Heavenly Father, thank you! Thank you for Cue, Mercy, and all the brothers and sisters that make The Row possible every friday. I thank you for giving them a sense of purpose to care for a community that not many peolpe dare to. I thank you for providing them with the courage to magnify Your Kingdom here on earth. I ask that You bless each one of them with more love, more wisdom, more courage and that You may protect them from the devil's hands. That they may keep on being fruitful branches in Your vine. In Jesus Christ's name.... Amen.

 I think it's about time someone else other than Cue and Mercy speak up about the amazing experiences that happen every Friday night at The Row.  The first time I went to The Row, I didn't like it. Why? Cause God was working in the inside of me. He was shedding off all the layers of superficial nonsense that I held in me. Man, to be standing there on this dirty, smelly corner while homeless people walk by you, drug addicts spark the pipe near you, drug dealers walk up and down the street...... I actually thought that I was better than them! I was wrong. It's crazy because even prior to being at The Row, I already thought that I had given my life over to God for Him to do as He pleases. I thought that I already had shed all the superficial nonsense in me. I actually thought that I would get to The Row and be a source of light! Being at The Row, God reminded me that I still had junk stashed away in my closet, and that anything I held up to justify my greatness over anybody else was just my pride, my defense mechanism to hide from the true fears in my heart. Myself not wanting to let go of the control of my life and give it to God so that He can use it for His purpose.  The fear that if I actually started to care and listen to this passion that God has been burning in my heart about doing something to break free from these chains of bondage, that this time, I would really really really really have to let go of the world........

Every night at The Row is an experience by itself, but there are two people that I met at The Row that was an assurance that God was really amongst us.

About three weeks ago, I met this lady named Eunice at The Row. She is a Korean woman in her 60s maybe. Check this out....... She is not a drug addict, she is not homeless, she is not a prostitute, and she is not a drug dealer, but she chooses to live in a hotel near the skid row. I'm not talking about the Hyatt here. It's one of those dingy hotels that you pay $50/month to live there. Why? Cause God gave her a passion to care for those that roam this world without knowing about God's grace and love. She spends a lot of her time in prayer and sharing the word in the skid row area. Man, that is being true to God! God has spoken volumes in my life through our sister Eunice. I mean, how many times did I put God in the back seat because if I compromised my ability to earn money, then I wouldn't be able to drive my car, live at my house, save for retirement, save for kid's college funds........and therefore God, it would be politically wrong to represent you at work, with clients, with neighbours...... And yet I meet this lady that put God in the driver seat, who has nothing according to this world but has everything according to God! She really inspired me to make some serious changes in my life.....

About two weeks ago, I met this brother named Hao. I don't know why this brother caught my eye, but I had noticed him roaming around the circle formed for the service message. I noticed that he was wearing id cards for the LA Mission Church. Once the service was over, people were hurrying to set up the tables to provide food and mats to put out donated clothes.  Hao jumped in there to try to help, but he was mistaken as one of the homeless folks trying to get first dibs on the items and he was asked to step back. I saw a look of shame in his face at that very instance. As I was helping around as well, I lost sight of Hao. Moments later he came back and tried to mingle and help again. This time I noticed that he had hid his id tags under his sweater. Man, I coudn't watch this anymore so I walked up to him and introduced myself. So it happens that Hao has been locked up for the past 9 years. On the day he was released, he had nowhere to go because his family had disowned him. During the years that he spent serving time, he made an important decision that he didn't want to go back to his old lifestyle and that he wanted to dedicate his life to God. So when he was released, they dropped him off at doors of the LA Mission Church. LA Mission Church is the church located just accross the street from where The Row meets. They help rehabilitate drug and alcohol addicts who are willfully willing to sober up and find recovery through God. The first step, according to Hao, was a mandatory one month lock down with no outside contact and only studying the bible. The day that I met him was the first day he was allowed to come outside. Man, this brother was on fire! As he talked about giving his life to God and his gratitude to Jesus Christ for giving him another opportunity was an encouraging site.  He was so happy that he had found a community in Christ at The Row. As he was explaining, he was really thankful for the people at the LA Mission Church, but it didn't quite feel like a community but more like a patient/counselor relationship, a program, something that he has to abide by. But at The Row, he could actually be free and truly fellowship with other brothers and sisters that were on point with God. Last week, Hao was at The Row again and we had a great time just talking, helping, and just sharing the word.

As I think about The Row, Eunice, and Hao, this verse keeps popping in my head: (Actually, this verse has been repeating in my mind for over about 2 years now)

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13 : 13

Thanks for letting me share.

Dan