We took a break from our end-times miniseries to talk about the missions trip to Los Angeles that Amber and I went on the week before with some of the Xtreme Youth kids. So we have a treat on the blog this week -- both Amber and I are going to post some thought about the trip! I'll go first. :-)
So, this trip was amazing! It's hard to describe what all happened, and to just give you the facts leaves out the emotion and the spiritual aspects! The Dream Center in L.A. has so many outreaches to help the homeless, helpless, and hurting in Los Angeles; I can't begin to describe them all here, so I'll just direct you to their website -- www.dreamcenter.org. We worked with several of those ministries throughout the week -- from one of the food banks to handing out food to the homeless at Skid Row, to playing with kids during an outdoor miniservice -- but I think what stood out to me the most on this trip was the level of energy that the Dream Center people have for all the different ministries that take place there, and the resulting energy that our group felt and exhibited as we worked with them.
We definitely learned alot about having energy for life from these people. It didn't matter what we were doing, these people really cared about making a difference. And the attitude was infectious. It didn't matter what we were doing, our group really got into it. From walking among the crowds of homeless at Skid Row, chatting and handing out water, to playing tag with children from an inner city school, to even balancing against a window ledge to wash windows on the 5th floor of the Dream Center, I watched out teens step up time and again to the task with a servant's heart. It was so great to get to watch them do things they'd never done before, and watch the growth that stemmed from that.
Even in our fun times (and we definitely took time out to have fun in L.A.), I still got to enjoy seeing different sides of everyone in the group. We enjoyed everything from hour-long line at Pinks to the randomness of the Santa Monica peer, from unexpected waves at Santa Monica beach to star status at Disneyland, from the shopping at Forever 21 (yay!) to the vision of Jupiter via the giant telescope at the Observatory, from bad accents during Dream Center phone calls to silly voices... pretty much throughout the week. I watched our group become crazier and funnier as the week went on, but as the insanity grew, so the did the laughter, and the teens themselves, and us as leaders. We all learned more about each other in ways you just don't get from a regular few hours a week.
That may seem like a short but comprehensive description about the trip, but it honestly doesn't even scratch the surface. It's definitely not something I want to gloss over. I want to remember it for a long time, and I want the great things I learned to stick we and influence my actions. Who says you have to leave the country to find concepts for ministry in Knoxville? Sometimes new vision is closer than you think. Even in Los Angeles.
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I just want to echo Alicia's thoughts. Everyone we encountered was so friendly. The day we left, Bernice was in the middle of getting another group started and took a few minutes to hug Pastor Tim and Rachel and tell us all bye. The group she was talking with all got up and told us bye as well, one woman going so far as to hug all of us and offer a "God bless you." People we had never met before showed such kindness - it was overwhelming. All the people we encountered, from those on staff to the volunteers, loved what they were doing. There really aren't enough words to describe the trip - it was just one of those things you had to witness to truly understand.
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