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“If you look up the word “love” in the dictionary, there’s a v. next to it meaning it’s a verb. That means you can tell me you love me all you want but if you don’t show me, it don’t mean a thing.”
-Robert
(A man from Isaiah 58, a ministry site in  Nashville where groups help serve lunch)

It seems like just yesterday I arrived in Toronto as a bright-eyed, innocent North Carolinian ready to serve the inner-city as a CSM city host. Time is flying by, and now I have less than a month before I get back on that jet plane to fly home. I've only hosted four groups so far with CSM Toronto, but I've learned more about God and the way God moves within me and within those around me than I have in the past 4 years of university. This summer is quickly becoming much more than I expected it to be. Sure, I'm meeting some amazing people from various places and churches who come to serve God's people here in the heart of Toronto.

I spent the past week in San Francisco with a group from my church serving with an organization called CSM (Center for Student Missions). It was quite enjoyable. The end. Haha, but seriously, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life and I am so thankful that I had such a wonderful opportunity to serve others. The trip truly opened my eyes (both physically and spiritually) to a whole new world and I can't lie, I love it! San Francisco is a very unique city, and we were very fortunate to experience it in a way most people don't get a chance to. We were also very lucky with CSM; the staff and particularly our leader McKenzie were so filled with faith and shared our goals on this trip. Below is a day by day description of our ministry in the city...

Child labor, poverty, maltreated families... we hear these terms every day on TV, on Youtube, from teachers, ANYWHERE. But what DO we do about it? What CAN we do about it? HOW do these things affect us?

This is a good article on the identity of South LA.  Because of the lack of identity a the community of "South LA" being such a big area, it is hard for this area to get resources.  I think that we have experienced this as well being down here.  Many ministries and organizations in South LA have a harder time accepting volunteers because help is so scarce in this area.  We're praying for more resources in this area as well.

-Jon Vales, CSM Los Angeles Associate City Director

I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you looked after me,
I was in prison and you came to visit me.
-Jesus

 This morning the front page headline of my local paper, the Daily Breeze, screamed about the high school drop out rates at our local schools. Late this morning I was in an auditorium at Cal. State University Dominguez Hills as a University Representative explained to a room with over 100 9th graders how to get into college. It was great. I learned some really good stuff on how to motivate my kid(a 10th grader), how he can track his own progress against the California University entrance requirements/standards on their website, and how he can look for financial aid.

As you know, part of the experience of hosting is to lead your debrief after each day of service.

With one particular group, I was having a hard time coming up with a debrief that would fit their needs in order to grow spiritually and be challenging enough.
 
As I was praying about what it was they needed to understand, I glanced up at the night sky. Where I am from you can see millions of star. Well, sometimes in the inner city you have to search really hard to find a star the shines bright enough to be able to see it over the fluorescent city lights that light up the night sky.
 

Fairfax Presbyterian Church has faithfully served with CSM for years. It has been a joy to serve side by side with them. We praise God for their vision and passion for urban ministry.

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Not long ago, the families of Fairfax Presbyterian Church spent thousands of dollars to fly their teens to Mexico for eight days of doing good. They helped build homes and refurbish churches as part of an army of more than 1 million mostly Christians who annually go on short-term international mission trips to work and evangelize in poverty-stricken lands.

The Center for Student Missions, headquartered in Dana Point, CA, has appointed Dan Reeve as its third president and CEO. A year ago, current president, Noel Becchetti and his wife, Kyle, vice president of operations at CSM, announced that they were sensing God's prompting to leave CSM in September, 2008 to pursue God's next call to a new ministry. In order to ensure a smooth and effective transition, the board immediately began a search process that recently concluded with the hiring of Reeve. He will begin his new assignment on September 1, 2008.
In his new role, Reeve will lead CSM into its third decade of vibrant, urban ministry where the mission remains central:

I've been thinking all day about whether or not our society has become completely blinded by injustice. It is something I feel that we may have become accustomed to. Being at CSM this summer has really opened my mind to that possibility. It almost seems at times that we only see what we want to even after we've been exposed to it, served in it, lived in it, and been educated about it. So I guess my question is how do we not become immune to such a massive systemic issue? How do we expose teens to something that doesn't make them feel guilty and get stuck in the guilt?

      As I was sitting on a hill overlooking the city of Toronto during our final debrief, I was warmed by how evident God's presence was in the week. I suppose that the fact we all survived the first week as Summer Hosts without any major tragedy was testimony enough to the power of a loving God. Our training had been intense and the days before the groups arrived, we were filled with excitement and nervousness at what was to come.

It's funny how things can be so simple, but if you don't look closely enough...you miss them. One such example comes with the FedEx logo. This was pointed out to me not too long ago, and I've never been able to look at the logo the same way since! Be forewarned, this may alter the viewing of this logo for you too. Next time you see one, check the white space between the E and the x. You'll notice an arrow that is pointing to the right! If you're like me and never knew that existed, you've just had your perspective changed. Such was the case for me during our debriefing session last Wednesday.

So we hear a lot about Hollywood on TV. As a kid I always thought that was the happening, cool place. I went there today to some of our ministry sites that we have there, and I quickly learned the reality of my TV Hollywood. Yeah there are the hundreds of stars for the famous, and the shops, and Capital Records. BUT there are also a lot of poor people in Hollywood. Hollywood is not just the sign we see on the hill, it is a community of living, breathing people.