Ranked among the top 50 on the “must see cultural experiences in San Diego”, God’s Extended Hand Mission, established in 1924 is still up and running at its location on 5^th Avenue, Downtown. The mission is dedicated to serving our homeless brothers and sisters, and despite its capacity of seating 105 people, no individual has ever been turned away from a good meal. Pastor Curtis explained that the mission is where “miracles occur on a daily basis”.

The building in itself is a miracle as over the years it has been placed under lots of heat from the city. Pastor Curtis recalled a time when he was told that the building was in violation of 7 pages of code violations. Those violations seemed to miraculously disintegrate after a San Diego High School art teacher made a wrong turn late one night and stumbled upon the building. The teacher prayed over the last standing building on the surrounding city blocks and felt called to start creating. Bringing his class down, the students worked side by side with homeless patrons to create the beautiful mosaic that appears to line the building to this day. Gleaming in the shine of the sun, the artwork made entirely from donated materials, mostly old ceramic china and mirrors provide a perfect portrayal of the light of Christ that is shining through the work of many volunteers. The mosaic, where Jesus appears in a pair of tennis shoes surrounded by lambs, contains an infinite amount of symbolism. Pastor Curtis reported that the piece actually contains a wisdom tooth in its structure, provided by one of the students.

The mission is a non-denominational evangelical ministry that invites churches to step into their facilities to prepare a meal and provide a gospel message for the patrons. Pastor Curtis explained the miracle of labor the mission has received from fellow homeless volunteers who have filled in the gaps so that their brothers and sisters are able to receive hot meals free of cost. All volunteers that work to provide the other services for the mission such as distributing donated clothing, blankets, and sanitary supplies are supplemented by the blessing of shelter that the building provides in its upper flat. A sort of dormitory style of living, the staff and residents are joyful with hopeful aspirations of seeking further education as one man reported he plans to someday go on to “UC Berkeley to study computers”.

The mission offers a chance for people to see the “reality of God’s work feeding people’s needs”. A typical night’s service at God’s Extended Hand begins after patrons make a quick stop by the “Cart Valet” located near the backside of the building. Receiving their clothes pin, the ingenious system allows for the safety of these peoples lively possessions so that they are able to enter and eat, free of worry. Tired and worn faces fill the room but a significant change on their face is seen as many pipe up at the sound of familiar songs such as “Lord I Lift Your Name on High”. Engaging in singing and prayer, the patrons are brought into an uplifted state prepared to enter into the spirit of sharing in a blessed meal with one another. As Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor” and at Extended Hand of God it is easy to see this ever-standing truth.

Pastor Curtis invites and highly encourages all to come down to share and witness the beauty of God’s blessings where families are fed and warmed. He also sends out a friendly warning that a “cold winter is in sight” as the mission has received an overwhelmingly generous supply of blankets this year and it is “just like God” to bless his people through comforting their needs.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Season of Service, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.