I'm slowly uploading pictures of my trip. You can click on the link and these are a few on Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26577162@N05/
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Third Week
Hello! I’ve been living in the tenderloin almost three weeks now and I feel more at home and welcome than ever. I’m building so many great relationships with not only the staff and students but the men and women on the street as well. Daily I’m walking in the streets and conversing with everyone that’s willing. Which is the majority. I’m getting to get to know so many of the guys and there life stories and backgrounds. Often times they’ll finish the conversation off with asking for money, but offering to buy them a hamburger sometimes suffices. Not only are their stomachs getting filled but it also gives you the opportunity for more conversation. I’m not out here to save every man and woman I see on the streets. But rather build lasting relationships with them and show the light of God threw my own life. The twelve students I’m with feel and live the same.
Part of the program I’m in also includes twelve hours of class time each week. We have a new guest speaker come in every week and speak on specific topics. John Bills from L.A. was the speaker for last week. He spoke on the Character and Nature of God and how it relates in your lives. This week we have Patrick Dodson visiting us and speaking on Using the Gifts Gods Given and Hearing Gods Voice. All the lessons thus far have been really beneficial. I have been thinking and processing a lot of the information. There are just so many aspects of God’s Kingdom my eyes are being opened to.
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.”
Hebrews 1:10-12
Mindy Reyes, Holly Geber, Katie Greenawalt, and I have decided to pursue pioneering a ministry to the women in the tenderloin. We have started hanging out with woman on the streets on Wednesday nights to talk and get to know some them. We want to begin taking a woman out to dinner each month. Doing a movie night at the base week or just having snacks and coffee and just making these women feel loved. There really is no ministry designated specifically to the waman here in the tenderloin and we would like to change that. The hope is that through us God can show his love to these women.
Part of the program I’m in also includes twelve hours of class time each week. We have a new guest speaker come in every week and speak on specific topics. John Bills from L.A. was the speaker for last week. He spoke on the Character and Nature of God and how it relates in your lives. This week we have Patrick Dodson visiting us and speaking on Using the Gifts Gods Given and Hearing Gods Voice. All the lessons thus far have been really beneficial. I have been thinking and processing a lot of the information. There are just so many aspects of God’s Kingdom my eyes are being opened to.
“You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed.
But You are the same,
And Your years will not fail.”
Hebrews 1:10-12
Mindy Reyes, Holly Geber, Katie Greenawalt, and I have decided to pursue pioneering a ministry to the women in the tenderloin. We have started hanging out with woman on the streets on Wednesday nights to talk and get to know some them. We want to begin taking a woman out to dinner each month. Doing a movie night at the base week or just having snacks and coffee and just making these women feel loved. There really is no ministry designated specifically to the waman here in the tenderloin and we would like to change that. The hope is that through us God can show his love to these women.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Learning All About the Area
Hey guys. So I’ve been here a week tomorrow now. It’s crazy how time flies. Yesterday we went about and toured around. Got lost, found our way back, used about every transit system in the city and loved it. We each have passes, $45 bucks a pop that let us use every public transit system inside the city limits of San Fran. It’s really useful. We went all over! Little Italy, China Town, Haight, Broadway, the Castro it was really great. We’ve been to fishermans worf and seen and bay bridge. Next week I can start going out on my own and I think I’m going to walk the Golden Gate.
Man, let me tell you though, it’s a whole other world where we live. We live in the heart of the tenderloin above a drop in center for the homeless. I live with three other girls in a dorm room size apartment. We’re working out the details and quirks of all living together in such a small place. I’m getting used to it though.
My heart has been breaking for this city already. Outside our building at any given time there’s thirty homeless men and women. Our area is one of the worst areas of the city. Which puts us in such an opportune spot but is also somewhat intimidating at first. I’ve seen men shooting heroine on the sidewalks, you can smell the crack from the crack pipes simple walking to the corner store. Walking down the street you’ll witness at least four or five drug deals and people loading there crack pipes. People are constantly searching the ground, at first I didn’t know why. Later I found out it’s for fallen crack rocks. Some of the pigeons here find the left over crack as well and become deformed, addicted and violent.
The city is split up into different sections defined by ethnicity or drugs or other things. Some of these block sections consist of Haight, the Tenderloin, the Castro, China Town… the list goes on.
The Haight is the hippie area, the streets are lined with old men who have been here since the 60s and the hippie revival movement or rebellious teenagers living life with a “free spirit”. Haight is lined with such things as smoke shops and fair trade coffee shops. The area reminds me far to much of Portland. Golden Gate Park is in the middle of all this, commonly referred to as Hippie Hill. This is where everyone smokes and dances to the beat of drums, lays and basks in the sun and just hangs out. There most common drugs in this area are that of the hippies of coarse; weed, LCD and mushrooms.
The Castro has a lot of heroine, this is where most of the male prostitutes would hang out. Since the rise of the internet though, they have doing there business over the web more and more. Still there are a lot of gays in this area. (the word homosexual is really very offensive to them)
Little Italy and China town I don’t know much about except there rich with culture and great food! Haha
The Tenderloin or the TL as we call it, is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods. There’s a lot of anger and hopelessness here on the streets. We live in a predominantly African American neighborhood. Most people here are addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol, the effects are heart breaking. Drugs and alcohol are much more accessible here then most other places. It’s 75 cents for a hit of crack, a buck fifty for a hit of heroine and three bucks for a fifth of vodka. Not only that but there’s really no such thing as liquor stores here. Hard alcohol it just on every corner in the rite aids and small markets open all hours of the night. Everyone around here is generally really nice. It’s sad though because you can be talking to one guy one mintute having a great conversation and see him on the street only a few hours later and he’s a whole other person, just plain angry. That’s happens a lot here because of the come down from the drugs. There aren’t really gangs in the area but the streets are really tight knit. Everyone knows everyone.
I’ve seen a lot and I’ve only been here a week. I’ve made friends with guys on the streets, I’ve prayed for people and seen God just break them. It’s been an amazing experience. And I’ve only been here for a week. I can’t wait to see God work in this community. It’s defiantly in need of love and kindness.
Like I said I live above a homeless drop in center. YWAM owns it. It’s open from 9 to 4 Monday through Friday. It’s such a great place to get to know the people on the streets. It’s funny coming down for breakfast and walking through to get to the kitchen for breakfast. It’s a whole other way of life. I love it.
We’ve started class but we haven’t had any guest speakers here yet. They’ll come next week.
I love it here, I love to see God working here, and I can’t wait to see more. It’s fastly becoming home.
I will put up pictures soon. I swear. :)
Man, let me tell you though, it’s a whole other world where we live. We live in the heart of the tenderloin above a drop in center for the homeless. I live with three other girls in a dorm room size apartment. We’re working out the details and quirks of all living together in such a small place. I’m getting used to it though.
My heart has been breaking for this city already. Outside our building at any given time there’s thirty homeless men and women. Our area is one of the worst areas of the city. Which puts us in such an opportune spot but is also somewhat intimidating at first. I’ve seen men shooting heroine on the sidewalks, you can smell the crack from the crack pipes simple walking to the corner store. Walking down the street you’ll witness at least four or five drug deals and people loading there crack pipes. People are constantly searching the ground, at first I didn’t know why. Later I found out it’s for fallen crack rocks. Some of the pigeons here find the left over crack as well and become deformed, addicted and violent.
The city is split up into different sections defined by ethnicity or drugs or other things. Some of these block sections consist of Haight, the Tenderloin, the Castro, China Town… the list goes on.
The Haight is the hippie area, the streets are lined with old men who have been here since the 60s and the hippie revival movement or rebellious teenagers living life with a “free spirit”. Haight is lined with such things as smoke shops and fair trade coffee shops. The area reminds me far to much of Portland. Golden Gate Park is in the middle of all this, commonly referred to as Hippie Hill. This is where everyone smokes and dances to the beat of drums, lays and basks in the sun and just hangs out. There most common drugs in this area are that of the hippies of coarse; weed, LCD and mushrooms.
The Castro has a lot of heroine, this is where most of the male prostitutes would hang out. Since the rise of the internet though, they have doing there business over the web more and more. Still there are a lot of gays in this area. (the word homosexual is really very offensive to them)
Little Italy and China town I don’t know much about except there rich with culture and great food! Haha
The Tenderloin or the TL as we call it, is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods. There’s a lot of anger and hopelessness here on the streets. We live in a predominantly African American neighborhood. Most people here are addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol, the effects are heart breaking. Drugs and alcohol are much more accessible here then most other places. It’s 75 cents for a hit of crack, a buck fifty for a hit of heroine and three bucks for a fifth of vodka. Not only that but there’s really no such thing as liquor stores here. Hard alcohol it just on every corner in the rite aids and small markets open all hours of the night. Everyone around here is generally really nice. It’s sad though because you can be talking to one guy one mintute having a great conversation and see him on the street only a few hours later and he’s a whole other person, just plain angry. That’s happens a lot here because of the come down from the drugs. There aren’t really gangs in the area but the streets are really tight knit. Everyone knows everyone.
I’ve seen a lot and I’ve only been here a week. I’ve made friends with guys on the streets, I’ve prayed for people and seen God just break them. It’s been an amazing experience. And I’ve only been here for a week. I can’t wait to see God work in this community. It’s defiantly in need of love and kindness.
Like I said I live above a homeless drop in center. YWAM owns it. It’s open from 9 to 4 Monday through Friday. It’s such a great place to get to know the people on the streets. It’s funny coming down for breakfast and walking through to get to the kitchen for breakfast. It’s a whole other way of life. I love it.
We’ve started class but we haven’t had any guest speakers here yet. They’ll come next week.
I love it here, I love to see God working here, and I can’t wait to see more. It’s fastly becoming home.
I will put up pictures soon. I swear. :)
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