We are nearing the end of my academic career at UCLA! AH! so scary! 8th week is upon us soon.
Midweek last week had a stomach bug of some sort, I woke up early to go read at the library... and my stomach decided to revolt and thus ended my day of productivity.
I decided to go home at 9am, before my classes even started. Sadness. But all is well now =], stomach is back to eating capacity!
It's so nice to have class in North Campus... you see the pretty side of school. Green trees, people taking a stroll... its nice
Tiramisu with Bons nite + Olympics
Tiff came back from HK! Literati for breakfast/coffee to catch up, that was delicious.
Cathy made delicious PHO! from scratch. just for us. she loves us like that.
Tonight's dinner, leftover pizza making material on Ciabatta with yummy garlic fries. A testament to stomach being back to normal!!
Alas I must depart, but a glimpse into my life for the next couple days...
Since going to Children of the Shepherd I've been impacted by the people I've met there. Everyone is loving, and living life with the love of Christ; you can see it in their interactions with each other, with strangers. The majority of people are not homeless, but teetering on the edge, are also dealing with drug addiction, alcoholism, abuse in the family, things that we read about, hear about, but are blind to. To be able to see them every week, I've grown to admire and love them, for simply being able to survive with a Christlike attitude, something that I struggle with, outside of all these additional social issues. Yes it could be that they chose this lifestyle, and they have to deal with it; but honestly, if God was to treat us with that attitude, we would not be alive. We chose to sin, and so we have to deal with it. Yes that's true we should be dealing with our sins, and the consequences of our actions, but God's grace, mercy and love were shown to us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Now how can we just brush off the people most in need, the invisible people of our city, the homeless, the orphans, the widows, the addicts, the abused? Where is the compassion in sharing with them love of a Savior?
This video documentary series was sobering to think about. It was made in 2006, and it chronicles different aspects of Skid Row, the progression being Intro, Kids, Drugs, God, and Afterward. These 5 short clips, barely grazes the surface of the problem, yet the images stay with you. The stark reality of it all, Beverly Hills down the street from South Central. The things we don't see because we don't want to see. I think I will just let the videos speak.
My brethren in Christ, labour for souls of all sorts: for your children and for those who are past the threescore years and ten. Seek out the drunkard; go after the thief; despise not the poor down-trodden slave; let every race, let every colour, let every age, let every profession, let every nation, be the object of your soul's prayers. You live in this world, I hope, to bring souls to Jesus;
- Rev. C. H. SPURGEON, (Children Brought to Christ, and Not to the Font; No. 581 Delivered on Sunday Morning, July 24th, 1864, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington) [emphasis mine]
Preparing for the sunday school lesson for Children of the Shepherd, I stumbled across this gem. Such a powerful reminder on why I am allowed to awake each morning.
The harvest is plentiful, the workers are few ... the key words are "labour" and "workers"; it's not meant to be easy, but we are to seek out, go after for the purpose of bringing souls to Jesus.
keeping me company
