps down the street, and we passed a guy sitting on a stoop, a hooded sweatshirt covering most of his face. Quite honestly, I didn't really notice him until we heard from behind, "hey, are you guys going to a bible study?" What? who asks us that? No one - would be the correct answer. When we respond that we were and welcomed his desire to join us, I realized that it was "Dave", a guy I had met several weeks ago. At the time he had been wasted at best, but I'm pretty sure he was high on something and oppressed by Satan in some way with tormenting thoughts and voices. It took me a second to recognize him without the crazy look in his eye, maintaining a calm demeanor. I reintroduced myself and he remembered me, and we begin catching up while we walked. He apologized for being so wasted that night, losing the info we gave him about the Set Free program, and expressed still having interest in going. When we got to our bible study, I introduced him to Antquan, who several weeks back I had let know that Dave would contact him to get a ride to Set Free. As I entered into conversation with "Alex" (the one who accepted the Tootsie Pop) and we headed to the donut shop, I left Dave and Antquan to talk.

As if this hadn't already flowed incredibly easily as God's hand has proved instrumental in these steps, Alex begins to open up pretty freely about struggling, being depressed, being disappointed with God, etc. A pretty rare occurence to meet someone who's tired of prostituting, wants a good place to stay, wants to get back in school and have more hope and joy. And to admit it so openly and be ready for help.

We took a break from talking to join up with the bible study, where Willy opened us with his version of "Jesus Loves Me"....

Afterwards, Antquan took Dave to the Set Free Ranch and several of us hung out with Alex for a while. He expressed his happiness in meeting us and God bringing us together, because he has very few friends who are genuine and supportive and actually listen and talk and show interest in his creativity (we thoroughly discussed his passion for design and fashion). He got our numbers and confirmed several times if we would be there next week. And at the very end of the night, Krista gave a ride to a guy she had met last week. She and Greg had gotten him a hotel room on a night that he was confronted by God and the fact that he's running from God and covering his pain with drugs. Still fighting and trying to run, God again used Krista, David, Greg, a birthday present and some Christian music to show "Chris" that He's still in pursuit of him.

And I believe he's as desperately in pursuit of every other soul on Santa Monica Blvd...we just have to continue doing our part to be available and willing to respond when they are ready.