This morning, my room woke up at 6:20 am, and I promptly hopped into the shower. I have to say, the amazingly hot shower was truly an awesome way to start my day. After breakfast, the team went down to the cafe for devotions, and to reflect on the events of the previous day. Soon, it was time to head out to our first activity... Adopt-a-Block. Our team split into two smaller groups, and each met with a staffer from the Dream Center. From there, we walked around the neighborhoods of intercity LA picking up trash. While picking up garbage around the city doesn't seem like the most glorifying task, all of the students did it faithfully, and had fun doing it. After we finished picking up trash, we were able to go to Los Angeles' gorgeous Echo Park to meditate and pray on what God had been showing us, and speaking into our lives.
After lunch, we all loaded up and headed over to the "walk of fame"... Hollywood Boulevard! However, this was no leisure trip. Before we had left, we loaded up our vans with sandwiches and Vitamin Water. We would be handing out food, and talking to any people that might have been in need of it. Having a star on Hollywood Boulevard has always kind of been a dream of mine... Until I actually got to experience Hollywood for myself. It is a sad sight to see. Once you begin to traverse past the well traveled areas of Hollywood, you begin to see the world behind what the media shows you. It's not all glammed up as you have probably seen on TV, or in the movies. In the real world, it is full of desolate people, longing for something more than what they have. The streets are filled with dirty stars, plastered with names of people the world has long since forgotten, many of which only have a star on the boulevard as their only reward, earthly or otherwise. It was about that time that I realized that I want something more meaningful than just a dull star with my name in it to show for my time on this earth. And it was about that time that I found a star with my name in it. No joke.
After Hollywood, we returned to the Dream Center for dinner, and soon, we were driving again. This time, our destination was the Santa Monica Pier. This time, we set up camp at a statue of a cannon, and picked up some food from a local restaurant which donates food to the program we were participating in. Then we walked up and down several streets, and along the bluff and invited any people who looked like they could use a good, hot, meal. Once people began to arrive, we got the opportunity to talk, pray, and share the love of Christ with them.
The first man that I talked to (I don't recall his name, as it was Hispanic and not common), was from Guatemala. He spoke in a fluent mix of Spanglish, and told me some bits and pieces of his story. He had come from Guatemala seven years ago, where he had once had a steady job. Why he came, he never revealed, but he did tell me that he had been homeless since then. From the time he had come, he had just been doing a barrage of whatever work came his way. While my conversation with him didn't get too overly spiritual, he began to cry as I was talking to him. Just reaching out and showing him love was enough. I prayed with him, and shortly after that, I saw him leave.
This one young man named Patrick (he couldn't have been more than 26 or so), shared his story with me. Patrick had grown up in Alabama, in a Christian home. I don't know when, or how, but somehow, he ended up being a male prostitute in Nevada. I don't quite know the circumstances that led up to it, but at some point, he felt the need to escape. To run away. He hopped in his car and just began driving. Driving to escape the pain that he felt. How did he get to California? It just so happens that that is where his car ran out of gas on the freeway. That was a year ago. He has been living on the streets ever since then.
The last man that I had the opportunity to talk with was named Brian. At one point, Brian had been quite successful. He was once quite a well known hairstylist. He had come to California from New York with his friend, who has since died. He didn't really allude to what it may have been, but at some point, business went bad, and he ended up on the streets. However, his outlook was amazing. He was grateful for the trial in his life, because it had grown him into a stronger person. All in all, I didn't really get the feeling that Brian and I saw completely eye to eye on spiritual standings, but he did let me pray for him. He asked for a prayer of protection.
After about an hour and a half or so of talking to people, things began to come to a close. I was so proud of so many students! I was proud of Lauren, who stepped out of her comfort zone and prayed with a person she had never met. I was proud of Tony and Dynasty, who brought an unbridled enthusiasm, and a light, yet serious religious standing into the mix. I was proud of Josiah, who stepped out of his shell and talked to complete strangers out of love! I was proud of the entire team, and I still am!
After we left Santa Monica, I jammed in the car to some awesome beats with the other members of "The Flavor" (our van), on the way to Von's to grab some ice cream. We ate. We laughed. We enjoyed. And that leads me to now. To where I am sitting in bed, in the dark, listening to a soft snoring, and sleepily pounding out words on the keyboard. That about sums up today. See you all soon, folks!
-David B.
P.S.
-Travis just hemorrhaged while letting loose a beast of a fart in our room... Then he told me to blog about it, because he was telling a story with sound effects.
