Los Angeles and the Least of These

They have a name for it: "Compassion fatigue." It is a recent phenomenon. We hear so much about the needs of others, here and around the world, that we become desensitized to appeals for help. Whether it is the displaced child in a refugee camp in Darfur, the children without parents in AIDS ravaged Africa, or the plight of the homeless and urban poor in America, we are bombarded with images and requests to help. Over time, we become weary of it all, and we stop feeling responsible. "It's someone else's job" or "I'm only one person...what can I do?" or "I just can't handle any more. I have enough stress in my own life."

It is understandable. We live in a hurting world. Fifty years ago, we did not have the Internet, there were not news agencies across the globe covering every tragedy. Now, we are bombarded with images and stories and needs. We want to make a difference, but at the same time we are overloaded.

As I have shared about our Los Angeles mission trip over the past few months, no doubt for some, compassion fatigue was the default response. I've been there and understand.

I am reading a fascinating book that I strongly encourage you to read: "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Rich Stearns, CEO of World Vision. Stearns makes a powerful case for the Gospel (as presented by Jesus, the apostles) being Good News for the poor-and that as Christ-followers, our relationship with Christ leads us to care for the least of these. I strongly encourage you to read it. Going back to God and Israel, Stearns points out quite powerfully and convincingly that God is supremely concerned with the least of these and demands that His people who are called by His Name take responsibility for the poor in their midst. Stearns shows in Scripture how proclamation of the Good News is accompanied by demonstration of the love and kindness of God.

In Los Angeles, we will be working with and serving some of the most destitute, the most 'least of these' in the U.S. . Skid Row is a real place. Thousands upon thousands of people have given up on life, given into despair, feel abandoned by God and by humanity. As one person said of Skid Row in an interview: "Skid Row is where people go to die." We saw that last year-this tangible sense of hopelessness and despair. With over 90,000 homeless in Los Angeles, Skid Row is a city within a city where darkness and despair are tangible. It is the "end of the line" for those who end up there.

Women are at particular risk. A woman (and many women are on the street with their children) has a greater than 80% chance of being sexually or physically assaulted if she is on the streets for longer than 2 weeks. We are ministering with agencies that are doing everything they can to get these women and children off the streets.

Stereotypes of the homeless are shattered in Los Angeles. I must confess my stereotypes often included the ideas such as: 'This is a life they chose,' or 'These are people just working the system,' or 'drug addicts' or 'people with mental illnesses.' While there are certainly people who fit into these categories, they are still loved by God and He desires for them to be set free. There are the 'others' though-thousands and thousands of 'others,' individuals or families who were barely making it paycheck to paycheck. People who were downsized (laid off), or had medical emergencies, and suddenly found themselves unable to pay mortgage or rent. It is a progression: Living in a car while trying to find work. If no work materializes, then being on the streets.

The "drop off point" from having a roof over your head to being out on the streets is a fine line in Los Angeles. The greatest economic disparity between the 'haves' and 'have nots' exists in L.A. Thousands are on the streets asking themselves, 'How did this happen to me?' Jesus cares for these people as well.

And many are on the streets having long given up any idea or hope that things would change. We met a young man last year and after talking with him, it was quite apparent that in his mind, there was simply no more hope." Jesus cares for him.

So we are going to Los Angeles because we sensed Him calling us to go. We won't be spending our time with the 'haves'-or hanging out on Rodeo Drive. We will spend our time on Skid Row and among the urban poor.

And Jesus cares for these people. He cares for this city that so many look at as the "land of fruits and nuts." He cares for them all.

I am blessed by our students. They have prayed and sensed His call to serve in a very challenging context. I would ask for you to pray for them. I would also ask, if you sense His leading, to support them, partner with them in the Gospel. Yes, "compassion fatigue" can desensitize us to many things. I would humbly ask that you consider the twenty students going, and the work they will be doing, and the thousands of people we will be interacting with, and join us in making a difference in the lives of people who experience a sense of abandonment, pain and hopelessness most of us cannot imagine.

Jesus cares for the "least of these." I'm proud of the students going who heard His call and are going in faith. We leave in less than a month. There are still needs to help these students go. We have seen this as a faith venture from beginning to end. We trust Him to provide. If He impresses on you to be a part of that provision, you may send any and all gifts to:
San Antonio Baptist Association
Attn: Baptist Student Ministries/Kevin Prather
5807 I-H 10 West
San Antonio, TX 78201