The Sheahan’s

April, 2011

A couple weeks ago a few of us went on a 5-hour walk through the neighborhoods that lay just to the south of Golden Hill in San Diego. These two neighborhoods, Sherman Heights and further south, Logan Heights, have reputations that get worse the further south you go.

Gangs. Severe Poverty. Mostly Mexican and Chicano. Rough places where White’s don’t normally walk around for 5 hours much less live there.

So what motivated us to wonder these hoods? Two reasons: 1) We had the opportunity to hand out flyers that would give some of the the poor opportunities to basically “buy” fresh-hard-to-get produce for free. Spend 20.00 and get 20.00 back at the new Farmers Market in Golden Hill. Not all poor have access to fresh produce…but now they do. 2) I have really wanted to know these places more intimately – not just their reputation from a distance but who these people really are, what their houses are really like and to see first hand the ‘scary hoods’ nearby.

White pretty Carli was my street mate…she worked one side of the street while I worked the other. My protective fatherly instincts forced me to keep a close eye on Carli. I could see in front of her that she was about to encounter a front yard full of boom boxing, tatted and tattered young men of varied racial/ethnic backgrounds. I stopped to watch: do I ready my thumb on 911? Do I get ready to do a rescue…by myself!? To my relieved surprise these guys greeted Carli with dignity, respect and interest in her flyer. “Wow, Shaun chill out!” That just broke the reputation I had of this hood. They may be in a poor place but they aren’t necessarily acting poorly.

Just as that happened a man greeted me in Spanish. He actually seemed to expect this Caucasian (me) to reply back in Spanish and when I did just that, he didn’t seem the least bit surprised. This older jolly looking smiling Mexican man had lived in this well maintained and manicured home for over 40 years and loved his neighborhood.  Forty years! He had just returned from visiting his hometown in deep Mexico which he told me about with enthusiasm. Then he looked at me and said in Spanish, “I think you’d make a good neighbor, you could move here”. He told me that 5 years ago he wouldn’t have made that dangerous suggestion to a white guy, but now it has morphed into a “little safer” barrio where, in his words, “many beautiful colors live next to each other”. He seemed to think that adding more different colors to this barrio would be a beautiful thing. I think Jesus would have agreed.

As the encounter reached it’s end I shook his hand, thanked him for his time and told him my name. With a laugh and a smile, he told me his name: Juan Casanova… and he won my heart that day. As I walked away I told him I would consider his suggestion. OH man, I forgot to give him a flyer!

I don’t know much about heaven, but I do think it’s a place that will be full of different colors too.

Pray for the Sheahan’s as we ask God where our next home will be and how He will provide for it. 

And thank you for being with us.

Shaun, Maria, Jeremy, Kaory and Josh Sheahan

shaun.sheahan@crmleaders.org 619 948-3787 * maria.sheahan@crmleaders.org 619 495-9691 * www.sheahanlife.com

162 1^st Ave Chula Vista, CA 91910