.drunk and violent AGAIN.

“Defend the poor and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and needy.”

-Psalm 82:3

It's not uncommon for us to see a couple of police cars stopped in our neighborhood with their lights flashing, while the officers are questioning someone or stopping/responding to a crime. And, every time it does happen, we pray for those involved and hope it is nobody we serve.

One night while taking a letter to the mailbox, I stopped to observe one of these situations. As I was standing there a family (mom, grandma, and two young boys) come up from the scene, pass me and turn around the corner. They recognize me and we get to talking about what was happening.

The police were at their house. The boys' uncle had gotten “drunk and violent again”. He pushed their grandpa into a TV and was threatening the others. The family left the scene because they were scared. They didn't have anywhere else to go, so they came toward our community. We invited them in to relax, seek refuge and peace and wait for the situation to settle and the officers to finish their work. The two young boys, whom we knew from our weekly Kids' Club, came in, while the adults took care of the unfortunate business of that night .

They boys watched TV, ate chips and told us about school.

A few things impressed me, and I think they are worth sharing with you.

The first is that the family knew we were a safe place of refuge. When they had no sanctuary elsewhere, they came toward our community.

Secondly, the kids recognized me, even though I am not a part of the Kids' Club team, just my presence in the neighborhood was enough.

Lastly, I found it moving that, in the middle of family chaos, the boys were thrilled to be with us. One told me casually, after I asked him what happened, “Oh, my tio was drinking and got mad again.” It was as if it happened everyday. The other boy simply ignored the situation and told me news about an award he was getting in school the next day, and how instead of having to wear the school uniform he was allowed to wear whatever he wanted! It is striking how these boys were over hearing bad news, and wanted to focus on the good. This family, and many like it, are the reason we are here doing what we are doing. They are desperately overburdened with bad news and horrible circumstances and they are so ready to hear some good news.

We are so glad to be living testimonies of the Good News of Jesus and are thrilled to be able to share it with those that are longing to hear a message that says: someone loves them and there is a place of refuge and peace for them.

.baptism.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

• Matthew 28:19-20

Living in Sherman Heights(our neighborhood) the past couple years we have been able to build some interesting relationships with some of our neighbors. When we first moved back into the neighborhood, and before we lived at City of Refuge, we lived in a little apartment around the corner from our current house. There was a man who lived across the street and often worked on his car. We would occasionally and casually talk about cars, weather, sports and such. Little did I know that two years later I would be baptizing him in front of a cloud of witnesses.

For the past two years I have been delivering groceries to the senior apartment complex this man lives in. As we would bring groceries week after week our relationship slowly grew, he began to open up about his faith, his struggles and his passions. He often would share with me his desire to be baptized but his struggle with really understanding baptism. After dialoging much about what baptism is, why we do it, and what it really means in a Christian's life, he decided he was ready.

This past Saturday, he came to our worship service and was baptized in front of a large crowd of believers and others gathered. It was a wonderful time, full of joy and the Holy Spirit! After he was baptized, we opened it up to anyone else who had confessed and believed to be immersed. We baptized 4 others that day! None of them came prepared, they all got in our aluminum tank, filled with cold hose-water, with their clothes on and were baptized!

I love to be a part of baptisms. But, I also recognize that in our ministry it can not just end there. I am excited to continue in discipleship with this man and others like him. I am thrilled to see the Lord working in our neighborhood through City of Refuge. I am thankful to be involved in ways like this and many more.

.Jeff.

It was Valentine's Day and he had no date. 

He had no family.

He had no real friends.

He had no home.

He had no bed at the winter shelter, no sleeping bag, no long pants and no warm clothes.

He had no job and no hope.

He did have an alcohol addiction that kept destroying his life.

He had shame, despair, loneliness, and fears.

He had a rope and a knife in his backpack.

He had plans to end his life that night.

I met Jeff in the midst of his despair. He had just been turned away from the winter shelter because there was no more beds available. He sat on a brick wall alone, making plans in his head. We approached him and offered some snacks and coffee and ended up in a life-changing dialogue. 

Jeff shared his story with us. He honestly confessed his struggles with alcohol and how he felt like a failure again and again. He was a broken and hurting man.

We started to pray for Jeff in the seemingly little ways we knew how. But, when Jeff started to pray, he prayed like a broken man. A man, like Jesus spoke about, pounding his chest saying, 'Lord have mercy on me, a sinner!' Broken men pray prayers that shake heaven.

Jeff confessed his plans to commit suicide that very night. He pulled out his knife and rope and surrendered them to us. He praised God for divinely bringing us to him. He refocused his life that night. He decided not to destroy it, and to seek help.

Jeff has hope.

Jeff has friends.

Jeff had a divine appointment on Valentine's Day.

Jeff has a fresh start, he has forgiveness, he has a savior that loves him.

Jeff has life.

.Angel.

Angel was in prison for 6 months before being released. He didn't have anywhere to go, no family would accept him back, and his 'friends' seemed to disappear when he was in need. He ended up being directed to San Diego's winter shelter, located in a dark, industrial, corner of Barrio Logan. Every night Angel would sign up on a waiting list to try to get a bed in the shelter. If someone missed curfew, got too drunk to be there, or was kicked out for some reason, the bed would go to someone on 'the list'. We met Angel his fourth night waiting for an open spot in the shelter. We met Angel right after the shelter staff announced they had no open beds that night. You can imagine the devastation bad news could bring to an already weary person.

He was a young african-american man, probably in his mid-twenties. You could tell he wasn't too familiar with life on the streets. Yet, you could also tell he had his fair share of hard times, but also seemed to have a good enough upbringing to know right from wrong. He spoke well, had a charismatic demeanor, and seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. This particular night, Angel was sad, his countenance was to the floor. 

Someone introduced me to him because he needed a backpack. I didn't have one with me but knew I could get him one the next day. A friend and I had a pretty good conversation with Angel. During one point in the conversation, tears started to fall of his face. He cried quietly as we prayed for him and spoke God's love to him. He wiped his tears off and gathered himself up. I knew he had a long, cold, night in front of him, so we didn't keep him long. We gave him directions to City of Refuge, and told him we would have a bag waiting for him the next day.

I never saw Angel again, which isn't uncommon. But, a soft heart and a receptive spirit to the things of God seems to be very uncommon. 

Psalms 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

.love the children.

This past week our world was devastated by yet another, murderous, tragedy. This time involving precious children (in two different countries). Everyday, many children are raped, tortured, enslaved, abused, neglected abandoned and aborted.  It leaves me speechless and heartbroken... Often, all I can think is, "What a twisted world we live in..."

In light of the horrible things that happened to children this week, this weekend I had an opportunity to do the opposite and be a light and blessing to them. 

Every year, before Christmas, the organization I work with gives away Christmas presents to low-income and needy children. They show up at our warehouse, hear the gospel, via a short Christmas-ey skit, their parents get groceries, and we give them a wrapped gift with their name on it. Every child gets a gift valued between $10-$15. This year we were able to bless 900 children with Christmas presents and we had the privilege to give away 500 loads of food to needy families in our neighborhood. It was a great time, filled with Christmas cheer! We had Christmas music blasting, faces being painted, arts and crafts, prayer booths, lots of food, hot chocolate and candy canes. 

I have been a part of many of these types of Christmas events. When I was a child I remember going to them to receive gifts myself. When I grew up and began to follow Christ, I organized and oversaw them myself. This weekend being part of a team volunteering at this giveaway, I was able to process it a little different. Maybe, partly due to myself becoming a parent, maybe because of the horrible news the day before, but whatever the case, blessing these children seemed very important to me this year.

Some short thoughts on the subject:

1. Jesus LOVES children!

But Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

-Matthew 19:14

2. We gave gifts and food to Jesus.

"The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'

-Matthew 25:40

3. It is vital the church reach the next generation (and do it well)!

You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

- Deuteronomy 6:7

4. The love of Abba. 

I love my son so much, I can only wish good for him, my heart breaks just thinking of him being hurt. That is just a glimpse of the love of our Father in Heaven has towards His Son and us as adopted children.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

-John 3:16

*These thoughts are exhaustive or all inclusive. 

Christmas is coming!

Several years ago, City of Refuge gave a little girl in our neighborhood a very special gift: her first Christmas. Due to family circumstances, she had never had a Christmas experience or celebration. That particular year City of Refuge came to her home with gifts, food, and decorations and that little girl got to celebrate Christmas for the very first time!

Now, years later, that girl is grown up and she lives and serves at City of Refuge with her husband and two children. She still fondly recalls that Christmas and how much it affected her.

Each year City of Refuge holds an annual “Christmas Blessing” for the children in our neighborhood, many of who would otherwise not receive a gift for Christmas. We decorate our warehouse to be a “Winter Wonderland” and the kids come and line up to receive a gift. While they wait, there are cookies and cocoa, balloon animals, face painting, crafts, and other fun things. We let children into the warehouse in groups at a time and they come in and listen to story or watch a skit about the birth of Jesus. After the story each child receives a wrapped gift with their name written on it. This is one of our favorite events of the year at City of Refuge and we know how much of an impact it can have on a child’s life!

In past years, close to 1,000 children have come to receive a gift at our Christmas Blessing. In order to make this event happen we are asking for new unwrapped toys for children ages’ infant to 17. Gifts can be between $7-$10. We are asking gifts to be dropped off before Wednesday, December 12^th, but we will happily accept gifts given after the 12^th! We will also need volunteers the day of the event to come and help, so that is another fun way to help out!

The Christmas Blessing will be held at the City of Refuge Warehouse on December 15th. If you would like to give presents, help out with wrapping, or come to participate at the give-away, please contact City of Refuge for more information. Monetary donations are also accepted. Please feel free to spread the word about the giveaway to friends or family. We know that many people are looking for a way to serve or give during the holidays and we would love for them to partner with us!   

  Thank you for your continual support!

                                             -Gabe and Joanna Shippam

waiting for food. waiting for prayer.

Every Wednesday morning we load up a truck full of produce, bread, meat, and dairy items and drive it down the road to a low-income apartment complex. We distribute the food to about 150 people, most of which are single parents, struggling to make ends meet. A few months ago this apartment complex was hit with tragedy. Some young teenagers were hanging out outside, when out of nowhere, two masked gunmen jumped out of an approaching car and opened fire. One kid was hit as he ran for safety, and died moments later while trying to get to his apartment. He was 14 years old. We serve his family every Wednesday in the previously mentioned food distribution. Sadly, this tragedy was one of many fatal shootings in our area the past few months.

Last Wednesday at the same apartment complex, we received word that another family suffered a great loss. This time it was not violence, but heart failure. The mother of two daughters had a heart attack and passed away, leaving the daughters alone, without parents. Their aunt also lived in the complex and the young daughters were able to stay with their aunt. We served their mother every Wednesday morning until she passed.

We are thankful to be able to bear witness in the midst of tragedies like these. We are thankful that God has allowed us to be involved in people’s lives, the good and the bad. We want so badly for these families to experience the love of Christ. That is why we serve food on Wednesday mornings. That is why we serve even when it is hard and we don’t know what to say or how to respond. One way we knew we should serve these families was to love their kids.

During the month of July, City of Refuge hosted a “Kid’s Camp” for neighborhood kids. It was basically a free day camp, Monday- Friday. The kids came, played games, ate snacks and meals, learned about Jesus, created art masterpieces, went to the beach, and some began a relationship with Jesus! There were around 40 kids here every day. Many of which were from the apartment complex where we give food away. We are thankful that we have a relationship with our neighbors and they know our community is a safe place for them. We are thankful that God is near to the broken hearted, that He hears our prayers, that He is present in our suffering and He always knows how to respond to our pain.

Please join us in praying for the families around us. We are thankful that we have friends and family around us to support what we are doing in San Diego. Please continue to pray for open doors to serve these families. Pray that we would have more opportunities like “Kid’s Camp” to really make a difference. Thank you for your prayers and gifts!

PS- As I write this I realize today is Wednesday, and this morning we went to the apartment complex. Some of us gave away food, some spent time talking with the families, some played with kids, some of those we served helped us by sorting food and organizing the line, others spent time praying for people. By the time we packed up to leave, there was a line of people waiting for prayer! Some praying for healing, others for family members, some just wanted to feel a touch from God. What a privilege to be a part of what God is doing.