Next Step L.A. (Bethel OPC): Day 2: Tour of Los Angeles and the Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row

Today's been a great day! First we got to go downtown and see LA and all the diversity and skid row and then we got to eat lunch with an amazing skyline veiw.
While driving to the Union building we got to see skid row and it was crazy to see so many homeless people in one area. A lot of the people set up camp in tents and others just slept on the concrete. There were people doing drugs and it almost seemed as if it was legal because of all the mass number of homeless people. While working in the union building I got chose out of the group to go work with the kids and it was a God sighting.
Because while working with the kids a mother and her two daughters came in and they only spoke Spanish and Gods given me the gift of speaking Spanish so I was able to have a conversation with them and hear their story and I was just able to show Gods love by taking the time to speak their language and talk with them. It was crazy to think that God put me in the situation at that specific time probably to talk to that family.
After playing with the kids I was talking to one of the leaders about how LA looks so much different on television than in person because in in person you can see the raw LA with all the different cultures and homeless people everywhere, where as on TV everything is so beautiful and there are famous people walking everywhere. The leader told me that in Hollywood there are a lot of homeless people and during red carpet events these famous people just walk past homeless people in their beautiful gowns and what not and don't even give a second look. So that was eye opening the think about because you never see that stuff on TV.
After I finished the conversation with her the whole group went on a tour of the Union building and then we headed out and went to Walmart to get some stuff. After Walmart we headed home and ate supper, played, worshipped and did Devos. It was a great first day and has been very eye opening all ready! Can't wait to see what God has planned for the rest of the week

~ Alycia Shilts

Today we went on a city walk and the union rescue mission. During the city walk we went into the Japanese district also known as little Tokyo, then we walked passed the outskirts of skid row and the toy district, and then we went into downtown LA and walked next to all the skyscrapers, that part was super cool. Throughout the walk we got to see all the different ways people interact with eachother in all the different areas. After that it was around lunch time so we headed to the union rescue mission which is in the heart of skid row, when we got in there, we were all astonished, there were people everywhere just sleeping on the sidewalks or in little tents they got. We drove through a bit of skid row and then showed up at the union rescue mission, we parked in a gated area, we actually had to walk through a little strip of skid row which was a bit intimidating. We eventually got into the rescue mission, when we arrived we went straight up to the roof and ate our lunches and overlooked the skyline, which was absolutely beautiful! After lunch we had devotions and then headed down to the women's and men's community rooms to go and interact with the women. We brought nail polish along so we could do the women's nails which actually turned out to be a great opportunity to chat with the ladies. One lady who really stood out to me was named Lynn, she walked in and just started singing about how great God is and how he will provide for everything that we could ever need, and I really saw God through her. After that we took a tour of the rescue mission, there's 5 floors total and each of them have a different purpose. Later on we headed back to hope gardens, the place were staying at, and hung out with the group from Texas which was super fun! After that we are super which was super good and then hung out some more and even attempted a human pyramid which didn't end very well. Later that night we had our evening worship where we listen to a message and sing some songs. One of my favorite memories of today was a little girl named Nyla who came up to me and asked if I wanted to be her friend, of course I said yes! So now we are friends and the experience just warmed my heart :) so far this experience has be amazing and I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds!

~ Kaitlyn Le Mahieu

Day number one at LA was a great and eye opening experience. We started the day with breakfast and packed our lunches and we were off! We first had our walk around tour and was followed up with a trip to skid row (hopefully I spelled that right) but at skid row we went to URM (Union rescue mission) and had devotions and ate lunch on the roof. The URM is a great place for people experiencing homelessness. They provide shelter and food and showers! Me and most of the other guys went to the men's day room and had conversations with the homeless. When we walked in a sermon was happening so we spread out hoping to start conversations right after. Those conversations didn't happen right away they didn't really want to talk. About 20 minutes into awkward silence we finally picked up some conversations and led to playing games with some of them! It was amazing how just talking and playing games
with them could put a smile on some of there faces. It was so cool to see how God could work though us to make a difference in some of the homeless we made contact with today! Next stop was hope gardens, we ate and then had worship and devotions. That then brought us to the end of the day. I am very satisfied with the outcome of day one it really impacted me and I am excited to see what the rest of the week will bring to us it was truly an amazing experience! I'm happy to say day one was amazing!

~ Luke Van Ess

So today was a awesome day! We did so much... First we got up at 6:30 and we had breakfast then devotions. After that went on a bus to Los Angeles for a trip around the city's. It was really eye opening to see how wee chould be in a bad neighborhood then all of the sudden we would be in a nice one. After that we went to the buses agian and went to skid row... (Don't know how to spell that). Anyways that was heart breaking to see all the people there that r homeless. They said there are like 2,000 people living there and it's 52 blocks.. That's a lot of people. Well we went in the visiting room and split up guys and girls and we went to the guys and talked to them and just loved them because that's what they really needed. Then after that got a tour of the place we were in which was the Union rescue mission. Then we went back to bush gardens and had a church serive and a bible study and now i am going to bed so good night thanks for your prayers!!:)

~ Caleb Alsum