Tour of Long Beach

Well the 15 Intervarsity interns from USC are officially here. Two teams of 7 and 8 are staying at Covenant Presbyterian Church and New Life Church and will be serving at various sites in the city. Brad and I took them on a tour of Long Beach today to give them a broad perspective of the city.


We first started at the top of Signal Hill. Have you ever been up at the top of Signal Hill Park? It's an awesome view. Except for the east side of Long Beach, you can see practically all of Long Beach (and on a clear day - all the way out to LA). We spent some time hearing from them about why they are on this urban mission project. Many of them felt led by the Lord here. Many of them felt like they wanted to develop God's heart for the inner city. Many of them have recognized that they need a new type of lens in which to see the world. One guy was actually from Long Beach and when he decided to go on an urban mission with Intervarsity, he was expecting to be sent to Los Angeles or Santa Ana. He was surprised to be sent here to Long Beach - his own hometown. After asking the Lord, he realized that he doesn't need to go elsewhere to find the "real" problems - his own city has issues of its own in which the Lord can use him. I thought that was awesome!

We took them along the East side around to Naples, through Belmont Shore, through Broadway, the Pike, the rescue mission, and city hall in the downtown area, then over to the West side at Camarillo High School, then up to North Long Beach. At each stop, we shared with them various stats and info about some of the needs, issues, and concerns of the city. We had lunch at a great place called M & M Soul Food on Cherry Ave & Market Street. Great food! The teams are on a tight budget so they ordered just a few plates, shared and ate family style. Of course the Lord provided and multiplied with more than enough because they ended up with leftovers! It was kewl to see them try to plan out how to spend their money. I heard them considering money for gas, food for next week, laundry, etc. During the tour we had given them statistics regarding the amount of people that are considered below the poverty line. These families often have to make decisions about whether to buy food vs. other items. Here these interns were having to do the same thing. It'll be exciting to see these students grow in their understanding of life in the city.

As with any project or mission, it's only a snap shot of what's really going on. It's important for all of us to really consider the things we see, then to be able to apply what God shows us into our every day lifestyles. Living out the Great Commission - living out our faith all the time whether in the inner city or in suburbia - that's the objective!