Californication

It's around fiveish in LA, and I've got a few minutes before we go grab dinner tonight. Our first stop this morning was the church at 7 a.m. for Proverbs. Each morning, attendees collectively read and discuss the chapter of Proverbs that goes along with each day. Today, Proverbs 13. We go around the room, and each person reads one verse. Then when the chapter is read, we go around the room and every person in the room picks out one verse and tells how it applies to their own life. It's so interesting to hear wisdom and perspective from the homeless.

I realized this morning that the men and women that are making an attempt to clean up their lives have everything to lose. Not nothing to lose, but everything. Each clean day is a victory, but the temptation is not far. It's like climbing up a mountain at a 90 degree angle. If you stop or look back, you begin to slide back down or even fall. You have to keep looking up and you have to keep moving.

After Proverbs ended, we drove out to Compton to the women's home. It's a tiny, two-bedroom, one-bathroom house where twelve women live. And they seem perfectly content. They all share the household responsibilities, and all are in school or have jobs. They can stay at this halfway house for as long as they like. Most programs kick you out after 60 days, and often that's not long enough for a person to establish healthy habits and get back on their feet financially.

Later this afternoon, we drove back downtown to the Set Free Church for the afternoon Bible study. Because Proverbs is so early in the morning, most of the homeless that attends are serious about studying the Word. But in the afternoon, people are finally up and moving, and trolling around doped out. There are long glass windows down one-side of the church, and two sets of glass double-doors facing the street. During Bible study, the doors stay open, and prostitutes and drug-addicts walk in and out. I was shocked (and maybe a little more naive than I thought) when I realized a gentleman had "set up shop" outside the front windows to peddle his dope. It's very in-your-face and unapologetic. These are main thoroughfares, not seedy alleyways. It's a sharp contrast to be listening to someone preach hope and then turn your head and look at the ugliness and brokenness outside.

Later this afternoon, we swung by Pinkberry, a fruit and fro-yo parlor native to Cali. I had a tasty fruit parfait with kiwi, blueberry, strawberry, pineapple, coconut, granola, and the original Pinkberry yogurt flavor. It was yummy, but it didn't last long, and now I'm starving. Off to dinner! More tomorrow! BTW, I hope you're getting my title-song references...