Downtown 9/19/2010

This Sunday's trip was to be the last trip of the summer. I remember last year at this time we were having a heat wave for about three weeks or so and the folks downtown were having to suffer through it. This year's summer has been much milder in comparison. It was really a pleasant afternoon in the low 80's. I had driven around for a while until I pulled in behind some buildings off of Maple and Washington Blvd. From time to time I've found some homeless people on the weekends living back there. This Sunday I almost missed one guy who was there. I saw the tell-tale sign of his shopping cart behind a 3 foot high brick retaining wall. I backed up to park when I saw a man look over from the other side of the wall. It turned out (he was going to the bathroom) to be Jay from Louisiana. We didn't talk too long but he did need the help. I think he was a little embarrassed and I didn't mean to infringe on his privacy. He seemed a little distant so I didn't push a conversation too far. We prayed together and parted. By another building in this parking lot were a group of about five other men. I ended up meeting two of them, Gary and Dave. One of the men was lying down. I was told he had a heart condition. Gary was probably close to 70 years old. He told me he was a Vietnam Veteran who had done 4 tours of duty. I asked when he served and he said in the early 60's. I said, "Oh, that was when we were just 'advisors' there." We laughed about that one because he said he still got shot in the hip. He told me he was out here in California because of the VA hospital. Dave appeared to be in his forties and the others were more Gary's age. I gave them a couple of bags of food and let them go through the trunk for whatever clothing and blankets they needed. It hurts to not be able to do more for our veterans. There also seems to be a lot of Vietnam veterans who are homeless.
I had been given some dog food to give to the homeless who have dogs. One of those is Marsela who I've seen a few times near the 4th St. bridge and Mission Rd. I drove over there hoping to see her but couldn't find her. However, I did see Michael there, who I've helped several times before, and Robert. Robert is 64 years old and from New York. Both men were living under the bridge. Michael knew who Marsela was but said he hadn't seen her in a while. I pray that she is OK and I'll keep looking for her over the next few weeks. Michael admitted to having problems with alcohol and I have a feeling Robert might be a drinking buddy for the moment at least. Without wanting to simply say, "You know you shouldn't drink!", I remembered something a famous actor once said that helped him on the road to sobriety. Someone said to him when he was drinking heavily at a restaurant, "I hope you know what you're doing." He referred to the incident as a key turning point in his life. So I told this story to Michael in the hopes that he would realize that he has control over the choices he makes. I prayed with both of them before leaving. As I left I heard Michael tell Robert that I had helped him several times before. I'm glad to be counted as his friend.
If you read last week's blog you will remember the alley I talked about and how I wanted to start prayer-walking down this alley every week and see what the Lord would do with the opportunity. I felt it was time this week to go there. I feel this will be a long-term project and last week at this same time there was no one there. I drove over there and parked at the end of the alley just like last week. I started by walking on the store front side of the block and then walking down the alley. As I walked up the street (Los Angeles St) I noticed a parking lot where a man appeared to be living. He had a whole lot of stuff including a tent erected on a large wooden pallet. The parking lot was between two old brick buildings. The first one was the place where the group of people I saw out front last week were looking to start a church in. The other building was an old apartment building that seemed to have a lot of people living in it. There were four or five young Latino men sitting out front on the sidewalk and in a car. One was talking to someone up in one of the apartments. They all looked at me as I was walking up the street as if to say, "What is the gringo doing here?" I simply said "Hello" and smiled and kept walking. I reached the end of the block and circled around and walked down the alley. Trash was still piled up at the Washington end of the alley and there were about three places where homeless people lived but still no one was there. I stopped about halfway down and prayed to God with hands raised for the people living in the apartment building and the people who live in this alley, "Lord, what would you have me do here? I am ready and willing. Give me your heart for the lost and homeless." I continued walking down the alley and came to the parking lot between the two brick buildings. Both the street side and the alley had a chain link fence with a gate with a key pad to unlock the gate to get in. Here on the alley side the gate was open about two feet. Remember there was a man living in the parking lot with the tent. I decided to walk in and ask him about the people who live in the alley. It turns out the man's name was Gary. He was 41 years old and originally from Missouri. He was a little surprised to see me walking in there but when he found out I was interested in helping the homeless people living in the alley he seemed very interested to talk with me about it. He knew the names of a couple of the men living there and said they were "out" during the day but would be back at night. Gary told me he struggled with his own addictions but had begun to read his Bible daily and at times would 'preach' to the brick walls because the Spirit seemed to be growing inside of him. I told him about my hope for the people living in the alley. Perhaps we can be partners in this adventure. He walked with me to my car and I gave him a bag of food, water and some clothes. I also gave him a couple of daily devotionals. I walked back with him to his tent and noticed that he had some electrical cords there and had electricity available from the empty brick building. He told me the owner was asking $6K a month to rent that building as it had been renovated for use by a night club. The club was shut down a few months back due to violence (a shooting) in the alley. Gary told me that the one thing that whole area needs is revival. He said they don't need people coming in and dropping off food and saying, "God bless you." and then leaving. What they and all homeless people need is someone who will take the time to sit on the sidewalk with them and talk to them! (To be honest I couldn't believe I was hearing this from him!) After about thirty minutes of talking with Gary he walked me back to my car. He asked when I would be coming back and I told him about this time (4 p.m.)next Sunday. He told me he would be here to meet with me. Yes, before leaving we held hands and I prayed with him. What an awesome experience. I can't wait to see what God has in store for this alley.
Before leaving the area, I had one bag of food left and found Joe under the I-10 freeway near Central Ave. I had seen Joe once before, I think it was July 4th. Sunday, Joe was overwhelmed that someone was giving him so much. He was visibly stunned. He told me he was the oldest in his family and he was used to being the one giving and not receiving. He didn't know how to accept the help. I told him it was my privilege to help him and the others in the area. I prayed with Joe and he showed me the Gospel of John booklet I had given him a couple of months ago. The cover was gone so I gave him another one. It ended up being another blessed trip downtown. --Until next week. John

P.S. An excerpt from a recent book I read about the importance of the Holy Spirit by Samuel Chadwick, "The Way to Pentecost." (1932)

"I owe everything to the gift of Pentecost (the Holy Spirit). For fifty days the facts of the gospel were complete, but no conversions were recorded. [The day of] Pentecost registered three thousand souls. It is by fire that a holy passion is kindled in the soul..."