You hear about victims of trafficking; if you go to Westmont you've heard all about Dave and Not for Sale, but to actually sit in the presence of these beautiful women and look into their eyes, it doesn't feel like a story anymore. The resident I spoke with ended our talk by telling me that she was hesitant to go back to church, but that she wants to eventually, just not now. She told me that she's going to get the Serenity Prayer tattooed on her arm tomorrow. That might not be everyone's approach to God, but I see it as her way of making that next step, of reaching out and seeking more answers, and I can't wait to continue to talk with her and watch her grow.
Last Friday the Aquarium of the Bay was free so a few of us went down to Pier 39 and soaked in the tourist scene.
Saturday I ran (turned into a hike/walk) up to Twin Peaks, the highest point in the city. It was breathtakingly beautiful. On the second peak there was a rock just big enough to sit on, and as I just stared in awe of this city, I talked to God while United Pursuit & Will Reagan's 'Nothing I Hold On To' played through my earphones.
Saturday night a few of us went to an Opera (I know super fancy!). Don't worry, I wore jeans and Rainbows. We met a woman on the bus Friday on our way to the Aquarium and she invited us to it as she was one of the main characters in the Opera, Don Giovanni, performed only in Italian. Once again, we found another free event (score). Sunny and I left after the first half (3 hours of Italian or ice cream?) exactly. But don't get me wrong, it was reaaally good and the woman we met, Augusta, was phenomenal. Walking back to the house we stopped by this really cool playground filled with spinning bars and this huge circle that looks like a tire that spins around.
I can't even begin to express my experience at the Outpost on Sunday. It was one of those times where the Spirit was so thick and moving so freely and beautifully in the room that there wasn't a single dry eye. I watched as men, women and children of all sizes and colors fell to their knees before the cross. A man named Alan who's a resident at City Team, the addiction recovery center across the street, spoke about a vision he has for serving. He told us about his past, growing up in Texas, marrying his wife, having 3 kids...then one day he got a call. He drove to the side of the cliff and looked down to see his Mother in law's car engulfed in flames. He lost all three of his kids that day. His wife and himself came to SF, lived in the Golden Gate Park for 10 years and shot up anything that they could get their hands on. He's been sober for a little over 6 months, and he has a vision for City Team, that if they can serve 1500 meals a week to the homeless in the area, why can't they make that 15,000 by next year?
Tasha raised her hand after Alan sat down and asked Pastor Mike if she could speak. She used to come to the Outpost, but hasn't been in awhile. She's been sober 1 week and 4 days, and she wants to start coming back to the church, she wants to stay sober.
Watching and listening to these brothers and sisters get up and tell everyone about what's going in their life, how they're struggling, how we can pray for them and being so beautifully, openly broken before God and their community. Before the offering every Sunday, Robert prays "Lord we're a poor church, but we're rich in You." Just let that sink in. That's what we should strive for, maybe not financially poor, but we are all so poor in other ways.
I really took in this scene on Sunday.
Folding chairs, not pews. Stretch pants, baggy sweaters, muddy shoes, not suits, ties or heels.
Despite these differences, I feel God's presence overflowing in this small building on the corner of 6th street in the heart of the Tenderloin. I'm not sure if you've watched this popular video on youtube, 'Why I love Jesus and Hate religion'...but there's a part in it where the guy says, 'If Jesus walked into your church today, would he be welcome?'. I couldn't help think about this as I watched men and women dance and spin around, yell 'Amen' and sing 'Hallelujah'.
I can honestly say that I believe Jesus would be welcome at the Outpost.
Walking down the street after church I passed by a man and said 'Hello' and 'Good morning' as I do to everyone on the street, but this one looked at me differently. He said 'Hello' back, then called after me, 'Hey, can you pray for me?'. Standing on the sidewalk, just as I did so many times with Urban Initiative on that street, I put my hand on James and lifted him up.
I'm so overwhelmed by His presence here in the city, may my eyes continue to be opened to these opportunities.
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