The Tenderloin is a neighborhood in downtown San Francisco, California, in the flatlands on the southern slope of Nob Hill, situated between the Union Square shopping district to the northeast and the Civic Center office district to the southwest. It encompasses about 50 square blocks and a conservative description has it bounded on the north by Post Street, on the east by Mason Street, on the south by Market Street and on the west by Larkin Street. The northern boundary with Lower Nob Hill historically has been set at Geary Street.

With housing consisting almost entirely of single-room-occupancy hotel rooms, studio and one bedroom apartments, the Tenderloin historically housed single adults and couples. After World War II, with the decline in central cities throughout the United States, the Tenderloin lost population, creating a large amount of vacant housing units by the mid-1970s. Beginning in the late 1970s, after the Vietnam War, the Tenderloin received large numbers of refugees from Southeast Asia—first ethnic Chinese from Vietnam, then Khmer from Cambodia and Hmong from Laos. The low cost vacant housing, and the proximity to Chinatown through the Stockton Street Tunnel, made the area attractive to refugees and resettlement agencies. Studio apartments became home for families of four and five people and became what a local police officer called “vertical villages.” The Tenderloin quickly increased from having just a few children to having over 3,500 and this population has remained. A number of neighborhood Southeast Asian restaurants, banh mi coffee shops, ethnic grocery stores, video shops and other stores were created at this time, which still exist.

The one square mile Tenderloin District contains the largest population of homeless in the country. There are over 500 high-rise apartments filled with low-income and the poor. The need is great.

[ Dates and Cost ]

San Francisco 2012 will be on June 25-30, 2012. The trip will cost approximately $350 per person. This price includes transportation, food, and housing during our trip.

For more information, download the registration packet.

A $50 non-refundable deposit along with the registration form is due on February 19 to secure your spot. Participation in all team meetings and fundraisers is mandatory.

*UPDATE Videos from the night’s festivities are below:

Man of God

Figgy Pudding

12 Days of Christmas

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Speed the Light Battle of the Sexes is BACK!

For 5 weeks only! The contest of the CENTURY! Which team will emerge victorious? Will it be the Girls Team? Or will the Guys Team pull an upset and win this year?

RULES:

From November 22nd, 2011 to December 20th, 2011, the team that brings in the most money for Speed The Light wins the STL Battle of the Sexes 2011! Funds brought in after December 20th, 2011 do not count toward this competition.

PRIZE:

The prize is dependent on the team that wins:

If the GIRLS TEAM wins, they will be awarded a shopping trip to the Westfield Galleria at Roseville Mall with a $20 gift card good for any store*

If the GUYS TEAM wins, they will be awarded a trip and all-day pass to the Airsoft Battlegrounds in Roseville (guns, ammo, and other equipment not provided)*

ELIGIBILITY:

You may claim the full prize if your team wins AND you bring a personal total of at least $50 to STL during the STL Battle of the Sexes.

*If you do not meet the requirements for the gift card or free pass and your team wins, you may still attend the trip (Girls may still attend the shopping trip and guys may still attend the airsoft trip) at their own expense. Guys may not attend the Girls’ trip if they win, and Girls may not attend the Guys’ trip if they win.

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As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, I’m getting excited about the tummy turkey, dressing, pie and the loads of other deliciousness awaiting my tummy. Thanksgiving is the gateway to the Holiday season’s abundance of great food, family gatherings, Christmas shopping and did I mention great FOOD? Um, yeah. )

The concept of Thanksgiving is pretty simple: an annual holiday gathering that reminds us of all the people and provisions that have been provided. However, somehow in the midst of the commercialism and rush of the holiday season, we can tend to forget the reason behind the season. We get caught up in stuffing ourselves full of food, without being grateful for the food. We get caught up in Black Friday shopping, without being grateful for the money we have to go shopping, we get to spend countless hours with family and friends, without thanking God we have family and friends around us.

Adrenaline students, leaders and staff: Let’s be challenged this year to go into the Holiday season with a grateful heart. Savoring the blessings God has given and taking the simple moments to thank him for the previous year. Let’s remember our missionaries and the mission fields they represent and be reminded that we have so much more than some of their richest citizens.

Let’s remember those who aren’t healthy this holiday season. Come join us for our C9 small group Thanksgiving this Friday. We’ll be making Christmas cards for those going through cancer treatment at the Enloe Cancer Center.

We love you and appreciate all of you. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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EPIC on October 25

Featuring J6, a Costume Contest, and free food!

Relentless Youth Convention

November 11-12. Guests include Thousand Foot Krutch, KJ-52, Allen Griffin, Jon Pritikin, and Abe Daniel. Sign-ups are available at Adrenaline or can be downloaded below.

Relentless Youth Convention 2011

We have all faced hesitation in life. We think, “Maybe if I did this it could have turned out better.” This is where trust comes in to play. Face it, we can not do everything alone. However, we can call on God and trust Him to give us strength.

God puts people in our lives here on Earth to help mold us into the person He wants us to become. There are going to be times where we need help in something and God places friends and family members in our lives so that we can get through the tough situations together. He is in control and he knows EXACTLY what He is doing.

But if we know these things, why do we STILL not listen to His Word and what He tells us? In this game of life, He is like our Coach. A coach always wants the best for his players. They can tell when a player is tired so they give them a break. God is rest. A coach makes sure the player has the proper equipment when playing so they don’t get hurt. God gave us his Word, He is with us in spirit, and He also gives us people in our lives to help us push forward. He has given us the necessary equipment. We have to trust Him that He is going to help us be the best we can ever be.

It’s this five letter word that helps us understand so much. TRUST. We have to trust in God with everything. He is not going to hurt us, but instead He will help us reach the full potential that He has designed us for. So next time you feel that you have nothing left, trust in God and He will show you that you have more than enough.

You’re walking with your parent at the local supermarket, and you see someone who looks strangely familiar… Out of the blue, your parent walks straight up to them and starts talking endlessly. After smiling politely through the conversation, you say goodbye to the person.

You then turn to your parent and ask them “Who was that?”

Your parent turns to you with a confused expression and says,”You don’t recognize her? That was your aunt!”

No matter how much you picture the person’s face, you can’t really place them before someone else tells you who they are. This has happened to me countless times. Only it was a bit different.

I try to be a Campus Missionary as much as I can, as I’m sure a lot of you are. But I get stumped sometimes with my stack of The Book of Hope on who to give them to. I want to help someone with it, and I want to give out as many as I can, but it’s terribly complicated figuring out who needs it. I wouldn’t want to walk up to someone with one in my hand and say “Hey, take this. I think you need it.” and have them tell me “Dude, I’m already a Christian. I go to church every Sunday and I have Jesus in my heart.” How would I walk away from that? I would feel so foolish. What would they think of me?

So, you see, it’s exactly like the “Forgotten Aunt” situation. You can’t really tell if someone’s Christian or not just from how they look, or even how they act. What it really comes down to is that you just have to talk to people to know who they are. Then you can be a Campus Missionary to them, or actually invite them to join the cause too. Building relationships with people is one of the greatest ways to help.

Relentless Youth Convention

November 11-12. Guests include Thousand Foot Krutch, KJ-52, Allen Griffin, Jon Pritikin, and Abe Daniel. Sign-ups will be available soon.

“I Am Second”

C9 Groups begin in the Fall. Times and locations TBA.

In times when we do not think we can keep pushing on, thats when you give it everything you have and pray for strength to give more. The devil can not stand someone who keeps pushing forward. Praise God when you have nothing and praise him when you have everything. He is always there when we need him and will never ignore us. At times it may feel like he doesn’t care but he does. Think of it this way, if God doesn’t care why did he send his one and only son to die on a cross for us? He didn’t have to do anything, but he did, he did it for us. He did it so we could spend eternity with him. So when the storms of life come dance for him. Dance in the rain.