Victims

I've realized my heart for victims - people that are oppressed by a higher power working for their own personal gain. Today I saw the impact of a victims story. I'm not allowed to share any specifics due to the fact that details are confidential and considering all of this is online I am not permitted to share much of anything except for the fact that a client of JAMLAC has had their U-Visa approved which allows this family to create a whole new path for themselves. This new ability to achieve citizenship has completely re-shaped the future of this family and all I can say is thank God for the staff at JAMLAC who have invested so much of their love into this family to work through the oppressive immigration system that is set up in our nation.

I witnessed the start of an entirely new direction for an entire family whose past would make any man or woman cringe due to thoughts of how horrifying humans beings can be to one another. I don't really have much more to say - mostly because I can't, but I will say that today I witnessed change - complete irreversible, undeniable, God-driven change in a family and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

Good Will Hunting Not Realistic?

Every Wednesday I help out at Joshua Station's (transitional housing center) youth group for the high school residents. Last night we watched Good Will Hunting and after the movie was over, the leader, Ben, asked everybody what they thought. Karen, a more reserved, incredibly sweet 17 year old hispanic girl replied "I dunno.. it just didn't seem real." Ben, being a little confused turned to her and asked "Why do you say that?" And very quickly, and said as if we should've known, Karen snapped back, "Because he was white!!" ... it was hilarious. That is all.

The Value of a Man's Dignity

I was asked the other day what I've learned the most in past month and this is the compile of memories that immediately came to mind...

Jeff Johnson is the Executive Director of Mile High Ministries which is essentially the overall umbrella ministry for which we are all working. He teaches one of our classes every Monday which essentially can only be described as a streets smart class with a strong emphasis on the biblical perspective of urban poverty and city life. Two weeks ago something in particular stuck with me in his class and has had a profound impact on the way I see and interact with the poor. We discussed our train of thought when we encounter the homeless and specifically pan-handlers our usual tendencies when crossing the path of the poor.

Example: You're walking down the street and cross the path of a man. He embodies the word "filthy" - even makes my usual shower habits appear as healthy. Hair in dreads, body untastefully tattooed, clothes not exactly made for Nordstrums Spring Catalogue, and as your pase quickens to pass by him as quickly as possible his mouth speratically utters a few words that shake off a few of the many dirt crums stuck in his unkempt beard. What I usually tend to do is pretend to stare off into space and pretend to have no knowledge of his existence except for maybe that one moment when your gaze meets his and you are forced to awkwardly extend a semi-cordial nod his way while purposefully ignoring the reality that he has something to say to you. Whether or not you can understand him is irrelevent because either way he is unheard. Either way an assumption is made of who he is, what he wants, and especially what he needs. I assume that I know what is necessary for this man to "succeed;" for him to "make something of himself." And thus my pre conceived bias drives me to no longer treat him as a man with value, but someone who is lacking what I THINK might be missing in his life.

Here is the moral of the story: When you listen to this man, when you take the time to connect and try to get on his level for 10 minues, and when you give him the chance to TELL YOU what he needs and what he really wants, you give him back his dignity and respect as a human being who has the ability to decide for himself what he needs. It's those little things that allow one to build a genuine relationship with this man - one from which both him and yourself can grow as equal human beings together.

Whoa Whoa Whoa Slow This Down!

For many of you that title brings up very significantly specific and memorable events in your life along with the never ending joy that comes from hearing those words being spoken from the mouth of Mr. Busboom and sung from the pipes of that "American Jr." we all know and love - Grace Leer. Tonight those words are SCREAMING from my head back to the never ceasing class 6 river rapids that have been my past two weeks of living here in Denver. My life these days seems to only consist of either monumental experiences/relationships redefining or building the way I view myself, the poor, and just about everyone with whom I come in contact; or it's a crazy adventure that explodes my love for the blessed state of Colorado! Over the next couple days I will be posting more blog entries on various topics I have been facing and crazy awesome events that have taken place. I will essentially be "slowing down" a little bit and allow you to take a closer look into my experiences and in doing so allow myself to restore a little bit of sanity and process what has been stirring in my head over these past few weeks. Right now I will leave you with this - I am exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Gotta wake up early for staff meeting so good-night all!

Law Firm.... ?

So this will be a long one, but it's a good look into what my Denver experience will look like...

Graffiti wall outside of JAMLAC --->

As a part the Gap Year program we are all required to take part in various internships through out the city of Denver. Mile-High Ministries (www.milehighmin.org) has set us up with endless connections into the many fields of inner-city ministry through out the area from which we are able to pick our internships. After careful consideration I chose to give myself a very pleasantly uncomfortable position at a law firm known as JAMLAC (Justice and Mercy Legal Aid Clinic). JAMLAC works for those under the poverty line who would otherwise have no where to go with their legal issues. Now I know what ya'll are thinking: "Phil Gibson... ? Law Firm? That doesn't even make sense!" And trust me - I am very well of that fact. I spend the majority of my intern hours at a desk filing cases and attending meetings. All of my past ministry experience has involved playing music, throwing kids around in the air - basically acting like a big 5 year old (don't worry, it's a part of me that is still very well in tact), but everything I've done has been relationally based so this whole Law thing is about as far outside of my comfort as I could get.

When choosing to take part in this Gap Year program one of my strongest train of thoughts was that I'm only 19 years old - what's the hurry? I need to experience as much of the world as I can before I take the educational step that could shape the course of my career. With this thought of new experiences I figured it would be a good idea to plunge into realm of long desk hours and dauntingly long computer tasks.

I'm not allowed to reveal too much information about the specifics of cases that I have worked with, but I'll try to give you as much insight as I can into what JAMLAC is about - We mostly work immigration and domestic violence cases for people below the poverty line. The immigration cases mostly involve working to give abused woman access for a U-Visa. The purpose of U-Visas is to give victims of certain crimes (mostly domestic violence) a temporary legal status and allow them to work in the U.S. for up to 4 years. This also allows them better access to getting citizenship. The stories I have heard have haunted my perception of the capabilities of human beings. Before coming here, experience has taught me to have more faith in the good of humanity rather than the evil, but the cases I have worked with have given me a heavy reminder of the terror that some are willing to unleash upon the innocent. But JAMLAC is in the business of providing hope for the downtrodden. I have seen how much so many of the poor and the broken need legal representation and not just a hug following an openly sincere "How are you?" Feeling the love is important, but being picked up so that they can run their own race is truly what they need.

Overall - it's one of the best learning experiences of my life.

Trevor Hall

So I have just been introduced to a new artist who has recently taken a never ending position as the constant sound track to my life - whether is coincides with my life or not. His name is Trevor Hall. He's one of the very few that can make a voice crack work for him so ya'll bes' be appreciatin' This is a verse to his song "My Baba" and it seems like every time I heard it, I have to stop whatever activity or emotionally occupying situation I'm in and retune myself with this verse - it restores a wittle bit of my sanity every time. It's kinda cheesy and generic, but I'm ok with it because it strongly coincides with how I think this year is supposed to be lived out.

Yes I decide this is the callin

No more rascallin'

Reach and grab the hand of the friend of the fallen

Queen's on the island, but we'll jump the ocean

Gonna build a bridge of love and set it in motion

Throw out your reason, this love's in season

Sings in the earth and the air that we're breathin'

This is the chapter, a symphony of laughter

That never dies, let it shine, love divine

Read that as you listen to the song - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFDTPaYQw0A. It makes me really really really happy.

"We're Human BEINGS not Human DOINGS"

Our Friday afternoon Spiritual Guidance class is taught by a woman named Millie. Millie is one of those spunky strong middle aged women that speaks with incredible discernment and keeps everyone waiting in anticipation for her next words of wisdom that leave us in awe of a new way to dwell on our lives... or a witty remark said to make fun of the fact that we're still teenagers. But one line from her class has stuck with me for almost a week now and I can't seem to be able to think about past events without reflecting upon these words. "We're human BEINGS, not human DOINGS." She continued to explain that reflections of our lives should not based upon the events that are taking place, but upon how these said events work to change the people we are.