Marco Adame Jr., a 17-year-old Young Marine who's gone far enough in the program to justifiably play the tough-guy with the younger kids, eyeballs recruit Michael Carlson during maneuvers at Fort McArthur in San Pedro.
At the conclusion of a costume drama about gang life and Christian salvation performed at a housing project in San Pedro, CA, New Harvest Christian Fellowship member Charlie Marquez corners aspiring gang-member Leonard Garcia for a prayer.
Segregated from the menfok by a long aisle they dare not cross, the women and children of Iglesia Christiana raise their hands in praise during the service's rollicking opening hymn.
At New Harvest Christian Fellowship in San Paedro, CA, Victor Ortega and Felipe Hidalgo perform a fiercely energetic 'clap offering,' a rapid-fire ritual handclapping that physically embodies intense prayer.
The street-level accessibility of storefront churches like Victory Chapel make it possible for new immigrants or people in crisis to get comfort and wisdom from a source other then the bigger churches that sometimes intimidate them.
During and altar call at Iglesia Christiana, on Pacific Avenue in San Pedro, CA, Maricella Martinez beats her breast and weeps for joy while lost in a prayer that literally shakes her body.