Downtown 6/14/2010

I didn't make it downtown until about 11:00 am Monday morning. Since it was so warm it really felt like the first day of summer (at least summer vacation) to me. Life's struggles continue for the folks living on the streets down here. I hadn't gone over to the 4th St. bridge in a while so I started there first. Just off the bridge on the west (downtown) side I found Robert sitting on the sidewalk with his back up against a chain link fence and his shopping cart of possessions next to him. He is from the Los Angeles area and I'm guessing him to be in his early forties. He didn't appear to be homeless for very long, probably recently out of work, so there he was sitting on the sidewalk trying to figure it all out. I'm sure it was a surprise to him that someone would drive up offering food and water and just talk to him for a few moments and pray with him. He told me he has relatives in the LA area and Arizona. Pray that he reconnects with them.
On the other side of the bridge I found Antonio. He was in the exact same spot as the last time I saw him a few months ago. Since he is so young (early twenties) I was quite surprised that he was still there. Because he stays at a location that is very hard to stop for any length of time it's difficult to find out his story. It would appear that his life is 'stuck' right there. His clothes, especially his pants, are falling apart. My guess is that he is staying right there and living off the missions on the other side of the bridge. I'm going to have to find a place to park and walk back to him sometime and just talk with him and see what's up. I've never gotten a chance to pray with him because I just can't stop for more that a few seconds on that bridge. Antonio is going to be a project and I am determined to help this man find hope in this world. Please pray for this man, that God would use me to bring about a transformation in his life.
Next, I went down the alley where Willie and Marvin used to live. I haven't seen either of them for a couple of months now. Today I saw a man sleeping where Marvin use to live. I called out to him as I drove by but didn't get a response. So I drove down a ways and turned around so I would be on the same side as he was and called out to him again, but still no response. It was getting pretty warm out and he was sleeping with his shirt off. I pulled over to the side and got a gallon of water and walked back to him. By now he was awake and when I asked if he wanted the water I quickly realized why I didn't get a response from him earlier. He is deaf and mute. I've seen this guy twice before, the last time was probably six months ago. He wanted the water and when I made eating motions he nodded his head so I gave him a bag of food too. The last time I saw him was actually in the area where I saw the first two men this morning and he was digging around in trash bins looking for recyclables. This is his life, deaf and mute, digging in trash cans unable to talk with anyone. I don't know if he knows sign language but I'm going to learn a few words of it and try and talk with him next time. I remember the last time I saw him I offered him some clothes in the trunk of my car and he was so happy he wanted a hug. I prayed with him today, although he couldn't hear a word of it.
I headed west along 16th St. which parallels the I-10 freeway. I turned up a small street named Trinity St. towards Washington Blvd. On the corner of Trinity and Washington Blvd is a small church named, you probably guessed, Trinity Church. Just a few yards away from this Church on Trinity I found Glen pushing a shopping cart. On Washington Blvd just a little ways east of this church I found Tyrone sitting on a planter. I was able to help both of these men and prayed with them too. I didn't recognize Tyrone at first but I think I've seen him on the other side of this block before. What I remembered about him was his very quiet voice, barely above a whisper, almost like he's out of breath. He is a fairly large man and he may be in poor health, although I don't think he's forty yet. I wonder about the church. I sometimes see racks of clothes on the sidewalk. I don't think they are selling these clothes because I don't see anyone out there. Perhaps, they are offering the clothes to the homeless living in the area. The people that go in and out of that church (when I see them on Sundays) are well dressed, but I never see them walking the short distance to the freeway underpass where the homeless are living. I wonder if they have co-existed so long together that they just don't "see" the homeless anymore. What an opportunity for a church to be a light amidst so much darkness.
Just before leaving downtown I was driving north on Maple and saw Johnny's stuff and him sleeping right next to it. His stuff is clean and neatly organized so he's easy to recognize. I only had one bag of food and one gallon of water left but before I could get back to him I found Roger just down the street a ways and decided to help him. I had never met Roger before. This made it an even split of folks I had helped before and those who I helped for the first time today. My hope is that with all of these people, as the next couple of days go by, that each time they eat and drink the stuff I left with them they will remember "the guy who prayed with me" and connect with the God who provided for them today. --Until next week. John