My favorite night in Los Angeles began with a flat tire!

How would you feel if you got a flat tire on Skid Row? I never actually contemplated this question myself, but as I walk to work every day and watch people lock their doors and roll up their windows on their drive down San Pedro or 6th St, I can imagine most would answer that they would be terrified. Scared of what you might wonder? Scared of that which they do not know. Last night I got the chance to experience firsthand the blessing that it is to have a flat tire on Skid Row…in all seriousness, one of the best nights of my life!

Yesterday, work ended like normal; children running everywhere, balls booming against the wall 2 millimeters behind my head, incredible goodbye hugs and getting permissions slips signed for Saturdays Halloween party. After all the kids that live next door at the Mission were picked up by their parents, I gathered up the 4 kids that I drive home every night. Because they live in the hotels, we offer the service of taking them home after the Say Yes program. I usually park on Towne St. which is 2 blocks from where I work. This is by no means too far but the afternoon returns to my car are always very interesting- why? Because every night there is a food distribution on Towne which means the street is lines with locals waiting for what could possibly be, their first meal of the day.

As I approached my car and began loading the children into my back seat, a couple gentlemen waiting in line pointed out to me that my right front tire was flat…woohoo! Seriously!? I have no skill in changing a tire, safely anyways, and I had to have the kids home in 10 minutes! Have no fear…God provides :-)

Several of the men in line offered their assistance and many others offered words of humor and encouragement. After accepting the help of a couple of the men, I informed them that I needed to make care of the kids first and then would be right back with my co-worker and friend Shaun. I was able to send the children home with another co-worker and Shaun and I headed back to Towne St. After re-soliciting the help of 2 kind men that had previously offered their services, Chaco, Dillon and Shaun set to work.

The tire was off pretty quickly but they couldn’t get the jack to lift the car up high enough. After trading several ideas on how to get the car lifted up, the men decided to lift the car up and hold it long enough to get the other wheel on. Within 30 seconds Chaco and Dillon had solicited the help of others in line and about 5 other men got hands on deck to lift my car…yes, these men quite literally he-man lifted my Honda Civic…what a beautiful picture! What a sense of loyalty there is on Skid Row (this isn’t the first time I’ve seen it)! As one stepped out of line, his buddies would hold his spot- they shouted encouragement and playful remarks to one another and they were all entirely appropriate and helpful with me as I got to spent my time “overseeing” the tire change and getting to know the men and women in line. Let’s just say that the tire change quickly grew into a source of entertainment for all parties involved.

The flat tire was finally pulled off and the spare put on. As Chaco and Dillon loaded the tire back into my trunk, I racked my brain, searching for the words to express the depth of my gratitude. I went to shake their hands and before I could thank them, they thanked me…they thanked me? Do what? They did all the work, I literally did nothing, why were thanking me? They thanked me and said God Bless you to me. I was so confused by their gratitude but attempted to thank them nonetheless. As I said God Bless you to Dillon, he remarked, “God always takes care of me.” I was blown away (again). This man, who was holding all his worldly possessions in a plastic grocery bag by his side, was telling me in complete confidence that the Lord always took care of Him…what a beautiful and inspiring faith! I came to find later that both of my knights in shining armor are strong believers…what a blessed night, my goodness!

As Shaun and I got in the car, our new friends waved goodbye and returned to their saved spots in the food line. Could this night possibly get any better? Of course it could, my spare tire was flat, lol. Oooooookkkk now it was time for Triple A. As Shaun and I walked back to the church where we work so I could wait inside with the remaining kids for the tow truck, he commented that changing my tire had probably been the highlight of the night for those men. This comment made me recall their thanks and I asked Shaun what he meant. Shaun proceeded to explain to me that one of mans greatest fears is to feel useless and out of control/ powerless of their lives and the circumstances they find themselves in, and why this is such a strong issue that homeless and jobless men deal with. Biblically we are shown that men are built inherently with the need to be needed and to provide for their families- this is why poverty 9lack of provision) rocks them to their core. While he neither excused drug dealing, drug and alcohol abuse, nor gang banging, Shaun did explain that the root cause of most of these problems is the crisis of masculinity. WOW! I had never realized this. Those men last night got to be my heroes, they were needed, they put their talents to work and were able to solve my problem. Praise God!

My flat tire experience on Towne St. was seriously an incredibly fun night! I felt so at home among the Central City residents, so loved and cared for, and so protected by these people shunned by society. I could have stayed there all night! AAA finally arrived, my car was towed and the nail in my tire removed, I scared my roommates because my phone was dead and last they heard I was stranded with a flat tire BUT I must say…my favorite night in Los Angeles was the night I got a flat tire on Skid Row!

Thank God for God!

Made rather apparent by my lack of September blogging, this month has been the kickoff of the ministry the Lord has me doing in LA. It has been a roller coaster of emotions, learning, adjusting and growth but I can say, without a doubt in my mind, the Lord is doing great things!!

Central City Community Outreach Update:
What sets up a child for success? How do I as a teacher love these children and help make up for the lack of attention, role models, security, educational growth, etc. that many face at home? The kids went started school on September 9th thereby marking our start date as an after school program. My class was set up, I had this great system in mind for how to empower the kids, charts were made, lesson plans were ready to be put into action- bring it on! The kids arrive and because I had been a volunteer at Central City last time we had interacted they didn’t exactly expect me to be a disciplinarian nor the classroom leader…how did this affect the class? The 5th graders stated a coup against their new teacher, they tested boundaries, the 3rd graders who hadn’t been with me until now (b/c they were in the 1st-2nd grade class) were totally confused and scared at the attitude of the big kids, I spent so much time disciplining and having one on one meetings to calm the class down that the kids weren’t getting their homework done b/c I couldn’t sit down and work with them…Lord help me, and of course He did!

Lisa Peacock is a child psychologist that comes in every Wednesday and Thursday to empower the staff and work in group and individually with the kids. She has a very unique ministry called “animal therapy.” She brings in the very well trained dogs and another “cool” animal every week and talks in group with the kids about their weeks. It’s fascinating because, when around the animals, the kids get really comfortable and talk about anything and everything that is going on with them. This ministry is what helped revolutionize my class. Lisa spoke with the 5th graders about their behavior to find the root cause. I have found that, especially with these children that see and endure so much hardship, their backlash is always rooted in much deeper issues.

This is what I learned:
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs dictates ( Basic Needs -->Security-->Self Worth--> Achievement)
For a child to achieve s/he must have a positive sense of self worth. In order to ensure positive self worth, however, a child must feel secure- they must feel free to sit and do their work rather than protect themselves from the actions and words of their environment, they must feel secure that the result of their efforts won’t harm them, they need structure so that, while they can’t control the instability of their home life, they know what to expect in the safe classroom space.
Though I was giving them the classroom structure they needed, Lisa found that they hadn’t dealt with the grief of losing their previous teacher. Her leaving had hurt them deeply because it seemed that she had been a pillar of stability that has abandoned them- they didn’t want to let me in so that I couldn’t hurt them the same way. Lisa instructed them that it was ok to miss their teacher but that I loved them and wanted to help and protect them. Yes the teacher’s transition annually but it was not out of a lack of love for them- they had done nothing wrong. To say Lisa was God sent would not be an understatement.

The coup has settled, the classroom environment is much more conducive to learning and security (even I feel more secure, haha) and things are finally flowing really well! I have sincerely fallen in love with these kids- every snotty tear dripping nose rubbed on my shirt, every smile when they master their times tables, every masterpiece taped on the wall behind my desk, every hug, every giggle, every child that falls asleep with their head on my shoulder as we ride the bus to various field trip destinations...wow, Jesus loves the little children. Please continue to pray for us at Central City as well as our children. God Bless you!

Next blog entry: The other half of my ministry here in LA is as an intern with Athletes in Action (a sports ministry sub group of Campus Crusade). My mornings are spent on USC’s campus meeting with female student athletes--then from noon to 6:00 I am at Central City--then back to campus at nights for student meetings, bible study and large group Athletes in Action. I can’t wait to fill yall in on my time with this extraordinary ministry. God is so great!