LA thoughts

I don’t want to paint a wrong picture, or give a false impression of what we observed this week, but the people we met, the ministries we observed and the community we lived in will have a lasting impression on our lives. For the past week, we have stayed in the home of Doug and Cynthia Peters along with their 3 beautiful children in a neighborhood that few people would live in by choice. When I first arrived here, I asked Doug, as a naïve Canadian if there were any neighborhoods that I should avoid as a white guy, his answer was: ‘Yeah, this one’, but our time here has been inspiring beyond words. We’ve driven through some of the more dangerous neighborhoods in the USA, where their missionaries live and plant churches; we’ve listened to stories of families who have been touched by the ministries of WI (World Impact) and we feel like we’ve seen the unmistakable work of God’s Spirit in these homes. We had the privilege to visit WI camp where kids from the churches can come for retreats and special events, build relationships and hear the Gospel. I think I am naturally a pessimistic person (my wife disagrees with me), but here in a part of the world where there are over 80,000 homeless people, we have seen hope and faith and expectation of great things. These guys really believe God can change people, communities and the world, because they have experienced God's hand changing their own lives and His love for them has moved them to love their neighbors as they love themselves. They’re not revolutionaries seeking a cleaner earth, or a safer city, but rather are people who believe that knowing Jesus and being known by Jesus is better than anything else this world can offer (but they also believe and practice that knowing Jesus is good for the planet and for safer communities!). In fact, they are very ordinary people (no offence guys), they have their hobbies, their jokes, their families, and routines but at the core of it is a life lived by faith and obedience to Jesus Christ. And in the process of their normal routines, they are changing lives and communities. LA is a myriad of overwhelming odds, it is a place of cultures forced together, over 200 nations are represented here in over 13 million people in the greater LA area. Buddhists, Muslims, students and workers all share the same sidewalks. It’s a city of celebrities and gangs, of smog and palm trees, but I believe WI taught me that the world will not change through a new dynamic program, food relief plans or new housing projects, but rather through the slow and purposeful (and messy) road of relationships—crossing all barriers to win as many to Christ. I’ll be honest, when I surveyed our entire sabbatical plans, I thought that our time in LA would be the most dangerous, perhaps it was, but if there was any danger experienced, it was the danger of my normal life being shaken up by these normal people. Thanks Doug, Cynthia, Olivia, Naomi and Elijah! Your hospitality was overwhelming and your encouragement and laugher was medicine to our souls. God bless you, refresh you and renew you each day. Many thanks to the other WI staff who hosted us, Bob and Tim especially for organizing much of our time there.