LAUP, Shivs, Racism...and Faith Made Real

Jonathan (in the yellow shirt with other LAUP interns) is a USC sophomore who spent the summer tutoring Latino teenagers in East Los Angeles. Angel was the biggest problem kid in the whole class: he was disruptive, disrespectful, and intimidating. Angel comes from a long line of gang members. Things came to a head about a month into the summer, when Angel brought a shiv to class. Jonathan was fearful for his own safety. Over the weekend, Jonathan’s LA Urban Project team spent time in deep prayer for Angel. When class began on Monday morning, Angel was a totally different kid: he was helpful, attentive, and responsive in a way he hadn’t been all summer. Jonathan and his team experienced God hearing their prayers, and bringing a powerful character breakthrough.

Have you ever felt the difference between a person who knows a lot about God versus the person who KNOWS God? It’s easy to know a lot about God and still not have much to offer this world. But when you come across a person who has first-hand experience with God’s POWER to bring REAL CHANGE…well that’s the kind of person I want to be around. This past summer God used InterVarsity’s LA Urban Project (LAUP) to take 48 other students like Jonathan (some of them above, with me) from knowing a lot ABOUT God to really KNOWING him.

Carrie is a junior from UC Riverside who spent the summer working with Black youth in Northwest Pasadena. All summer, one of the students in her class—DeAndre, a Black youth—was hostile to Carrie all summer because she was White. DeAndre regularly muttered comments to other students in the class about Carrie being racist. Carrie spent the summer feeling intimidated and guilty. Things came to a head when DeAndre got up in her face and yelled directly at her that she was a racist. Carrie was devastated, and couldn’t respond. That night, she asked her team to pray for her. As they did, God revealed to Carrie that she was wrongfully living in guilt about being White. “Yes, White people have done horrible things, but you don’t have to live under that,” she sensed God speaking. The prayer time released Carrie to trust herself, and engage DeAndre. The following day, no longer fearing his accusations, Carrie confronted DeAndre about his tirade, and apologized for ways White people had hurt him. “Would you be willing to tell me about how you've been hurt by White people?" she asked. DeAndre melted. He apologized for his behavior, and they had an immediate breakthrough in their relationship. Carrie saw God heal and free her, internally, in a way that allowed her to lead in racial reconciliation externally, changing Andre’s experience of White people for the rest of his life.

This summer, LAUP was a place where faith became real for 50 students. Reconciliation, healthy relationships, the power of prayer…these went from being theoretical ideas to daily practice. Your prayer and support is allowing InterVarsity to nurture people with the real kind of faith that our churches, our work places, and our world desperately need. It is my joy and honor to see God take the next generation of leaders from knowing about him to knowing him, and having him to offer.