My Revived Heart.

This past weekend has changed my life.

I spent Friday night to Saturday afternoon up in Los Angeles but not where you would have expected me to be. I stayed within the darkest depths of the city that everyone neglects and disregards because it's the part that is 'embarrassing' or 'unnoticeable' and ignored.

My weekend began on Friday with a prayer walk after having ethnic Honduran food. We had walkie talkies and as we drove through inner city LA, our CSM (Center for Student Missions) guide would say some facts for us to pray about. This was our introduction to LA and the true hurt going on in this city that some people don't even notice. I realized that this was truly my first time being in LA because I've always driven right past all this hurt, crime, and poverty and never even thought twice to drive through areas such as Compton or Watts and my youth group even noticed that there isn't even an exit to get to these cities. You have to take an exit before these cities in order to get to them.

We drove through South LA where the murder rate actually has increased while everywhere else in LA has decreased. That hit home because I realized that these cities are filled with gangs such as the bloods and the crips and people here are constantly living in fear for their life. They aren't able to walk to the drugstore safely and I could never picture my own childhood growing up in a city where I constantly am living in fear.

We stopped right in front of a Jack in the Box in a city where there was no grocery stores and only fast food places because they were always quickest and no one has transportation to carry home their groceries. So many fast food restaurants have sought out areas like this to make an extra buck but recently the city of LA has made a law stating no more fast food restaurants can be located there so that they can improve the health of those in the city.

We read all of the graffiti on the walls which were gang signs claiming their territory and marking building that are 'safe' and 'protected' by a certain gang. I believe the CSM guide said that there are about 60,000 people involved in a gang in LA and some people don't even realize this is going on.

We drove through skid row where millions of homeless people live. There are only SRO's available to them on these streets and a SRO is a Single Room Occupancy room where it is literally just a room with no bathroom or kitchen and is usually pretty expensive. Many homeless people take advantage of them after pay day.

We then drove for not even a minute and ran into the Lakers game traffic where these people didn't even know the poverty and darkness people lived in about 100 feet away from them. It's just eye opening to how oblivious us Americans can be to the hurt and needs of those around us.

On Saturday, My youth group was split into two groups and my group was required to wake up at 5:50 am and go and serve breakfast at the Midnight Mission on Skid Row. I complained a bit because of us having to wake up so early but it was such a blessing. When we got to Midnight Mission we were required to wear hairnets, gloves, and a plastic apron. It was an interesting morning but we were able to serve breakfast to those way more needy of it than us. As I served each person that morning I gave a smile and said good morning. They were so thankful and were just ordinary people looking for a way to receive a meal for that day. It was such a great experience to know that I may have made a difference in someone's life by just serving them a scoop of mashed potatoes. I just pray that everyone there finds some hope in their life and know that one person does love them and reaches out to them every day.

We then moved on to Watts where we were able to help out at a church. They needed some people to hang out with the kids that were coming for the afternoon. It was filled with basketball, tag, slide races, duck duck goose, and building boxes out of paper to invite people to the easter service but it was such a blessing to hang out with kids who have a place to get away from all the hurt and crime. I was just able to show them that there are people who care about them by hanging out with them for a couple of hours. They were some of the happiest kids I've ever met and it's awesome seeing God work in their lives and keep them away from all the crime going on in either their family or schools.

After this we head over to the Nursing Home, this was something I wasn't looking forward to but was willing to go and hang out with some people who probably never get any visitors. I was able to sit next to a lady named Maryanne and play bingo with her. Even though neither of us won she was such a quiet and independent lady but asked me questions about my school and passions and I had a wonderful time being able to talk about the things I do and find joy in. All the people in this place were just living their last days without having family who came and visited them. I was so happy that I was able to spend time with some people who may never have visitors again.

We then walked across the street to MacArthur park. At this park there is a massive lake/pond and a few years ago they drained it and found many weaponry in it. It is a park that is full with dark things such as violence and drug dealing but many people call it their home. Here we split up in groups and walked around and prayed for all those around us. My heart broke as we walked by a playground because at this playground we saw children just playing as though they did not have a care in the world. I just prayed for them so that they would not become involved in the worldly doings happening all around them.

On Sunday, we went to West Angeles Church which was a rapidly growing African American church and it was such a great experience. They were christians who were willing to go all out for Christ and I was definitely touched by their faith and trust in him.

This experience has broken my heart for all these hurting people. Many people associate LA as 'Beverly Hills' or 'Hollywood' but I now associate it as a place where there are normal people trying to find a way to survive for the night and receive a single meal for the week. I know that my heart reaches out to all those people I was able to meet there and I believe that I have finally found God's calling in my life.