ON THURSDAY’S I POST FROM THE VAULT. THIS POST IS FROM AUGUST 2010.
I’m working on my syllabus this morning for a new class I’m teaching this semester. I’ve been hunting for an HBO documentary called East of Main: Asians Aloud (which seems to be off the schedule and which I’m desperate to get my hands on, in case anyone happened to record it). Anyways, as I was perusing their documentary listings I came across one film entitled Homeless: Motel Kids of Orange County. As soon as I saw the title, I knew I wanted to see it.
I’ve been having such a hard time with our current living situation, and watching this trailer was like a punch in the gut. It was very convicting for me – with all the whining I’ve been doing about our temporary hotel life – that for some, this is a constant reality. It is no secret to most of us in the town where I live that many children live in motels. There are probably four of these motels within a mile of my own house, and I know it is a lifestyle that is demoralizing and difficult to leave. I also know that it is something that most of us in Orange County turn a blind eye towards. It isn’t hard to do. Watch any television show about Orange County and you will see a parade of privlileged, wealthy, and overly tan white people. There are so many people who live here whose stories are never told. I am anxious to see this, but also reminded that I need to be grateful for what I have. I’m also reminded that I want to be serving more. My church has a ministry with some of the local motels and I was marginally involved for a while. Just this Sunday, I was watching a video about a mission trip at church and feeling like it was time to get out of my comfort zone and back into mission work, but also feeling unsure of how to do that with so many young kids. Perhaps this is how . . .
