Downtown 2/15/10

Now that my work schedule has changed back to nights for the next few months I'll be going downtown on Mondays or Tuesdays or at least until the daylight hours are longer ( I have to sleep during the daytime now). Today, due to the President's Day holiday, was very light in terms of traffic and the weather was actually warm when I got there (76 degrees). Most of the homeless folks were still bundled up from the cold air of the night before. Back in September I had a trip downtown where the first half an hour or so I couldn't give anything away. That's right, I'd offer to give stuff to homeless people and no one seemed to want anything. After awhile, I pulled the car over and prayed that God would open things up; after all He called me to this ministry. I was now running out of daylight hours to give stuff away. After praying the change was immediate in the response of the people I came into contact with. Within 30 or 40 minutes I had given everything out. In fact, at one point it got to be so ridiculously easy that while driving under a freeway a homeless woman was walking towards my car and yelled out, "I'm homeless can you help me?" Well, today was kind of like those 40 minutes. Everything just clicked and the first six or seven people I came into contact with were all in desperate need of help.
Lorezo was the first guy I met as I exited the freeway at Central Ave and the I-10. I saw him on the sidewalk with a sweatshirt on, leaning up against a building with just one bag at his feet. I'm sure that was all the possessions he had. I had to circle around the block and come back to him but he was very thankful that I came by. He had nothing to eat or drink and was so thankful for the help.
Robert and Hector were next. I found both of them on 18th St. about two blocks apart. I have seen Robert a couple of times but I had never seen Hector before. Hector was sitting by himself at the back corner of a building. He quickly came over to the car when I offered him some food. I could tell (smell) that he had had something to drink but he was very polite and very thankful for the help. I was happy to give him food, water, shirts and a blanket. I'm actually surprised that I don't see more people like Hector. Perhaps it's because I go there during the day, I don't know. I have learned that God loves these people no matter what condition they are in and I always continue to treat them with respect and as a friend. I know that in the New Testament Jesus was often criticized for associating with 'sinners'. They seemed to like being around him. I'm guessing Jesus treated them a lot better than the 'regular' people did and they appreciated it. I've noticed that the flaws of the homeless may be more noticeable than our flaws and we are simply better at hiding ours from others. Jesus knew people's hearts and probably didn't see a lot of difference between the town 'sinners' and the 'regular' town people. Therefore, he treated everyone the same no matter their position in life. I prayed with Hector and when I left him he was praising God.
Tyrone was just a little further down 18th St. at Main St. He had his shopping cart next to him and he appeared to be sleeping. My guess is he spent the night at that spot. I didn't get much reaction from him but he did accept the food and water. I asked if I could pray for him and he said, "Naw, that's OK." Maybe he thought I was going to preach a sermon to him, I don't know, so I stood on the other side of his shopping cart and prayed for him anyway.
I found Ron from Kentucky on Wall St. just off of Washington Blvd. He was sitting on the sidewalk eating out of a carton of ice cream of all things. He was quite happy to receive some 'real' food and some water. He told me he was going to stay out here in California until spring time and then go back to Kentucky. We talked for a little bit about country music when I told him my favorite country music artist was from there. I'm not sure why he came out here but he was looking forward to going back home. We prayed and he thanked me for stopping.
The last man was another Ron. This was the Ron who lives on the 4th St. Bridge at 'his ledge'. He was so happy to see me today. I don't think he gets a chance to talk to very many people and when he saw me he looked at me like a long lost friend. It had only been a couple of weeks since the first time I had seen him. He was grateful for the help today and one of the things he said was, "Water, it's always good." I'm glad I brought plenty. By the way, on the way to the 4th St Bridge I looked for (shoeless) Marie but didn't see her. I'll keep looking for her next week.
At the end of the gospel of John, after Jesus' resurrection, the story is told of a heart to heart talk between Peter and Jesus. He asked Peter, "Do you love me? Then feed my lambs. Peter, do you really love me? Then take care of my sheep. Peter, do you truly love me? Then feed my sheep." For Lorenzo, Robert, Hector, Tyrone, Ron and Ron these are the ones God put in front of me today. I truly love Him. Until next week. --John