Volunteer to Change the World

They turned the gas off while I was cooking potatoes for Christmas dinner for the Homeless Ministry.

For maybe 3 seconds I thought about how unfair that seemed. A picture of the protesters at Occupy Long Beach flashed through my mind, and the protests they are doing. My cell phone had been cut off the day before, and the electric was tomorrow. Then I remembered that our gay friendly church, Christ Chapel of Long Beach, had about 20 homeless people to feed in 20 minutes, and I still had two flavors of gravy to cook to go with the mashed potatoes. As I had been trying to teach my husband the serenity prayer that week, I began thinking of a way I could follow God’s direction to feed the homeless, now that I only had no stove. Hah! I spotted the Coleman camp stove on a top shelf, and asked Miguel where he had put the green canister of propane for it. Within 5 minutes, I had water boiling on a table in the back yard, and we got to the park in time to serve Christmas dinner to my homeless family.

God grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; 
Enjoying one moment at a time; 
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; 
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it; 
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life 
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Before the “Great depression of 2008”, I was making $12,000 to $15,000 a month with my commercial photography business, maybe in the lower middle class, but ok. But as I specialize in advertising photography and advertising costs are the first to be cut by corporations during hard times. I had foolishly leased what many considered one of the world’s best camera systems, a 60 mega pixel Phase One back on a medium format body. At $850 a month, it cost more to lease than the average luxury car. With a $2,400 a month studio lease, and income dropping from $12,000 to $3,000 a month in 2008, it didn’t take long before there was a man knocking on my door at 3:00 am one morning telling me he was reposing my beautiful Honda Mini Van.

But today, even with no money in my pocket or bank account, even though the rent is a month past due, I still have a roof over my head, food to eat, clothes to wear, and excellent, world class tools to make money with like computers and cameras. I grew up with poverty, so I am not afraid of it, but it has never been such an adventure in trusting God to provide before! Because now there are homeless children, sick people, and people needing to hear God’s word waiting for me to arrive – in a car that has had a flat tire 5 times in the past 6 months. If anybody fits the "99%" I do, yet I have chosen charity and ministry work instead of Occupy protests, and I believe that it will get results faster, and help more people.

What nobody can believe, including me, is that with all this poverty in my own life, I am filled with so much joy and happiness that I almost cannot stand myself! I smile all the time, I walk into a store and the clerks always comment on how happy, cheerful and kind I am. Why? I am living in the center of God’s will, and He fills me with joy. I burst in singing several times a day. My happiness is not dependent upon money; in fact, I told a friend today that if I had $25 billion I would be doing the same thing I am already doing today. Think about what you would do with your time if you had $25 billion. Would you help other people, or live to please yourself?

 For me, money is always coming, and is usually only a few days and or a photo shoot away. I love how Jesus always comes through at just the right time! Life has become an adventure in depending upon God. I have client to will be providing the all money for my nephews Christmas presents, which is tomorrow!

Last weekend something happened to me that put my gas and phone being turned off in perspective. I went to the Fred Jordan Missions Christmas 2011 for the homeless children of downtown Los Angeles. My husband Miguel had volunteered us to shoot pictures of the mission handing out Christmas presents, so I expected maybe 20 or 30 families in an indoor setting, and brought indoor studio photography lighting to shoot it.

When we got a few blocks from the mission, the whole street was blocked off. Miguel had to walk several blocks just to find out that it was an outdoor event, and would we please drive our car up next to the mission? We met Tom and Peter Jordan, and their mom, all amazing Christians that love to help people. But the scale!

Thousands of homeless people were waiting in line in the rain, some since noon the day before. One block after another filled with children in strollers, wheelchairs, backpacks or playing in the street. They let them through the gates about 2000 at a time, mothers with children first.

They got a visit from Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters from Disneyland, some singing, good old fashion Christian preaching, and then Santa Claus came! What did they get? I saw some leave with cookies and milk, some with shoes or a jacket, some with a toy. All of these people, out of work, no food, cold – and on almost every face a smile. All around, I could hear homeless people and volunteers calling out “Merry Christmas”, “God Bless You”, “Feliz Navidad”, “vaya con Dios”. See the images on my portfolio called “LA Homeless Christmas 2011” at http://www.DennisDavisPhotography.com

Miguel and I hope to be returning to work with the Fred Jordan Mission again this weekend, but there are a lot of other charities that need help. Within the last year we have done photo or video shoots for Brain Cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease and others, but Miguel seems to love orphan children and homeless ministries the best.

So, here is what I think. Are you waiting, breathlessly? Are you one of the many hundreds of thousands of people that are out of work today? Are you sitting at home sending out resumes a few hours a week, and watching boring daytime television the rest of your day? Why?

You could be volunteering to help people, and I promise you, you will help yourself when you do. Do you want to learn more about computers? Volunteer at the Red Cross, American Heart Association, Gay and Lesbian Center, AIDS Walk or whatever charity you like. They all have offices full of computers with internet access, and other volunteers to show you how to use them better. Want to get a job as a cook? Start cooking at a homeless shelter, a church pre-school program, whatever. What I have found is as you start doing what you want to get paid to do, people notice that you do it good. Go to any church and ask, “What can I do to help” and I bet most of them need volunteers in a position that can give you skills to get a paying job.

Lots of people that work with charities are business owners, TV celebrities, lawyers, doctors, etc. Do awesome work in their presence, or let them see a brochure or fund raising letter you made. How will it look on your resume that you volunteer for a charity? It may get you a job you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Are you sitting at home reading this wishing you could do something to change the world? Change it one person at a time. Are you broke? Volunteer, it will help you get a job. Are you homeless? Volunteer for a homeless shelter, you will at least get the best bed and the freshest food there. Help the person next to you. You will help yourself.

When Jesus was praying over 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish which later feed 5,000 men, plus their wives and children, the disciples suspected nothing, So when He handed the loaves and fishes to the disciples, He said. “Give them food to eat.” The loaves did not start expanding until they started passing them out. They could have looked at the 15,000 people, and the five loaves of bread, and told Jesus “No way”, but instead, they obeyed. When your pocket are empty from giving your money to homeless children, I just got to believe Jesus is going to fill them up again if you have faith and patience to wait upon the Lord.

I don’t believe you can out give God. Put it to the test. If you are broke, but have two pieces of bread, give someone else one. If you have two jackets, give someone else one. Happiness is best found in helping others. It’s an empty cup that gets filled. Occupy Congress? No, let God’s spirit occupy you!

Keywords: charity, volunteer, help, homeless, homeless children, Jesus, Christian, Gay, Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Los Angeles, Fred Jordan Missions, Los Angeles Skid Row, broke, unemployed, job search, find a job, get a job, no money, poor, Occupy Congress, Occupy Paris