LAUP Fast Facts
Hey friends and family! This summer I'll be participating in a 6-week internship through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship called LAUP! Here's some deets:

WHAT IS LAUP?: Los Angeles Urban Project, or LAUP, is an internship program that exists to give students a glimpse into the lives of the urban poor in Los Angeles and how God’s heart breaks for them. My site will be in East Hollywood. 

WHO'S GOING? Me, of course! I’ll be going with a team of five other students from the InterVarsity chapter at my school, CSULB.  

WHEN IS THIS?I will be participating for six weeks of the summer, from June 19th to July 30th.  

WHAT ARE YOU DOING/LEARNING?: At LAUP, I’ll be living intentionally in an inner-city  neighborhood. My team will be on a fixed income(one comparable to that of the people living around us) and without access to a personal cell phone or computer. I will be partnering with organizations in the city to serve the community we’re in. I will be learning how biblical values like justice, compassion, and hope play into and bring light to the often bleak landscape of systemic injustice and poverty.

BUT WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? In complete honesty, the main reason I wanted to do LAUP is because I realized how little I knew or truly cared about the plight of the urban poor. It was much easier to pretend like the issue of poverty was something far away and foreign, not something pretty much in my backyard. However, the more I've studied the ministry of Jesus, the more I've realized the poor and disenfranchised were those most instrumental and beloved within it, and I want to learn how to be a part of that. The more I've begun to consider systemic poverty, the more I've realized it's all around us in LA county. For example:

• 40% of Los Angeles County Homeless are Women and Children
• 1 in 6 Los Angeles County Residents live below the poverty line.
• There are over 150,000 gang members in Los Angeles County

Many residents live their lives amidst poverty, drugs, and violence. Innocent children in our inner cities are born into enormous disadvantages, lacking quality education, health care, and limited attention from adults.

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How You Can Support:  

(1) Prayer. LAUP is going to present all kinds of unexpected and unforeseen challenges for both my team and myself. Your support through prayer for protection, blessing, and open hearts for all we will be experiencing will be crucial. Commit to regular prayer for my LAUP team, our site, and the
neighborhood we’ll be serving.

(2) Finances. The non-profit organization we are going with is sending 22 students to various locations around the world. Collectively we are attempting to raise $51,000 for all of us to go.

If you would like to make a donation:
1. Go to https://donate.intervarsity.org/donate#17842
2. type in a $ amount (ignore the top part that asks you to type in a name because you're already at the right place)
3. it should lead you to a place where you can input all your name and other giving info.


(Also for you hip youths, you can venmo me if that's easier~)

Thanks for reading this far, you're the best! Text/call/PM me if you have any questions.

Your favorite human,
Stephen