An Update from West Oakland Inner City

... I am not actually able to update everyday anymore because I won't have internet access where I am living. However, every so often I will be able to visit Matt at his place, and this will be a time where I can fill you in on the happenings.

On Friday I got settled into Amanda's apartment and made the room I'm staying in, my own. She was so gracious to provide me with bedding, a futon to sleep on, a cabinet for my clothes, and a desk where I can do my reading and writing. I put up pictures and hung up my clothes - and soon felt at home. Shortly after, the crew from InterVarsity showed up - Eboni, Bryan, Tiera, Victor, Sylvia, and Joyce. Eboni and Victor are from Texas, while Tiera and Bryan both come from Reno, Nevada. Joyce and Sylvia are both from the bay area. Right away the InterVarsity group welcomed me in. I am the odd one out, since their rules and guidelines for their summer ministry are different than what is expected of me through WorldIMPACT. Nonetheless I can tell we're all goignn to grow a lot through this experience. The dynamic seems to be building nicely with inside jokes already making an appearance. Currently, I don't have any pictures of the group, but soon I will be getting on that and posting some for all of you to see.

The first night we had a family dinner where Tiera and Eboni made some amazing fried chicken, I made potato wedges, and Sylvia, Brian, and Joyce made the salad. What a team! We had a regular feast, and none of us were expecting it to turn out so well. The Lord provides! We were not sure how the eating situation was going to go down since each person on InterVarsity only gets $15 a week for food. We had to spend the money wisely at the grocery store, and pray that we will have enough to feed seven people three meals a day for a week. Speaking of food, we went to the restaurant a few doors down that had a grand opening yesterday, and talked with Jason and Bette (the owners) for awhile, and they appreciate what we're doing for the neighborhood. They gave us seven halves of baked whole bodied chickens, that had amazing seasonings, and also potatoes underneath them, and pineapple and peaches on top. It was soooo good. We also gratefully received a dessert from them - delicious baklava. I had never had it before, but the puff pastry on the top was mmmmmm! We definitely did not deserve any of this food, but I say it again - The Lord provides! We could hardly eat three of the half chickens between the seven of us, so we kept the others for later, so it will help us with some meals later on in the week.

I am feeling my heart being prepared for this adventure - with all of the prayer times and praise to our Lord for the people he has introduced us to thus far. I hope to become a member of this community by the end of my stint with WorldIMPACT. Together after dinner the first night we prayed over the house that InterVarsity is living in and called out any spirits that are not of the Lord. I felt like this was such a unique experience to share with these people. I was admiring the hearts and thoughts of the people I'm going to be spending the summer with. I look forward to being a part of their InterVarsity family.

Friday we also hung up fliers around the neighborhood for the after school program that we are going to be putting on for the kids in the neighborhood. On our walk, Bryan, Tiera, Luke and I met a man named Mr. Watkins who had so much to share with us. He had an organic garden that he loved to work on and he had a bit of gopher problem. He tried bombing them and that didn't work and then he bought some poisonous peanuts to put in them holes and hopefully that will do the trick. We're planning to meet up with him again and maybe help him tend to his garden if he would like that.

I must be going now though - I went to church with Matt this morning and now we're heading back to the West Oakland area so that I can spend the day with InterVarsity, and also figure out some of the logistics with Amanda on the after school program. I forgot to mention that Amanda got back from her trip yesterday so we had a great time getting groceries together and catching up when she got back. I may be able to update again on Wednesday, but until then if West Oakland crosses your mind, shoot up a prayer for the people, and the ministry that we are a part of.

YO DOG! Your breath be kickin'! - Leonard

This afternoon I met up with Luke again, and we went walking the neighborhoods to find children to hang out with for the day. Our thought for the day was to either take some kids to the beach, fly some kites with the kids, or something else fun to get the kids away from their everyday lives. Luke is friends with many of the families in the neighborhood, and knows the parents very well. We met up with two children named Judy (7) and Leonard (8). It was evident that they had grown up taking care of themselves, when I later found out that there were 11 children in their family. Their street smarts blew my mind, and the way that they talked about legal issues that their family is dealing with surprised me. They were very aware of what goes on in their neighborhood - the drugs, the violence, and the robberies - and to them, it was somewhat of a normal happening. They were not living in fear, it was more of a feeling of normalcy that I observed.

I admired Leonard and Judy's bravery, and believed that I should be taking on that feeling of fearlessness as well. The Lord is going here before me, and knows every single event and person that I am going to meet. I don't have anything that I should be fearful about, and it is so exciting to be building these relationships with people from the neighborhood.
Luke and I ended up taking the two kids to a park near San Francisco to fly kites. There were two kites - one was shaped like a monkey, and the other was more complicated. It was a special design with two handles used to guide the kite in either direction. It was very tricky to use, and Luke did a great job of teaching Judy. Here is a picture to show Judy and Luke working together to achieve a common goal of flying a kite.


We spent a great deal of time at the park, and I tried to teach Judy how to do a cartwheel, and let me tell you that it was much more difficult that I had once envisioned. I did not succeed at teaching her, but we sure had a fun time trying. We took Judy and Leonard to Kentucky Fried Chicken before dropping them off at their apartment. Which by the way is a three bedroom apartment where 16 people are living. They may be soon getting put into a shelter if the living conditions don't better themselves in the near future. I hope and pray that they will not have to be put into this situation, and I'm not really sure which situation is better for them currently. It was clear that they were not excited to go home, and that they wanted us to take them to our homes. I loved spending time with Judy and Leonard, and hope that I will get to see them again this summer.

Tomorrow morning I will be moving into my new apartment where Amanda and I will be living together for the summer. I am feeling confident going into this, and the InterVarsity crew will be coming in tomorrow morning as well. I pray that this will be a smooth transition and that we will be able to bond together quickly so that we can effectively work as a team in this ministry. I will leave you all with this picture of Luke, myself, and Judy walking in the field near the park. It is a sweet reminder to me of how quickly children can bond with someone through a day of fun and adventure.

Day One - West Oakland Inner City

Today was the beginning of my six week long adventure at World Impact. As most of you know I have been living here at Matt's place with Tony, Sarah and Lora for the past week and a half, and am moving into an apartment in West Oakland with Amanda (WorldIMPACT missionary) on Friday morning. I started volunteering today, working alongside Luke (another WorldIMPACT missionary), and also with Judy (Hendrik's wife). Luke walked with me from the center, where all of our activities will take place (bible study, VBS, clubs, etc.), to the thrift store/resource center that is owned by WorldIMPACT. On our way Luke introduced to me to a few men that he has become friends with over the time he has lived there. One man named Chico, and the other named Duncan. Both very polite, wanting to greet me with a handshake, sharing their name and asking me mine. I believed them to be kind members of the Campbell street community. After speaking with Luke further, I found out that they were both drug dealers. He also informed me that many of the men on the street corners right outside of the building that I will be living in are drug dealers. I looked out the window to witness a group of men talking, and I then wondered to myself, how would I have ever known? I didn't want to judge after I found out this information. I knew in my heart that these men had more to offer this community than drugs, and Luke had given them a chance. I wanted to be part of their community, and build meaningful relationships with others who may be involved in selling drugs or have family members who deal drugs. I feel that there are so many people who have fallen to this route of work in this neighborhood, because that is what they know. Not many are telling them that it's not okay. The Oakland Police are not doing their job, and much of the drug dealing goes unnoticed. I'm not saying that I am going to tell these drug dealers to stop, but I am going to be praying so hard during my time here that the dealers will see a better life for themselves through Christ. Drug dealing is a way of life, and as sad as it sounds, some people don't understand the repercussions of it on the community. It's an infectious cycle, where one person starts selling, and others buy, and more sell and then more buy. Children see their parents living this cycle out daily, and in turn they think that it is normal to live this way. Life can be so much more fulfilling! Pure joy and love can be found in Christ - and I pray that I can be a living example of this. I have so much to learn from this community, and I don't plan on doing a lot of talking with the people here. I believe my purpose is more to listen, and learn - and once the relationship is built I can share.

Back to the building I mentioned earlier. This building used to be home to a gambling hall, and drug house prior to WorldIMPACT purchasing it. Since the purchase a few years back, it has been turned into a thrift store for the community, and will soon be turned into a resource center for the people of the surrounding neighborhoods to find jobs, medical care, rehab, dental care, etc. In the upstairs of this building are the living quarters for the InterVarsity team that will be coming in, that consists of 7 college students. Mine and Luke's job today was to clean it up and get it ready for them when they come on Friday morning. We scrubbed floors, counters, mirrors, windows, you name it, we cleaned it. :) We stopped to have lunch and sat outside at a picnic table, talking about the ways of the West Oakland neighborhoods. I am so intrigued by the lifestyle, and want to know how it got to be the way that it is. Luke was insightful with his information, and we eventually went back to clean the living quarters some more. Afterwards we decided to do some much needed painting on the exterior of the house. It was a task that I was excited to take on - I had never really painted a house before.

Also, another first that took place was yesterday. I drove in California for the first time! Hooray! I survived, and tomorrow I will be driving on my own to the WorldIMPACT center.

If anyone is reading this - prayer and hope for a better tomorrow in this neighborhood. Also, confidence in speaking to new people in the neighborhood, and not getting discouraged by the circumstances. Allow me to see each person through the eyes of God, not my own.

Spare the Air - Free BART rides until noon!

Yesterday, I woke up and thought about how great it would be to take the BART into the city while Matt was at work. Lora, Marian, and John were around the house, and I had a hunch this would be something they may want to take part in. I went to the BART website, and lucky duck I was, I found out that they were offering free BART rides until noon! We gathered up some essentials, and drove to the MacArthur station. From here we accidently got on the wrong BART, so we eventually had to switch and head the other direction.
About a half hour later, we ended up in San Fran. We got off at the Embarcadero stop and started walking past all of the piers until we hit pier 39 (1.3 miles). At pier 39 is where the fun begins. We decided to eat at the Boudin bakery - known for delicious Sourdough bread, that can only be made by the San Francisco bay because of the special sea air. Also, we walked around the boardwalk area, and saw a silly sea lion, pictured above.

We then walked to China Town and experienced the sights and sounds of the Chinese people selling goods, and providing services to those who were passersby. We purchased some Chinese candy, and took some pictures on John's camera of us standing in front of hanging greasy ducks. It was somewhat disturbing, but very cultural. :) I don't know what many of the foods were that I examined, but I am certain that I saw some preserved duck eggs, boiled chicken feet, rice goo with dried shrimp (just sitting out in the sun, mind you), and candy that looked like a small sausage, just to name a few. Every time I visit, I gain an appreciation for the Chinese people's taste. I suppose there are some strange things that Americans eat, such as pork rinds (not me), and... I can't think of others at the moment because I'm jaded by what I've been eating for the past 22 years.

Speaking of years.. Matt is going to be 24 on Sunday, so there will definitely be more pictures to come my friends. There is also other news that I will share on a later day that effects where Matt and I will be living when we get married. More details to come..

WorldIMPACT West Oakland

After the Stinson Beach experience, I had a day to relax at home and it was wonderful. I have not found myself bored yet, even if there isn't anything going on. I am not taking this time for granted, considering my life ahead of me will be busy starting in September - but until that point I will be relaxing as much as I can until I start my stint at WorldIMPACT in a week. For those of you who aren't aware of what I'll be doing here in Oakland, I will be working with youth and families in West Oakland. If you haven't heard about West Oakland before.. here is a site dedicated to what I'll be doing there, and the organization. http://www.citymissions.com/

Some info about the area:

Oakland, the eighth largest city in California, is separated from San Francisco by the Bay Bridge. This city, 60 square miles in area, had a 2000 urban population of 399,484. The city has a high percentage of nontraditional families, 33 percent of which are single-parent households. It is one of the most ethnically diverse and integrated cities in America. At least 81 languages and dialects are spoken with as many as 7 languages on one block.

Oakland is undergoing a major ethnic transformation. The Caucasian population is steadily declining; the African-American population is increasing slightly; the Asian and Latino populations are increasing dramatically.

The city is divided economically between the flatlands (urban poor) and the hills. A fire destroyed much of the hill affluence in 1991. This is being rebuilt more rapidly than the damaged area from the 1989 earthquake in the flatlands. East and West Oakland are divided by Lake Merritt and the downtown area.

World Impact’s ministry is in West Oakland’s Prescott community, a low income area struggling to recover from the Loma Prieta earthquake. Unemployment, homelessness, drugs, and crime are part of the daily life of the Prescott community.

I still have some fears about what I'll be doing in the neighborhood - it is far from structured, considering most of the things I will be doing are outreach, and meeting neighbors sharing the love of Christ with them. I believe the fear that I have is correlated with the unknown, and also with being outside of my safe haven of Keizer, Oregon. I've never done anything like this before, and my faith is being tested to the extreme. I know God wants me here, way more than I want me here. I'm not going to give up because of my fear. I need to be a part of this community, and help transform lives. I need to get over my fear of shootings, gangs, homelessness, and the like, and take this unique role I have, as an honor that God would even consider me for the job. I'm thankful for this time that I will have to pray and reflect before I leave and I'm thankful for the support from Matt Roth, my incredible fiance.

Currently living at the Deweese/Roth/Sherfey House

I arrived in Oakland with my brother on Saturday afternoon. We began our trek at 4 a.m. and made three stops along the way at gas stations, filling up the 16 foot Budget Rental truck's 35 gallon tank. The most we paid for gas was $4.70 a gallon, with our fill-up's costing around $72.00. The most enjoyable part of our drive was the first four hours, where my brother and I spoke to each other of times that occurred in our childhood. Moments that one of us were foggy on, the other filled in the gaps and we were able to relive our innocence and joy of youth through conversation. I have an appreciation for my brother that goes deeper than saying I would do anything for him. We have a unique bond between us, however we view the world and our surroundings completely differently. Our common bond is family, and we know that we will always have each other. It's a beautiful thing, I'm thankful for such a special honky-tonk lovin', tractor/truck driving, frugal, opinionated brother. If anyone of you know me well, I am not exactly those things, but somehow we are about to connect on some strange level.

Anyway, enough about that, It's already Thursday! So much has happened, so I'll do a brief update. I am living in this house, with Tony and Sarah Deweese, Matt (the fiance), and Lora Sherfey and her two siblings, Marian (11), and John (8). If you have not counted the number of people yet, that's 7 people including myself. That's quite a few living in one house for a week.

Lora, Annabelle (Lora's friend), Marian, John, and I rode together to Stinson beach (about an hour away) on Tuesday. It was beautiful! Here are a few pictures to show the beach in all it's glory. The roads were a bit windy to get there, and my stomach was feeling similar to the way the roads curved... however, we made it and the weather was great. I couldn't believe how we were able to lay out on the beach and not be freezing cold. This was nothing like the Oregon Coast. I definitely could get used to this.