Downtown 4/6/2010

Due to Easter Sunday and rain on Monday I didn't get downtown until this morning. I first started looking for Ron who lives on the 4th St. bridge. I didn't see him or his stuff where he usually stays but as I continued driving over the bridge I saw a man sitting on one of the concrete benches that are periodically placed along the bridge. He was sitting upright but had a blanket over his head. When I finally got back to where he was and stopped (there's no stopping on the bridge) it turned out he was a lot younger than I would have suspected. He was probably in his early 20's and was quite coherent and awake. His name was Antonio. Due to the no stopping zone we couldn't talk much more than the basics. I've never seen Antonio before; I'll look for him again next week.
As I drove around the east side of the LA River I found a man with his shopping cart on Ceasar Chavez Blvd. He was waiting at the curb with no intent to cross the street. After circling around to get back to him I noticed he was drinking something out of a bottle. I knew it wasn't Gatorade. My first inclination was to just drive on, but I've encountered this situation before. Each time I'm reminded of my own flaws and how I pray God doesn't judge me based on my behavior but on Christ's work on my behalf. Every time I have to think about God's mercy on me and God's mercy on this man in front of me. Do I really believe God forgives me for repeated wrong behavior (if I ask for forgiveness)? If I do, then I know He will be merciful to this man also. And if that's the case, who am I to deny this man the physical comfort that I bring down here to help the homeless. I'm not the judge here, I'm the vessel sent to bring care and hope into this hopeless part of the world. I asked this man what his name was a couple of times because I had a hard time understanding what he said. I think he said his name was Efrian.
I drove through the skid row area of downtown on my way over to Washington and Figueroa St. There is a very large church building over there called the Glory Church of Jesus Christ. There are also a lot of homeless people living on the surrounding streets. One of the areas is a small parking lot off one of the adjacent streets and right by a freeway on-ramp to the I-10. Sometimes there are a half a dozen or so homeless people there. Recently, these people have been run out of there so I was a little surprised to see one man with his shopping cart sitting in there. I drove in (he was reading an old newspaper) and he looked up at me somewhat warily. When I asked if he needed some food that kind of broke the ice. He said it's been OK to stay there at night lately but during the day he never knows what's going to happen. The surrounding areas where most of the people have been congregating aren't too safe. His name was Walter and he thanked me for the help. It has to be very difficult to not have a safe quiet place to stay each day and night.
I drove along the I-10 surface streets and looked for Matthew from last week. He was the guy with the toothache. I found his stuff but he wasn't "home". While driving down Washington Blvd I saw a man sitting on the sidewalk near San Pedro St. When I pulled over and asked if he needed some food he said yes and struggled to get to his feet. He used an umbrella as a cane to help push himself up and made it over to the car. His name was Miguel Ortega. After giving him some food and water he lifted up his right pant leg and showed me a badly swollen knee. He said he didn't know why it was so swollen. I pulled around to the nearest alley and parked and walked back to him. This man needed prayer right then. I put my hands on his knee and prayed for his protection and needs as well as healing for his swollen knee. Unfortunately, I don't have the gift of healing but this man did have a big thankful smile on his face. I also noticed he didn't have any socks on. I asked him if he needed some socks and he said yes. I looked through the stuff I had with me and found some but they were ankle socks. They will be fine during the summer but right now this man needed something a little higher up than that. I gave him some shirts that I had and since I was close to the garment district I drove down there and bought some for Miguel. He was quite thankful when I returned with some "nuevo" socks. I noticed a man sleeping on a pallet in the alley where I had parked earlier so after finishing with Miguel I met Huey from Washington State. He is 40 years old. About all he had were the clothes on his back and one blanket. He said he was OK on clothes but he said he sure could use the food and water. I was happy to give him some to get through the next couple of days.
The last man today was on Santa Fe and 6th St. I never did get his name because he shuffled off with his shopping cart after getting the food and water. His shopping cart was about half full of bottles that he was collecting for recycling. Last week at the church I attended the pastor talked a little about how when he was a kid the liquor stores would pay you for returning empty soda pop bottles. His point was that the empty glass bottles were worthless to anyone else, but not to the manufacturer who was willing to pay to redeem them. Remember it was Easter Sunday and the point was well taken that God is our manufacturer and He was willing to pay for our redemption. Today's trip downtown was not a particularly memorable one. Everyone seemed busy in their own daily struggle to survive. Yet God is still very much concerned about not only our redemption but also our daily struggles. I had never met any of these folks before today and may not ever see them again. Yet, He sent me to let them know He cares. --Until next week. John