It’s been a while since I last wrote, and I put it off until now halfway on purpose. This past week has gone by quickly, as do all of the weeks since I’ve been here. Six weeks already! That seems impossible but the calendar agrees so I guess it’s true... I have definitely been growing a lot since I came here, and I only wish that it would never stop! (Wish granted; I have my whole life ahead of me. Haha)
This past week our topic was Cities and it was taught by the director of the base here. He used to live in India and pioneered the missionary work there as well as directing the YWAM base in Chennai, India. It was so cool to hear his stories and perspective as he calls India home and teaches us about the Tenderloin. He came here only 5 years ago and yet the vast history he already knows is astounding. He dove right into the neighborhood and spent his time making himself known and showing people that YWAM cares about the area. So as Uncle Tim taught us, he was using his real experience which was phenomenal. He also gave us a load of statistics on cities around the world regarding size, cultural variances and history. Although that may sound a bit dry, I loved it! I love studying things like this and I almost felt like this week was tailored to me. It was awesome!
It’s quite funny to see the staff urge students to come back and make San Francisco their own mission field in subtle ways... But for me, I’ve been praying about this a lot already. I laugh with the others when the many staff on base tell us “when you come back on staff...” but I also am seriously considering that move. We’ll see; I’m still very early on in my journey and I’m hesitant to say anything concrete. I’ll just keep praying!
Another thing that happened this past week is that the Fall DTS came back from their Outreach Phase in Cambodia and Vietnam. It was so cool to get to hear their stories and their advice as they had just gone through the school I’m in at the moment. As the week progressed along, I was reminded over and over how much YWAM is like a family. I’ve been in four different missions organizations in my 18 years, and YWAM definitely sticks out. The honest, humble way that they follow God’s will is inspiring to me as a student because I see our leadership still putting into practice what they are teaching us to do. There is such transparency here!
Probably my favorite morning of the week is actually Monday morning. Why? Because on Monday morning we have staff worship, and we recently opened up the staff worship to anyone from off the streets who wants to join in. So every Monday morning we gather in the Ellis Room (our drop-in center), starting out with all the staff and students, and begin worship. As the last song ends, I’m always surprised to see how many people have come in to join us. Maybe they’re just trying to get indoors, or they want a safe place to sit down, or they want to use our bathrooms. But we still welcome them.
Sometimes it’s hard to welcome people when they do only want to use the building and they don’t care about God. They come in and they swear and fall asleep as they rest inside in safety. And yet I can’t be angry... I simply can’t. How would I feel if I were on the streets? How grateful would I be to have a safe-haven like the Ellis Room to come to? And then I’m reminded of something that we talked about in church today: the least of these. “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for Me.” We are called to love and care for our fellow humans, and I see no more practical way of doing than to invite them in on a cold day and give them a safe place to take a nap. Yes, after taking a nap they may go out and buy drugs. Should we throw them out because of that? I think not. Because we can’t expect the outside to change before the inside and to begin work on the inside we must first create an environment where the inside can surface in safety. The Ellis Room is that environment.
I have such a passion for this that I could write for ages on the subject, but I need to go to dinner so I’ll stop now and I’ll just leave you with this. Jesus commanded us to be examples of His love every day. For me, this means stopping on the street and talking to someone who I’d rather just walk by. What does it mean for you?
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