FROM THE DESK OF PASTOR WILL: Into the Darkness

[Rev. William Griffith]

"The acrid smell of smoke fills the alley where they sit. The odor of stale alcohol permeates the air and there are sounds that hint of life somewhere in this abyss. The shadowy outlines of human forms can be detected, as they move from side to side in slow motion. Almost zombie-like. This is the place I was told we could find the. As we penetrate the darkness we can see them. They look anywhere between 13 to 18 years of age and there are enough of them to fill the narrow path in between the buildings where they congregate. Many of them are addicts. Most of them are prostitutes. All of them are teens and all of them are homeless. This particular group, 11 of them here, are all LGBT kids who were forced to leave home for one reason or another. Mostly because of abuse. Verbal, emotional and physical. All of them rejected because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The smell of weed gets stronger as we approach one in particular. He is about 15 years old. We attempt to open a conversation. "Have you eaten today?". "No", the boy replies. His head is turned downward. He doesn't look up, and simply takes another drag of his joint. "Here, eat something", as we hand him a bag. "What's this for? Nothin's for free man." We tell him we're doing outreach and he stops us before we can go on. "Thanks but I don't want your food. I don't need anymore Jesus freaks in my life". I ask him to keep the food. "You'd be helping me out, otherwise I have to take it back with me". I then explain to him that we're not there to judge him or preach to him. I tell him a little about my own experiences with 'Christians' and how the church is partially responsible. I ask him for a cigarette and light-up. For a moment he thinks I'm joking. Then he hands me a Marlboro. "Here. So you're not like one of those (he uses a variety of adjectives not suitable for this article) preachers. He trusts me a little more now. He opens up a little more and before long he is sharing his story. He was beaten by his father because he was gay. He was thrown out of the house and since then no one has even tried to check on him to see if he's alive. We hand him our card and tell him to call us any time, day or night, if we can help him find resources. As we make our way from person to person, the stories are similar. Nearly all of them exiled from their homes to the streets of Los Angeles to fend for themselves. Many because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. A number of them due to their drug use. We leave some materials with phone numbers and names. We hand out condoms to them and urge them to use them. Some of them have run off to work the streets. We pray for them and ask God to protect them. We have no idea if we'll ever see them again. Only God knows their future. We urge them to contact the LGBT Center in Los Angeles and, if any are interested, we can put them in contact with people who will not judge them, but help them. Then we leave. As we are making our way out of the darkness and into the lights of downtown Los Angeles, I glance back. Just darkness. All I see is a black hole in between two buildings where these kids congregate and survive. I turn my gaze back to the lights and buildings of a busy downtown L.A. and watch the people rushing here and there. They have no idea that there is another world next to them where a subculture of America's neglected and forgotten youth exist. They are walking past the black hole and have no idea what's inside. There is the hint of the living inside the darkness of that alley, but there is no life. I feel sick to my stomach and we sit on the curb for a moment to catch our breath. I look at Aly and I can't seem to find anything to say. We get up and start heading for the car. I am determined, at that moment, to introduce this black hole to the rest of the world. We will challenge the attitude of complacency and ignorance. We will not let them be forgotten. We will continue to confront the church and remind them how far from Christ they've drifted when it comes to these young people. We will fight this darkness with the love and compassion of Christ."

-Pastor William Griffith

 Evangel Pacific Radio