All volunteers should arrive at 8:30pm (especially if you are coming for the first time so we can do a quick briefing). Please invite other friends and neighbors who might need their laundry done or would like to volunteer.

We always need help picking people up/dropping off anyone coming to do laundry who may need a ride – if you’re able to help, please let us know!

For more info contact info@brokenheartsministy.org

So much so that even the multiple verses that concentrate on serving the poor in scripture seem to lack power and rationality. “The poor you will always have with you” (Mark 14) seems far more reasonable than, “If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness”(Isaiah 58)

For the past two weeks I was helping to coordinate a Winter shelter, where every night we shared a meal, played games, and chatted with about 30 homeless men and women. Perhaps this was one experiences that compounded those unfortunate feelings, despite the fun I had there each day.

Yet one of my last nights there, a young girl I’d barely talked to (I can’t say her real name, but we’ll call her “Purpose” because her real name reflects the same meaning.) suddenly wanted to talk, and quickly spilled about her years and years of rape and emotional abuse by family members. She said it had taken away her self-worth and desire to accomplish anything with her life. It had also contributed to some level of schizophrenia and immaturity that can come when one’s mind and body has to learn how to survive such horrific trauma.

Her feelings of hopelessness and lack of true identity that comes from Christ are not unique to her, but a familiar story for countless others that I meet. So we spent time praying for truth to be revealed, restoration in every area of her life, hope, and purpose.

She soon went from tears and confession, to interest in coming to church and finding friends, to bouncing around like a little girl and then shyly rushing off to bed.

Later that night during prayer and worship at my church, I sensed God’s heart for Purpose, and so many others like her; and his deep love for his precious children and our need to see them as he does.

“She is my beautiful child,” was what I felt like God wanted me (and all of us) to know. These are orphans we are to take care of. Feeling and knowing that, I felt a sensitivity restored to my heart that had been clouded in simply getting things done.

Purpose was no longer a statistic or number among the countless poor and sick. Not a problem to be fixed, but God’s treasured daughter. She has purpose, and I don’t believe her name is a coincidence….

At that point, I was truly ready to hit that street that night and engage with the many people who would come to get laundry done and attend our Refuge service on the street. I had a refreshed vision of God’s love for them that meant my time with them mattered.

A friend shared this with me earlier that week, which God probably deposited as a reminder for me in just this time:

“There is a story about a pastor who is ready to call it quits.In driving and talking to God about what troubled him, his feelings of inadequacy, and being overwhelmed with the needs people brought to him as a leader, God spoke to him. He pulled into a Taco Bell drive-thru and a small voice said “open the door. I have a present for you.”

When he opened the door to find a scarred & tarnished penny, he thought “Gee, thanks” as he picked up the penny. Then God spoke again: “In the world’s eyes, the people I’m sending you are like this penny. They are flawed, imperfect, and forgotten. Even churches don’t see much value in wasting time on them. In some eyes, they may look shabby and worthless, but to me, they are just like you, Steve! They’re precious beyond measure!”

Tears streaming down his face, Steve drove home with a better understanding of the incredible value God places on the broken, bothersome, infuriating people we all are.” -Paraphrased from Quick to Listen Leaders by Davy Ping

That Sunday, Purpose joined me for church, got some free flowers which I knew she’d love, and cried throughout worship. The same strong sense of God’s love for her came over me, once again moving me to tears and compelling me to let her know that she’s not forgotten or alone.

I was reminded for the millionth time that one of the joys of serving the poor is that we get to experience God in more profound and intimate ways. The insights and richness of life that came to me through just a few days with Purpose are something I would not trade.

“If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

“Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor….” (James 2:3-6)

Wayne: Some of our friends came across him on Hollywood Blvd and dragged him with them to BH!!! Recently had gotten out of jail. Had a lot of questions during the service. Pray that God will give him great discernment and show him the truth of the Gospel, also for housing.

Raul: Pray for continued healing for Raul after being in the hospital for a week with internal bleeding. Doctors were not able to give him a diagnosis.

“Steve”: Asked good questions throughout the night recently. Asked that God would heal him and make him a man this week. He would also like prayer for his safety. He would like to hang with us more.

Sirivi: Pray for healthy boundaries in relationships i.e. when to say yes and when to say no in helping people. Also wisdom in a situation with Casey who is no longer living with him. Pray that he could find a local church (or bible study) where he feels comfortable and accepted but is also open to accountability. Also, for finances to get his Rx refilled. Also, that he would grow in trusting God in his spiritual walk.

Casey: Pray for housing, for God to give him strength and heal him after a breakup–he’s been quite depressed. For favor in getting a job as a security officer as this is what he’d like to do. that he’d forgive himself from recent actions toward friends he is regretting. Also, for continuing to stay off drugs.

Jonas: He’s looking for job again. Last work situation was pretty bad. But very thankful for his living situation!

“C”: Skeptical of God and was not too open to the team, but he stuck around all night. Pray that God would save him from the destruction he’s heading for, freedom from drug use and that God wins his heart!

Alex: Please pray for him to realize the danger in meth, find work, get housing, and get off of the streets before he gets sucked in. Pray for his salvation as well.

Janet: Likely prostitutes and rarely talks to us much, but usually gets pizza. Pray for breakthrough in our relationship with him and for his salvation and safety.

Slim: Pray for a job for him, looking for something like a warehouse job.

the homeless and overlooked…

When I visited Colorado (home), I had parents to take care of me, I barely checked my phone or email, I felt rested. It was quiet…I could wake up in the morning without my neighbors rap music blasting upstairs, or the sound of children and gang bangers running up and down the stairs. I never once heard a helicopter or a police siren.

I watched snow fall silently, watched movies and  laughed and ate with family and let my parents pay for everything.

Then I came back to Los Angeles. Suddenly, I felt like a missionary. Don’t get me wrong, I love L.A. But I love L.A. because I love L.A.

Meaning, my appreciation of the city is based on the love that God has put in my heart for it’s brokenness, unique qualities, and unconventional beauty. I choose to love it, in other words, and it becomes incredibly loveable as a result.

I know some people find it horribly unappealing to live in Hollywood, and as I saw 3 arrests and about 14 cop cars (literally) within a half mile stretch of Santa Monica Blvd on my ride back from the airport, I was reminded that I love this city because God has called me here. Like a missionary to Uganda loves Uganda because of God’s heart, not because they find it terribly fun to live without luxuries and in the midst of turmoil.

It’s hard to think of missionaries in American cities as missionaries, but it’s not always easy here, either. The violence, theft, and every-man-for-himself mentality aren’t exactly a dream. I needed the rest of home to prepare me to come back to a demanding life on mission.

Yet as I thought about my comfortable home in quiet Colorado where I saw not one homeless or  mentally ill person,  no “things that make you go hmmmm” in comparison to watching a transgender prostitute get arrested on the way home and saying, “I think I might know that person”, I knew I was home.  Home is simply where God has me at the time. My Hollywood home is one that pulls me out of my comfort and forces me to see things that I don’t know how to deal with and reminds me that the world is horribly broken and in need of a savior – an Answer that we’re all called to share to bind up the brokenness.

I thought about supporters of missionaries who can’t quite grasp local urban missions, and the fact that it’s not so different than anywhere else – here we just speak the same language and share more cultural beliefs and values (though definitely not all – we are still incredibly diverse here).

The need is still the same, the symptoms and approach to peace just play out differently.

If you’ve never thought about missionaries as being local, I challenge you to seek out those in your city and discover what they are doing and how you can support. And if you live in America, I challenge you to look at your city as a mission field – a place desperately in need of Jesus – and to treat it exactly as you would those people you might meet in Africa on a 2-week missions trip.

You don’t have to go more than a few miles to share the gospel with people living in drug-infested slums, or bring hope to a girl rescued from sex-trafficking, or build homes for the impoverished.

And can I just give a shout out to the amazing men and women that I work with through Broken Hearts and other partner ministries in this city who are pouring out their lives for other people on a weekly basis – almost no one has any idea what a huge role they are playing in changing lives in this city and beyond!