Downtown 11/16/2010

I couldn't make the trip downtown until Tuesday this week. I had some appointments to keep on Monday and I even considered not going because I'm making a special trip downtown on Sunday. I have this coming Saturday night off from work and I am planning to spend most of the day down there on Sunday. I have purchased a small portable barbeque and will be making some special meals for some of the people as sort of a pre-Thanksgiving Day event for them. I'm really looking forward to it.
On the trip today I found someone I hadn't seen in a very long time. His name is Louis Parks and he was near where I saw him the last time on Alameda St. I'm guessing it's been close to a year since I saw him last and I have wondered about him and prayed for him ever since. I almost didn't see him, but I happened to be waiting at a signal at Alameda and 4th St and he was sitting up on some steps in the shade of a tree just opposite from where I was waiting in my car. I drove around the block to get back to him but I couldn't park there because it was a no stopping zone. Louis always has a very quiet demeanor about him and something that distinguishes him from most other homeless men. He has no shopping cart and usually two small cardboard boxes with his personal stuff in them. I don't know how he gets around with them, but I'd like to talk to him about it sometime (if I could find a place to park).
The next enounter I had just a little ways down Alameda was one of the most disturbing sights I've seen since I've been going downtown. On my right side as I was driving down the street I saw what initially looked like a small pile of clothes and some metal piled up next to a building. It's an area with few pedestrians, but a lot of cars and big trucks travel this area. The buildings are set back from the sidewalk about 20 or 25 feet and at one time railroad cars were pushed into what's called a spur to be unloaded next to these buildings (warehouses). They long ago stopped using these tracks to unload rail cars. So as I passed by this pile of "stuff" I noticed a shoe and what appeared to be one leg. That caused me to do a double-take and that's when I noticed a man was laying down there. I drove around the block to get back to him and parked the car on the sidewalk. The sidewalk is so covered up with dirt and with there being basically no foot traffic I figured I could get away with parking there for a short time. I was now able to fully see the man laying down there. He had a walker laying on top of him and his left leg was amputated at the knee. I got a bag of food and walked over to where he was sleeping and asked if he was hungry. He immediately sat up and started yelling and put his fingers in his ears so he couldn't hear me. I don't know what he was saying, but it was clear that he wanted to be left alone. When he first sat up I was startled about the condition of his eyes. The skin under his eyes sagged at least 3/4 of an inch below each eye which amplified the redness and made his bloodshot eyes look even worse. I would have loved to talk to this man and let him know I cared about him and let him tell me his story, but it was clear I was not welcome. I walked back to the car and prayed for him in my car. He had begun to look through what was in the bag and then he laid back down again. It was heartbreaking to leave him like that. Please pray for the "Alameda Man".
Not too far away from there and just off Alameda at 5th St I had a woman by the name of Karen walk up to the car as I was stopped at a stop sign. She asked, "I know I look like a disgrace, but could you help me?" I asked her if she could use a bag of food and she replied, "Oh yes, thank you." I ended up parking and giving her some clothes from the trunk and praying with her. I couldn't help but think how unfortunate to be not only desparate for help, but to have to introduce yourself in the manner she did. Perhaps if I had stayed to talk to the Alameda Man I would have missed her.
I ended up driving for several miles down Alameda St until I got to Gage St (that's around 62nd St.) and eventually found a homeless man limping badly and pushing a shopping cart. His name was Joe and he was sure thankful for the help. Back near the downtown area I found Sergio near 18th and Grand. Nearby where he was is a small street where probably 30-40 homeless people live. A large church is nearby called the "Glory of Jesus Christ Church". On this small street this church has apparently, set up an outreach. One of the storefront buildings said, "Glory of Jesus Mercy House". This is just off of Washington Blvd and a long ways away from the skid row missions on the other end of town. I usually don't drive down this street because there are so many people milling around there and I'm not set up to handle crowds of people. I'm more of a one on one kind of person, but I'm sure glad there is a mission outreach on this end of town. Before leaving this area I stopped to help Amir who lives under the I-10 freeway at about Hill St. He doesn't speak English, so I was a little surprised when I saw what looked like a New Testament on the sidewalk next to him. I'll have to try and talk to him about it the next time I see him. Where he stays under the freeway is a no stopping area. When I have helped him before I've had to park on 18th and walk back to him, but on a weekday even 18th St doesn't have any parking spaces. After leaving Amir I drove over to Cloud 9 Alley and prayer-walked there. Once again, the church wasn't open and there were no homeless folks in the alley during the day, only delivery people for the businesses there.
With that I left and went home. Please pray for the upcoming trip on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it being a special day to bond with some of the people I've come to know living in some of the alleys downtown. Logistically, it will be difficult to start and restart a small barbeque several times during the day. But I'm sure I'll learn some valuable lessions on how to get that done while showing these homeless people that God cares for them. --Until next week. John