Previously, on Lost...

Know what's embarrassing? Forgetting about a blog you made two years ago, starting to make another one, and having Google remind you that you already have one. Sorry for leaving my blog lying around, the internet.

Anyway! I've decided to try and get this bad boy up and running again for a couple reasons, the most immediate being that I want to let people know about LAUP. What is LAUP? Well, fictitious wonderer, it stands for the Los Angeles Urban Project and, coincidentally, is pronounced "lay-up", not "lowp" (it's ok, I made the same mistake). More importantly, however, it is an immersive six-week mission trip to inner-city LA through InterVarsity. To oversimplify somewhat, LAUP as a program has three main goals: (1) Care for the poor, (2) Pursue racial reconciliation, and (3) Labor in the area of prayer and spiritual warfare.

What happens is that a bunch of students sign up, get divided into teams of six or seven, then get distributed to various churches, ministries, or non-profits and spend the remainder of their time working at their sites. My team and I (that's us in the pic) get to work with Homeboy Industries, which is a group that provides various services to ex-gang members and prison inmates in order to help get them out of those lifestyles. We're not sure yet what our responsibilities will be exactly, but Homeboy offers their clients everything from job training to tattoo removal to legal services.

Left to right: Sarah, Suneun, Nick (our fearless leader), Ervin, and me.
Not pictured: Kayla (the 6th chosen one!).

Guys, I'm really excited to get to go to LAUP. The thought of working with ex-cons and gang members for six weeks is pretty intimidating, but I am looking forward to it overall. God has a way of showing up in difficult situations and providing something amazing on the other side.

In any case, there are two ways you can help support this trip. The first, obviously, is financially. I am responsible for fundraising $1,600 for this trip, and if you would like to help support me (in a tax-deductible way!), there are two ways to do that. The first is to donate online at https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate. Just search for my name and you'll find me. The second is to mail a check (made out to Intervarsity) to:
Talbot School of Theology, T-403
13800 Biola Ave
La Mirada, CA 90639

More importantly, though, my team and I will need prayer. Without prayer covering us and our community, everything we do will be a waste. If you would like to partner with me in prayer, I would love to hear from you-- it's always so encouraging to know that other people are praying alongside you.  My email is gordon.samuel.lee@gmail.com.

I'm going to keep updating this every few days up until LAUP, so keep checking back for new posts. As for tonight, though, it's time for me to hit the books as hard as my caffeinated mind can. Until we meet again!

Kinda like this, but with less smiles.