On the road again!

We are getting ready to embark on the largest youth trip yet at Saint John's. The youth chose unanimously to return to Inglewood for our fall service learning trip.

Generally when I tell people that I am taking 12 high school students and 4 adults with me to Inglewood, Watts, and South Central LA, they usually respond by saying, "WHY???" or sometimes, "Whoa..." Well, as we discussed last night in our getting ready meeting, there are plenty of reasons why I am taking them there. First, of course, is that we had an amazing experience last year. The youth really shined. They approached our trip with open minds and hearts, which paid off in the end. Yes, the inner city feels like a totally different world then our quaint Central Coast. And in many ways it is a different world. And yet, there is a part of us that is connected to the people there through our Christian faith. The trick is that we have to filter through a lot of stuff to get to that connectedness.

I have often asked myself, if Jesus were alive and walking the earth today, where would be choose to spend his time? Who would be his companions? Where would I have to go to meet him? The gospels demonstrate time and time again that Jesus chose to spend his time with people that the rest of society would rather ignore- tax collectors, prostitutes, Samaritans, people with leprosy, fishermen, women with less than stellar reputations.

Is there a chance that Jesus might choose to spend his time with the poor and struggling of Watts? Is there a chance that he might choose to talk with the kids who take to hard life in the streets? Is there a chance that Jesus might want us to notice these people too? Is there a chance that we might meet Jesus when we go to meet our brothers and sisters in Inglewood?

Well, I feel it is worth it to take the trip to find out. And I pray for God's blessing as we journey.