Standing At The Crossroads

"Stand at the crossroads and look; 
ask for the ancient paths, 
ask where the good way is, 
and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." -Jeremiah 6:16


"Hey, my name's Phil, you guys have to meet my son and his wife; they have tattoos just like you!"

That was how we met Justin and Kylie Kary, a young couple that have started a coffee shop in Peoria, Arizona. Dan and I were staying at my Aunt and Uncle's house when we first came out to Los Angeles when we met the Kary's while attending Northwest Community Church in Phoenix.

We quickly became friends with Justin and Kylie, and whenever we came out to stay with my family we would meet up with them to enjoy fellowship with one another.

They told us about their plan to move their family owned bookstore to another location where they would be opening a coffee shop as well. We prayed over the shop and through the many difficulties that come with opening a new business. There was a lot of renovating to be done and after a couple months of work they had a soft opening on April 31st, with a grand opening coming June 1st and 2nd.

"We exist to serve the highest quality products in an environment that encourages Gospel living through exceptional service and personal relationships. We create an atmosphere that would serve to encourage the body of Christ and welcome customers by presenting Christ centered living to each person we come in contact with. Our work will be to the glory of God each and every minute that we care for our clientele with a servant's attitude."


I experience the application of their mission statement every time I am here. I've seen people hold Bible studies and prayer has been prevalent. Even unbelievers are seeing the love between brothers and sisters and have been asking questions just like Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another."

"God is teaching us to be more purposeful in how we pray, being intentional with each person who walks through our doors," said Kylie. When the shop was still in process of being completed, those passing by would walk into the building, unaware that it was still under construction. Dan then challenged Justin and Kylie to try to pray for each and every person who walks into their shop when it opened.

"I love having the space and freedom to share Christ and the Gospel, it's a huge blessing because I worked at places before where I couldn't do that," said Justin, "This is the beginning of a grand adventure in Christ."

Justin is running the business with his father, who started the bookstore in 1976, but he has full responsibility over the coffee shop. Justin is the first one ready to talk with a customer about Jesus when they ask about Jesus when they ask what their shop stands for.

Along with the ministry aspect, they aim to provide the best products for their customers. They get their coffee from Lux Coffee which is a local supplier that provides Crossroad's with organic beans. They also serve a variety of loose leaf teas, fresh fruit smoothies, locally made scones and pastries. They also have a room that patrons can rent out to use for business meetings, Bible studies, and parties.

This place has become my favorate place to visit in the Phoenix vicinity. It is located at 9069 W Olive, Peoria, Arizona so if you're in
the area, make sure you check this coffee shop out. If I had to give Crossroad's a rating, I would give them 4/4 stars and two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

El Roi- God Who Sees

Skid Row has a way of getting under your skin, and little things that happen often enough can be frustrating and make me feel anxious and stressed out. I was having one of those days yesterday, where the attitudes of a few people I encountered, on top of the atmosphere of Skid Row, sent me into a funk.

Since my friend Nate moved from Long Beach back to Kansas City, Dan and I haven't had many options to get out of Skid Row. We've got a few breaks, Dan went to Enid, Oklahoma for a week to check out ministry there, and I got a chance to go to Moab, Utah for a weekend camping trip with my friend Ryan, who was taking a wilderness first response class. Other than that, it's Skid Row life 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.



Last night I went on a walk to Little Tokyo, which is really close to Skid Row, but it's a night and day difference. The air doesn't smell of urine and marijuana smoke, the streets are spotless, and it's a little taste of normal life.  I was sitting around playing on my iPhone and using the wifi from Starbucks. I was praying something to the effect of, 'Lord, I really do not want to go back to Skid Row tonight,' when my friends from the Hollenbeck House showed up out of nowhere.

We went to Yogurtland and hung out for a bit. They then headed to their car and I said good bye, thanking them for the encouragement. As I was walking away my friend Colin opened the van door and asked if I would want to spend the night and get a break from Skid Row. In my head I was screaming, 'Yes!!' and so I said, 'I would love to!' and squeezed into their van. We stopped by the Mission so I could get some things, and then went to the Hollenbeck House.

It was such a peaceful night, I watched a movie and passed out on Colin's bed. Waking up here reminded me so much of the Logan House back home. I sat on the back porch eating oatmeal and read from 1 Corinthians 11 to the end of the book. Paul went through a lot of intense situations in his life, from being shipwrecked, to receiving the forty lashes minus one, beaten with rods, stoned, and fighting wild beasts in Ephesus. When I read about what he's been through, my problems look so miniscule in comparison.

In Genesis 16, Abram tries to fulfill the promise the Lord made with him through Sarai's servant Hagar. After she conceived, she had contempt on her mistress, and Sarai treated her harshly. Hagar ran into the wilderness and the Lord met her by a spring and told her she would bear a son, and she was to name him Ishmael, which means 'God hears.' After He speaks with her, she calls him El Roi, which means 'You are a God who sees me.' She then says, 'Truly here I have seen him and he looks after me.'

Sometimes I feel like the Lord doesn't hear what I'm praying or doesn't see the crazy things I deal with on a daily basis. But the same God who talked to Hagar by the spring in the wilderness is the same God that talked to Paul and said, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' He is the very same God that hears and sees you and me.

A Quiet Disposition

The first time I met Anthony he reminded me of my good friend and Logan House mate, Peter Simionides. He has the same color skin, short black hair, similar style of dress, and the same exact aura of mystery surrounding him like a cloud that Peter has. But when I introduced myself, I did not know if he understood what I was saying. There wasn't any indication in his face that showed he had heard me, and when I asked him what his name was, he tilted his head forward and said in a very low, almost gruff-sounding voice, 'Anthony.'

I learned that he's only 19, but he looks a lot younger, so when I heard the very low voice come out of his mouth, I was taken aback for a second. He seemed very quiet and apprehensive, so I tried to reach out to him since he was new to the Mission, being in the Seeds of Hope program. I've eaten lunch with him, and I've asked him questions about himself and so far I've only gotten one word answers or head shaking yes or no.

One of the chaplains approached me one day after he moved to the 3rd floor and into the program. He told me a little of his background, that his family were done taking care of him and that his sister dropped him off. He wasn't addicted to drugs or anything. He asked if I would try to befriend him because he thought in this environment that Anthony would be ostracized, but that hasn't really been the case. Most of the guys that I've seen interact with him have been understanding and have gone out of their way to help instruct him.

I find him by himself a lot, playing basketball or pool by himself. I've played some games with him before, and this evening we played ping pong. My friend Chris showed him how to hold the paddle right, and he caught on pretty fast.

He's very deliberate with his movements and it almost looks like he's in slow motion when he walks. He's very polite and will say thank you when you help with something. I've also learned that he's pretty intelligent; he's graduated High School and he is very good at chess. I asked him where he was from and he told me he's from California, but wouldn't say where specifically.

He's a mysterious person, and I've been trying to develop a friendship with him while he's here. Please pray that I would be a good representative of Christ, and that he would feel comfortable to come to me with questions or anything.

Occupy Mayhem

I thought Occupy Wall Street was old news, but they've just been under the radar until today. I've never really had a full grasp on what the Occupy movement was really about. I know that they talk a lot about how 1% of the world run the 99%, but I guess it never had enough credence in my mind to take it very seriously.

They've taken over downtown Los Angeles with an array of signs, masks, drum circles, and bullhorns and I've gotten a different perspective on it than I had before. I've seen everything from GLBT Activists to Hippies promoting world peace, to Anarchists wearing the communist sickle and hammer wanting to start a riot. It's a jumbled mess, where anything goes and if you have some colorful sharpies, a sign, and dress crazy, you're welcome!

I feel like a lot of the police officers woke up today thinking, 'Crap, that Occupy thing is today... Time to call in sick!' It seems at any moment the police are going to get the go ahead to start arresting the people congregating in Pershing Square. They started blasting some dubstep and I'm kind of hoping Skrillex shows up.

This feels a lot like the LA Art Walk, I've seen people with crazy outfits, V For Vendetta masks, handkerchiefs over the mouth, Native American Headdresses, and of course, some gnarly dreadlocks.

There isn't too much organization, but at least this got more participants than than the Kony 2012 Cover The Night. That was kind of a flop. I like coming to things like this primarily because I love being in large groups of people. I could probably get away with holding a sign that says, 'I Love Being in Large Groups of People!'

Post-Occupy Thoughts:

I was walking around Pershing Square with my friend Mark, one of the guys in the Program, when he asked me what I thought about the spiritual aspects of the Occupy LA meeting. I told him I see this gathering as a very spiritual thing. It was a congregation of people gathering in an area, some even dressing up and making signs. There were ideas and what I'd call 'doctrines' being shared. There was time, energy and money spent putting this on. There were even attempts at singing songs and chanting corporately.

I think this would fall under a secular humanistic meeting. There were a lot of people protesting the rights we humans have that are unalienable. I told Mark that the reason I care about human beings, and why I'm on Skid Row, is that I believe every human being is made in the image of God and therefore are to be treated with dignity and respect. That's why I care about the homeless. That's the difference between a Humanist and a Christian, Humanist's care about others because it seems like the right thing to do, which it is, but as Christian's we care because our God loved us so much that He came down and died for us.

My roommate Brian said in a prayer once, 'We love them like You love us.'

That's the force driving my activities while I'm here, I want people to put their hope not in government policies, politicians, or movements, but in Jesus Christ, who is our hope for salvation and eternal life. We love because we've experienced the joy and fulfillment that we have in Christ that we can't keep it to ourselves!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you... (1 Peter 1:3-4 ESV)

This hope is living, something that will not fail us or let us down. A lot of us put our hope in human efforts, which will inevitably disappoint because we are all sinful human beings. The Bible is brutally honest about our depravity, saying that 'none is righteous... No one does good, not even one.' (Romans 3:10,12) In Isaiah 64:6 it says, 'all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment,' or quite literally, used tampons. Even the good things we think we do are repulsive to the Lord if it isn't from faith.

'Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...' (Hebrews 10:23, 24 ESV)

The hope we place in other people to make lasting change will only let us down because we are all fallen creatures and aren't dependable. According to the verse above, the reason we have hope is that the one who we put our hope in is faithful to fulfill His promises. And that stirs us up to do good works that are pleasing to the Lord and have eternal significance.

A Rudy Awakening

A few weeks ago, I went with the English Professor Larry Smith to find a man named Rudy who was squatting in a house, and try to convince him to come join the program at the Union Rescue Mission. We went to his house and were greeted by two full-grown pit bulls, who had taken a liking to Larry. We walked in and he was laying on his bed. Larry started talking to him, about getting his life together and told him that I worked at the Union Rescue Mission. He said he got shot, and would try to go the next day. It turned out to be a little scratch. So we left and were going to meet up with him.

Larry went back and he wasn't there but was able to meet up with him a few other times and told him he wa thinking about joining the program. Larry and his wife run a ministry house in Boyle Heights for Biola students and graduates called the Hollenbeck House. Rudy was the first one Larry met when they started the house in 2010. He told me that Rudy has been addicted to alcohol and drugs. He also has many children through a couple different relationships.

He was going to meet with Rudy today and bring him to the URM but wasn't able to. He asked me and my friend Ryan if we could meet him at King Taco today at 1. We showed up and waited for him, but he never showed up. Please pray for Rudy, Larry thinks this program could help him get his life back on track, so we're going to keep trying to get him to the Mission. My prayer is that the Lord will prepare his heart to be open to His Spirit who is the one who can bring lasting change.