I love the Adopt-A-Block Ministry. We have our own version at the Lowcountry Dream Center that we have modeled after the original. It is the first real outreach that I ever participated in once my family decided we needed to step up and do more for our community. It’s an amazing way to really get out and meet people, build relationships, and fill needs that otherwise we wouldn’t know about.
The neighborhood we went to serve in while we were in Los Angeles was Nickerson Gardens. After a little research, I found that it is the largest public housing project west of the Mississippi River. It contains 1066 residences. At first glance it is like every neighborhood represented in movies like Friday, Boyz in the Hood, and Menace II Society……..even down to the tennis shoes hanging from the power lines. This is what is truly known as the projects.
I really didn’t have any preconceived notions about going to Adopt-A-Block. Like I said, we have this outreach at home….but when we arrived, one of my biggest fears started to bubble to the surface. The reason I knew God was calling me to go on this trip was my fear of the inner city, or my fear of places like this. And as the van pulled up to park, I wasn’t sure if I was even going to be able to get out. I took a breath, prayed, got out of the van and followed my team across a dusty, grass-less field. We were surround by townhouses like in the picture above….as far as you could see. Off in the distance was a basketball court and a hockey rink being used to play soccer.
The Dreamcenter was already there and setting up. There were kids everywhere playing, with music blaring. This is their Kidzjam ministry that partners with Adopt-A-Block. They also had one of their Food Trucks there so we began to set up our distribution point. The lines for food were already starting to form.
Our job was to carry groceries throughout the neighborhood to those that couldn’t get to the truck…the elderly, those in wheelchairs…those who were immobile. We gathered our groceries, split up into groups and began to head across the field to the first house. All of the sudden………..BANG. I jumped, but then quickly remembered that this was 4th of July week and we had been warned that the noises weren’t gunshots, but those of fireworks. I calmed down and continued on.
We walked past a porch. There were 3 men outside. They started making comments….almost inappropriate ones. Then, all of a sudden they stopped as if they realized who we were. They said, “We are just kidding. We love you DC.” As we walked down the street more people shouted, “What’s up DC?” DC is short for Dreamcenter….that’s what we would be called all day.
The second house we stopped at had a man in a wheelchair on the front porch. This is when I realized what the Adopt-A-Block was truly about. He was excited to see us. He is visited the same time every week. The biggest lesson I learned over the week is that consistency is key when trying to establish relationships throughout the community. As we talked to him I quickly realized that the LA Dreamcenter has perfected this with the Adopt-A-Block ministry…just like with their others. After putting his groceries away one of our team members prayed with him, we wished him well, told him we would see him next week and headed off to our next house.
This is when we met Grammy. Grammy is a legend in Nickerson. Everyone loves here. She is everyone’s Grammy. She invited us all into her small residence. She was extremely proud of her place….she had just vacuumed, knowing we were coming over. She told us stories about her daughters, one in Belize, the other in Italy. She showed us pictures of her granddaughters. She is an amazing women. We all prayed for her as well and continued on our journey.
We finished passing out our groceries and began the last phase of our outreach. We began cleaning up as much trash as we could on our way back to our van. I didn’t know you could pick up so much trash in such a short distance, but we did the best we could, and cleaned up all that we could.
At some point along our journey God took all of my fear away. We always group up at the end of a ministry and share the good, the bad, things we learned, things we didn’t expect. It was at this moment that I spoke up. My fear stemmed from stereotypes….prejudices…..television and movies. My fear was based on false beliefs. Once again, we were in a place of need. These were just people. These were God’s creations, just like those we had made contact with in other areas of the city. These were just people who were doing the best that they could in the circumstances that life had thrown at them.
Adopt-A-Block is about getting to know people….realizing what their specific needs are and helping them out. It’s about taking back the community from despair and bringing a little bit of Jesus into it each time we go out.
The cool thing is that LA, once again, isn’t the only Dreamcenter doing this. While we were in LA, thousands of miles away my family was participating in our Adopt-A-Block back home. My boys love it. My wife loves it. And on this occasion, my wife heard the story of a Jamaican “Grammy” that almost mirrors that of the “Grammy” we met in LA.
Adopt-A-Block not only provides groceries, fun, Jesus, and whatever else these residents might need, but it also offers hope. A hope that one day prejudices and stereotypes won’t exist anymore. A hope that fear of walking into a new neighborhood won’t exist. I thank God that he opened my eyes…..and my heart to these awesome people in Los Angeles’s Nickerson Gardens.
Tetelestai 