I've been meaning to write this blog post forever, and I apologize to the prayer and financial supporters of Royal Stage who may have been waiting to hear how it went! At the end of July, we took 11 of the Royal Stage participants to the bay area for a mini missions trip we called the Heart of Arts Blitz. It was a pretty incredible time. They danced in San Francisco and San Jose, did some public speaking, and collected money for
charity:water.
It gave me a whole new perspective about where I grew up. Especially when we went door to door raising money for clean water in Africa. The response really surprised me. I would tell one of the groups of collectors - oh, go to this house, they are so and so and really nice! I had fond memories of them giving out the best Halloween candy on the block, or playing at their house as a child, etc. There were a lot of homes that held special spots in my heart.
Then I watched one by one as the people who were a collection of good memories from childhood closed their front doors in the faces of my dancers who were simply asking for 50 cents toward clean water resources in 3rd world countries. A former neighbor actually said "I can't be bothered with this."
Some people pretended to not know English. People I KNOW DO because I spoke to them decades ago. Maybe they've forgotten the language since then? ;) Anyway, it's been almost 7 years since I permanently moved away from my bay area bubble, and I was disillusioned and kind of disappointed.......at first.
Then I realized just what a beautiful area I grew up in. We met a man named Fred, just randomly as we walked through the park by the Central library. He was really itching for someone to talk to, and spent quite awhile telling us his story. We asked to pray for him, and he asked us to yes, please do so. But not with him there. He had an opposition to religion, and told us how it caused wars, broken relationships, etc.
We told him how it wasn't about religion - that we hated religion too! It is about a personal relationship with Jesus. He seemed pleasantly surprised by that, almost as if he had never heard it before. He then went on to tell us about how he was HIV positive, and how his girlfriend of many, many years had just broken up with him. He was sad and lonely, and I will never forget him.
There were probably a lot of Freds around those parts while I was growing up, obsessed with my own teenage angst, not bothering to give any of them the time of day. And many likely remain. We met at least one. I am ashamed I did not reach out and love sooner, having focused on foreign missions fields when there was one in my own backyard. I am also so grateful to have met Fred. I will never forget him.
The rest of the weekend was incredible too. We danced at a church in San Jose, and we also performed on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. People sat chairs out in front of restaurants across the street from where we were dancing, and watched. The younger girls had opportunities to do some public speaking too - something many of them had not done before, including a recently adopted foster kid that was on our team with a powerful testament to God's goodness.
Anyway, here is the weekend in pictures! Heart of Arts Blitz #1 = success! Next stop, Orange County in October!
Pictures of our time in the bay area
