I started in North L.A. at Main St. I got off the freeway and immediately found Victor living under the I-5 right there as I got off. Victor was just getting up and getting ready for his day. He was sure surprised and happy to have food delivered to his 'house'. We didn't talk very long because you can't stop there but at 8:30 a.m. Sunday morning I knew I could stop there for a minute or two. There was another homeless man on the other side of the street under that overpass. However, he wasn't awake yet so I didn't go over to him. He had an apartment complex set up (about four shopping carts) and seemed to be doing OK.
You may remember Ignacio from last week. He was the guy that looked like Moses (see the picture). I found him looking for cans and bottles to recycle not too far from where he was last week. It turns out he understands and speaks a little more English than I thought he did. It is very broken but we were able to converse much better that last week. The street where I found him digging in trash cans was an
industrial area and a wide (for trucks) but dead-end street. I gave him some food and water and got out and showed him what I had in the trunk. He ended up getting a pair of pants (the ones he had on were absolutely filthy), socks, shoes and a couple of T-shirts. When I said, "Let me pray for you before I go" he took off his cap and bowed his head. It is always humbling to me to see simple people with simple reverence and respect for God. I count it a blessing to me and a privileged to have helped Ignacio. Just around the block from Ignacio I found Marsela again sleeping in her make-shift home of pallets and cardboard. I had gotten a bag of dog food for her dog. The dog's name she told me is "Moses". So I went from a guy who looked like Moses to a dog named Moses. Marsela didn't need anything else I had although she did need some shoes. I just didn't have her size (7 1/2) with me. I'll have to check into that for next week. I found Antonio on the 4th St. bridge right near these folks. I had given him a new pair of pants last week. Well he had them on but they looked like he'd had them on for a month already. I guess when you wear something 24/7 outdoors it's going to show dirt and wear and tear a lot quicker. He told me he was doing OK though.When I left this area I ended up going North on San Fernando Rd for a while. I hadn't been in this area in years. On the left is a Metro Link rail and on the right side are industrial type buildings with a residential community behind them. Eventually, I found a guy sleeping on the corner of one of the business buildings with his shopping cart full of stuff. He had a rake and broom and told me he uses them to earn money cleaning up places in addition to recycling. His name was Robert and he was from Columbus, Ohio. He is 56 years old. When I first saw him I had to drive around the block to get back to him and found him sleeping under a blanket next to his cart (see picture).
We talked quite awhile about some of the jobs he had out here over the years. He told me I looked familiar to him but it didn't appear our paths had crossed before this. He told me he had learned some judo at some location in the L.A area and most of the people in there were blonde people (is my hair still blonde?). When I prayed for him I noticed his hands were pretty rugged and beaten up from a life of doing a lot of manual labor. One of his little fingers was really crooked from being broken by an L.A. policeman years ago. I prayed for his protection and for God to bless his life. It was a simple but earnest prayer. Life on the streets is dangerous and unforgiving.
After seeing Robert I drove back to the 4th St. bridge and under the bridge I found Michael from Mobile, Alabama. He is 57 years old. He was sleeping with most of his body in a cardboard box when I approached him (see picture). He quickly woke up and was happy to receive a bag of food. I asked him if he could use some water and a pair of socks and he said he could. We ended up looking through the trunk and found a pair of shoes and pants and a few shirts. He admired my car (98 Grand Prix)! He told me he had a brand new Pontiac Grand Prix in 1973 when he was 19 years old and in the Army. He told me it was his favorite car that he ever had. It was
probably the best time of his life too. I had given him a gospel of John booklet after praying with him and when I took his picture he was holding up the shoes and the booklet. I didn't ask him to hold them up but he was pretty happy and in a good mood by the time I took the picture and he was "showing them off". I was glad to have helped make his day better.At this point I drove over to Washington Blvd and went down an alley on the South side by Los Angeles St. This is the second or third time I've been down this alley. There are probably five or six guys who live in this alley. I took a few pictures of this alley. It is also on the residential side of Washington Blvd. The first time I drove through a couple of weeks back it was too early in the morning
and only one guy was awake and didn't want to be bothered yet. I wonder if his attitude had something to do with conduct of other people who drive through there throughout the night. Sunday, Willie was awake enough and willing to take a chance on receiving something from me. I was glad to break the ice here. Maybe next time I'll ask him if he can use any clothing items. That will enable me to talk with him more and develop some trust. Who knows, maybe he and the others will start looking forward to me coming through there. Each time I've gone through this alley there is one guy who is barricaded with a pallet in a small hole in the wall (see photo). I haven't actually seen him yet.
When I drove out of that alley and got back on to Washington Blvd I saw a guy sleeping on the other side of Washington Blvd on the corner and porch of some business just passed Los Angeles St. I really wish I had taken a picture of this guy whose name turned out to be Joe. He was 53 years old and was from Illinois. He told me he travels back and forth between here and there and comes out here because of the weather. He told me where his family lives is a bad drug infested area and that it's hard to keep away from drugs when everyone back there is involved with them. I was able to help Joe with food and clothing items and gave him a gospel of John too. We prayed together and I do hope I see him again. I'd like to talk to him some more about what it takes to beat the cycle of drug behavior. It starts with staying away from those people who do them and developing relationships with people who don't do them. One of the ironic things about seeing Joe sleeping on the corner was that about two hundred yards away on the other corner of that same block on Washington Blvd was a church. I'm sure people were there at the church because it was Sunday morning and it was 10:30 a.m. by now. I know it's impossible to help everyone down there, but some of these men are so easy to help and close by that you wonder what the church is doing about it. In fact, there are actually a lot of churches in that area. I guess I tend to look at the church as more of a verb, something we do, rather than a building we go to. Until next week. --John
You should not call a dog Moses, there are so many specific names for dogs:
ReplyDeleteDog names