Downtown 10/24/2010

I began yesterday's trip in hopes of seeing Richard Brown, one of the first people I met when I began these trips a year and a half ago. He lives under the I-10 freeway at Hooper St. On my way to seeing him I turned down 16th St. and saw two men and what looked like several "home sites" of homeless people under the freeway there. When I first started going downtown there usually was one or two people living right there, but not too many have been there recently. Sunday, I met Ron and Don there. Both men were probably at least in their mid-60's and from Southern California. Don said he was from Whittier actually. I talked with them for twenty minutes or so and mentioned that there used to be a man living right there in the same spot where they were by the name of Frankie, but I hadn't seen him in over a year now. They both said they knew Frankie too but hadn't seen him in a long time either. I'll always remember Frankie because he was one of the first people I ever talked to who really lived in a cardboard box under a freeway. On one visit I actually sat with him partially inside his box (it had a roof) and we talked for awhile. It was such a humbling experience for me. It made me realize that 95 percent of the stuff we have in our homes we can easily live without. Well Ron and Don both had a Christian upbringing. Don told me his parents used to attend a Lutheran church in Whittier. Ron was from L..A. and actually wanted to encourage me to continue to follow God's leading in helping the homeless. When I prayed with them he seemed most eager to receive it.
Just around the corner from Ron and Don is where Richard Brown lives. I hadn't met with Richard in several months although I have driven past his place and knew he was still there. We hadn't been talking for very long when he said, "Let's pray". Richard likes to pray his favorite prayer every time, "The one Jesus taught his disciples." and I always let him go for it. Richard then fills me in on the recent news of the homeless living in that area and the run-ins with the police. I get the rules that the homeless are supposed to abide by in living on the sidewalks if the police want to enforce the laws. They can sleep on the sidewalk if they aren't blocking the sidewalk from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. If they are still sleeping after 6 a.m. then they can be forced to leave. The problem with many of the homeless is they stay up too late (usually doing illegal activities) and then have to sleep until late in the morning or early afternoon. Richard says he's always packed up and moving by 6 a.m. and ready to start 'working' (recycling). Today he asked me to look in on a woman living under the freeway a quarter mile down 16th St. by the name of "Ogie". When I got to her I realized I had helped her before and she went by the name of "Faulstine". I gave her some food and water and remembered the last time I had given her a daily devotional booklet. I told her, "I have something else for you." and gave her a Guidepost magazine. She took one look at it and said, "My Mama used to read this all the time." I've heard people respond that way many, many times before. Before leaving her, there was another man sleeping under the freeway a few yards away from her. He went by the name of Solo. I wasn't sure I heard him right so I said, "Like Hans 'Solo' from Star Wars?" He said yes. It turns out that he uses that name because he's alone alot. He told me he was from Florida and he'd been out here for about 10 years. When I left Solo and Faulstine, she was reading from the Guidepost magazine and thanked me again for stopping.
While I was still in the area I decided to stop by and see Tera Lee and Willie. I had seen them two or three weeks back and Tera Lee was still complaining about having a skin problem. I have been concerned about him and wanted to find out if there was something specific he needed that might alleviate the problem. When I went down the alley where they lived Willie and Tera Lee were there and another man by the name of Dave Walker. I asked about Chris who was with them the last time I stopped, but he hasn't been there in awhile. I ended up staying and talking with them, particularly Dave, for about forty minutes. It turns out Dave remembered me from several months ago. He had been shot in the leg and was recuperating at the time. I do remember someone being shot in the leg, but I wouldn't have remembered it as being him. I think at the time I saw him he was closer to the skid row area, which is probably where he would have gotten better medical care than where they were yesterday. He seemed to be fully recovered. I did get a chance to ask Tera Lee about his skin condition. He seems to think it is due to not being able to take a shower regularly. I'll take him some antibacterial soap next time along with some hydrogen peroxide and see if that helps at all.
Before leaving the area I was able to help a couple more men. One man's name was Dalton on Broadway St. and the other man was on 16th St. and turned out to be unable to speak. I asked him repeatedly what his name was and I could tell he heard me but finally he just waved he hands indicating he couldn't answer. I've encountered one other man who is deaf and mute, but this man appeared to be able to hear but not able to speak. The needs of these people downtown are very great. Please pray that I will be able to help them better in the future.
At this point I was out of bags of food and headed over to Cloud 9 Alley. It was about 4 p.m. and no one was in the alley at that point. Even Gary wasn't home today, however, Pastor Rafael was in the church. I went inside hoping to see him. When he heard I was there he came to the front to meet me. During our conversation he asked if I could come by sometime at around 6 p.m. on a Sunday so he could introduce me to his congregation. Apparently, he has told them about me! Before I prayed with him about his church he asked if I could pray about a specific prayer need that they have. They had engaged the services of a 'lawyer' to get a needed permit for their church. I think it is a permit to allow up to a hundred or more people in the building at one time, but I'm not positive. Rafael did indicate it was something like that. He told me that whoever it was that took the money for this came back asking for more money and eventually they realized they were being taken advantage of. So we prayed for that specifically as well as revival in the area they are in. He told me that one of the people living in the alley heard the praise and worship music and came to them in tears because he "used to be a Christian" and wanted to come in but didn't have clean enough clothes to come in. The church gave him some clothes and now he comes inside to the church. It's really amazing what God's doing in this area. Please pray for this church and Cloud 9 Alley. Until next week. -- John