In East LA, many of the houses are triple deckers, and if you keep following the driveway, you’ll find another triple decker behind it, and if you go further, you’ll find a third. It’s 8:30 pm, and the young man and Elder Stone have encountered nothing but “No hablo inglés” for the last hour. TheyContinue reading “Know When to Run”
Tag Archives: Gangs
We Should Not Have Come Here
They have been tracting for a couple of hours in Armenian apartments in Glendale, CA. Mostly, they have heard, “No speak English,” or “We are first Christian. We know the God. We know the Jesus. We know everything.” They are close to lunch when they knock a door that probably has no one home–the shadesContinue reading “We Should Not Have Come Here”
Blood In
The young man is a freshman at Carroll High School. He has finished lunch and has gone up to his locker. Carroll has an outdoor hall system, and the lockers are in un-air-conditioned rooms at the ends of each of the five wings. His locker is on the first wing upstairs. The young man isContinue reading “Blood In”
I Have Killed Many Men
The missionaries are in a well-kept home in Alta Dena at the request of the mission president. He had called the young man to tell him that Kevin’s wife had asked for her husband to be taught, but he should not be pushed. The mission president had said, “It’s a delicate situation. Her husband isContinue reading “I Have Killed Many Men”
The Neighborhood Dealer with the Uzi
The door swings open. An Armenian man in his mid-40s smiles and lets them in without a word. He is wearing alligator skin loafers, white jeans, and a black silk button-down shirt. A pair of sunglasses sits on the top of his head. The young man and Elder Judd sit on a plush couch. “I’mContinue reading “The Neighborhood Dealer with the Uzi”
In the Streets Without No Heart
It is just past 11 am when they knock a door at the end of a cul-de-sac just off Lake Avenue. The young man can hear voices and a lot of movement on the other side of the door. The door opens to reveal a young black man, his eyes full of tears and red.Continue reading “In the Streets Without No Heart”
Green Light
Near dusk, they knock a door halfway down the street. The woman says nothing but immediately waves them in. She motions to the couch and the young man and his companion sit. “Do you guys have any more videos you could leave me?” “Did missionaries give you some of our videos?” “Yeah, you guys did.”Continue reading “Green Light”
They Won’t Kill Me if I’m with You
The young man and Elder Johnson tap on the door, and a young Latino waves them in quickly. “You didn’t see no one else out there, did you?” he says. “No,” says the young man, as he sits down on the couch. “Why? What’s up, Anthony?” Anthony peeks out the window, which is covered byContinue reading “They Won’t Kill Me if I’m with You”
I’m a OG
It is dusk in the snake pit. The door opens, and the man immediately lets them in, motioning them to a card table in the kitchen. He is probably mid-twenties, black, trim, and wearing dreds and a white muscle shirt. “Always good to see people who represent the Lord.” They chit chat a few minutes,Continue reading “I’m a OG”
What This Neighborhood Needs
They have parked the car and just finished praying together. The young man looks at Elder Davis. “So we’ll check this media referral and if no one is here, we’ll tract this street.” “Sounds good.” The street they have come to is the outside edge of the snake pit—a two-mile area on the west sideContinue reading “What This Neighborhood Needs”
The Living and the Dead, by Gordon Laws 