Praise report /prayer request

A weight has been lifted from my shoulders, i have obtained a lily grant which will help pay for my L.A. Term semester, about $850 or so. This is possible because there is an organization called Oasis of Hollywood (http://www.oasisofhollywood.org/) that has an internship available for me. I will be working with children in a tutoring program called Kids Klub and i will be hanging out every Friday night with the teenagers at the teen center. I am super excited about this. This was almost not an option for me but the wonderful Doug from APU made it possible. I can't thank him enough. I want to give him and everyone i know a hug and jump up and down because i know God has provided for me yet again. I am however looking for a job that will pay for the remaining balance, so please keep me in your prayers that God give me a part time job that won't be overbearing because school already is consuming enough.

The healthcare system

This week we are tackling one of the worst, dehumanizing, systems in the word, the United States health care system. The U.S is the only country in the western world without free universal health care access. Close to 44 million people in the U.S. lack health insurance and many more are under insured or unreliably insured. We have more than enough money to support and provide free universal health care to all Americans but most of the money is not equally distributed. Most of our health care dollars are spent on administrative cost, pharmaceuticals, and medical technologies. They fail to provide the U.S people with prenatal care that will save lives, grant longer and healthier lives, and will stop the overcrowding of emergency rooms. Emergency rooms should not be used as a source of primary care. Another problem is the lack of care that people receive, people are forced out of hospitals and put on a taxi, dropped off on skid row only because they can't afford to pay their hospital bill. When did our nation become so dark that it won't care for those in need? millions of people like myself live with fear of not getting severely sick because then, how will we pay for it? I would have to leave to Mexico to get top notch health care and pharmaceuticals that are not overpriced. Why is it that the terrorist that are detained in Guantanamo bay, Cuba are receiving better health care than the American people? There is something morally wrong and backward about this. I know that there is still much that i need to learn about our health care system and that i don't know the answers to all the questions but this is my frustration thus far. I did learn much about the health care system watching a documentary called "Sicko" by Michael Moore, he has brilliantly shun a light on our health care system's evils. I recommend that everyone watch this movie, especially is you plan to work in health care.

Here's the trailer:


shalom,
Eve

Rosy, this video is for you

El Chicki Chicki

I created this video in Xochimilco Mexico in August, this is definitely our song.
Love you habibi!
-Eve

Criminal Justice system

This week for L.A. term we are studying the criminal justice system. On monday we attended a court case of a young man who is being accused of first degree murder that he supposedly committed when he was 15 years old. He has been awaiting trial for 3 years which makes it convenient for the legal system because they can now try him as an adult. They are trying to prove that he was involved in a drive-by incident that resulted in the death of a gang member from the cripts gang but they don't have concrete evidence, all they have is a gun that is said to be his, and witnesses confessions which don't point to him as guilty. I witnessed first hand the injustice of our legal system. One of the witnesses was given a sheet of paper containing the pictures of those that were suspects, but they told her to circle who she knew and then they used it as an accusation, saying that she circled who had done the crime. The police department also had her sign a piece of paper under threatening conditions, in which they later filled in saying that she had said that
the boy that was circled was the one. She was threatened and put in a very stressful environment, remember she was only 15. She thought she was being questioned for the confrontation incident that occurred prior to the shooting but she was given all shorts of questions regarding the death of a gang member. She didn't witness this and yet they kept her there questioning her. They showed this evidence plain and clear but no one seemed to care. The forged document can throw off the case, but they refuse to investigate because the defendant is black. I saw the judge dowsing off, cheeking her email, and not seeming to show any interest in the case. I saw the defense attorney dowsing off also, not being able to cross examine effectively, he asked ridiculous questions that were irrelevant. He had the demeanor of someone who didn't care about the defendant because and i believe it's because he is a public defense attorney. I was outraged at this, i wanted to stand up and defend the poor guy. Another thing that was happening was the prosecute was leading both of the witnesses that we saw. This is not to be done and a real judge would see this and stop it in its tracks. I hate saying this but i don't think he will be acquitted, i think he is going to prison. I don't know if he did it or not but the legal system clearly finds him to be a danger to society.

On wednesday, we visited the Los Angeles Men's Jail in downtown Los Angeles. I was surprised at the living conditions, and dehumanizing tactics that were enforced. We were taken to see the cells and the inmates seemed really pleased to see pretty girls in the jail. We visited the regular cells and those that were more high security. We also were taken to the gay section of the jail. The gays are separated from the heterosexual inmates. Apparently they have a series of test that they are administered to determine if they are gay. They live in bunk bends, they have a T.V and the bathrooms and showers are public and exposed. (I even saw a mans penis, not my favorite memory). Over the doors hangs a sign that reads "It is a FELONY to engage in SEXUAL ACTIVITY" the majority of the inmates there are HIV positive or have AIDS. This was a problem because everyone was sleeping with everyone that those that were not infected would become infected. The federal judge had to issue an order that gave them condoms. They were given condoms to engage in safe sex. There is a huge box that hangs under lock and key under the huge sign that is where the used condoms are deposited and someone disposes of them correctly. This was the craziest thing that i saw. Also they are required to give them 3 hours of free play and sunshine a week. They are taken to the roof and given 3 hours to use the phones, play basket ball, soccer or just lift weights. One thing that surprised me was that the inmates are given so much freedom with the phones. They are all able to make phone calls on a regular basis. The phone company and the jail split the profit of this which is about 12-15 thousand or more a year. All the calls are either collect and cost $3.00 a minute or are made using a phone card. The relatives, spouses of the inmates that accept collect calls have to pay the consequences. They also don't monitor the calls unless they get a court order to do so. This hardly ever happens. Dangerous men who are leaders of great gangs and mobs are also given their 3 hours of phone time and they are not monitored. This means that they can issue hits (murders) and do much harm and no one cares because according to the jail "we don't have the money to pay someone to monitor thousands of calls." Our criminal system is screwed up and no one seems to care that the prisons are over crowded, lack resources, cost the people millions of dollars. I am really infuriated by what i saw, heard and experienced.

Skid row وقد قلبي

I was going to start an internship with an organization called Central City Community Outreach but it didn't work out for me for a variety of reasons.
1. I was assigned to work with a disturbed child that needs more attention, patiences and help than i can ever give him. to make a long story short he refused to work with me, yelled at me and was really, really offensive. I was disappointed because no one choose to help me with him, i guess everyone has given up on him a little. I have never had a child make me cry or cause me to get emotional, but he did. I left CCCO with tears in my eyes and i startled a few homeless people who were outside of the center.
2. I was doing the internship so that i could get a grant that if offered to APU students who are involved in non profit organizations that are faith based.. but i was told that since two students were already obtaining the grant, i would not be able to get it. :( this saddened me extremely!
I therefore had no choice but to look for other options that would help me financially during my LA Term.

Even though i had such a bad experience, i left my heart in skid row. I left it there with the children who have been mentally and emotionally abused by their parents, neighbors, and lifestyle. I cannot describe with mere words how awful the living conditions are in the residential hotel that the children live in. The child that i was in charge of does not have a father figure and he has a lot of weight on his shoulders. The men, women and children that live there are truly living in holy ground and i know that Jesus would be there if he were here in this life time. He would be eating, teaching and standing up for them. He would be fighting the corrupt social systems that oppresses, marginalizes and makes anyone who isn't white subordinate and inhuman.

Los Angeles thus far

These past two weeks in L.A. term have been eye opening for me. I have learned many things about Los Angeles that i did not know. As a native angelino i am shocked of the things that are kept under wraps and not taught in school. My experience has been great because we get to visit historical sites in L.A, so far we have visited old china town (which i never knew existed) where a massacre occurred in the 1800s. We also visited Olvera St. (AKA little Mexico) known for having the oldest house in L.A, and being the location where the U.S took California from Mexico. I grew up visiting these locations and never knew their historical significance. It's has however been a challenge to talk about social justice issues that some of my classmates don't know are issues. This frustrates me because i give the vantage point of someone who has been marginalized and has experienced oppression in life, and i get frustrated when someone doesn't get it. I need to work on this and i am very aware of it. Its difficult though when you don't feel as you belong. I spent 2 months of the summer in Mexico and experienced the rejection of being "too white" in their eyes. Many didn't consider me a true Mexican because i wasn't born there. However here at home i also don't feel as i belong because to many i am "too Mexican". So i ask myself where do i belong and when will i get there. I've been told that i am part of the family of God, and that i shouldn't have these feelings, but its usually someone Caucasian who tells me this. I was talking to my roommate about this and she was shocked, she's never heard of anyone feeling this. I told her that It's as if i live a double life which has no mid point. I am dealing with many issues but i know that there is a reason for it. I am also trying to discern what God's call over my life is and I am learning how to be obedient to Gods voice.

*The photo was taken from the rooftop of an old bank that was turned into lofts. This is happening all over LA its called gentrification and its basically taking an low income bad area, reconstructing the buildings and encouraging the more wealthy population to move in to change the property value, while in process kicking out subtly the lower income populations. This is what is happening to skid row they keep pushing it farther from the main downtown area and kicking them out so that the city can look "cleaner". No matter how much they push them away from the downtown area, the people remain, out of sight out of mind is not the approach to take.

Challenged by Hinduism

I woke up today to the sound of my home stay mom chanting and i was challenged by her passion to god. She is devote to her beliefs and exercises her faith with diligence. She wakes everyday (even weekends) at 5am and she chants and does her prayers. There is not one day in which i don't hear her ring her bell which is always rung prior to chanting and prayer. It's symbolic, the om sound is said to wake god so that his attention can be on you. Many Hindu's will say that they know that this might sound silly to an outsider, and they also know that God doesn't sleep, but they believe in the power of "om" which is the sound that is omitted when the bell is run or the gong is hit. She has challenged me in my faith, without a word i have been dared to take my own faith into that level. To pray everyday with that devotion and diligence. I want my hands to be God's hands and his eyes God's eyes, i don't want to be so selfish and so wrapped up in my own world that i forget to seek Jesus. This is currently difficult for me because, i have been trying to balance both the academic and the spiritual and i find myself lacking in the spiritual. I thank God for using my Prabha to push me to be a better follower and radical, so in love with Jesus.