What the Cuss.

01/12/11

Matthew 21

So Jesus sends his disciples to this town and tells them to untie a colt and donkey and bring it back to him. He tells them to tell anyone who questions them about it that it is for the Lord. And so they do it. They go and get him a donkey and a colt. Wow. They walk up in there and are like “this is for God” and everything is all good. It’s not their donkey, but they walk out with it.

This has always been so fascinating to me because I am amazed at the fact that they walked straight in there and took it. No one chased after them, no one put them in jail, but they got away with a donkey and a colt. I think that if I would have been that guy, I would have been like...”I’m sorry what? Not happenin.” And this is where I am reminded of how great the Lord really is. I am in awe of how powerful and incredible the Lord is and then how we don’t always make it out to be that way.

All they had to do was say that it was for the Lord’s work. They did not have to show proof of anything, they just had to say. This shows how powerful things are in the Lord’s name. Whenever we need help or anything, we just need to say it in the Lord’s name. It is with the Lord that great power comes. With him, we truly can do anything and it is small stories like this that prove that to be true.

Real life LA: Day 7

We met with the Kaleo staff today to talk about what is going on in that ministry. It was a good time to get an insight into the ministry and what they are doing. Not only that, but it was good to talk to the staff to see into their heart and to see what they are all about. I mean, I know a few...most of them, but it was still good to hear what they are about and talk to them about it. It is good to see where they come from and what lead them out here. It is good to see what they love about being here and what keeps them here.

We went out to lunch with them after that. Gina, Casey, Danny, and I had lunch together. It was good to talk about things further in depth. Danny and Gina had a good conversation about the OAKS and if he would be interested in it. I think we might have won him over. Casey and I talked a lot about his life and why he is here. And it ended with Gina still trying to convince me to come out here (she doesn’t need to convince me).

Gina and Casey asked Danny and I to speak in their D groups at LACS. Basically it was because they did not know what they were going to talk about, just kidding, but seriously. I shared my testimony and kind of gave the girls an insight about my journey with Christ. They remembered me from The OAKS this past summer. So, that was good to talk to them about. We ended the conversation with them asking me questions about boys. It was a really interesting time..ha. It was good though because it is good to give them an insight on what they should be looking for in boys at their age.

We then headed back to Skid Row to do S.A.Y Yes! And I might say that when we got out of the car, I was pretty upset. We carried the food bin all the way from the car to Central City. It comes back to that thing where we already have more than the people we see on the street. We know that. We go to a $36,000 school and even if we don’t have the money to pay for it, we still have more than most people on Skid Row. To carry food down the block and really not think about it, kills me. It is just another thing of not thinking things through. Watching people as we walked by with it and listening to their comments, kills me. It was very upsetting for me and I think that we should have thought it through more. We should have dropped someone off with it at the door and then parked. We should have starved for the night. We should have been smarter than we were. However, we weren’t. It’s over. We looked like jerks.

Levi ran to get something and all I could hear outside was screaming when he opened up the door. “Give me my money! Give me my money!” It was obvious that someone was extremely upset. And it all starts to become more of a reality as we are inside of those doors that the safety ends at the doors. It is so safe inside of the building, but once you step foot on that street, you are in a completely different world. When you step foot onto that street, you are exposed to more than you could ever imagine. Lisa had to call the cops on the argument. It ended up being a domestic violence dispute. So, that is another reality...cops. Other than the argument in the street, most of the time was pretty uneventful. Lorah and Meagan tried to dance, but they failed miserably. Levi took a video of it and called it, “White Girls Trying to Dance.” It was entertaining and an epic fail.

We did the Karaoke ministry last night. It was a good break from everything and a really good time. As I sat there and talked to people, it was so good to see them get off the streets from the pain and the hurt that they were used to. It was good to see them be able to relax for a little bit. It was good to hear a bit of who they were off the streets and see them really come through. It was good to see people be able to be themselves and have a good time. At the same time, it is hard though. It is hard to know that as soon as they leave, they are going to go back out on the street. As soon as they leave, they are going to be back in the reality of things. As soon as they are done, they are going to be in pain and in heartache. And all this good time that they just had will be a memory. That’s a hard thought to put our minds around as we are going back to a place where we can sleep comfortably (for the most part) and that is warm (for the most part). And we will just go back to our everyday lives. And that was the night.