Second Chances

Howdy and Aloha, our names are Asher Williamson from the University of Dayton and Yaron Fernando from Chaminade University of Honolulu. Today  we will be discussing our fifth day of our Los Angeles Immersion experience.

We started off our journey today with a late wake up call in order to better prepare our minds, bodies and souls for the day that had been planned. Our first stop of the day was at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The Skirball Cultural Center is an educational center that is focused on our Judacic history. One of the most prominent exhibits inside this museum is Noah’s Ark. No, it is not actually Noah’s Ark but an interactive exhibit that is fun and educational for all ages. Upon entry of this exhibit, we are greeted by a storyteller who explained the story of the flood in a very creative and enthusiastic manner. We then proceeded to a room that had an elephant that was completely built by repurposed materials such as car parts, sheet metal, traditional musical drums, bicycle tires as well many more items. This had a major impact on us because it made us realize that we all deserve a second chance at life just like the animals got a second chance at life on Noah’s Ark. Having the opportunity to attend this museum has really changed our lives because it has opened our eyes to what another chance at life can do and this takes us back to what our mission really is.

After attending the Skirball Cultural Center our group then went to the Union Rescue Mission. This was in the heart of skidrow. Half the group had just visited this location on day three, however this was a deeper dive to what it was like around the area. We got to drive around in the height of the evening. All the truths were spot lighted by the sun’s rays. There were people on the streets that were just passed out. They were lying in the curb and in the street. Not only that their were people in tents, but they were all across the streets. One block away would change dramatically. One minute it would be skid row, the next we would be in clean downtown shopping centers.

When we entered the facility we were loud and laughing the whole way to the kitchen. When we entered the kitchen, everyone got right to work. Our group scooped ice cream for the people in the shelter. Honestly didn’t feel like service, I was working with my two favorite things people and ice cream. A soon as we finished scooping all the ice cream into bowls and put onto racks, we moved to the line as we prepared the food for the people experiencing homelessness. I got to meet a man with an interesting story. The first question I asked him was how long he had been at the shelter. He had told me that he has only been there for five days. I followed up with the question of how he feels about the shelter. He immediately shared that he hadn’t enough time to think about that question. He said that people didn’t care at the shelter and that there were to many people in the shelter for that to be happening. People like himself needed to get out to build their life. He followed this by saying that he had just gotten out of prison in 2016 and had received his GED after he hadn’t been in school since 9th grade. He is now 26 years old. Just before he was in the shelter he was living in Compton, Working in Hollywood, and going to College in Downtown. He couldn’t afford school, living, and gas so that is how he ended up in the shelter. He wants to be a counselor for kids in school. He is the epitome of second chances.

Who are we to judge who gets second chances? God is the judge, it is our job to help our brother’s and sister’s to be moved by God. No matter how many chances we must follow the example that Father Boyle does with his industry. Keep faith in them and God will find a way to guide his children. Another thing our group tried to do was to serve the people experiencing homelessness restaurant style instead of the conventional grab and go. This offered many opportunities for us to engage in face to face interactions as well as gain the respects of those in the facility.  

We ended the night with reflection and one of the questions posed by Brother Allen was that he encountered a women at Union Rescue Mission that had asked him “... why are you serving us rather than serving your own community in Hawaii?” As we reflected on this question as a group, we came back to quote said by Father Greg Boyle, “We don’t go to the margins to make a difference, we go to the margins so that folks at the margins make us different.”

Mahalo,

Asher Williamson and Yaron Fernando