What a week

I have now been in Hollywood for one week. It has been quite the week. My housemates arrived on friday after some adventure with one due to missing a connection and a dead cell phone. This last week we have been able to really just hangout and get to know each other a bit. I was sick for most of this week with a nasty head cold. But I survived and am now fighting the last of it. We have talked about community and how to live in intentional community with one another. It is going to be a challenge with one of us starting work at 7am and another not starting until 10am, thus creating one person really tired. I know we will work out the challenges within that.
Today was the first day at our agencies. I work at My Friend's Place. It feels like it will ultimately be a good fit, but it is hard to jump in and start building those realtionships. Right now I am overwhelmed with the number of names being thrown at me, both of the clients and staff. I am wrestling with alot of questions regarding poverty that began this summer. Questions about why do we ultimately blame the individual for their poverty rather than invest in the person and hear their story. A significant number of the youth I work with have left dangerous or violent situtations, making the streets the safer place to be. I'm not sure how to challenge the stereotype of homelessness in the US, particularily to the church. The church is called to care for the orphan and plead the case of the widow, yet I see the church failing in this area. I'm not sure what this thought means for both now and long term, but I am wrestling with it