Downtown 10/31/2010

It was with great anticipation that I left for Sunday's trip to L.A. I had been invited to the new church on Los Angeles St to be introduced to their congregation by Pastor Rafael Rodriguez. He said to come at around 6 p.m. so I moved the trip back a couple of hours and arrived shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday. It was the latest in the day for any trip I've made down there. I wanted to check in on Luis (with an "O") Ibarra and see how he was doing since it has rained some since I saw him last. This is his first winter as a homeless man and I wanted to see if he found a family to live with or if he was still on the street. When I drove up his stuff was still there but he wasn't around. I could tell he was still living there and, in fact, there were two bibles by his make-shift bed. He had gotten some cardboard to use as a shelter from the rain. I decided to go ahead and leave a bag of food for him with a note letting him know that John "O" had been by and that I continue to pray for him. Across the street at the park I saw another homeless man sitting on a park bench so I went over and talked with him. His name was Bruce and he was originally from Santa Monica. I asked him how old he was and he told me he didn't remember. I asked what year he graduated from high school and he told me 1980. I knew then that he was probably 48 years old. He said, "People tell me I'm a victim of substance abuse." He was so thin and looked like he was in some kind of pain. I had given him a bag of food and asked if he needed any water. He told me he didn't but after asking if he needed some clothing items he said, "You know I could use some water too, if you have some." I went and got him some heavier shirts and socks and some water. I had to help him get the pull-over long sleeve shirt on. It was starting to get cool and he was so thin that I'm sure he needed the warm clothing. Bruce seemed like he was at the end of his rope and had no idea what to do. He was tired, cold and hurting both physically and emotionally. He told me, "I can't just sit here, I have to try at life." When he looked in the bag of food I think he saw at least a glimmer of hope. He told me the day was ending a lot better that he thought it would. My guess is that he would have gone hungry that night if I hadn't stopped by to help him. Who knows what he would have to go through the next day, but probably the same thing. Please pray for Bruce today.
Ever since the day I made the trip to Pershing Square Park, over a month ago, I've tried to find Darrel Roberts again but to no avail. While driving in that area Sunday I managed to help a couple of people. One was a woman who was holding a homeless sign on a street corner. She said her name was "Porsche". After leaving the bag of food with her I thought it wise to made a fast get-away! (Sorry, I just couldn't resist the joke). The other was a man standing alone on the corner of 18th and Hill St. I asked him what his name was but he apparently didn't understand my English or Spanish.
It was getting close to 5:30 p.m. and I had two bags of food left. While heading towards Alameda St on 14th I was about to pass by a man on the other side of the street who had a bed-roll type bag and little else. He was bending over looking at it when I called out to him. I said, "Do you need any food?" He quickly replied, "Oh Lord, do I need food!" His name was Gregory and he was from Ohio. I asked what else he needed, water, clothes, etc and he smiled and said he could sure use just about everything. He had shoes on but no socks. I told him, "That gets you two pair." Gregory was a joy to help and pray with. He was so appreciative. When he started to walk away he saw three men walking towards us and told me they could use some help too. He called out to them and said, "Hey, this guy can help you." With that I met Billy, James and Will. It turned out to be a most amazing 20 minutes or so. I still can hardly believe what happened next. I asked if they needed some food and they all in unison said yes. Billy said, "You're a Christian aren't you?" I told him yes I was and he answered, "I could tell." I don't know how he could tell other than they probably don't see too many people offering to help them. It was the last bag of food I had but I always bring some extra cans of soup and beef ravioli with me so I gave them several cans with spoons. They were ecstatic over it. I'm not sure how we started talking about it but I happened to mention that I've learned a lot about the character of God in working with the homeless. One area that I specifically mentioned was the area of being thankful and how some people are happy to get stuff and others are thankful to receive help and to receive it from me. I told them that the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter one specifically points to this as one of two major areas where God is disappointed with mankind. Well, Billy pulls out a bible and asks me to show him where it says that. While I'm looking for it the other two guys pull out their bibles and when I found it we all read the passage (Romans 1:21)!!! I couldn't believe it, here I was
having a mini-bible class on a street in downtown L.A. with three homeless men. What a thrill. I opened the trunk up (we were all standing there behind my car and they were able to get what clothing items they needed. We all put our arms around each other and I prayed for them. It was truly amazing. They told me where they lived, which was in an alley just down the street and so I drove over there with Billy so I could see exactly where it was. It isn't too far from the alley where Willie and Tera Lee live. I am blessed to be a friend of all these folks.
Now it was time to head over to the church on Los Angeles St. (the church on Cloud 9 Alley). Their service started at 6 p.m. and I was just a couple of minutes late. When I walked in they were already started (singing a praise song in Spanish). If it isn't a Spanish Pentecostal church it sure is a praise and worship church! After singing a few songs and a little banter between the worship leader and the congregation Pastor Rafael came up to the podium and shortly after called me up. He spoke to them for a little bit and then turned to me and asked if I understood any of what was going on. I kind of laughed and said, "Not a word." He asked if I would like to say a few words to the congregation. Before starting he called up a young woman sitting in the front row to interpret for me. I told them I had been coming downtown for a year and a half to serve the homeless and that early in the summer I discovered the alley behind them and that there were up to a half dozen or so men living there. When I started going down that alley it was early on Sunday mornings and too early to get to know the men living there because they were all still sleeping. I then told them that about six weeks ago I started coming in the afternoons and decided to start prayer-walking down this alley and prayed for the souls of the men living there and the people living in the neighborhood. That first Sunday some people were looking at this building to rent. I then told them, "At the time I didn't know it, but it turns out I was praying for your church!" All of the sudden the congregation started applauding and cheering! I then told them about the graffiti in the alley and that at the other end someone spray painted, "cloud 9" on one of the buildings. I asked the young woman if 'cloud 9' meant anything in Spanish and she indicated that it did not. So I explained that in English the phrase means 'heaven' or something 'really good'. With that I told them that I refer to this church as, "The Church on Cloud 9 Alley." Once again, there was applause and cheering. I ended by telling them the story of Billy, James and Will and the short bible study in the street (I was still glowing over it.). When we finished I asked Pastor Rafael if I could pray for the church before leaving, so arm in arm with their pastor I prayed for them. As I walked out several people, men and women, wanted to shake my hand. It was such a heart-warming experience. To make sure that I didn't miss an opportunity to pray in the alley, I walked around the block and down the alley. It was 7 p.m. and nightime by now. Once again it was the latest I've been down there. When I got to the alley there was one man sitting in a chair by the side of the alley. I knew from Gary that two men by the names of Charlie and Willie live in the alley, so I asked him if he was Charlie or Willie. Some of you may know that whenever you have a mountain top experience, our Enemy is right there ready and willing to steal your joy. Whichever man this was (Charlie or Willie) he was not interested in talking to me and told me in no uncertain terms that he wanted me to get out of there. I simply replied, "OK, I'll pray for you anyway." With that he replied, "Whatever." in a most uncomplimentary way. Despite the ending, I refused to let my joy be stolen.
During this trip, I experienced the highest of highs, with Billy, James and Will and the most humbling despair in finding Bruce. Through it all I found God working in incredible ways. I started this ministry just wanting to be near where God was working. Sunday afternoon and evening, I was very, very near. --Until next week. John