From the Liquor Store into the Garden…

When we first discovered the lot where the Compton Community Garden now resides, it was neighborhood blight. It had been trashed and scarred by years of neglect and misuse. As we began to excavate the lot with plans for a new landscape and a new purpose, we had no idea that God was doing a similar work in a life around the corner.

DJ was a 36 year-old man who had grown up in the neighborhood. He’d had a tough childhood, a series of unhealthy and broken relationships, used coping mechanisms of drugs and alcohol. But like most people here, there were many gifts and talents hidden beneath that story. DJ was born bold and ambitious. Gifted with a quick mind and an even quicker tongue, he was able to overcome a lot of his challenges and build a successful career as a mortgage broker. He became a family man with a wife and children.

However, when life hit him, as it does all of us, he was thrown back into old patterns of self-destruction.  A combination of the mortgage industry and his marriage both taking a dive devastated him.  In the process, he also lost his relationship with his kids. He found himself frequenting the liquor store on a daily basis, which meant that everyday on his way, he walked right past the Compton Community Garden!  

For two weeks he would walk past the garden and watch us work. He assumed (naturally) that those of us who were white had to be in law enforcement (why else would we be there?), so in the beginning he intended to stay clear. Eventually, though, his curiosity (and the Holy Spirit) got the best of him, and he walked through the gates.

DJ sharing his story at a Garden Day event.

“What is this garden place?”

“What’s going on here?”

“Why are you people even here?” he wanted to know. 

We told him about the mission to provide healthy food, nutrition classes, and gardening plots for the community. We shared with him the vision to create jobs in order to address our community’s desperate need for more employment opportunities. And then we explained that the real reason behind all of it is to honor God and demonstrate His love here in our city.

DJ began to come around regularly. He hung out and was paid for a few small jobs here and there, still checking everything out. And then, suddenly -- he was all in. He started attending a weekly Bible study, rededicated his life to Christ, gave up some of his normal escapes, and started working with us every chance he could get. Slowly, DJ began to heal.

That was several months ago. Yesterday (March 30^th) DJ participated in week three of our current cycle of Leadership Development Academy classes. He had lunch with the other interns and three mentors (including me, Mike). He and I have been working on 2 business plans -- he has amazing entrepreneurial dreams, and we have turned those into goals. There is a restaurant across the street from the garden that is now up for sale -- he plans to purchase it with another local mentor, Ralph. (Ralph is a retired businessman and chairman of the Garden Community Board.) DJ has become a leader among our other interns. He has been stepping out and taking initiative in ministry -- he’s been given some significant responsibilities and now is an associate member of our staff team!

What's made all of this possible? DJ is following Jesus!

Each day is a journey for DJ, as he strives to maintain his new commitments. He has replaced his old, unhealthy coping mechanisms with new, life-giving ones. He is praying, encouraging others and growing in Bible study. He is building community around him, and receiving support from others each step of the way.

God has transformed DJ in a powerful way. And He will continue to transform him, as He does with all of us.

This is what discipleship looks like here. It’s a process, an ebb and flow. Every day, and practically everything on the agenda -- even something as simple as a Home Depot run -- is an opportunity to build into someone and care for them. Not everyone moves along as quickly as DJ has. Some folks take years to make the kind of changes DJ is making. But God is faithful and powerful and trustworthy!

I finally feel like a Man!

A couple posts ago we talked about Spicy.

A few weeks ago he finally landed a job at an Oil Refinery.

When you’ve been trying to get a job, any job, for years its pure joy when you are finally hired.

Spicy said over and over, “I finally feel like a man”.

He went through all his training and was taking extra classes to get different certifications so he could perform certain corrosion tests on the pipes. He had passed three levels of certification.

Two weeks ago he was called in by a supervisor to show evidence of his high school diploma or GED. Spicy is 24 now so it has been a while since he finished that. He made some calls but he was not able to get a copy so he asked me (Bob) to go with him to the district. When we arrived at the administration office we asked for a copy of his diploma and when they looked his records they said he had three incomplete classes, and had not graduated. 

Spicy was in shock about it. 

I asked many more questions but the bottom line is that he has to take the three classes over but the earliest he could start is July. 

“You see what happened was…….” I can’t tell you how many stories start this way and are always complicated with an ending that could have been so different with a little help. Spicy had been going to an adult school to finish up his high school diploma. He had perfect attendance and was trying to get his work done early in the semester. Just going was a challenge for Spicy because he lives in a Crip neighborhood. The adult school is in a blood neighborhood and many of the gang members go to the adult school. They wouldn’t leave him alone and there were constant threats and he was told get out or watch his back. So Spicy finished the course work three weeks early and stopped going to class thinking he was done. During that time in his neighborhood some guys were doing house licks (home burglaries) and he was outside watching as the guys ran down the street with electronics in their hand. An eyewitness reported four African Americans doing the burglary. The sheriffs caught three of them and the fourth got away.

Because Spicy was outside, near the area the sheriffs picked him up too. No one believed him when he said he didn’t do it and he wouldn’t snitch on the person who was involved. Spicy ended up spending four months in jail for the crime. He did not go to graduation and didn't officially meet whatever requirement was needed. That was five years ago and all this time he thought since the course work was done they must have graduated him. 

Nope, not the case as we found out. 

To lie or not to lie? This is now what Spicy had to decide. Do we make a diploma for him and try to pass it as legitimate or does he come clean and tell his boss what happened. The requirement for the job is a diploma so he was up against the wall on this. Other employees, he found out, faked their diplomas and have not been found out. For a lot of us this is an easy, right or wrong issue, but imagine yourself in his situation. There is an 80% unemployment rate in our community for his demographic (20-something African American male, with a criminal record, under-educated, intimidating demeanor.) He has been looking for full time work for years. He has done construction with me part time but its not really in his skill set. He finally landed a job with a great company, full time, with benefits, and he is good at it. It’s the type of company you can retire from.

We talked for a long time and prayed about it and even printed off a fake diploma. I told him he is a grown man, and needs to make his own life decision. “How do you want to live?” I asked him. He answered, “I want to do what honors God.” 

Spicy came clean with his supervisor and we hoped and prayed for grace on behalf of the company. He showed them he is reenrolled and planning on taking the GED test in 3 weeks. The bottom line is that he was laid off. 

He can’t work there until he has the diploma or equivalent. The more time that passes the less likely it will be that he can come back. 

We were guest speakers at church last Sunday and I told Spicy I have never been more proud of him. It took a lot of faith to do what he did. I have been his mentor for years but that day he was mine. 

God’s at Work!

Tina is one of the ladies who helps in the garden. I (Bob) had not seen her for several days and when I did she looked really bad. I flagged her down and she came over the garden. “Tina, I haven't seen you for a few days, how have you been?”

She said she was doing good but was trying not to talk much.

“I don't want to pry but by the look on your face it looks like you have been going through more than usual.” She looked at me and started to tell me what's been going on. “I have had kidney cancer for a long time and the doctors just told me it was stage 4 and they need to do surgery next week,” she said.

All I know to do in a situation like this is put my hand on her shoulder and pray. As I prayed she began to weep.

We asked God to give the doctors wisdom, for the surgery to go well, to get all the cancer and to heal Tina completely. I wish you could have a small picture of the transformation on this block.

Never in almost 20 years of ministry have I been able to have such open gospel conversations with folks, and here we are in the open, praying together.

I don't know what she did for the next week but when I saw Tina again she came to me in tears.
“You will never believe what happened at the doctor,” she said. I don't have any cancer. All I have is a few kidney stones. God answered our prayers. He healed me!”

Tina is still on the streets but she is trying to change her life. She is trying to make good decisions and get out of her situation. She is trusting God the best she can.

Tina has hope and is working with several of us to help her change. She has a long journey so we continue to pray with her.

6 Years in the Making

Bob’s first encounter with Spicy was 6 years ago when he first came to youth group. He jokingly put his foot in Bob’s face while he was driving and Bob pretended to throw Spicy’s Jordans out the window. While someone else might have gotten upset to have their shoe about to be taken, Spicy just pulled a roll of 100’s out of his pocket and told Bob he could buy as many new shoes as he wanted. Spicy was the local drug dealer at the time. A lot has changed in 6 years. Once he accepted Christ he stopped dealing but because he had a felony he couldn't get a job. So he has worked with Bob on construction projects over the years. He is also one of our most faithful attendees at Bible study. He has always actively participated but he never shares much about what he is thinking.

He is not cocky but he would admit he is stubborn. As he has grown in his faith he has stopped some habits that he knew God wanted him to give up. However, Spicy was adamant about not giving up smoking marijuana. We had lots of discussions with him saying it isn't addictive and has no negative impact on someone. Although we like to think we are the Holy Spirit, we gave up trying to convince him of anything different and knew he would have to hear from the Lord.

In January we were beginning Romans for Bible study and came across this verse: But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath…. God pierced Spicy’s heart with that verse. He sat and pondered it and when I (Susan) asked him what he thought he just said, “I can be stubborn.” He didn't elaborate but he has not smoked since the end of January! It has been amazing and I have told him how I can see the change in his countenance, he just seems more alive and he now acknowledges how addicted he was.

Now Spicy is seeing God bless him for his obedience. As I said he has not been able to get a job because of felonies. However, it has been long enough that he is able to get his record expunged (his felonies would no longer appear on his record ). He filled out the paperwork but was told by the court that the paperwork was wrong, however, they still took the $600 it cost. This was quite discouraging for him. But then In January he interviewed for a job at a local oil refinery, which provides good wages and benefits. However, after going through the entire interview process the oil refinery told him they didn't want to hire him because of his record. This felt like the final straw and he certainly wanted to smoke a joint (which was how he always coped with stress before) but he rejected that temptation as well as the temptation to start selling drugs again when someone offered him that job back.

A day after that happened he got a call from the refinery and they decided to hire him anyway! I wish you could see the joy on his face. At Bible study this week he was so proud to show me his badge and safety certifications he received. He hasn't even started work yet but he told Bob that he feels like a real man now.

We are so excited for Spicy and blessed to be able to see God transforming his life!



Spicy and Bob at a ministry conference

Starting A New Small Business Incubator

Launch with us.

March 2014

At Metro Community Development in Compton, CA, we are preparing to begin a new small business incubator here in our city. The time is now. Over 60% of our young people from ages 16-49 are unemployed. Even if this group was fully employable, the jobs do not exist.

Urban jobs need to be created and created quickly. For those in our community this is a matter of life and death. Now is the time.

We have launched several social enterprises and are connecting with others entrepreneurs and small business startups in our city. Now we want to create an incubator where many more young people will develop their entrepreneurial upbringings into a fully self-sustainable business.

If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, an employer or would like to work with us please complete the contact form below.

www.urbanlaunchlab.com

Opening Day ignites new Hope!

An article from our families December Newsletter.

Admittedly, I (Tonya Herman) was a bit skeptical when the Lord dropped this community organic garden on us. I am a big believer in eating healthy, in community development, and in ministry to the whole person. After all, Jesus fed the thousands and healed the sick -- who would we be to deem such things not important? But there was still that niggling voice in the back of my mind -- would we really be able to see spiritual development happen because of a garden?

Our team leaders had great vision -- of relationships we could build through the garden, of spiritual, life-filled conversations that could happen there. And as God kept providing and moving (sometimes it felt more like shoving!) us forward, it became very clear that this was on HIS agenda. I was excited as I saw the way God was obviously moving, but I still had my doubts...

The day of the garden opening was a beautiful SoCal fall day -- sunny blue skies and mild temperatures. Almost 200 people came out to celebrate with us -- ministry partners, volunteers, students from nearby universities, and most importantly -- people from the neighborhood! We had music and delicious food, face painting and crafts for the kids. We rented garden plots and sold t-shirts with “Compton Organic Community Garden” on them. The garden was spoken over, prayed over, and dedicated by a host of special guests who had invested financially, spiritually, and physically in the process (including our new mayor!).  It was a day full of joy and excitement and triumph.

As we were finishing the last of the cleanup, Betty (name changed) approached me. Betty is a woman who lives next door to the garden. In the city, those who have had life the roughest wear that truth visibly all over themselves. I don’t know many specifics about Betty’s life, but it’s clear she’s one of those folks. In that moment, though, Betty came with a huge grin on her face, tears in her eyes, and a request.

Could she become a volunteer? Could she water the garden boxes of those who couldn’t get there every day? Could she clean up around the garden? Could she keep an eye on the place and chase off any vandals? She was offering to help in any way she could -- she was just desperate to be a part of it all.

“You all have such a beautiful aura about you -- and it’s over this whole place! Every since you’ve been working in here -- and seeing all this happen...well, I’m out there, doing a lot of bad things. But in here -- this place -- it makes me believe that maybe I can get back to being the old Betty once again.”

It didn’t take long before Betty’s tears had become my own. We stood for a few minutes, her talking about her life and me sharing about mine. I told her that the hope she was describing had, in turn, filled my own heart with hope. That that’s how it is with God -- He uses us to bless each other, no one person being more important or “better” in His Kingdom, but all of us learning from and needing each other. This was the beauty she was sensing in all of us.

Since that conversation, I have spent a lot of time thinking about Betty and how she sees the garden. Located in a place that is arguably one of the ugliest, most crowded and run-down parts of our city, the garden is becoming a place of beauty and life. And for people who see little other than their local surroundings day after day after day, beauty brings hope.

I am thankful for Jesus and His simple spirituality -- boiling it down to much more basic concepts than I want to create in my privileged American mind. I am thankful for what He knows about the people He has created, the needs that they have, and the places where He can best meet them. I’m especially thankful that, in spite of my ignorance, He lets me be a part of His meeting them. After all, those connections are the places where beauty, life, and hope shine brightest in my own life.

I look for Betty every time I visit the garden now. Inevitably, if she’s there, we end up having a spiritual conversation along similar lines to the one we had that day. She usually has a story to tell me about something that’s happened at the garden, and God will give me another chance to tell her how much He loves her. We shed a few tears, we hug, and I leave with a very full heart -- filled with the fullness of the love God has for this woman, and with the generosity she has to share her life with me. 

-Tonya Herman
Metro CDC

I love downtown LA. I don't get there very often anymore.

 But during our first few years here our Director and I developed an extensive walking tour to take mission groups through.

Tomorrow I get to do it again!

Check it out.