A Fire Is Burning

“Prayer is the mighty engine that is to move the missionary work” (A.B. Simpson, founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance) Thank you for helping move this ministry forward through your prayers.

As we move closer to launching a church in our neighborhood we are blessed to be continually meeting new people and growing in the depth of these relationships. We currently have a weekly meeting in our home where we are praying, studying the Bible and growing in relationship while we help equip and empower one couple that just gave their lives to Christ and another who has a lot of interest in Jesus, but haven’t yet surrendered all to Him. We have a Children’s program and teacher as well since we’ve been averaging five children. We hope to see a couple more of these fellowship and study times start up in the next two months in other people’s homes…maybe even started by those that come to our Monday group. One of our foundational values as a forming church is summed up in this quote by M. Stachura, “The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity.” The recent fire in the Angeles NF sent ash over the Rocky Mountains and beyond and was visible from the heavens (space). We desire to burn and stir up others to burn even hotter and longer than this forest fire…so much so that we cannot be contained and the ash (fruit) would reach the farthest reaches of the Earth, touching every people group. Pray with us that this church would have such an impact and reach—touching lives both here in Los Angeles and throughout the World.

Specifically, to continue to build and grow relationships, we are planning a party to celebrate Rebecca’s fourth birthday. We are inviting many of the neighborhood children and their families. Please pray that not only will it be a special time for our daughter, but that we might see people come closer to God through this ‘outreach’.

Please also pray with us for:
· Team members for the launch of the church.
· To get into homes (on their ‘turf’) to deepen relationships that we have beyond the surface level.
· Protection, unity and rest for our family.

“Please Pray With Me”

As we share a few stories with you please keep us and these people in prayer. Everyday there is another opportunity to help bring healing to a hurting heart—Jesus is so passionate about reaching His people. Thank you for joining us in this rescue mission.

Home Group on Mondays 10am-Noon

Miguel & Soila (pictured below with Justice)

Consuelo (Soila’s mom)
Primo & Vere (2 children: Denis y Alisa and niece)

Home Group on Wednesdays 6:30pm-8:30pm

Francisco & Zaira (3 kids: Jair, Yamilect, Melody)

Carlos- It was one of those times you walk by somebody and you feel a tug in your heart to go talk to them. I knew it was the Holy Spirit, but I really wanted to keep walking. Yet, I found myself, while somewhat reluctantly, returning to talk to this young man sitting against the wall with his bike at the park. All I did was invite him to the service that we were holding around the corner. He got up almost immediately and began to walk in that direction thanking me. I continued on to the other part of the park where we have the children’s ministry to get things set up there. While we were cleaning up at the end this same young guy came back and began sharing how he had just been robbed early that day and being so upset about that had gone and drunk more beer than he should have. He asked if I would “Please could you come to my house this week and pray with me.” We’ve been asking God to draw people to Himself and help us to be a part of the process and here was Carlos, an answer to that prayer. I had a great time of conversation and prayer at his house later that week and now we are waiting to meet up with him at our Wednesday night home group. He shared that his mother, who still lives in Guatemala, is a believer and that he has always thought he was too, but is now realizing that he can’t be a Christian just because his mom is and is making some real steps to make a personal decision to follow Jesus for himself. Please help pray him into the Kingdom and into spiritual maturity as we continue to meet with him.

Efran, Luis, Santo, Gegorio- These four guys are day labor workers that I met last week. They came out to our service out in the park and I was able to share the Gospel with them. They said they were interested in coming back every Sunday and also coming to our house for our home group on Wednesday. Pray with us for these men and many others to come get connected to God and raised up as men of influence.

Outreach at the Park Sundays 3:30pm-5:30pm

Italia- Part of the vision of our outreach on Sundays at our park is to “empower parents to raise godly children” and have the parents join the team (and eventually take over) this ministry. We want to eventually pass the baton on to others. While we’re waiting for the right connections to arise from the parents, we’ve begun training our first “junior volunteer”. Since she has been coming faithfully along with her younger sisters and a brother we’ve had our eye on here. She is part of the family of 10 that live in the park. She is very bright and since she is much older than the majority of the children that come it seemed like a good opportunity to begin the training up even if it wasn’t a mother or father, but a 14 year old girl. Fabiola has been meeting with Italia once a week after school and is working with her on how to do as much during the outreach as possible, while working on her Bible knowledge and memorization and character things. Please pray that she will be a key to reaching her parents and the first of many we can train to lead this and future ministries.

Upcoming Birthday Party/Outreach (Saturday, November 7th)

Please pray with us also for Rebecca’s 4th birthday party. We are gearing up for a big birthday celebration where we are going to invite virtually everyone we have met and can think of to help provide some more relationship building time. This will probably be our first real big expense as we’re planning on a lot of food, a piñata of course and maybe even a jump-house (which is almost par for the course around here). We want Rebecca to feel special and honored, but this is just as much an excuse to get people to come and spend time with us and we even hope we’ll get invited to their houses for future parties and events. Neither of us are very gifted in ‘party planning’ so beyond the spiritual aspects of relationships and conversations please pray for everything to go smoothly before, during and after.

South Park Statistics and Needs

South Central Los Angeles is among the poorest, most congested and medically deprived areas in the county. In less than a decade, the population has grown at triple the overall country rate. Slightly more than 55% of South L.A.’s 1.32 million people are under 17 years of age, yet the areas has just 11 pediatricians per 1,000 patients, compared with 57 in the county as a whole and a whopping 193 per 1,000 children and adolescents on the Westside (of LA). Source: “Regents Can Heal South LA” by Tim Rutten, LA Times, 09/19/09

We’ve heard it called the ‘donut effect’ because when you plot hospitals, retail stores and other services and commodities on a map they all make a donut shape with a hole right where we are living and ministering among the poor. Whatever the reason, whether it is motivated by money or convenience, it has left a critical mass of people underserved and in many ways forgotten.

The map above shows Los Angeles and its suburbs surrounded by the red circle. We live and minister where the red cross is located. The red dots represent hospitals and medical centers. As you can see inside of the donut (the black circle, representing South Central Los Angeles) there are only 2 hospitals for the over 1.1 million people that live in that area. By the way, some 98,000 people have moved into that area in the last few years. This compared to the 27 hospitals for all the people in downtown, West and North LA and the suburbs.

We’ve spent the last few months out and about trying to get ‘the pulse’ of the area—seeking to understand both the felt and real physical and spiritual needs of the area. We want our impact here to be lasting and powerful and believe that doing the best we can to understand who we are ministering to will help. We know there is much to learn, but we are also grateful to have the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

We would like to share some more information specifically about the neighborhood that we live in (South Park) through some statistics (Source: 2000 Census) so that you can get a better perspective on where we are and get some more insight on how to pray for us and our neighbors.

Population
While the population of the South Park area is about average for Los Angeles, it is one of the smallest and most densely populated neighborhoods. There are about 30,500 people living in an area of 1.4 square miles (which means there are about 21,650 people living per square mile). This of course does not count the homeless that live in the park and on the street.

Centered around “South Park” a large, diverse park the South Park Neighborhood is where we will be planting a church. Its 30,500 residents are our focus for outreach, discipleship and leadership training. Currently we have two weekly small group meetings at our house (located across from the park where the “A” marker is located) along with several other one-on-one times.

Income
We are in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The median yearly household income is $29,500. To put that statistic in perspective remember that most households here contain extended family working to pay the bills together—so that isn’t usually one persons pay for a year, but several.

Housing
72% of households are renters. We’ve been able to meet with a few different individuals in these last couple weeks in their own homes (rather than at our home or another location such as the park) and have been amazed at how many medium sized homes have been converted into 5 or 6 separate units with little care taken in the quality of work put into the subdivisions. There are also an amazing amount of bold cockroaches, ants and vermin living in these homes that freely walk around during the daylight hours.

Ethnicity
While not especially diverse for Los Angeles, the population of Latinos and Blacks is one of the highest in the city. Roughly there is 80% Hispanics and 20% African-Americans living in the South Park area.

Mexican (57.2%) and Salvadoran (2%) are the most common ancestries. (Many children are born with mixed ancestry, for example, Mexican-Salvadoran. It is our observation that there are quite a few Salvadorans, Guatemalans and even a handful from Honduras in our community, but clearly the majority is from Mexico.) 49.4% of residents of South Park are foreign born, which is one of the highest in Los Angeles. Mexico (76.8%) and El Salvador (10.2%) are the most common foreign places of birth.

Families
At the time of the census there were 1,126 single mothers—or 20% of the families—which, again is among the highest percentages in the city of single mothers. Also among the city’s highest, is the number of men and women who have never been married (whether living with someone or on their own). At this point everyone we are ministering to is either single or living together, but not married. We sense that teaching about godly relationships and on how to raise godly children are two of the most important biblical life-skills that we can offer our community.

Schools
Of the 7 schools in this area only one ranks 3/10 (still horrible), while the rest rank 1/10 in the California ranking system. The city is currently building a new high school 3 blocks from our house that should be ready to open by next fall.

Education
About 34% of the population has not completed high school—again amongst the city’s highest.

Education level

Age
The median age is 23 years old, young in comparison to the rest of the city. The percentages of residents in the age range 0-10 and 11-18 are some of the highest in the city of Los Angeles.

Age

While statistics only give part of the story we hope that these numbers will stir you up to pray over some of the specific needs of our neighborhood and some of the direction we feel led to take to share the full-gospel with our neighbors in word and deed. We are so blessed that we have a team of people that through prayer and financial gifts have made moving into this community a possibility so that we might continue to see the nations come to a saving knowledge of His Kingdom. As Eugene Peterson says in The Message (from John 1:14), “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” We’re excited about brining Jesus to as many households as possible in Los Angeles, starting right here in our neighborhood.

Thank you for being a part!

What breaks God's heart?

What breaks your heart? My heart breaks at the screams of a neighbor girl desperately pleading, "No, Daddy! No!" The Lord knows what is happening in that household. "Lord, how can we help?"


My heart breaks at seeing one family live in the park across the street from our house and eke out an existence without any walls, without any plumbing or electricity, without anything. My heart hurts even more when I begin to realize there are many families in this situation--and we have so much. How can we give so we are really helping and not just putting a Band-Aid on a really big problem?


My heart breaks for the hero status that a young boy, a member of the local gang, gets after being shot. I have seen many in our neighborhood with shirts commemorating his life--he is flashing his gang sign for all to see why he lived. "Lord, put the words in my mouth…help me to be a part of bringing these broken youth to a restored relationship with their Father. Come to their gatherings and be there with them, heal their hurts, and start a movement among them for your glory."


My heart breaks for the 11- or 12-year-old boy that was in handcuffs as I drove down the street. He almost looked proud. I weep deep from the heart, and tears fill my eyes when I see the prostitutes out at an hour when most people are finishing their breakfast or reading the morning news. Why must this go on?


My hands feel tied. What can I do? A quote from William Shedd comes to mind: "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for." We know we are here for a reason. Lives are in the lurch. The battle is the Lord’s, and He will build His Church. Many of these scenes have been brought across our eyes and ears in the last couple of days because God wants us to pray. We are called to be light in this dark place and to offer hope. Please join with us in praying through these situations and asking God for His answers. We would love to hear from you directly if God lays anything specific on your heart to encourage or guide us in our ministry here. Thank you for lifting us and these beautiful people up before the Lord. It is an honor to be serving the Lord with you.



"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken." ~C.S. Lewis (The Four Loves)


We continue to be available to our community and build relationships. We are continuing to blossom some of our relationships and watching for a person of peace--somebody that is receptive, is recognized and has a reputation in the community (based on Luke 10).


• Please pray for fruit—lives snatched out of the depravity of sin and godlessness and thrust into the overwhelming grace and goodness of Jesus.
　
• Pray for wisdom in how we spend our time and resources. Some people appear to be receptive, but really just want to suck our time and resources, while others appear to be closed, but after a second act of kindness have broken open.
　
• We open our home weekly for people to study the Bible, pray and share life. Please pray that these times would be fruitful.


Broken, yet restored in Christ.

The Wolyns

The Widow's Mite - Giving Out of Poverty

Well contrary to the title of this entry Maria (all names have been changed) isn’t a widow, but her generosity in giving the little she had so freely reminded me of the story in the Bible where the widow gave of all she had (Mark 12:41-43). Maria and her husband Roberto have eight children and live in the park during the day and sleep in their van at night. The children’s names are Jesus, Gracia, Jacob, Ester, Sara, Kenya, Robertito, and the baby, Benjamin.

Kenya, Rebecca, Ester, Gracia, and Robertito after Fabiola came to do the girl’s hair one day a week or so ago. Our house is the brownish one in the background to the left. Roberto, their father, is in the background to the right. Juan is sitting on the bench by the tree.

We went over to the park the other morning to have breakfast with them at the picnic table where they prepare their meals. We brought a pitcher of coffee, cups, napkins and some Mexican sweet bread. We shared what we had with them and the various visitors that came through. We met a man that has also befriended this family who has been homeless for many years as well. His name is John and he has no known family since his parents died when he was fairly young and his brother died soon after that. As the children were all seated munching on their bread, Maria began cooking up breakfast and offered us a generous stack of tortillas, with meat and a hunk of Mexican cheese. We were a bit hesitant and uncomfortable to take so much from somebody that had so little, but she insisted. We’ve learned that it is important to not turn such an offer away for our comfort or convenience (for what would that communicate?), but to allow them the blessing of sharing and giving. We were served first before anyone else in the family or their friend John. Still somewhat embarrassed we began to eat, just then two other Hispanic guys that just happened to be passing through the ‘camp’ asked if the food was ready and if they could eat. Fabiola wanted to defend the little that this family had, especially since we ‘took’ some from them, and tried to shoo them off, but Maria offered them a taco stuffed full of the carne asada. I was surprised and reflected on how much better the portions were here than at the various taco stands we’ve eaten at that give you a kibble of meat and about four crumbs of cheese. Maria leaned over to Fabiola as she continued to heat up more tortillas once the two men had left and said, “If God has enough for one, He has enough for thousands. We aren’t going to deny anyone food, because we know it comes from Him and know He could keep us from eating at any time.” In hearing this I felt a simultaneous conviction in my heart and a ball well up in my throat at the emotion of it all. Soon another friend we’ve made at the park, Juan, came over. He seems to have been depressed lately and hasn’t wanted to talk as much. We keep him in our prayers. He had been one of the biggest advocates for a church in the park and there is definitely a network of relationships between this group, who knows of God, but needs to be taught the Word of God and be restored to a relationship with their Father. Even joggers and others walking their dogs paused to say, “Hi” or “Buenos Dias” to us all as we sat at this bench. Once the kids were done eating, Rebecca and Ester had a great time running around and playing.

Gracia and Rebecca at the park.

Some of the family dynamics came up when Gracia, the 13-year-old came out of the van. Like many teenagers she had slept in while the rest of the family had started their day. None of the children are attending school, at least not very regularly, right now. Maria face visibly changed from one of happiness in serving us all and visiting with company to one of hurt and betrayal. She recounted to us that she and Gracia had argued and some ugly words were passed on to her from her daughter. Living in a park out of a van with a family of 10 requires a bit of organization. The oldest three children do a lot of watching the younger kids and run a lot of errands. In typical teenager form, Gracia complained and whined about having to run to the public restroom to fill up more water again or change another diaper. Her mom responded firmly and Gracia said something she later regretted. It was something along the lines of “if you die I won’t even cry.” Said in anger these strong words penetrated the heart. Fabiola had a chance to minister to both of the ladies and talk it massaging balm on the sore spots. We also found out that Gracia isn’t able to go to school because she doesn’t have the proper uniform or supplies. We made arrangements over the weekend and this afternoon we plan on taking Gracia to the school to see what she needs to do. We are ready to provide the needed school supplies and give her some of the extra white blouses Fabiola has so that she can attend school.

Beyond praying for Maria and her family here are some other ways you can support us and our community in prayer:

• This Thursday we have a strategic meeting for our future church plant. We will be meeting with other Los Angeles churches that have an interest in partnering with us in ministering to the people of South Park. Each person present has a vision to see a new, healthy church planted in this area. Some of those present may be future team members; others may be leaders that have people or resources to offer to the start up process.
• Weekly meetings with Pedro and Valerie (and kids Olga and Alicia) and Consuelo. All of them have mentioned the desire to invite other family members to these Bible study and prayer times. Please pray for us to have a consistent, powerful time of meeting together and that this time would grow in numbers.
• Thank God with us that Zelma, one of the first people we met here, has returned to her husband and we’ve reconnected with her (after losing contact with her). Pray that something would come of this relationship—she has told Fabiola that her husband would like some marriage counseling, which we would love to provide.

Fabiola and Rebecca talking with the Señora Margarita, a potential woman of peace in this community.

• A tentatively scheduled coffee time with Señora Margarita in this coming week.
• Future play dates (for Rebecca) with Jackie and opportunities to share more about God with her mom (Daniella) and grandma (Tania).
• Others we’ve met recently that need to be lifted up: John, Juan, Roberto and family, Efrain, Howard, Dre’, and Romeo.

Thank you for praying with us!

Freely we receive and freely we give.

A Car Wash at the ‘Dump’

I've mentioned before that one of the things our park, South Park, was known and used for was the local dump. This was true, but appears to be no more. Besides the chronically bad case of littering our community seems to have there were about ten dumpsters that were placed across the street from us and took over a parking lot there. Late at night, various neighbors would bring truck load after truck load of garbage and it would be piled sky high and overflow into the surrounding pavement and grassy field. Both in our private and family times with God we’ve been inspired to pray along the lines of Jeremiah 29:7a that says, “…seek the peace and prosperity of the city…” While we pray this verse for our city we see ahead into the future as our community is transformed from a place of violence and despair to a place where people desire to come, where the true beauty of the people is able to come out and in turn be reflected in the parks, homes, schools, businesses and churches of this community.

Though we prayed about the parking lot that had become a mass dumping ground we hadn’t yet mobilized to speak with the park bureau or city commissioner, but then one day the city came and took away all of the dumpsters and masses of garbage all around them.

An illustration of South Park in its early days, Circa 1905

East Side Playboys gang members congregate at South Park just a stone’s throw from where we have our Sunday outreaches. We are believing God for the peace and prosperity of this area.

Within a week the local gang, the East Side Playboys, gathered in mass in that area and held a car wash to raise funds for the family of a member who had been shot the day before. Fabiola felt that we needed to go out and find out more about what had happened. She went out and gave a small donation to one of the ladies standing in the middle of the street just one house over from ours and found out more information. Upon returning we felt pressed to go and offer our consolation, prayers and neighborly friendship (besides we did need a car wash).

Taking care of their own. Gathered at the west parking lot of South Park (the old dump site) East Side Playboy members came together in the largest public gathering we’ve ever seen to raise money for the slain members’ family. There were 50-100 members congregated throughout the day…stopping traffic to ask for money, washing cars and selling food. It was a peaceful day.

I was a bit intimidated at first, but God showed us something powerful in our obedience to cross the street and enter into their world. We enjoyed our time and were able to introduce ourselves as their neighbors and let them know that we were here to bring peace in the community. They were polite, respectful, humble, well organized and unified. Our kids played with their kids and made the stone- hard stares of the ladies melt into laughs. We joked with the guys and felt honored to have our car washed by God’s future leaders. Please pray that we’d make a connection with key members and be able to see a breakthrough as they become part of the Church. Much of what we saw that day helped us get a glimpse of how the early church in Acts functioned—yet missing such an essential element, the reason, motivator and enabler: Jesus. Wouldn’t it be beautiful to see these heavily tattooed and battered-by-life children of God worshiping unabandonedly their creator out in the middle of South Park—their ‘hood, their community!

Building relationships, trust and being part of the community. Local gang members wash our car (our house is the brownish two-story house in the background)—they did a great job!

The Playboys (PBS) were started in Los Angeles in the early 1960s that started as a car club and then became a full-fledged gang. Out of all the South Central gangs, the East Side Playboys have the third largest territory and the fourth largest membership. The Playboys are one of the most active gangs in Los Angeles and are known for many murders of their rivals in past decades; currently they are ranked number twenty on the top twenty list of most dangerous gangs.

Article from the Los Angeles Times:

South Park: Mauricio Jimenez, 22
Mauricio Jimenez, a 22-year-old Latino, was shot several times in
his chest, abdomen and extremities and died Aug. 15. Jimenez was shot in the 400 block of East 52nd Street in South Park, officials said.

Los Angeles Police Department Officer Rosario Herrera said Jimenez was a gang member who was standing in an alley about 3:55 a.m. with a female acquaintance when two men, also believed to be gang members, approached and started firing.

The victim suffered wounds to his upper and lower torso and was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

This map shows the location of the shooting of Mauricio (the red dot), our house is located on the west end of the park at 50th Street, just a few blocks NW from the murder.

Not everybody has been happy about the clean up or the presence of the ES Playboys en masse. Rival gang activity has been on an increase. I also overheard one homeless man mumble to himself colorful complaints against the city that took his vast source of ‘resources’ away from him. The arrival of God’s peace and prosperity in the city does not come through a city clean up, nor in providing financial assistance and jobs for the poor. Peace isn’t even a lack of street or domestic violence. The issue is much deeper, one requiring God’s sovereign move and God’s instrument the Church to see a restoration of health on all levels—mental health, family/relational health, physical and emotional health and of course spiritual health. Believe with us this month for healing, for health…for continued peace, cleanliness and provision for the people here in South Central.

For His treasures locked in bondage,

Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca and Justice Wolyn

Marked Territory. South Park and surrounding businesses.

(We’re taking this territory for Jesus!)

Serving Lemonade at 'Ground Zero'

This year instead of preparing for another school year as I have done for the last 11 years, Fabiola and I are laying the foundation for a new church that is going to be launched in our community early 2010.

We are thankful for our home; living where we live has placed us at ground zero. We are living in a place surrounded by needs. Our park, South Park, is a true ‘multi-use’ park. There are joggers in the mornings, soccer and basketball games almost non-stop, the homeless live there, the gang members have claimed different corners, families’ picnic or barbeque, venders sell candies, snow cones and balloons, and children run around and play. There is something for just about everyone. We host the local ‘dump’, the local day care, the local aerobics class, the local pool and a baseball field used by pee wee football leagues and adult baseball teams. What an exciting place to live!

Our front meeting room (family room) and our large front porch have great views of this park…views that have spurred prayer and action. The other day Fabiola decided to go serve a family with eight children who live in the park during the day and their van at night. This picture shows Fabiola and Rebecca serving this family cookies and lemonade in their ‘family room’. Fabiola has since been able to continue visiting this family in their various ‘camps’ and pray with them.
On that first visit our daughter, Rebecca, asked, “Why are we giving them lemonade?” Fabiola responded, “Because they don’t have a home and are out in the hot sun and probably thirsty; it is what God wants us to do.” Then Rebecca responded, “But why don’t they have a home Mommy?” She wasn’t able to fully respond to our 3-year-old’s question, but in this short time here we are blessed to see how powerful it is for the whole family as we minister together, side-by-side.

Sunday afternoons we participate in two outreaches at the park. The first is providing both spiritual and physical food to the homeless. Mostly men arrive in all different states of need and we are able to be like Christ to them. In the second outreach children are invited to come and be taught about Jesus and the Bible through a VBS-style church service. Every week brings a different group and a different challenge, but one thing Fabiola and I are working at is getting to know not only the children, but really reach out to the parents that are watching from a distance at the edges of our activities. We are keeping our eyes and ears open as we bring the word and deeds of Jesus to our neighborhood as to whom the first disciples of this new church will be. Thanks you for helping us lay a foundation for this new work here in South Central Los Angeles through your prayers, encouragement and financial support.