After one year of going downtown-5/3/2010

It was an overcast Monday, a year ago in May, that I started making these trips downtown. Few people know what inspired me to start making these trips so I thought it was time to share with you my personal story of how it all began. A year ago, late one Sunday night in March I was watching a documentary film a man by the name of Darren Wilson made on a $20,000 budget. It was obviously a low budget film, but the subject was fascinating. Mr. Wilson and his film crew started in their home state of Illinois and ended up going around the world filming God working. You know, like supernatural stuff. There were interviews and bits and pieces of film of underground churches in countries where Chrisianity is forbidden as well as footage of the gospel being preached to villages for the first time in Africa with miracles right there on camera to validate the message. It was all so "first century" book of Acts type stuff. In the film there was a part about a church up in Redding, California and the prayer and healing ministry they have. It was a real eye opener and the next day I went online and ordered the DVD. I must have had some extra money at the time because I ended up ordering the deluxe version that included the movie and 4 DVD's of stuff that didn't make it into the final movie cut. Boy was I glad I did. On the fifth DVD there was an interview with a man by the name of Rolland Baker. He is the grandson of a missionary to China. He told the story of how his grandfather had gone to China as a missionary for a few years and came back to America totally disillusioned. Within two years he felt led by the Holy Spirit to go back to China. He ended up in Southwestern China with an orphanage of about 15-20 very young kids. He found these kids after they were dumped and left to die by mine owners. Most of the ones they found died within a few days, they had been literally worked to death by the mine owners. After a while, these kids over a two month period, started experiencing visions (all of the kids!) by the Holy Spirit and were now asking questions about stories in that "Black Book" (the Bible) that Rolland's grandfather had. They didn't know anything about the Bible so when they started asking specific questions about biblical stories that they had no knowledge of it was pretty amazing. So the grandfather, H.A. Baker, ended up writing a book about these kids and the experiences they had. The book is titled "Visions Beyond the Veil". I remember the interview was 33 minutes long and in the middle I stopped the DVD and ordered the book online. Towards the end of the DVD Rolland told about how he and his wife Heidi are experiencing much of the same thing at their orphanage in Mozambique, Africa. They now have an orphanage of over 8,000 kids. So at the end of the DVD Rolland made this statement that really got hold of me. He said if you want see God working, find the most unlikely group of people you can think of and go there! I've been in the trucking industry for over thirty years now. As soon as he said that I knew who the most unlikely group of people were for me. In the early eighties I used to deliver freight in the downtown area and I saw street people every day. Those people immediately came to mind. I knew I now had to go to these people. I really wasn't sure what to do but I had to go. The night before the first trip I felt led to buy loaves of bread to take with me. So the next morning I bought eight loaves and took off downtown totally clueless as to what I was going to do. I hadn't even been downtown in probably 10 years or so. Anyway, that's how it started. I didn't even tell my wife until I had made two or three trips, I didn't know what she would think about this totally out of the box adventure. I think I shared a month or so ago about a guy the first day who said the prayer I prayed with him, "was better than the bread". You can imagine how important it was for me to hear someone say that the first day!
Since that day I've experienced many wonderful blessings as a result of working with these folks. I've learned things about the character of God that as Bill Johnson, the pastor at that church in Redding, California says, "truth that is experienced is not forgotton." I've experienced a deeper understanding of God's love through forgiveness and mercy. I've learned that God's forgiveness is a total gift. There is nothing we can do to earn it. I've come to know that real thankfulness is for a Person, God, and not just for temporary good fortune. I've seen the suffering of these people up close too. One man who when I asked if I could help him simply said in a quiet voice, "I'm hungry and thirsty." You cannot help but be changed when you sit with someone in their cardboard box "home" and just talk with them for awhile and pray with them. Yes, many of these folks have character flaws that manifest in obvious ways, but my calling is just to try to bring the presence of God into their lives if only for a brief moment and not to judge them or tell them what to do. If I can ease their pain and be a friend when they are in desperate need, then that's something I can do.
When I started this I was perfectly content to make my little trips downtown and tell some of my friends about experiences I was having among the homeless. I was then encouraged to write these things down and share them with a wider circle of friends. I had no idea that it would trigger the response that it has. I could not have helped these folks nearly as much, especially this winter, without the outpouring of help and support from these friends. I received blankets, clothing, shoes, jackets and financial support from so many people that was completely unexpected. I just couldn't have done it without the help of others. You can't imagine the relief on the faces of people when you give them a blanket or a jacket during the winter when they have none. It's a total privilege.
About a year and a half ago, well before I starting making these trips, I was reading a book by Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary to China in the 1800's. In his biography it told of his time of medical training in London before he left for China. He decided to go and live in the down and out section of London and preach the gospel to those people. He felt it would be good training for when he got to China. I thought about that and felt I should do something similar. So I prayed about it and inquired of a couple of friends (one a pastor friend) about opportunities to preach the gospel in non-church settings. Unfortunately, no opportunities developed at that time. Then about six months ago I was reading a book by Richard Stearns, CEO of World Vision. In his book, "The Hole in the Gospel", he quotes St. Francis of Assisi as saying, "We must preach the gospel at every opportunity and when necessary use words." It suddenly dawned on me that, by his definition of the gospel, I had been doing just that. God had answered my prayer and I didn't even realize it until then. In that moment I felt like Jacob in the Old Testament who said, "Surely, God was in this place and I did not know it." (Gen. 28:16)
What will become of all this? I do not know. How long will I do it? I hope as long as I'm able. All I know is that today, downtown, I was able to help, Gerald and Jessie on Olive St near 9th, Hector at Temple near La Fayette Place, Alphonso by the Jack in the Box on Alameda and 14th St and two others, Oscar and Allen, on a side street near there. As always it was a privilege.
I couldn't end without a dose of reality. Anytime one endeavors to do anything on behalf of our Lord the enemy will come. His favorite targets are your health and your family. The wonderful experiences of the last year plus have not come without cost. Yet, may God be praised through it all. I ran across this quote from Charles Dickens the other day that sums up very well my prayer despite the difficult times. He said, "Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts." --Until next week. John