Father, Father

I can't even begin to tell you how incredible this weekend was. But i'll try.

***And I warn you that I wrote this really REALLY tired. There is no humor and I don't even think it sounds like me a day later. However, the information is important to what my purpose is here in Waco and in Urban ministry.****

Starting off where I left off with Friday. We met at the office and went to take a tour of Brook Ave. Elementary school to see what an "inner-city school" really looks like. Honestly, the appearance of the school was not as bad as I expected. It was very friendly, bright and colorful. They seemed to have a lot of technology as well. They explained that they received a lot funding from outside donations and grants. The breakdown of the school was like 50% hispanic to 49% african american with 1% other and 98% of the students receive free or reduced lunch from the school district. We got to meet with some teachers and it was really interesting to hear their perspectives. From my understanding, Texas just started implementing their version of End-of-Grade testing. NC has been doing it since before I was in elementary school so it was no big deal to me. However, Brook Ave. can't seem to make acceptable grades. Since I am studying to be a teacher in high school, I have always heard the blame being placed on the early educators for the faults of high school graduates not being able to construct a proper paragraph. I asked them why they thought the kids couldn't seem to pass the state test or function at the appropriate grade level if they were working so vigorously at it. It was radical to actually realize the real reasons. It's a completely different culture and the state doesn't format its assessments towards the culture and more specifically the vocabulary of the inner-city kids. These kids learn their vocabulary from television and the local area. One teacher told us that her kids could not understand the concept of what a "pond" is...The closest they could come to it was "PAWN" as in pawn shop because it's all they've ever been exposed to. That broke my heart. They can't comprehend anything on the exterior of Waco because that is the world to them. They don't have the opportunity to see any outside aspects. Also, the teachers explained that there is 0 retention of what the students retain over the Summer because the knowledge they learned isn't cultivated or used at all for 3 months and it's just like starting over. That might not be interesting to you but it was completely new to me...after 3 years of college in an education program, no one has ever explained to me why inner-city kids fail and are generally on a education level two grades below the expectation.

This is a cool personal story: In between all the business of the day, I went outside to get some air and sat down on the sidewalk with a book during a break. Next door to the main office is the World Cup Cafe, which is MissionWaco's fair-trade store and restaurant that focuses on job-training for the homeless. It's really a cool place. So out walks this guy and I didn't recognize him and first but he comes and sits down next to me on the ground and mentions that he recognized me from serving breakfast at the shelter the day before. The whole point of my summer is to get to know the people in this community, hear their stories, and just be a positive face. God opened this door wide open with Malcolm who came to sit with me. He is 21 years old (same age as me), first-time ever being homeless, has a 10-month old baby and that was his first day working at the World Cup Cafe. The homeless shelter placed Malcolm there to work through MissionWaco. So we just sat and talked until his ride showed up and I made my first connection with someone that's homeless. I was so excited after that and still am.

We finally met the Director of MissionWaco, Jimmy Dorrell, at lunch time. Apparently, he is a big deal and I just didn't know it. He spoke to us about the Theology of Holistic Ministry and how that inspires MissionWaco. I really enjoyed hearing him speak and we'll get the chance to meet with him every Friday to be fed by his leadership and wisdom. His story is incredible. After college, he and his wife moved to the bad part of Waco to raise their family and turn the community around.

After this, we did more monotonous orientation stuff until the end of the day. After that, we all went back to the house and I went to bed at like 7 in preparation for the 3:30AM departure time for Houston.

We got to Houston around 8 and arrived at the Center for Student Ministries. CSM is a nationwide organization that has locations in major cities of the country. They facilitate service and emersion experiences in Urban ministry for groups that travel to spend a week with them. They were training their interns just like MissionWaco and so their interns and us went around and spent the day together. It was a great experience getting to know more people who were going to be doing the same thing as us. We started the day off and the 'End Hunger' Network in Houston. We boxed food up for meals on wheels and prepared food for several needs. The End Hunger Network of Houston feeds 80,000 people each week. It was incredible to see such a strong effort fighting hunger whether its the low-income, homeless, or elderly.
We left there for lunch and then made our way to a Men's Rehabilitation Center in Houston. We spent the afternoon hanging out with the guys there and hearing their stories. They were so incredibly nice. The facility was amazing. It was better than my school cafeteria and it was all funded by private donors.

After this, we went back to the church that CSM is located in and took a NAP. It was much-needed after being up since 4am. We woke up and went to eat dinner at an authentic El Salvadoran restaurant. The whole trip was about exposure to the city of Houston and Houston has huge ethnic diversity. It was incredible. It was the shadiest place I have probably ever eaten in (a rundown trailer with plastic tables and chairs). You don't make an order. Everyone gets the same thing but it was incredible. I loved the experience.

Then...the big finale: We went to Emmaus ministries in the homosexual district of Houston. Emmaus ministries works to evangelize and serve the male prostitutes of Houston. They offered us an emersion experience for Saturday night. From about 9:30Pm - 1:00Am, we walked the streets of Houston in the district and saw the male prostitutes in the ares. It was horribly startling. Emmaus ministries explained to us that since their start, they have probably met 500 different male prostitutes in Houston. They described to us the signs to pick out the male prostitutes on the street. They said they might be standing on the corner with no shirt and their chest puffed out. Or they said they'd be walking with real baggy clothes on so that they could get in and out of them quickly. It was sickening and so depressing to think about and see. We saw them just like they said. We walked by and said 'hey' but the ministry said they wouldn't be open to us as strangers and that the people in the ministry are especially trained to know what to say. It was just an experience for us to witness something devastating and true.

And, we got the experience to go into some gay bars. I visited a gay bar called the 611 club and a transvestite bar called 'Cousins'. [Be careful with who you tell this too. People may not understand or approve. But we were just doing what Jesus did, loving the unloved.] You may be wondering how in the world we didn't stand out in gay/transvestite bars. Houston has a lot of colleges and it was a saturday night so people of all ages and genders were out. They said that the college girls will go into some of the gay men bars to avoid being hit on.

I just can't put it into words what it was like. It destroyed me to see these men who were so broken and desperate. And yet, it was easy to be kind to them and they were so friendly. We talked with a few and just heard their stories. Many of the transvestites were homeless. A disturbing thing were the business men in the transvestite bar. I couldn't help wondering if they had wives or children. If this was their recreation on a business trip. It was an experience I will never forget or take forgranted. I still can't believe I had the opportunity to see what I did. As we walked around, I prayed for the homosexual couples and transvestite men I saw and the gay men and women in the bars. Just because we, as evangelicals, can somehow stand up and make all these bold statements about the hell and damnation awaiting homosexuals doesn't mean we aren't responsible for LOVING them and to walk as Christ walked among the lepers and prostitutes. Do we understand the word LOVE? Love them. Love them.

The eternal God is your refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Deut. 33:27

On Sunday, we went to St. John's Downtown Church which is Beyonce's church! She and Jay-Z weren't there... It was another emersion experience because as you could probably assume it was a black church. I've never been to a service in a black church and it fulfilled most of the stereotypes of being a loud and long service. The music was great though as you could imagine. We left there and went to an authentic Greek restaurant for an INCREDIBLE lunch. Then headed back to Waco and here I am.

I gratefully have the day off tomorrow and have some work to catch-up on. Please pray that the Lord would continue to open my eyes and show me the injustices and deep, desperate needs of the people in Waco.

Thanks for reading. Peace to you.