Beyond The Plate – A Podcast by Food For The Poor
Food isn't just delicious... it can also change your life! Tune into Beyond the Plate, a new podcast presented by International Charity: Food For The Poor. Get inspired with conversations that nourish the soul. Hear amazing stories of transformation from faith influencers, leaders in the nonprofit sector, and the individuals receiving aid in the 15 countries of Latin America that Food For The Poor serves.
Beyond The Plate – A Podcast by Food For The Poor
Ep.17 - Hope Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding A Stronger Community
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Pastor Steven Snook and many other ‘Angelinos’ lost property and possessions in the L.A. wildfires (Ground Zero of one of the greatest natural disasters in US history). Our latest episode dives deep into the themes of resilience, community, and Spiritual Revival. Join us through heartfelt conversation, where we explore the lived experiences of those impacted by loss and displacement. A powerful conversation with Laura Anderson and Pastor Steven, longtime friends and part of the Food For The Poor family, share their perspectives on the emotional toll of the fires and the uplifting support within a community.
What does it take to rebuild after the ashes? We extend an invitation to our audience, encouraging prayers for the rebuilding efforts and exploring how acts of connection can bring about healing and transformation in our cities. Join us on this journey to understand the power of community while navigating the complexities of grief and hope.
A powerful conversation unfolds as we gather community stories after the devastating L.A. wildfires in Pacific Palisades. This special episode showcases shared experiences in times of crisis:
• Personal stories of loss and the emotional impact of the wildfires
• The importance of support and how neighbors unite through adversity
• Historical insights into Pacific Palisades and its community legacy
• Exploring how children are affected and what they uniquely lose
If you feel inspired, connect with us, share your thoughts, and let’s come together to make a difference one prayer at a time! Join our BEST BITE to receive a guide on how to PRAY FOR LA (written by Pastor Steven)
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Beyond The Plate is a podcast by international charity, Food For The Poor
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Opening Teaser
Speaker 1This is my neighborhood, so we live at the beach and I'm grateful for that. But for 178 homes here we have all been displaced. So our house was right up there on the bluff. For the last 14 years this has been our home and there's just nothing left. You know there's a fountain that's still there, with my Vespa sitting in front and a couple bikes next to it, but you know, it's just the rubble.
Speaker 1It's like a bomb hit here and I feel for not just my neighbors, but I realize, yeah, when we look up here, the houses up here are houses that are way beyond what most people even imagine. But I feel for the people that serve them, for gardeners and housekeepers and nannies, and so in a community like this we're feeling a lot of love from people who are supporting us, but the loss is real and seeing the devastation it just kind of brings me back to what's lost. But I know that. I know that not everything's lost. Hopefully, you know, in a few years we'll be coming back to this place and to be able to see this community thrive. But between now and then we're finding ways to stick together as a community and see what we can do to bring some hope to people that are hopeless.
Speaker 2Welcome to Beyond the Plate.
Speaker 3I'm Paul Jacobs where food is more than just a meal. It's a powerful way to connect, inspire and transform. We call it Tertulia, a gathering where bonds are formed and stories are shared.
Speaker 2Get ready to dive into real stories that inspire, challenge and nourish the soul.
Speaker 3I'm Daniel Patino, inviting you to join our Tertulia and explore how food and connection can truly transform lives.
Speaker 2Let's go Beyond the Plate.
Speaker 3All right, welcome back to another episode of special episode, that is, of Beyond the Plate here in Los Angeles, now Venice, california buddy, we've seen a little bit.
Speaker 2We've seen a little bit Venice Beach.
No Longer A Stranger
Speaker 3Venice Beach and our folks from Santa Monica here also having us today, but here on location is what we like to call it. There you go. We have some of our own family here to tell us a little bit about what's been going on on this part of the US. Now we're here with Laura Anderson, one of our own from our development team and as well, as we all know, pastor Stephen Snook from Church Alliances.
Speaker 3The fact that we're all here as family, I like it because it's an example of what's been going on recently here in Los Angeles and from the area most affected by the fires and the Palisades is every stranger is no longer a stranger right now. We'd say you're maybe a distant cousin, you may be a good friend from now on, and I I felt it as soon as we we got here and unfortunately, um, it's a short while while we're here, so we will probably we'll get the whole thing, but the fact that we're all gathering, uh for one main cause is something that we don't see every day, and it's unfortunate that it has to be right after a natural disaster. But this is something special and thank you guys for sharing, uh, your story with us today. Laura, I want to start with you first. Sure, the first of all the reason that you're here. Tell us a little bit more about why you're here today.
Speaker 4Well, um, I started working with Food for the Poor almost two years ago, so I'm still relatively new to Food for the Poor, but it has been an amazing blessing for my life just being a part of everything that they're doing. I've worked with nonprofits pretty much my whole career, mostly locally, and so this is the first time I was able to serve someone internationally. So it's been a really great experience so far, and just and then I'm actually on the West Coast because I work with all of our donors on this end of the country, so has it been a little bit different for the last few weeks here dealing with these?
Speaker 3Yes, you know this natural disaster.
Speaker 4Yeah, I mean, I mean like obviously Steve's had a way harder road than I have, but you know it affects all of us in a way. You know I live more in the San Fernando Valley and because of where I am, I literally had fires on every side of me like pretty much the whole week and the one thing I've been sharing with other people is that, you know, it's interesting. With other storms I've lived in the Midwest so I've been through tornadoes, I've been through snowstorms, I've been through snow storms, I've been through mudslides here in california and now all these fires and etc. But like the thing I think was so interesting about this particular event usually, like with a hurricane or tornado, you know it's coming and it's done where we live through.
Speaker 4Seven days of that, you know, I mean years, happened quite early in the experience. But for me, because it doesn't wasn't kind of hitting my community directly like every day, I was on evacuation notice for seven days, you know, and we never knew. Like is it time, is it not? And like do we stay up all night and someone else stay up during the day? And like we're all kind of coordinating with our neighbors and everything too, because I have a couple older people in our complex just to make sure they're okay, you know.
Speaker 4So it's just a very interesting time because I think of the length of time that it went on and you know, and I just want to give a big shout out to Food for the Poor, because everybody there has been so supportive, because it's been such a like a taxing time. You know, I'm still trying to do my normal day-to-day things, you know, but I've had people reach out to me from pretty much every department, people I've never met before. People are praying for me, you know, like, and I think, organizing, organizing a prayer day for California, and I'm really kind of the only one out here besides Pastor Steve. So it's just so blessing that like people would support us in that way, for sure.
Where It All Began
Speaker 2Yeah, and it's interesting because here we are at Food for the Poor. We're always, as a church speaker, as a development officer, working with donors, putting our focus and attention outward to the 15 countries that Food for the Poor serves. But now the tables are a bit turned and the attention is on this community for you all and those who live out here that are part of the Food for the Poor family. But before we get to that part, I really want to know something. There's a story I heard. Why are you laughing? You know what? Really want to know something. There's a story I heard. Why are you laughing? You know what I'm about to say there's a story about the connection that brought you two.
Speaker 2You just are not just two employees of Food for the Poor that have come here to interview on Beyond the Plate, a special edition. You actually have some history. So I'm going to let you start and you finish, because I Is that good.
Speaker 4How do you?
Speaker 2guys connect. This is, this is interesting.
Speaker 4Well, I actually was attending Steve's church for a very long period of time, along with a lot of other people that became very dear friends of mine there was. I actually lived in Nashville and moved out here, and a whole group of us all kind of moved within probably a year and we kind of had our own little Nashville. I think pretty much all of us ended up here at church in some way or another time, you know.
Speaker 4And then it was just a really blessing being part of the congregation. And then, because I sing as well, steve was like really gracious enough and I actually led worship with his church for a long time. I came from a very diverse church out of Nashville. We had black, white, everything you would want. So we kind of brought a little gospel vibe to Metro that hadn't been there before because I had kind of grown up around that. So he was just such a great, so gracious to allow me to do that too. And then we've just always stayed in touch. We've kind of been in and out of each other's lives.
Speaker 4I served at another nonprofit locally here in Santa Monica and he was like in walking distance his coffee house of where I was. So, especially during COVID, because of the way LA works, everybody likes to give to their neighborhood. So we had like an overabundance of things because of all the companies here so we couldn't use everything. So I called Steve and said, hey, google's just donating like trucks of food, do you need anything? Or we have all this makeup from whoever do you want. So then we kind of reconnected in that way. And then when I worked here and I heard oh, we're going to get into the more of the evangelical world. I was like Steve would be perfect for this, and so then that's how we ended up coming on board, you can fill in some holes. No, it's really great.
Speaker 1So seeing another young lady for them doing those gospel Sundays, it was so exciting because we were known for just our worship, but that day everybody's moving, you know, and it's so much fun. It's a big auditorium so you feel it, you know. But Laura's always been full of life and even today when she walked into the hotel where we were and when she saw my wife. You know they have a bond. So it's just very cool to think that these relationships they don't change, even over time, that you just know that it's a great bond. So to see her in this position and know that I've watched her along the way, you know she's pouring into other people all the time and she brings light to so many situations. So to be on the same team right now, pouring into other people all the time and she brings light to so many situations, so to be on the same team right now is a pretty cool thing.
Speaker 4Yeah, very cool Even though it's a very different way.
January 7th the Wildfires Begin
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, that's excellent. So, mike, you know, I really would love to find out, as we dial the clocks back to January 7th, where you're under impending evacuation order at any moment. You told us that you're dealing with, literally, the fire on your in your back backyard. Literally, what was what was going through your mind at that time? When this is all happening, I mean, you've, you, you've got to be on pins and needles every minute, not every day, but every minute of the day well, on top of the fact, like so the fires hit and the next day I got a fever and was sick like out.
Speaker 4So I was like trying to deal with all that on top of everything and a lot of it could have been because of the smoke and whatever else we were having to deal with in that and, um, you know, who knows the stress, I'm sure probably doesn't make your immune system work properly either, but it was. It was just a very interesting time and I think too it's one of those things like like how can you be worried when you have because I knew him, I have another dear friend that lost his home, when they lost their homes, you know, it's kind of like you do that comparison thing of like you know, kind of like how, why did I? Am I okay, and like they're not. You know, like it was kind of that thing too, like you're like why the survivors, you know guilt or whatever, in a way too, I mean. So I think there's a lot of feelings for a lot of different people, and I think too, the one thing that Steve's probably shared too is just to see the outpouring People, I think, or two, just to see the outpouring people.
Speaker 4I think la gets a very bad rap about being selfish and egocentric. But, like again, like with people and that's one thing, working in non-profits in la, I people want to help, sometimes they don't know how, but, like with celebrities, I've worked with all different types of people. They really want to give back. They just don't know, maybe, to connect with the right people yet sometimes. And so it's beautiful to see, you know, because there is so much money, there is so much wealth here, but there's so much poverty, there's so much homelessness.
Speaker 3You know, you see both things, you know, and it's so good to see everybody come together, you know and we mentioned that at the beginning of our previous episode, which was from the ashes is now a newer community, yeah, a stronger community, a different community that wasn't here before, uh, a disaster, and it's uh, it's unfortunate that it has to happen, yeah, with a fire or a.
Speaker 3a different community that wasn't here before, a disaster, and it's unfortunate that it has to happen with a fire or a hurricane or something that everybody tends to just drop everything in. We're no longer ex-neighbors or neighbors and we never know each other's whereabouts. It's now, how can I help you? You're helping me, and since we're all on the same line, it just becomes a different community from now on. It's not the same community that was there come December 7th, just pick a date here, right? So that's something else, that from the ashes, like Pastor Steven Slick said, it's kind of like the Phoenix from the ashes rises of Phoenix and a newer future. I mean, this is.
Evacuate Now
Speaker 2It's palpable, that's great we're here on a special edition of our Beyond the Plate podcast. We're just so grateful to the friends here at Moss in Venice Beach, California. That just sounds nice.
Speaker 4Ooh that sounds nice.
Speaker 3I live in South Florida, we live in South Florida. We're from South Florida to Venice Beach. I love it.
Speaker 2So thanks to Savannah and the team from Moss, but, pastor Stephen, so it's the day that you know there's no more warnings. It's here. We've got to get out what's going through your mind, what's happening with you that day.
Speaker 1Honestly, you're thinking we've been here before, so you had warnings, and then all of a sudden there's evacuation in malibu and and I could see that, I can see where it's at. And then all of a sudden, the warning on the phone. The police haven't come up to actually tell you, leave that. That comes a little bit later. But here's the warning on the phone evacuate now. So you think, okay, let's get a bag of clothes for each of us and let's get some important documents. But you're really thinking you're coming back in a couple days.
Speaker 1I didn't think about going to the office, which is about 75 yards away from me, to get to grab stuff that I need to get. That's in another location. You, just you. You, you get in a car and we didn't get in all three of ours. We, we realized, because traffic is crazy, we'll get in one car, let's get out of here. We'll, we'll come back. But what's going through our mind is you're seeing a fire and and it's right above us, and and you're realizing that that could shift. And yes, it maybe hasn't come here, but that doesn't mean it's not. But you're still not, it's not real, until the end of the day when you realize it has changed and you're seeing something at a distance at my mom's house in Orange County and you're watching on the news. You're looking at the Cal Fire map and you realize, wait, that's coming to our neighborhood.
Speaker 4I think Timer texted me and said we just got an alert and's coming to our neighborhood.
Speaker 1I think timer texted me and said we just got an alert it was gone it was in our neighborhood and you're just like then you realize, wait, you start thinking of all the things you didn't, you didn't grab, and then you're thinking, well, but, and you just so it's not. The emotion that comes in the moment is that what we thought was not going to happen could be happening. And I'm thinking of all the things I didn't do, or I didn't grab, or memories and all those things, and so that's in that moment I'm just thinking about me for a moment and my wife and my daughter.
Speaker 1And then, all of a sudden, I began to think about our neighbors and all the other people are going through the same thing, they're feeling very similar things. But it was, it was heavy and it's. There's a numbness that comes and an ache, when you realize it's gone and you have to embrace it. You.
Speaker 2You talked about the history of Pacific Palisades and I really would love to share that, you to share that story, but before we do. A lot of times when people look at Southern California, especially this area, malibu, pacific Palisades, all these very wealthy areas but this fire made an equalizer of everybody, everyone. There was no respect of persons. What was it that was taking place in the community, whether you're a tech executive or you work as a server at a local restaurant? What was going on in the community, with everybody on the same level, going on in the community?
Community Support and Rebuilding Together
Speaker 1with everybody on the same level. Immediately, the average person in the community seemed to care, and that might not be true. A lot of times it's like they stopped to listen, I think, because they realized that this could happen to them and they started saying I wondered what would I take if I knew I had to evacuate my home. So in processing this, part of my processing has been through other people telling their stories and to be able to just take that in. So sometimes we go to the place like the celebrities and there was a woman that was they, they captured on the news who said we just remodeled our home and we had to go to our other house in Holmby Hills, which is LA. This is just our house at the beach, yeah, and now we had to go and I'm like, are you kidding me? And that. But you know celebrities, oh, we lost our home, but people love celebrity all over the world.
Speaker 1A pastor I met with yesterday, gary a great guy locally. He said he was talking to a friend and he said you know Pacific Palisades. No one knew what Pacific Palisades was two weeks ago. They just were like you talk about LA, maybe Malibu, people even heard of Santa Monica, but now the whole world knows about Pacific Palisades and then they're like oh, they live there. They live there, but we can't forget the people who live there when we talk about food for the poor and we realize Latin America or the Caribbean and those 15 different countries. The biggest population of Latin America lives in Los Angeles. There's no other city in America. So those are the same people that do the majority of housekeeping and I'm just honest with you and gardening and construction and nannies in pacific palisades and malibu.
Speaker 1So how are they affected? Because they're the ones that send the money back to their families, who are wishing they could just leave because, but they can't. So this effect isn't about wealthy people, because I'm one that lives there and I'm not wealthy and that's a lot of people who live there. But the focus sometimes is like these people don't even need it. They'll just go buy another house or whatever. So the effects go really deep and it affects people all over the world.
Speaker 1But it does affect me and I feel the ache now when I talk to someone else because I don't say the words. I understand because I don't know their whole story, but I understand in part now because I feel something that I didn't feel before, and so if you can reach down into this and start realizing. So what does it look like to love your neighbor as yourself? And then I say what does it look like to love your neighbor as yourself? And then I say what does it look like to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength? And what does it mean for Jesus to say these are the greatest commands and all the law and the prophets hang on these too. Well, can I embody that same love for God and then allow that to overflow in my love for someone else? But that does mean in a city and Laura and I can tell you this is a city that's pretty self-focused, so we needed to be shaken.
Speaker 1I just didn't want it to happen this way, but I'm believing that from this, from the ashes, where you began is that this is maybe where we get to see revival, to come back to this city and to come to people who are in desperate need of a spiritual awakening and it's going to be a different thought process.
Speaker 3nowadays it's not Most of that. Like you mentioned, stigma, it's like oh yeah, everybody who lives in that place, they're fine next week. But I think it's up to us to really tell the real story, which is not everybody in there is as wealthy as their neighbor.
"I Don't Get To Go Home?"
Speaker 1Well, I'll just tell you a quick story. I meet a little girl and her grandmother at the hotel. Because we're in a hotel now trying to figure out where are we going to live. It's so expensive. And this little girl got to go back to school because her school wasn't the Palisades. They lived in the Palisades, but she went to school in Santa Monica and I said what's it like for you? And she goes. Well, it's kind of fun being in a hotel, but I realized I don't get to go home and some of my other friends at school gave me a uniform, because I don't have any uniforms anymore. And so she was in such a positive place and her grandmother was with her. And yet she says you know, things are real different. So, like every day now I'm saying to my grandma if you're going to walk with me to school or to go to school, I want to walk. So how is she processing? So my heart for the kids right now?
Speaker 4yeah, yeah, kids are kids yeah wow, they won't understand.
Speaker 4Probably a little till later I don't get to go home yeah and I think the biggest thing, which I think we kind of discussed earlier, is just the fact that because there's so little real estate in the surrounding areas that, like people are having to move way further, so that means all the kids are being taken out of schools and put in different schools. So that's like a whole other shift and maybe even out of state again who, depending you know like where they they're, where they can actually find a place to go that's affordable. So it's a very interesting time, I think, for the, for the kids especially, you know.
Speaker 2I think this is a generational thing taking place, because this has a lot of reminiscence of COVID and that was one of the biggest conversations was the children in school that couldn't get traditional teaching. First of all, they weren't going into the classroom. Second of all, it was classroom was in their computer. I remember hearing stories about children who borrowed mom and dad's cell phone just to do their homework, you know, and then, of course, they had to pass it around.
Speaker 3right, they got internet from a coffee shop down the street because they couldn't afford internet for that much, for just a, you know, a virtual classroom.
Speaker 2that is Right, but yet you're telling, telling me and you're telling me. These children don't even have a home to do a home, homework on a cell phone, borrowing uniforms it's.
Speaker 1It's a and most don't have a school and don't have a school. Yeah, don't have a home, don't have a school, don't have a park, don't have a my the, the ymca that I went to, I don to, I don't have this, don't have this. One of the dads said my daughters kept asking but what about? And she named a yogurt shop in the Palisades. But when do we go back to the yogurt shop? Oh, it's going to be a while, honey, but she couldn't comprehend that it's gone.
Speaker 3It's a part of your life. Now that just gets erased, almost sure it gets written into history yeah, yeah race from, from the present, but now it's in the history books to come.
Speaker 3But even the simplest things, things that probably that young lady used to do with her father every friday we used to go to that yogurt shop. That was our thing. It wasn't so much for the yogurt, it was just the experience. And now they'll probably find it somewhere else. And again it circles back to everybody's, again on the same level. Everybody now understands that I lost something, you lost something, you lost something. We all lost something together, and it's not just a me and everybody. Look for help, just for me.
Speaker 1So let's just use the idea of church. If we define church as a building which is what a lot of people do or a service, then you would say but what are the people going to do when all of them have been burned down? There is a synagogue that is like a fortress with steel and concrete. It's still there, but pretty much everything else is destroyed. So most people don't go to them. But if you wanted to, they can can't. So we are realizing this is something of multiple layers. The rebuilding isn't going to happen quick. So even what was happening in that last episode with savannah is that only people that forecast into the future, or the guy a guy I met this morning that could give me insight is saying this is a long time. So what is it going to look like to rebuild and who's going to stay? So people like food for the poor? That says we deal with people who are in need all over the world.
Speaker 1But we're realizing that in in america, even in the most wealthy area, people in major spiritual poverty don't know where to turn. They have no anchor of hope. They don't know because see, the most part around here, you've kind of given up on everything. So if you're Jewish. You say I'm Jewish, but I might be an atheist, or at least I just don't. I'm not religious at all, and the average Christian might even call themselves a Christian or whatever. But they say but I don't really buy into all this. And they said well, I'm just one of the nuns N-O-N-E's now, or I'm spiritual but not religious.
Speaker 1But it's in times like this and this is a big new age pagan community we're in right now and West Side is, but when you've tried everything else and it doesn't work. I think this is a time where the lessons that Food for the Poor has learned about partnership in other countries could give some great advice for some of us in this environment to say here's how partnership works. But you gotta be willing to lay down some of the things that separate and divide us, and so I'm really excited that Food for the Poor can be a part of this rebuilding and restoration, because I think that's what God's all about.
Speaker 2And I heard a term, I read an article and I had to write it down a term that I thought was fascinating called fire fatigue. This is an article I read. It said and this was a city official was recalling their spouse who was part of the sheriff's department in this area. And it said the veteran city official whose spouse in a Los Angeles County sheriff, who's a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, who had been dispatched to help with evacuations, said the entire family was experiencing fire fatigue After more than two weeks spent waiting for wind-driven flames to threaten their home. So they were just on pins and needles.
Speaker 4That's right. For sure it was exhausting. Right it was exhausting.
Speaker 2And they said it's a lot. I love california, I love los angeles, but this is definitely stressful. Can you identify with that?
Speaker 4oh for sure, and I think that was probably one of the hardest things, because you didn't, you just did not know, and that's the thing, because, um, like one of the fires, the hollywood fire, they were closing exits from two exits down for me and going south. So if any time, if the wind would have gone north, it would have been heading my direction. The palisades, 5, 12 miles from there, was like coming so far to my area that they started evacuating the next community over because of the wind. So that's the thing. You just didn't know. You know and like, and then you have, like, you're like, you probably noticed, like, if, like a notification is going off, like at all times of the day and night, and you're like, is it time? Do I go now? Do I not? Can I go back to sleep? You know, and so it was, it was just a lot. And then just to know, like, okay, if we need to go, what do I take? And like, what do I leave? And thankfully, I think, unlike you, because the winds were so bad.
Speaker 4I saw this other Facebook friend of mine. She was like I took my son to school and I didn't even. I smelled smoke, I didn't see anything near my community. She goes I want to go grab lunch In 30 minutes. She came back. Her house was gone 30 minutes. So it's like people, so like she goes, I had all of the clothes on my back and so that's, I think, probably one of the big differentiators this time compared to maybe others, that because it spread so quickly, or you know, you even assuming like we'd be able to go back, you know, and then it's kind of like how seriously do you take it or not? You know all those different things. So, yeah, it was a very, very exhausting week.
Speaker 4And then, on top of the fact, I got sick, so that was a whole other other other level of like trying just to like keep alert and making sure you know and what did you keep thinking of what?
Speaker 3what's the first thing you take, as if that fire would have touched your backyard. What's the first thing you?
Speaker 4I was kind of like do I leave? You know what I mean? Just because they're like you know my family. I have a lot of family in Ohio, so they're like come home and trying to decide, do I just get out of here altogether and just kind of like take, because I, you know, I don't own a home, so it was just easy. So for me to leave would be much easier, did?
Speaker 1you have a bag packed.
Speaker 4Oh my gosh. Yes, yes, I think I'm going to keep it packed, because I was like there could be an earthquake around the corner my slides will be coming.
Speaker 4I was like I think now that is my bag, that will just be there, you know, especially with my documents and stuff. But it's like you know, you don't realize. So every time I kept thinking, oh my gosh, I need to have that in my bag, or that should have been in my bag, and you just don't think, you know, like you think, oh, I'll have time, but you just don't sometimes, you know. But I definitely identify with the fatigue of it, for sure.
Speaker 1Well, down below just a while ago in Moss, one of the key leaders here. He's experiencing the fire fatigue as someone serving others during this time.
Speaker 2You're watching a special edition of our Beyond the Plate podcast. We're here in Venice Beach, california, speaking with two of our family members here at Food for the Poor, laura Anderson and Pastor Stephen Snook, and we're so grateful for Savannah and the team here at Moss in Venice Beach, california, for allowing us this very cozy. I say that if we are coming back for a West Coast podcast, we're back here, right? Oh, we have to.
Speaker 3I have to now. Let's see if she's available. I'm like way too comfortable, just come on in, knock on the door.
History & Revival (City of Angels)
Speaker 2We know where the fridge is, yeah exactly, but Danny shared earlier about hope from the ashes. You know coming back from the ashes. And before we talk about revival, I'd like to take us back to history. You were telling us something very interesting about the history of Pacific Palisades and the spiritual connection with Pacific Palisades.
Speaker 1before we talk about that revival, so the Palisades was owned by the methodist denomination. The methodist church bought it as a place for missionaries and pastors who served their life to retire by the beach. The mobile home park we live in at the beach, which is a beautiful place to live, was a campground for the methodist church for those same people in the summers. At the top of Temescal, at Sunset Boulevard, is a campground the Methodist Church owned and it was a place it was called Chautauqua West and it was a gathering place in the 1920s where they would raise up the next generation of Christian leaders. So they would come to this campground and meet in tents and they would all stay there and they would train them up because there wasn't formal Bible colleges and stuff. So they would come and they would do it at Chautauqua, new York, and then Chautauqua West in the Palisades. The alphabet streets in the Pacific Palisades are named after missionaries and leaders in Christianity back in those days in the 10th, you know, turn of century 19, up to 1920 and 30. That's all gone. All the alphabet streets are gone. But where that was and the village there it's like an amphitheater and back in the 20s there was multiple churches would come together from Santa Monica and the west side of Los Angeles for a sunrise service where 20,000 people would come. We still have a sunrise service on the beach where multiple churches come together.
Speaker 1For the last 35 years or so and I've been a part of that 35 years or so and I've been a part of that so in the past was a history that then became now one of the most exclusive communities in America. But it's kind of lost some of that. But our prayer is that there could be more. But Los Angeles is a city that's had major revival over the years that it's kind of come and left azusa street we talked about that idea of crew and other organizations but these things that have happened here that are so amazing.
Speaker 1But it's like in these last days I think god's heart is that I don't want anyone to perish and maybe I I will allow a shaking. I don't think God's behind this, but he allowed it and the shaking I'm believing is going to bring a spiritual awakening. But there's a need for revival in the church so we can have a spiritual awakening among those people who don't know the love of Christ, don't know that God loves them and that there is more to life and there's a lot more on the other end when we leave this world. So, yeah, this is the history, but it's not been the story for many, many years.
Speaker 3Just after what you just said. I'm just thinking about how wildfires will change people, but not the actual place where it'll happen. So I'm imagining, probably another year from now, somebody from the Methodist Church is going to come back and say this is where our history is. Why would we want to change that? So I think it's now changing not only people, but now you're changing communities as well. So, even though it's in ashes right now, I think it's going to come back stronger and you're gaining other people while this process is going on. Um, people that didn't know where the palisades were before, now they do. Folks that they didn't know live there and now they know where they live and what kind of need they help. So what kind of help they need, excuse me. So, uh, this is, um, this is unfortunate. Again'm going to say because this is the only time that we're getting together.
Speaker 3We should get together because it's Sunday or it's Tuesday or Wednesday, it doesn't matter because there was a fire or a hurricane or a tornado, the fact that devastation does bring us together. But I think it's a little different now and it's going to be a lot different.
Speaker 1So my hope, the body of Christ under Christ's headship. My hope, the body of Christ under Christ's headship is supposed to carry on the mission. But the picture of the body of Christ is not a bunch of little bodies of Christ in different congregations, it's one body. So if we could unite really around the mission of Christ, under his leadership, we could show Los Angeles what Jesus looks like. That's powerful, okay. But for us to operate the way it's designed means we're going to have to let go of some things, and that means I've had to do that, but I'm not the only one. But I believe that in the stirring is that the greatest thing in America, the greatest volunteer force in America, is the church.
Speaker 1Everyone says it but we are so divided it doesn't look like it. So this may be an opportunity in one place where they would never expect it that it could actually happen here.
Speaker 4And even like from a cultural standpoint too, because you know, I think of everything that comes out of LA, whether it's music, art, film it shapes culture not only in our country but across the world, you know, and so I think if that can be redeemed we've seen a lot of the stuff that's been coming out of the industry that's very dark, and I think if that can be redeemed for God as well, that I think will be part of all that too, you know again, but I think it's just people uniting of again around culture, again, again around the arts, again around the church, everything, and I think that will all come out of here, you know.
Speaker 1So even around podcasts, right? A city of angels? Yeah, los Angeles. Messengers for God, that's our name, and it can be redeemed it will it sure will.
Speaker 4And it doesn't take another fire. Right One is enough. Yes, enough. We need this happening every year to remind everybody that God's here.
Speaker 1It's all right, one's enough if you're listening.
Speaker 4An earthquake right now.
Speaker 1That would be interesting.
Speaker 4I was just like no.
Speaker 1My fear now is that because Well you guys are here so you could experience it.
Speaker 3No, okay.
Speaker 2Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 4Emphasis on thank you I think the prayers really need to be, because we're heading into our rainy season too, so I think we all we kind of spoke a little about that with all the vegetation gone Now I've seen little houses Fall off hills because of the way the mud Will, like literally, go away from underneath the homes. I think it was near me in the valley. Like, literally, the mud came down the hill so quickly that Lily pulled a grand piano out of the house onto the road and was just sitting there in the middle of the road. So that's another element that we deal with quite often and because now we have all this open land with nothing there to hold the mud there that could be coming. So we'll see how that goes.
Speaker 2Another reason to keep us on our knees praying for this community and to connect because we have listeners, and over 200 you know that follow our podcast in over 250 cities, 24 countries around the world.
A Look at Pacific Palisades’ History and Spiritual Legacy
Pray For LA
Speaker 1That um have heard your story and others on our podcast, but we're one yeah but we're one yes so I just this week I've been working on how to pray. 30 years ago we started doing these pray for la cards and had a list of things, and I went back and looked at the list but I realized that there's some things that need to change for right now.
Speaker 1And so there's some specific things that I think could help people and that I could even pass on to you guys. But we do need prayer right now so we can see God do what he wants to do and we can kind of stay out of the way. But on that list we've written it even in a way that you could give it to anybody your neighbor, your coworkers, people that don't believe that you believe. But for us to be able to say listen, we need prayer, but knowing that, for those of us that are in Christ, we know what's behind these prayers as well. But for me, to put it in the hand of the chief of police, or put it in the hand of UCLA, where I get to do some work over there, or among these people that are just trying to help, but we need your prayers. And so for you guys, as you share with other people, just know that LA needs your prayers right now and they need them focused, because we can't see the restoration if God's not in it.
Speaker 3We're talking with Laura Anderson from our development team, as well as Pastor Stephen Snook from Church Alliances, and a question for both of you actually, who needs more prayer right now Family, friends or community?
Speaker 1Well, I'm going to start. I'm going to say my family. I was going to say my friends family, I was going to say my friends. Yeah, so for me, because I know what this is like when I drove up with my wife two days ago and the first time she had seen it. And my daughter is going through some physical things.
Speaker 1So one of the problems with me sometimes and people that do what I do is that we just start focusing in on other people and I I do care about the community and my heart is there, but my heart has got to be right where it needs to be, with my wife and my daughter that are going through this, and even my daughter's dog, George, who is like what's going on. But with that then comes this heart, because God then starts showing us how much he loves us and he's going to get us through, and then we get to actually be more organic. I believe in how we care for others and we comfort others from the comfort we've received. So I need to receive, because I'm usually the one that's always giving. Right now I need to receive and I need to receive for my family. So pray for us so that we can then be the salt and light that we need to be, Cause she's she needs that too.
Speaker 4And she needs to tell a different way in a different way.
Speaker 3Same question for you.
Speaker 4Um, I think for me, because I don't have my own family, I think it's just a little bit easier for me in that way.
Speaker 4Um, it's different, you know, it's very different, but at the same time I'm just so thankful, like just for the support of people from food for the poor. That's been like so amazing. Um. But I think too, I think it's very interesting, and just like cause, of knowing Steve for such a long time, and even like hearing some of the little stories you've had in just in our conversations.
Speaker 4You know, in taking care of yourself and in taking care of your family, cause think that's the thing too right, if you don't have anything to give out, you you know, if you're not taking care of yourself in enough, in a good enough way, you can't give out, so then you're just drained all the time. But I think too, it's just been so interesting to hear, just like, in all your little meetings, all these divine appointments, in the midst of all of that, god is still working, god is still bringing people to you, you're still having conversations, you, and I think that's what's the beauty of it. I just think you kind of just need to do your day to day, you know, and God will show up, you know, and.
Speaker 4God will bring the right people at the right time. You know, I think a lot of it is just organic and I think, like you're doing some things to even organize leaders and spiritual leaders, you know, so that's an undertaking you're doing. So I think, yeah, it kind of goes in a lot of different ways.
POSITIVE NOTE: Pray for LA
Speaker 2You know, well, we end every episode on a positive note, but this time I want to do something different, because we just talked about greatest prayer. I'd like that positive note to come from all of you in our audience. I'd love for our audience, those who'd like to subscribe to our Best Bite you can go to foodforthepoororg slash podcast or follow us on Instagram at beyondtheplatepodcast. I'd love to send each and every one of you that will sign up for our Best Bite, the list of how to pray for Los Angeles. If you give that to us in a pdf form, we would love to share it with all of you in our audience, because this is too important to just be a podcast, just to talk about it.
Speaker 2Faith without works is dead and and and. That james 2 scripture was probably a scripture I read almost every day. When I started at Food for the Poor, I had it almost every day. I would sit at my desk and I'd go there because I knew that what is it that I say? God bless, go. You know I'm praying for you, be well. And I did nothing to help the body do something. And so I want to ask all of our audience as watching either our last episode with Savannah from here at Moss, or right now with Laura and Pastor Steve. If you would like to be a part of praying for this community, praying for this man of God, this family member, these family members to Food for the Poor, we'd like you to please sign up for our Best Bite at foodforthepoororg slash podcast. Just go to Best Bite, sign up and we'll send you out the list of how you can pray for this community. Let that be our positive note.
Speaker 1It's a big drive. Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2Pastor Stephen, Laura, we'll be back.
Speaker 4Okay, that's what I was going to say. I was going to say like yeah. I think that's one of the biggest things, right Like we have a lot of attention, but in a few months that cycle will spin out you know and the people are still left here to continue to figure out their life, and so I think it'd be great to do a follow-up, you know.
Speaker 1We see North Carolina. Right, let's go to the party at the beach.
Speaker 2You can be a part of it Tacos and people. That's all I heard.
Speaker 3That's all.
Speaker 2I heard let's stop there.
Speaker 1Food in the ocean, all right, god bless you guys, fist bump, thank you so much, thank you.
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Speaker 3right folks we'll see you on the next Beyond the Plate episode. I'm waving.
