“Even though I look like this, I’m not no car thief"

This is painted on the door of LAMP- a mission the focuses on serving the mentally infirmed on Skid Row

A group of my students came over last Friday night to celebrate thier reading awards- Katana (5th grade)

I parked my car and rummaged to quickly grab my things and prepare for a brisk sprint to work. I grabbed my book bag, phone, bag lunch and a couple random other things, stepped out of my car and slammed the door behind me. Just as I was slamming my door closed, it clicked in my head that I didn’t have my keys in hand…but it was too late. As I spun around to try and catch the door before it locked, I yelled NOOOOOOO…click. I locked my keys in my car…the keys were still in the ignition…my car was still turned on! What was I going to do!? So begins another tale of how the Lord beyond blessed me through car trouble on Skid Row.

After yelling no and having a 2 second panic attack, I looked around and realized the gentleman that had biked past my car 30 seconds ago had stopped at his car that was parked right behind mine. He was looking over a little startled at my Zena-like cry but quickly assessed the situation and ask with a little chuckle, “You lock your keys in your car?” “Yes” I laughed and asked him if he could help me!

Lol…I’m not exactly sure what I thought he was going to be able to do but the words came out and I got a positive response! He jumped right into action, pulled a wire coat hanger and screw driver out of his car (I decided I need to start carrying those in my purse so I can always be prepared) and proceeded to help me break into my car. He managed to wedge the screw driver into the top right corner of the driver door but couldn’t get it open wide enough to squeeze the hanger in, but he kept trying. There was such a beautiful determination to help rescue me that I couldn’t help but be so encouraged. I had no doubt in my mind that Mike was going to get my car open.

Very soon thereafter a gentleman by the name of Carlos popped his head out of his shop to see what we were doing. Mike asked Carlos if he had a flathead screw driver and Carlos came out with TWO flathead screw driver AND a jimmy…which I quickly learned from Mike were illegal. If you don’t know what a jimmy is, it’s what you see in the movies that car robbers use to stick in the window and pull open a lock. Mike was really hesitant to use the Jimmy and understandably let Carlos take control of that technique. The two men then decided to team up- as Mike propped the door open with the two flathead screwdrivers, Carlos maneuvered the jimmy to the lock/unlock switch on the inside of my door and was able to catch the lock...CLICK!! YES!

Mike had the biggest smile on his face as I opened my door (turned off the ignition) and thanked him profusely for taking the time and working with such determination. I asked him if I could give him a hug, which he shyly accepted, and proceeded to say something that broke my heart and showed me such vulnerability, “yea well don’t think that I knew what I was doing, even though I look like this, I’m not no car thief.” Even though he ‘looked like this.’ Mike was well dressed, appeared in perfectly good hygiene and health…dressed like what? It broke my heart because it showed me such a clear picture of how he envisioned himself. I told him he didn’t look any different than a man with a kind heart and that he looked like my hero which he laughed at. I told him that I regretted not having any better way to thank him than my hug and my thank yous but that I would love to be praying for him. “Mike, is there any way I can be praying for you,” I asked. He looked down and responded, “if I said no I would be laying. Will you pray against my laziness. I want to get my life together but I’m getting in my own way.” What an honest and beautiful prayer request that ps. we should all pray on a much more frequent basis!

I prayed that the Lord would give me the right words to respond to Mike’s openness and to encourage him. Praise God for his faithfulness. “Mike, you just showed me the type of man you are by the way you helped out a perfect stranger. You wouldn’t give up until my car was open, you were so creative, and you were successful. You are so capable…you were my hero today. You showed me that you are a man of action…that’s the kind of man you are.” He smiled soo big, “that just gave me a happy feeling inside.’ Glory be to God! I told him that if he ever needed anything or just wanted to catch up that I worked at the church on the corner and to please stop by anytime!

Mike and I parted ways and I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again but sweet Jesus, thank you for the way you touched my life through Mike. If you are reading this blog please take a minute to pray for Mike J God Bless you all!!

Harry Potter saves the day!

Friday Park Day with the ladies :-)

Fifth graders Meonni and Katana received Student of the Month and the Good Citizen Awards

Gustavo Linares received a Reading Award at school!

Hello to all and very belated Happy New Years! Program kicked off again January 18^th and although a great deal of our students moved out of the homeless shelter and thereby out of our program, we have several new kids that have quickly captivated my heart J Because we have acquired a new teachers position for Spring 2010, there are now three of us with the elementary school kids- huge blessing! Currently I’m working solely with the 4^th and 5^th graders. Because my class size is now a bit smaller, I can go deeper with the kids and facilitate more enrichment activities whereas before, getting homework done in the mist of keeping the peace in the classroom was more than overwhelming.

One of the new and exciting projects going on in the 4^th- 5^th grade class is focused on motivating the kids to read more in the hopes of improving their spelling, writing, reading and comprehension skills. A recent ‘facilities grant’ allowed me to purchase 2 full sets of the Harry Potter collection and in very little time, over half the books were “checked out” of my library. The kids earn a point for every page they read and at the end of the month, the 2 top readers get a pizza and movie night at my apartment. Giving the students incentive to read in conjunction with weekly spelling bees has been VERY well received by my class. They run off the bus everyday (much to the dismay of the bus driver trying to maintain order) and proudly hand me their torn pieces of paper decorated with the tallies of how many pages they read the night before. I do not ask for a parent signature because I trust my students and want to show them I “believe them” although I often I ask for “pop quiz” chapter summaries just to keep them on their toes!

Much to my excitement, the new reading club has proven effective in their test scores at school!! Not only have their vocabulary, writing and reading scores improved, but the kids have become even more motivated because they have seen the fruit of their studies. Like a proud parent with one of those “My Child is an Honor Student” bumper stickers… I have posted all their tests up at the front of the classroom. J