This Week in Ministry (01/20/13)

It is that time of the week again, where I muse about whatever happened this past week(s) in Ministry! So here are the top 5:


1. Can I officially say that I'm burned out? I don't think I'm as young as I used to be, or something is wrong with my energy levels, because I feel like I need a 2 week vacation! I need to consider this seriously, as my leader told me "the greatest enemy for a missionary is tiredness".

2. I enrolled to a theology class! There has been a burning desire in my heart to study theology, and while I study theology on my own, I feel that the academic setting and its demand is very helpful for me. I'm super excited about this! Classes start in February.

3. The choir keeps growing! The responsibilities for it are also growing. We led our first worship session this past Thursday, and it was ok for the most part. Some mistakes on my part, as I'm still a bit nervous with this role! Please pray for me!

4. The Honduran youth started asking us for a Bible study! They keep saying to us, "we should meet to study the Bible". The team is currently reviewing a Bible study curriculum, and we are very excited about the prospect of starting out one for the youth!

5. I have missed Wednesday night Soccer with the youth for far too long. I've been really tired and I've decided to take a couple of weeks off to recover. Please pray for energy so I can get back to it!

That's it for this week, see you next!

This Week in Ministry (01/06/13)

After the necessary holiday hiatus, it is time to come back to This Week in Ministry...

1. I'm starting to appreciate how lucky I was, during my first year at InnerCHANGE, to have been in ministry full time. Working and doing ministry at the same time is taking a toll on me. I'm starting to feel tired and burned out, it's hard to enjoy the ministry during nights, for example, knowing that I have to get up at 4am the next morning.



2. Today (Sunday) we had our first choir rehearsal for the youth group! Apparently, I'm still leading the group. I feel like the "limbo" leader, since it hasn't been made official yet, but since there is no else to do it, I'm here to somehow fulfill this task. We finally got together a small group of people and started jamming some tunes, and we can't wait to see how this little choir will evolve!

3. I shared my vision before of helping to bridge the Central American community with the local parish, and I had a little taste of this not too long ago! So, I was part of this Christmas play where I was one of the wise men (the wisest of course, you know the one who came up with the whole idea of following a star) and I invited some of my Honduran friends and they agreed to come. It was a huge blessing having them there! They seemed to have a blast!




Behold! The wisest man ever!





4. Mr. Fahrenheit was released from prison! He seems very repentant and wants to find an honest job! This is no short of a miracle, since people in his situation are usually deported. Praise God for this!

5. This coming week we will have a somewhat late White Elephant gift exchange at the parish youth group, and I'm thinking of inviting my Honduran friends for this event. Maybe another opportunity to bring these two communities together? Please pray for this!

That's it for this week, see you next!


This Week in Ministry (12/16/12)

This has been a good week, full of joys, pains and disappointments, this emotion-filled salad we call life. So let me round it up to you in the top five things in the ministry this week...

1. The friend who got baptized last week, who in this blog I'll call Georgie Frijolini (I assure you, all the names that I use here have a close resemblance to its real counterparts) has been a blast to share time with! He is been coming along to many of the events and "ministry hangouts" that we have. I hope that he becomes part of the beautiful ministry that is growing in Oakland!

2. Last Sunday we had  one of those ministry hangouts, where the team and some youth we have met went to play bowling. We had a blast, and connections were made stronger. Mr. Frijolini joined us for this event :)

 

3. Soccer night on Wednesday is giving us some fruits! We are getting to know more people, and more importantly, we are able to know people more deeply. We are planning some exciting things for Wednesday nights so please keep us in your prayers.

Mr. Frijolini playing keeper at Soccer Wednesday nights

4. I got to lead the youth choir this past Thursday night! This is the first time that I have to lead a choir, but it was a great experience! I still get a little nervous and self conscious when I get behind the mic with my guitar, but I'm getting way more comfortable with it.

5. One of the Hondurans kid we got to know from Wednesday night Soccer got arrested this week for dealing in San Francisco. He was beginning to open up to us, as he can be very shy and polite around us. I'll call him Fahrenheit here (trust me, the same note above applies here). Please pray for him in this difficult time. We are really sad to hear these news, as he showed a lot of interest in growing in relationship with God.

That's it for this week, see you next!

This Week in Ministry (12/09/12)

As I was thinking about writing this post, I was getting kind of worried. This seemed like an uneventful week in the ministry, what with all the holidays festivities around us, ministry seems to take a break.

But reflecting on it, God has shown me what I would have otherwise missed, and now I see that some pretty exciting things have occurred this week.

1. One of the youth that we know for several years is finally getting baptized! God has brought him out of many dark places, including drugs and alcohol. In the midst of some difficulties, God started to call him, and he accepted the call! He started to go to church thrice a week. And now he feels ready to take the next step of faith, and making his relationship with Jesus official by going through baptism. Please pray for him during this time, that his relationship with God will only grow. He is a dear friend to me, and he has been in my prayers (and my team mates prayers) for several years now. To God be the glory!

2. This past Thursday I went to a play that my church was having. It was about the Virgin of Guadalupe apparitions. When someone was presenting the play, he decided to prep up the crowd. He started to ask people, by a show of hands, where they are from. He went through different countries, and people raised their hands. El Salvador? Many hands. Mexico? Couldn't count them. Nicaragua? Me and some other stranger. Honduras? Nobody.

Wait?! What?! Nobody? Really?! This area is full of Hondurans, but none came to this event?! Why haven't I met any Honduran in the parish? There is something wrong here.

As I was moving into Oakland, I felt that God was calling me to serve the immigrant youth, but specially the Honduran youth. I felt He wanted me to be part of this parish, and help bridge the parish with Hondurans.

I am sad of this realization. Why isn't the people I want to serve coming to this parish?

3. The leader of the youth choir just said that he was going to step down. I don't know what that will mean for me, as I'm the only person in the choir now that can play the guitar. I hope someone comes to help me!

4. Connections with Hondurans are growing! Relationships are slowly growing! Some of my team mates and I just visited one of these youth during work. He has a couple of weeks of being in the city. Everything is strange and foreign, and he feels out of place. He was so happy to see us! Please pray for him, and for our relationship with him to wrong. I will call him Xerox here :)

5. I am getting to know a lot of the youth at the parish. I love how diverse this group is, and how they seem to connect with each other. Pray that I continue to build relationships with them.

That's it for now! See you next week...

This Week in Ministry (12/02/12)

 



Today I want to introduce This Week in Ministry, a weekly feature in my blog where I will briefly share 5 things from the ministry in East Oakland.











1. Part of my ministry is to connect the Central American youth with the local parish, St. Elizabeth. I have started to attend Mass here, and even participate in the many ministries in the parish. Apparently, I'm officially a "Lay Minister" in the parish.

2. I started to play soccer with some of my team members, where we have connected with many Central American youth! This has reminded me of two things: how much I love soccer and how much I suck at it. Please pray for some miraculous improvement of skills!

3. One of my main goals this year is to connect with the youth group at St. Elizabeth. I'm now officially part of the youth group choir! I play the guitar and sing.

4. I'm also part of the Christmas play that the youth group is preparing! I'll be a wise man, apparently my youth and lack of wisdom weren't reasons enough to keep me from it :)

5. I saw a youth in Oakland that I was visiting for a month at juvenile hall during my ministry in San Francisco! I was very surprised to see him and he seemed very pleased to see me outside of the context of juvenile hall! It's great to see how these two ministries connect.



That's it for this week. See you next.

Looking for Connections

One cold night not too long ago, I was walking on Mission Street. I was on a hurry, trying to get back home before 7pm.

It was a Thursday night and I was getting ready for the Bible Study.

And then I collided with two young men. Their attire suggested that they were gang members. I simply said sorry and tried to move on.

They kept cussing at me, clearly pissed off that I had disrespected their space. Not looking for trouble, I just kept walking.

I feel God is calling me to make new connections with gang members, hopefully ones more productive than the one just described.

The Thursday night Bible Study is not attracting new members, as the old connections were lost and the ones who attend have simply moved on.

New connections are needed in order to invite more people to the Bible study. But how do you go about doing this? I can't simply walk up to a gang member on the street, greet him or her and ask "can I be your friend?"

Clueless in how to proceed and trusting in God's providence and guidance, a team member and I have wandered the streets of the Mission District, wearing our prison ministry uniform, and hoping that by being simply available we can one day make a connection.

There is some fruits to our apparent aimless approach. We met one OG one afternoon. We are connecting with one program that works with the same population that we work with.

I'm pretty excited about the future of this ministry. I know that God is already opening doors and making new connections. He is already working behind the scenes.

God can bless our meager and feeble efforts. Sometimes we have to proceed to do His work, even if we are not sure how to do it.

Photo Credit: Patrick McCully.

Hitting the Wall

Members of InnerCHANGE tell me that what I'm going through is expected. After 3 months in the ministry, many of us experience some sort of emotional meltdown.

What am I doing here? Where are the fruits of my labor? Why aren't more kids coming to our Bible study? Why won't they take me seriously?

Sometimes it feels like I'm wasting my time. Sometimes it feels like I'm taken for granted. Sometimes I feel like nobody cares.

"Me, me, me." It's all about me it seems. In these times it is easy to forget why I'm really here.

I'm called not to please people, to live in conformity where conflict is rare. I'm called not to have thousands of followers and disciples, where the youth is always nodding at my every word. I'm called not to impress people with my fruits, showing them in full display to finally silence those cynical and unbelieving voices.

I'm simply called to follow my vocation faithfully.

I'm simply called to seek first the Kingdom of God  and His righteousness. 

I'm simply called to leave everything in His hands and trust that He is in control.

I realize that what God is asking of me is not easy, but it is simple. I tend to complicate things, over think them, trying to decipher the secret code to ministry, solving complicated equations where the answers to all of my questions are finally answered.

How easy I forget that I'm simply the pen and not the author.

Photo Credit: r. f. m II.

Introducing Comunidad San Dima's Rapper Jaime

Jaime is an interesting character. He is a very quiet and jovial person. His unassuming presence exudes with humbleness. You look at him and the last thought that comes to mind is one of a rapper. But he enjoys rapping and has written a few rhymes.

He's a new volunteer at Comunidad San Dimas, a prison ministry where I do most of my ministry, but in his short time coming with us at juvy, he has become famous with they youth with his rap.

He's currently discerning his vocation to the priesthood, and I'm sure he'll appreciate your prayers for his discernment process.

I share with you a video of Jaime performing one of his rap songs. We were coming out of juvy one Monday night, so I apologize for the poor lighting conditions.

So a Catholic Missionary Goes Into a Pentecostal Church...

This is something that happened to me this past Sunday. I want to share this experience just to showcase how unexpected this ministry can be.

One of the youth we've been working with for the past year called me one night at almost 11pm. At times I call him and he is not in the mood to talk. He can be borderline rude, cutting me short and hanging up on me a few seconds into the call.

And then he can call me, and when he feels in the mood to talk, we can talk for hours. Unfortunately for me, that night when he called me, he felt in the mood to talk.

At 12 am, struggling not to fall asleep, I tell him that maybe we should meet for Church next Sunday, maybe the one he goes to. "Oh yes!". He seemed very excited. The night before I called to confirm our meeting at his church, and to ask for directions. He gave me the directions and said that he would be there.

So I come to this small church on Mission Street at 3pm when the service is supposed to start. As soon as I get in I see many ushers welcoming in. Oh no, I think to myself it is a Latino Pentecostal church. Not exactly my cup of tea.

First, I notice the loud music. Too loud actually. The worship band is playing the same song for almost 15 minutes. I didn't know the song when I came in, but after a while I almost memorized it.

I start looking for my friend, and he is nowhere to be found. Call him, he doesn't answer. Text him, he doesn't answer either.

The church is located on the second floor of an apartment building. There seems to be more ushers than churchgoers. Almost all the women are wearing veils over their heads. I'm surprised to see that a couple of women are actually wearing pants.

I always wondered why Latino Pentecostals manage to have a different accent than the rest of Latin Americans. They pronounce their "t's" softly, for example, as if an adult North American is trying to speak Spanish for the first time. The melody of the accent is also different. It seems as if they are perpetually preaching when they are speaking.

I suppose this is due in part because of the Pentecostals missionaries from North America that came to Latin America and started planting churches. Maybe, but I could be wrong.

Then they start this endless medley of upbeat worship songs. People start to stand up, some of them going to the front of the church. They start dancing. I see a woman with a flag waving it frantically, but she couldn't possibly be less gracious in her radically and undiscriminating movements. Two people with colossal horns start making even more noise. 

I see another woman going around in little circles rapidly, and just when I think that she is going to fall out of sheer dizziness, she stops and starts dancing on the same spot.

At almost 3:40 I see the pastor coming out from a door. Where was he this whole time?!. I'm still waiting for my friend and he is nowhere to be found. The loud music is giving me a headache. I'm deciding whether to get up and start dancing or keep sitting down and be awkward. I decide for the latter.

After an hour and 15 minutes of worship music, most of them repeated almost ad infinitum, I decide to get out of the church.

This ministry can be unexpected, and the flakyness of these young people can put you in situations that you wouldn't be otherwise.

Photo Credit: wharman.

Earthquakes, Halloween, Ghosts and Jesus...

I feel much better at this moment. A couple of weeks have passed since that chaotic week when I lost my job, when ministry seemed to go downhill, and my anxiety and emotions were getting the best of me.

Many opportunities for ministry have come my way now that I don't work at nights. I'm not ready to say that I lost my job just so I can concentrate on my ministry, but I know that God can bring out good from many unfortunate events in our lives.

This past Thursday's bible study was great. I took my team-mate's idea and, since Halloween is just around the corner, we talked about demons and ghosts.

The guys loved it, and everyone seemed anxious to share their ghosts stories. Hearing the almost fabled nature of these stories made me wonder how much of it was true and how much of it was glorified for mere shock value.

We had two earthquakes in San Francisco that day, and the second one added a literal shock value to our stories. While we were in the middle of sharing our stories the earth started to shake. The room's lights went off for less than a second, and everyone was in a state of utter shock.

Thankfully, the lights came on again. Everyone was silent. My mind was wildly amused by the apparent coincidence, thinking to myself, “what the heck is going on here?”. It was as if God decided to add His little touch to the stories.

Of course, talking about darkness seems meaningless, unless you include the contrasting light of Jesus. Later we talked about how we can fight darkness with God.

I learned many things in the past two weeks, and on that Thursday night I had to relearn something that I had apparently forgotten: the message of the Gospel is unnervingly simple, and its strength lies in its magnificent simplicity.

No need to complicate matters with heavy and pretentious theological terms. No need to delve into deep philosophical complications. And while these theological and philosophical endeavors have their purpose and place in God's plan for us, they fall short in revealing God's glory.

I learned the lesson St. John Bosco learned in his ministry with the youth, that the Gospel message should be presented so simply that even a little kid could understand it. Oddly enough, a simple presentation of God's message often leads to deep discussions, and more importantly, deep transformations in our lives.

Photo Credit: Sarah Ackerman.

Playing Soccer as a way to do ministry

Matt's face was striking when he came into the house at almost 7pm. He was talking on the phone, his eyes open in perpetual shock.

His voice was unusual, raspy and deep. "Man I was seeing stars coming over here!". "You guys won?" I asked, amused. "We lost. We were tied by the end of the game. We had the option of going to extra time or penalties, for some reason they decided to play extra time!"

It was 94° outside, and they played soccer for two hours.

He immediately went to the fridge to get some orange juice to recover from his sugar low.

He tried watching t.v for a while, and his face of comical affliction reminded me of my Sims characters when I willfully neglect their basic needs.

The park was literally a hellhole. The field was uneven and the sparse grass spots struggled to cover it. The thing could have easily been confused with an immense abandoned lot. The only seats available was a miserable couch someone had abandoned there, which the guys covered with blankets to make it usable.

And then there were the young guys playing. They were full of energy. Most of them came from Central America. All of them seemed amiable. Some of them were gangbangers. 

I connected with some of them, playing with them for a while before the game began. At the same time I had this deep sense that a huge ministry opportunity was being opened for us.

Many hours later, when both Matt and I were at the house, I realized that I wasn't the only one with that sense.

"Daniel, I had this 'Holy Spirit moment'", he told me. I got closer to him, intrigued. "Yes, when I was playing with those kids it just hit me, there could be a ministry opportunity there". "I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt it" I responded with my usual smile.

The gangbangers who were playing were from a different gang than the "chili peppers". Maybe God is trying to connect us with these two prominent gangs.

Many of them want to learn English but are unable to go to night classes because of their schedule. They told him that if only they could find somewhere they could go to learn English that would fit their schedule, many of them would gladly go. Matt had the idea that maybe we can offer them English classes in the context of a Bible study. We'll see.

Who knew that playing soccer was a legit way to do ministry?

Photo Credit: ElvertBarnes.

Doors being Opened in Oakland

I think I'm starting to like this place. Today marked my second day working as an intern for InnerCHANGE in Oakland, and it was a hectic, at times tedious, and yet satisfying day.

We started off the day with mass, going to the beautiful parish of St. Elizabeth. We had the opportunity to listen to a passionate preacher, Father Martin. His message of forgiveness as an important aspect in working toward justice with the poor was not only touching, but fitting to my experience.

I introduced myself to Fr. Martin, telling him my involvement with a missionary order for the summer, and that I was looking for a parish and for some ministry opportunities. He welcomed me warmly, and instructed me to come back to the parish office for more instructions.

After mass, our little group of three (my leader, her fiancee and me) went to one of the leader's house for morning prayer. After prayer and lunch we went grocery shopping and found ourselves burdened with unforgiving loads of bags, walking for one mile to get home.

We walked approximately 5 miles in our little adventure.

Arriving at the house, we didn't even bother with putting the groceries inside the fridge, but we were automatically led to the couch, where the three of us crashed simultaneously. 

Minutes later we awoke from our improvised nap and headed out to the parish office. We had a meeting with Fr. Martin where we shared our work with InnerCHANGE and our desire to connect in some way or another with the parish.

We talked about gangs. He shared how the parish High School is unfortunately known as a Chilli Peppers gang (not actual name of the gang, of course). He told us of the multiple ministries opportunities available in the parish, and that if we wanted to work on something specific he is open to listen about it.

He also told us of the charismatic nature of the parish (yay!) and of the two youth groups available at church.

We went out from our meeting rejoicing for the door God was clearly opening for us. "It's a Chilli Peppers High School!" I absurdly said with joy to the group. As I did this I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit stirring in me. I feel this is a great ministry opportunity and I'm excited to see how God will develop it.

It is unfortunate that these streets are filled with violence and tragedy. The stains of poverty are clearly seen in the colorful garments that these streets wear. The poignant faces of  frustration and struggle are looking at us from every corner.

But there is also great joy in these streets. Openness and friendship meets our gazing eyes almost everywhere. There is the hope of an open field, where the seed of the gospel is being planted by many. Its fruits are clearly seen with the eyes of faith.

Photo Credit: jdnx.

Oakland Here We Go!

Orientation is finally over. 5 days of information overload can, in a tragically fun way, burn you out.

I learned a lot about InnerCHANGE, so much that I'm afraid I'll forget half of it by the end of the summer. And what a better way to start my internship in Oakland with a much needed day off?

To say that I'm excited about this opportunity is an understatement. This is in spite of (or perhaps because of it) there's no clear direction in this ministry.

I'm staying with a group that it's just starting out in Oakland. Are we going to minister to the youth or the homeless, or even better, both? Is God calling us to this neighborhood or another one? There are so many open questions, and it is exciting to be part of this new beginning.

And then there's the danger. Oakland is infamous for its dangerous streets. I even think I heard gunshots last night before going to bed. And this being an incarnational ministry, we normally move in to the worst neighborhoods to minister.

To say that I'm missing the ministry in San Francisco is also and understatement. I haven't been gone for a full day and  yet I find myself missing it.

One misses the immensity of transitions until we are taking that last step to them. As I was in a car last night, my things jam-packed in the trunk and back seat, with the Oakland skyline ahead of me, it suddenly dawned on me.

This is probably one of the biggest steps I have ever taken in my life, and to say that I'm excited is a gross understatement.

Photo Credit: gerbache.

Sometimes I feel Discouraged...

This ministry has its way of surprising you. These mixed surprises are one of the few constants that one can rely upon in this seemingly unstable, volatile and at times fragile ministry.
 

They aren't always pleasant. Half of them aren't. Last night shouldn't have come as a surprise, but its unpleasantness can still be felt.

Nothing extraordinarily bad happened last Thursday night. It's seemingly uneventful nature was striking. It felt just "meh", boring even, and that was the biggest problem. Usually on Thursday nights things go one way or the other, great or terribly bad. The unbearable middle is unfamiliar, and to a certain extent, unwanted. Best part is that I was leading. Perhaps this is just an overly pessimistic view of it, it probably is. I know good things came out of it in the end.

I know God wants to do great things with this little group, but sometimes it feels like it's just dying. One night, last year, I was to lead the group as well. Nobody came so I just stayed there praying. I was saddened by the absence of the boys. But something happened while praying.

I felt God was giving me these undeniable sense that He wanted to do great things in this little group. He wanted to revitalize it, and He wanted me to be part of it. I was deciding whether I should continue volunteering in the group at the moment.

So I stayed, and the group slowly became one of my priorities. In fact, I felt in love with it. Good things started to come, but no drastic change, and at times it feels like nothing has changed. 

The group isn't consistently growing. There seems to be a lack of progress. Nights like yesterday makes me wonder if I was wrong in thinking that I was listening from God. It can be difficult to believe that when you see not much change.

But then again I have been lazy. I haven't planned out things as I should. I had relied too much on improvisation. I haven't prayed as much about it as I should. I forget that it is not my work, but His.

I find encouragement in this 19th century African American Spiritual, There is a Balm in Gilead:

Sometimes I feel discouraged

and think my work's in vain,

but then the Holy Spirit

revives my soul again.

This is my prayer today. Come Holy Spirit come. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Photo Credit: jhcloud8.

The Ups and Downs of Youth Ministry.

It's been two interesting weeks to say the least. Life is giving me the opportunity of choices and decisions, decisions that can have serious repercussions in my life.

It hasn't been easy, but then again it never is. Without getting too much into the details, I have been offered two ministry options; I have also been rethinking my role at my current ministry, the difficulties that accompany it given my peculiar situation that I described in other posts, and whether I should continue in it.

Thanks be to God, I feel that I have been given clarity on the matter, and I hope that I am doing His will in the end, though it is impossible to completely purify our motives.

The ministry continues with its up and downs, as it always has. Last Thursday, two of our boys came drunk and made a big spectacle. It is hard to deal with these situations, and can be potentially dangerous. One of them even wanted to get in a fight with me. This was surprising because I have been ministering with this kid for quite a while now.

The meeting was almost canceled. No, let me rephrase that. We practically had no meeting. All of our energies  occupied in trying to control the situation.

In one of my visits to Juvenile Hall I saw a kid who was playing with a car that doubled as a candy dispenser. An oddity to be sure. He was so concentrated with his candy-giving toy, that I could hardly speak to him about anything, let alone God and the Bible.

"How did you get that?" I finally asked him. "In a Bible study, I gave the right answer to a question and I won". "Oh really? What was the question?"."Who was Jesus' betrayer". "Judas, right?". "Is it Judas?! I said Simon".

Sure, Peter's denial of Jesus can be portrayed as betrayal, but still, my guess is that whoever organized the Bible study just wanted to make the kid happy. We decided to play chess for the time remaining, where I lost miserably. Need to get back to chess.

I saw the guy who was drunk last Thursday and wanted to fight with me, who also happens to be Marcos. "Hey I wanted to talk to you about last Thursday". He smiled and just said "I know, estaba pedo (drunk)!", then he added, "I feel bad about it...I f***ed up man, I'm telling you man to man". That is the closest he could get to an apology, which was enough for me.

Photo Credit: KirrilyRobert.

What Does it Feel Like to Have a Normal Life?

It was a cold afternoon in December of 2010. I was getting out of college and meeting with a young guy who comes to our youth group. His brother, Marcos*, was shot a few weeks ago.

He was in the hospital, recuperating from a bullet wound on his back. He was barely able to walk with the help of crutches. He can't move one of his feet.

After meeting with Marcos' brother at mission street, where most of the gang activity in the city occurs, we hopped on the bus and headed over to the hospital where Marcos is. This would be the first time that I would meet Marcos.

Marcos' charisma was still shining through his smiles and his perennial jesting, treating everyone around him with great hospitality and warmth. After an hour, Marcos' brother and I leave the hospital and decide to go to his house.

"I don't think I would go to heaven when I die" Marcos' brother told me while we walked in the hospital's hallway. "Why not?". "Because of all the things I've done".

We got home, and his girlfriend was in the house with their little child. I was hungry and in need of burritos. "Let's go out and eat, I'll invite you". Marcos' brother was resting in his bed, not too excited with the idea. His girlfriend was, and convinced him to go.

"What does it feel like to have a normal life?" he asked me while eating. I am surprised by the question and remained silent for a few seconds. I looked at his girlfriend and their toddler, who was struggling to eat some chips with her feeble, stubby little fingers. If this is not "normal" than I don't know what else is.

"What do you mean, you do have a normal life". "No" he quickly answered. "I can't go wherever I want, you can", reminding me of how careful he has to be in order to not be noticed by a rival gang member. He can't be careless now, with a family to raise. He is not longer gang-banging and has an honest job where he is doing great. He's been recently promoted.

At one occasion during dinner, he raised his fist and offered me to punch it. I did. "You know what that means?" he asked me. "What does it mean?". "It means that we're friends now".

*Name has been changed to protect privacy. To see other posts about Marcos click here.

Photo Credit: Mike McCaffrey.

The Nature of the Ministry

Sometimes it is not easy. Sometimes this ministry has a way of surprising you, in good and bad ways. Sometimes I ask myself, what have I got myself into?

I have a sense of this question this past Thursday. We had a fancy dinner/party that we were invited to. The invitations could not be obtained in time and we couldn't attend. I realized this, of course, only after I had dressed up for the event.

Oh well, this party was to be replaced by going to a karaoke place. Fun! But this too was canceled. The reasons for this are unfortunate.

Someone who has been coming to our group for quite some time, and who is not a gang member but knows a few of them, decided to stay drinking that night instead of coming with us. He got jumped by gang members and we had to pick him up.

This is sad because this young guy is really trying to change his life, and even made some great progress, but alcohol is his weakness.

The outing was canceled, and everyone called it a night.

Did I mention that a little more than a month ago some guys who we minister to took the van used for the ministry one night without permission , joy rid on it, and screwed up the suspension?

Oh yes, this ministry has its way of surprising you, by constantly throwing at you the unexpected. And we are just along for the ride...

Photo Credit: John Holden on Flickr.

I'm not Ashamed of the Gospel - the simplicity of the gospel.

The message of the Gospel is simple. It's simplicity is such that it can be covered in one verse, as it is the case with John 3:16 and Romans 10: 9.

Seeing this, we can be tempted to unnecessarily complicate the message, and in trying to add to the message of the Gospel, we can be diluting it's essential message, and unfortunately, its power.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (NIV). Its power lies not in the complexity or sophistication of its message, but on the living Word, which is Christ Himself.

Paul also said: "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (NIV). Again, its power lies not in its "eloquence" or "superior wisdom" but on the power of Jesus Crucified. This was demonstrated in the ministry last night.

In our meeting we shared the story of Christ's passion. The message was simple and clear to them: Christ took our place, took the punishment we deserved, and we are forgiven of our sins by his sacrifice. The guys were on fire! One young gang member even repeated the simplicity of the message with great enthusiasm, telling us how we are forgiven by God.

One guy told us that this marked the first week since he quit smoking weed. Last week he asked for our prayers to help him change.

Ideas on how to improve the ministry and how to spread the word about it were being shared by them.

Curiosity about the Gospel arose. They started to share the Gospel by themselves while the discussion raged. The fire and power of the Gospel was clearly on display last night, in all its glorious simplicity.

Photo Credit: Peat Bakke.

Conversion is a Slow Process...

Our path to the cross is one decision away, but it takes
a lifetime to traverse.

Reading the Acts of the Apostles, one is tempted to think that conversion is a one time event. It seems that we, as responsibles of Jesus' Great Commission, must simply preach the Gospel and expect great numbers of converts. Most often than not, this is not the case.

I remember when I started to get involved in youth ministry with Comunidad San Dimas more than 4 years ago and my almost naive expectations of the ministry. I thought that we would just preach the Gospel, call for repentance, and see mass conversions. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.

I remember having a conversation with a member of Comunidad San Dimas, seeing my disillusionment with the lack of conversions. She told something like this: "You never know what's the end result". This is especially true in some aspects of our ministry, as we go and share the Gospel in prisons, and we don't see what happens to most of them after they go out of jail.

Conversion is a painfully slow process. Change doesn't happen overnight. Conversion is a gradual step, a perpetual construction where God, our Architect, is constantly working in areas where we allow Him . While I'm not saying that miraculous conversions don't happen anymore (as it had happened in the ministry, and I will share one story of such conversion in a later post) most often than not it doesn't happen overnight.

Let us look at our own conversion stories for evidence. I'm sure most of us didn't convert to God overnight. By golly if you did, I want to hear your story!

And so, as I and many other work with these "kids" (as we like to call them, as an endearing term of course), or with any other population, it is important to remember that conversions is a process so slow, that it last a lifetime. Indeed, all believers are in this process, a process of constant repentance and change, a process that last until we die.

New Blog Changes...

I have made some important and major changes to my blog that I want to explain. The changes are not merely in the design, but changes will also come in the content of the blog. So many things will change that this can be considered a brand new blog. Random thoughts is no more...

So what are the changes?

• Content: I thought that Random thoughts covered too many topics. While there is nothing wrong in taking a holistic approach to blogging, I think it's better to narrow down my topics, and concentrate on a niche. Content, from now on, will concentrate mainly on the ministry that I work in San Francisco. The blog will retain its personal aspect, however.
• Design: I had worked somewhat in improving the look of Random thoughts, and never felt satisfied with it. It seemed too simplistic. I think the new design is better and fits perfectly the new theme of the blog. Of course, I will work on improving the design as the blog progresses.
• Posting: Random thoughts was my first serious attempt in getting somewhat serious in blogging, but it was nothing more than a hobby. The blog was neglected, and there was time that I paid little attention to it. This will change, as I will try to be more constant and serious in my blogging. After all, I want to glorify God in this blog, so while the blog will retain its personal taste, its main focus will be God and the ministry.

I want to dedicate this blog to the glory of God, and while my feeble attempts can't add nothing to His perfect glory, it is my desire that He will be glorified through this blog. It is my humble prayer that this blog will be under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John Bosco St. Thomas More and St. Dominic Savio; please pray for us!

P.S: Yes, the title of this blog is inspired by the song "God of this City" by Chris Tomlin, one of my favorite songs. If you haven't listened to it, here it is: