Downtown 11/8/2010

Well, my work schedule has changed again for the next few months and I won't be able to make these trips until Mondays. No matter which day of the week it is, these people need help and encouragement. Everyone down there needs to encounter a friendly face and a helping hand. This was demonstrated quite clearly with one of the encounters yesterday, a man named Lester that I met on 18th St. He was sitting down on the sidewalk minding his own business when I pulled up. I called out to him asking if he needed any food. He came over to the car somewhat warily and accepted the help. He then told me a car passing by had just thrown a can of soda at him. It's easy to see how these folks can acquire an unfriendly attitude towards the world. I've had others tell me similar stories of objects thrown at them from cars in the middle of the night while they were sleeping. Some even have had burning objects thrown at them. I was glad to have been the next one coming by to help change Lester's outlook on the world yesterday.
Not too far from Lester were a couple of other men who needed help. One was David from Oklahoma and the other was Dalton from Tampa. Both men were in their 60's. David was sitting down on the sidewalk with his back up against a wall. He was all bundled up. It had rained the night before and temperatures were still cool in the shade, but David had found a place in the sun to warm up and rest. His shopping cart had a few personal belongings and what he had come up with recycling for the day so far. David spoke very softly and thanked me repeatedly for the help. He seemed very tired. Around the block from David I found Dalton going through trash cans looking for recyclables. When I first saw him he was actually reading a newpaper that he had just pulled out of one. It was right next to a bus stop and by the time I could get around the block to him he had crossed the street. I actually had met him a couple of weeks ago at the end of the day. That day he was again pushing his cart along and I had given away all of the bags of food but had a can of beef ravioli left. This time he received a full bag and when I asked if he needed some socks he told me if I had some he could use them.. So he ended up with some shirts and socks too. I asked him how well the recycling was going Monday and he said it starts out slowly but picks up by the end of the day. I told him I'd look for him again and he told me where he stays under the freeway at night. I was privileged to pray with these men and let them know God cares about them even when it seems no one else around does.
I had gotten some special supplies a few weeks ago for Tara Lee who lives in an alley off Hooper St. Willie lives in that alley too and both of them were there when I arrived. Tara Lee has complained of having a skin rash, so I had gotten some items I hoped would help. I also looked for Billy, James and Will who live in another alley not too far from there, but they weren't home. They were the three men who all had bibles last week when I met them.
When I first arrived downtown Monday I went to Lincoln Park. Anita was sitting at one of the park tables reading her bible. I had met her a few months back during the summer. Originally I thought her name was Edith, but I must not have heard right. We talked for over a half an hour there at the park. She told me she had lived at one of the missions downtown but, "it gets crazy there" and she needed to leave. She didn't exactly tell me where she was staying now but she seemed to be doing OK. I never would have guessed her to be 60 years old but that's what she told me. She was reading out of the book of Galatians and told me that she wanted to be living more "in the Spirit" and was told Galatians was the book to read. We talked about what she had read so far and I told her our minds are like fertile soil and what we plant and continue to feed there is the kind of fruit we can expect to get. We talked about some of the people that lived in the surrounding area that we both knew. She seemed surprised that I knew so many people there. When I first met her during the summer I had left some food for Phillip and Nancy and told Anita to let them know I had been by. She told me when they returned that day that they were sorry to have missed me. I didn't see them yesterday either, nor was Luis around. I told her this was Luis' first winter as a homeless man and I was committed to checking in on him frequently. I was hoping that he had found a better place of refuge from the rain the night before. Before leaving Anita we held hands and prayed together. I left a bag of food with her which she initially declined saying she was OK on food. I told her to find someone living in the area that needed it and give it to them, that she was in charge of this bag! She smiled and said she would take care of it. It was really a wonderful visit and I look forward to seeing her again.
On my way over to Cloud Nine Alley I saw a man totally covered up sleeping on a bus bench. It turned out to be Tyronne. He had on a large jacket and a blanket around his head and upper body. He was sitting in a shaded area and it was breezy and pretty cold there. I can only imagine how cold it will be at nighttime. When I got to the alley it was about 1:30 in the afternoon. No one was around the alley or the church. However, all the businesses were busy and it was hard to find a place to park. It's going to take some getting used to coming on a weekday, but when I first started going down there it was during the week. The Spirit will lead during the week too! --Until next week John