California is Diverse
Traffic can be ridiculous around Southern California, but you can go a lot of cool places in a short amount of time.
Last Friday, my friend Joseph McCulley and I left my house (where it was 111 degrees) and drove 45 minutes to the beach (where it was 73 degrees). Later that night we went down to a Bible Study at my church and then with a group to Westwood for some sweet Diddy Reese ice cream sandwiches.
On Saturday, Joe and I went down to San Juan Capistrano for lunch with my cousins, their friends, and Christa and Tyler. After that, we drove out to Corona to spend some time with Billy. That night we returned home to Santa Clarita.
But my craziest day of cruising through SoCal was yesterday. I started the day like normal—working in the fitness center at TMC from 6AM to noon. After work, I took Joe down to LAX for his flight home. We left plenty early, and because traffic was light, we stopped by the beach near the airport. Once again, it felt much nicer at the beach than in Santa Clarita. I dropped Joe off at his terminal and then called my friend Derek Johnson, who is also from Texas. I knew that he was somewhere in LA this week on a missions trip and was hoping to meet up with him at some point. He told me that he was in the “Pico-Union District” at the Evangelical Free Church. I had no idea where that was, so I called my mom. Using Google Maps, she located Derek, and I decided to surprise him by showing up at the church. After sufficiently surprising Derek, I was able to spend the next couple hours hanging out with him and others from his church who are spending the week putting on a VBS for inner-city kids.
Although I live about 45 minutes away, the inner-city was a whole new world for me. A group of us went out in the neighborhood and passed out fliers to parents and kids. We were led by a guy named Frank. Frank lives in the inner-city, is a very good graphitti artist, and works with the Nehemiah House (I think it puts on a lot of after-school programs for kids.) Because he speaks Spanish he did most of the talking for our group. I found that more of the kids in the area speak English than the adults. While Frank was talking to one mom about the VBS, I was able to talk with a few kids about how foolish Zidane was in the World Cup Final. Frank explained to me how most of the older youths in the inner-city are heavily involved in the “underground hip-hop” scene. He was describing a totally different culture from what I knew. I’m excited for Derek and the others from Texas as they get to work with awesome people like Frank and minister to the kids of the inner-city.
I left Derek and the inner-city and immediately found traffic on the way north. When I reached Hollywood, I drove up into the hills to a crest near a dog park. From there you can look out over the whole city and then look behind you to see the hills and the Hollywood sign.
When I finally arrived home, I still had sand on my feet from the beach. It had been a crazy day. If only I had brought my camera…
Last Friday, my friend Joseph McCulley and I left my house (where it was 111 degrees) and drove 45 minutes to the beach (where it was 73 degrees). Later that night we went down to a Bible Study at my church and then with a group to Westwood for some sweet Diddy Reese ice cream sandwiches.
On Saturday, Joe and I went down to San Juan Capistrano for lunch with my cousins, their friends, and Christa and Tyler. After that, we drove out to Corona to spend some time with Billy. That night we returned home to Santa Clarita.
But my craziest day of cruising through SoCal was yesterday. I started the day like normal—working in the fitness center at TMC from 6AM to noon. After work, I took Joe down to LAX for his flight home. We left plenty early, and because traffic was light, we stopped by the beach near the airport. Once again, it felt much nicer at the beach than in Santa Clarita. I dropped Joe off at his terminal and then called my friend Derek Johnson, who is also from Texas. I knew that he was somewhere in LA this week on a missions trip and was hoping to meet up with him at some point. He told me that he was in the “Pico-Union District” at the Evangelical Free Church. I had no idea where that was, so I called my mom. Using Google Maps, she located Derek, and I decided to surprise him by showing up at the church. After sufficiently surprising Derek, I was able to spend the next couple hours hanging out with him and others from his church who are spending the week putting on a VBS for inner-city kids.
Although I live about 45 minutes away, the inner-city was a whole new world for me. A group of us went out in the neighborhood and passed out fliers to parents and kids. We were led by a guy named Frank. Frank lives in the inner-city, is a very good graphitti artist, and works with the Nehemiah House (I think it puts on a lot of after-school programs for kids.) Because he speaks Spanish he did most of the talking for our group. I found that more of the kids in the area speak English than the adults. While Frank was talking to one mom about the VBS, I was able to talk with a few kids about how foolish Zidane was in the World Cup Final. Frank explained to me how most of the older youths in the inner-city are heavily involved in the “underground hip-hop” scene. He was describing a totally different culture from what I knew. I’m excited for Derek and the others from Texas as they get to work with awesome people like Frank and minister to the kids of the inner-city.
I left Derek and the inner-city and immediately found traffic on the way north. When I reached Hollywood, I drove up into the hills to a crest near a dog park. From there you can look out over the whole city and then look behind you to see the hills and the Hollywood sign.
When I finally arrived home, I still had sand on my feet from the beach. It had been a crazy day. If only I had brought my camera…
posted by Ben Blakey at 11:10 AM
3 Comments:
Yo Bro,
I was also in the Pico-Union District last week and it definitely has the feel of another country. Sounds like some good things are happening at that EV Free Church. And California is definitely diverse. Just LA has so many different types of communities. I think that the common denominator is no matter what neighborhood you live in, everyone needs Jesus!
If only you had your camera indeed Ben! Thanks for the great time last weekend. I will never forget the insane traffic in California. Peace out.
Hey man!
I love the blog- it is so sweet!!! Oh yeah and I believe I owe you three dollars for the fly away.
t-flow
Post a Comment
<< Home