FROM THE GC TO LA – WITH A LOT OF LOVE
For two young idealistic Gold Coasters, it’s been goodbye Paradise Point, goodbye Oxenford — and hello to the tough streets of Los Angeles
TWO twenty-somethings from the Gold Coast are making their mark overseas as they volunteer and travel, impacting the lives of those they meet.
They are among a growing number of youth from the city who are weary of some of the superficiality and materialism of their Y generation, and have turned their attention instead to finding meaning in their lives.
Caragh Nelson, 25, and Whitney Palmer, 21, have joined Youth With A Mission (YWAM), a volunteer Christian organisation that has been around for more than 50 years and has about 1000 bases in more than 130 countries, including Australia.
They have been living at a YWAM base in the tough suburb of Sylmar, Los Angeles – not far from where Rodney King was beaten to death by white policemen, which sparked race riots in the city.
Located in the hot, dusty San Fernando Valley, where an enormous amount of pornography is made, it’s a far cry from the comforts of the affluent Gold Coast.
However, this is where many young Australians are finding adventure and fulfilment. They bring their own special flavour to LA where they celebrate Australia Day with gusto, watch State of Origin, keep an eye on the latest news from news.com.au and, particularly, happenings on the Gold Coast.
Caragh, a Griffith University Bachelor of Science graduate from Paradise Point, left the Gold Coast and joined YWAM in LA nearly three years ago.
“Initially, I found it tough living in LA because the lifestyle is so different,” she tells Coast Weekend.
“I love the ocean, so it was really hard being so far away from the sea and my family.”
However, she says being part of such a vibrant Christian community of young people from around the world and the travel has more than made up for living so far away from home for nearly three years.
During this time, she has travelled to Canada, China, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Panama, Mexico and parts of America. Highlights have included volunteering at an eye clinic in South America, painting a building at an orphanage in Mexico, building homes for a poor community in Costa Rica and regularly feeding the homeless at a nearby skate park in Sunland, LA.
There have also been huge challenges, including walking through a Panama jungle in the dark to get help for a team member bitten by a scorpion, hearing unknown tribesmen case out her bungalow at night, bathing in rivers for a week and catching a bat in sleeping quarters while her hysterical team panicked.
When she’s back in LA, Caragh helps fine tune an aquaponics food growing system, which enables fruit and vegetables to grow really fast in gravel as they are fertilised by water containing fish poo.
The innovative system can be set up in almost any conditions by YWAM outreach teams in developing nations as a source of food. And did she reach her Holy Grail? Ywammers – as they are known – are recognised by their exuberance and passion for living life on the edge, and Caragh says there have been many hysterically funny moments in the past few years.
“At times, I’ve laughed so much, I’ve cried. I’ve danced so much, I’ve cramped,” she says.
“I’ve learnt to drive in hectic LA traffic and I’ve explored places that I had only seen on television, with people from all over the world. It’s been really, really great.’’
Photography graduate Whitney Palmer, 21, recently left her family home at Oxenford to document YWAM LA’s ministry to prostitutes and other sex workers in the San Fernando Valley.
She describes herself as a keen explorer who wants to meet new people and hear their stories: “Last year was the end of a chapter in my life when I completed a Bachelor of Photography at Griffith Uni in Brisbane. I didn’t want to settle for a mundane, predictable life, so I worked and saved. Then I hopped on a plane,” she says.
“This crazy city of Los Angeles is now my temporary home while I volunteer for an organisation called Justice 180.
It’s a Christian ministry with a passion for seeing the end of human trafficking,” she says.
“It’s all about taking a stand for the 27 million people who can’t and training up a generation to do the same.
Whitney is responsible for marketing Justice 180, which involves filming stories, interviews and capturing stock imagery to help raise awareness of the organisation.
“My first opinions of LA definitely wouldn’t qualify me for candidate of Tourism California,” she says.
“I arrived in the second week of August to suffocating heat and queues of traffic on every street with people who need to redo their drivers’ tests.
“I can’t say I loved it but as I’ve spent more time here, my opinion has definitely shifted to a more positive outlook. I’ve come to realise that everywhere is beautiful and I just need to stop comparing with previous experiences.
“The YWAM base is in a valley, surrounded by dry but rugged mountains, which are beautiful. I’ve
I’VE LEARNT TO DRIVE IN HECTIC LA TRAFFIC AND I’VE EXPLORED PLACES THAT I HAD ONLY SEEN ON TELEVISION, WITH PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
found the people of LA quite friendly and welcoming.”
Whitney said a highlight of her trip was helping backstage at LA Fashion Week and photographing models and celebrities – a surprising opportunity of a lifetime for the young photographer.
“As the weeks have gone by, I’ve had many other fantastic opportunities like joining the team on outreach trips.
“Everyone has told me to embrace my youth and to travel while I’m young and without responsibility. So that’s what I’m doing.
“I am so excited by the experiences of these past two months and am pumped for what else is to come when I get home,” Whitney says.