July 30, 2009, 1 PM

Before leaving Beverly Hills, we took back the students’ bathing suits and nice clothes.  We also asked them to choose one of the three items they kept from their luggage on the first day to give back to us (so basically everyone is on day 2 or more of wearing something).  After we packed up, we drove to the mid-city area of Los Angeles (sort of near USC) to the World Impact Headquarters.  Here we met with Selvin, one of the staff and he split us into two groups and sent us on a City Life experience.  Basically each group had four hours to visit Watts and McArthur Park and eat lunch before meeting back in mid-city.  The catch was that we couldn’t drive, so we had to figure out the bus and metro systems to get us around the city.

It was a really great experience to ride both the bus and the metro.  We really got a sense of how much longer it takes to use these methods of transportation as opposed to driving (even with traffic), as there is a lot of waiting involved.  However, it was very empowering to get around without relying on a car in Los Angeles.  And we discovered that the Metro (an underground train system like the subways in NYC) is really great – fast and clean.  Too bad we don’t have a Metro under the 405!  We realized how important transportation is in the infrastructure of the city.

While in McArthur Park and Watts, we had a chance to walk around and observe these neighborhoods.  One of the groups ate lunch at a local Mexican shop in McArthur Park, while the other group ate at a restaurant in Watts where they had the chance to chat with the owner about the history of the area.  Unfortunately, both groups had very limited time in Watts, as we ended up staying the night at the mid-city location of World Impact.  Perhaps we will be able to visit again as a team and spend more time there.

That night we spent time with Selvin and screened portions of a movie about gang life and inner city culture.  We learned that there are approximately 27 active gangs in LA and that the area where we were staying is considered a territory by the MS13 gang.  We also learned that many families that are involved in gangs recruit younger siblings as young as 8 years old.  The information about gang life was difficult to hear because the situation seems so overwhelming and hopeless.

We stayed overnight in apartments where World Impact houses missionaries and church groups.  The apartments were pretty run down and the rooms for church groups have not been renovated, so the housing situation was extremely different than that of the night before.  In fact, Beverly Hills felt a lot further than just a few miles away.

We also decided to push the students a little bit further in the experience when we asked for their toiletries.  We had a few items from the 99 cent store for them to use, and then each person could choose one item from their toiletries to contribute to the communal toiletry bag for the rest of the trip (one for guys and one for girls).  The guys chose their items pretty quick while the girls spent well over 20 minutes debating whether or not black eyeliner should be an item we kept.  In the end the black eyeliner didn’t make the cut, but luckily deodorant and toothpaste did!

This morning we got up and had breakfast at a convenience store.  Since many kids in the area do not eat breakfast at home, they end up grabbing something on the way to school, which is what we were mimicking here.  Our total bill for breakfast at the convenience store was $25 (about the same or less than it cost one of us to eat breakfast in bed the day before).

After breakfast we worked for a few hours in the thrift store that World Impact runs, sorting clothes, putting together furniture and cleaning.  Some of the students bought items for a dollar each out of their $10 allowance to support the store.  Then we grabbed a quick lunch and were off to our final stop of the trip.

Thoughts from students on this part of the trip:

“Visiting World Impact really did have an impact on me.  Selvin showed us all a movie about the tragedies and severeness of gang life.”  -Tori

“The World Impact building is placed directly in MS13 territory.  MS13 has over 100,000 members and holds land in 6 countries and 33 states in the US.  To become a part of a gang you are ‘jumped in’ which for men includes a vicious beating and for women far worse treatments are given.  Gangs guard their territory with an iron grip.  Any rival in the wrong turf is shot and most likely will not live.”  -Austin

“We did not really experience Watts because we were only there for a short time.  Riding the subway to get there was an intense experience.  All these people with different stories and lives brought together because they need to get somewhere.  It was a great time to just pray for people around us.”  -Cloe

“Watts was amazing, not like I had pictured it.  We learned about the gang MS13 – super intense.”  -Kate

“Taking a whirlwind tour of Watts and Westlake through World Impact was exhilarating.  Jordan’s Cafe, our lunch stop in the former location, was undoubtedly a highlight: the friendliest people and time-tested cuisine!”  -Justin

“Even though I have lived in LA my whole life, I have never been to areas like Watts and McArthur Park.  Even though these places had bad reputations, it does not mean that the majority of the people are not respectable.  Like Oscar said from Jordan’s Cafe in Watts – it does not matter where you live, people want the same things – they are trying to live the best quality of life and raise their children to be self sufficient and respectable human beings. “  -Casey

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