Downtown 12/12/2010

Well yesterday, I was finally able to fulfull my desire to have a barbeque for some of my friends downtown. I have had this idea for over a year now, but could never figure out how to reach some of my closest friends by having it in one location. So I came up with the idea of using a small portable Weber barbeque and driving around to where the people lived. I could only do this on a Sunday, a weekday simply wouldn't work. Since I've been only able to go on a weekday for the last couple of months, I haven't seen some of the target people in awhile. As I got closer to this Sunday I started getting a little concerned about whether this was going to work out or not. However, the main goal in doing this was to not only provide a warm meal but to have an opportunity to talk with some of these folks at length and develop a deeper relationship. I had targeted four groups of people. If you have followed these blogs for a while, you will be familiar with these people. First, I was hoping to spend time with Willie and Tara Lee and whoever might be with them, the next group would be Phillip, Nancy and Luis over by Lincoln Park, then Billy, James and Will and finally Gary over by Cloud Nine Alley and Church. I was hoping that by spending some extended time with Gary he would invite some of the men who live in that alley to join us. So far, my attempts to talk with those men living in that alley haven't gotten very far. For the last few weeks I have been accumulating all the supplies needed for this trip and after church with a carload of stuff I took off for downtown. I should mention that at the end of our church service yesterday they offered to anoint people with oil before we left for the specific purpose of bringing joy to our "world". We had never done that at church before and probably a hundred or so people stayed after to receive it. I decided it was definitely something I wanted since I was leaving directly from church. I arrived downtown around 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon (next time I do this I'm leaving earlier). I knew that at this time of year I would only have about four hours of daylight so I had to find my friends quickly.
My last trip downtown I had met Doug (one of my longtime friends) near where Willie and Tara Lee lived. I told him of my plans for the following Sunday and invited him to join us in the alley where they lived. He said he really didn't want to be with the others, but that he would watch for me. Yesterday, as I drove down that alley from the west end I saw Doug had found a place to stay directly across the street at the end of the alley. There was a set of fire doors and an indentation on the building across the street. He had set up his "house" (shopping cart, etc) right there and it gave him a perfect vantage point to watch for me. Willie and Tara Lee weren't in the alley and as I drove out the other end I said hello to Doug. I told him I wanted to check the next alley over because Willie and Tara Lee might have relocated there. As it turned out that proved to be right. I drove back to Doug to tell him and invite him to join us but, again, he declined. I told him I'd bring him some food when I left them. So I went back to the alley where Willie and Tara Lee live and got set up. Willie wasn't there at first, but Tara said he was due back very soon. While getting the barbeque set up and putting the food on, Tara and I had an opportunity to talk at length. He is originally from Fort Worth, Texas and has been homeless (at least this time) since November of 2007. We talked about many things and at one point after telling him about my daughter and her music lessons he confided to me that when he was her age he loved to sing and dance and that everyone in his neighborhood thought he would make something of himself, but that things just never worked out. I had at one point told him that when we first met he was one of only three or four people who declined my offer to pray with them before leaving. He then told me something I'll never forget. He said, "The last time you were with us, before you left you said God sent you that day to tell us that He loves us. After you left, I just cried and cried." It suddenly struck me that something we have heard so often, and probably take for granted, can mean so much to someone who never hears it and feels lonely and frustrated with life. It was a reminder of how precious these people are to our Lord and how in the gospel of Matthew (12:20) it says about Jesus, "He will not break a bruised reed..." Well, Willie did show up and they loved the food, although I had forgotten to bring a can opener and so I wasn't able to fix everything the way I wanted to. They both were thrilled to have a warm meal prepared for them and thanked me many times. Tara asked that I never stop coming to see them. I had cooked a few extra burgers and stopped by Doug's place on the way out and gave him those. While talking with Doug a couple of other people came by and I gave them some bags of food like I do on a regular trip. Doug has an aversion to being with other homeless folks. So many of the homeless are trapped in a lifestyle of drug abuse and he just doesn't want to be around it. It's probably a good policy to have in his situation. However, it does make for a lonely life.
I drove by where Willie, James and Will live, but they weren't there so I headed on over to Lincoln Park. Unfortunately, my friends who live there weren't there either. However, Carlos and his dog were there, sleeping on the grass just across from where Luis used to stay. I woke him up and gave him a bag of food. I asked him if he had seen Luis and Phillip and Nancy. He told me that the police had made them move on. He indicated that they moved on down towards East L.A. Before leaving Carlos I offered to pray for him. When I finished he told me he wanted to pray too. What followed was probably the most simple and humble prayer I've ever heard. He simply said, "Thank you Lord, I have some food, a place to sleep and clothes, thank you." and with a shrug of his shoulders he was done. I told Carlos I would continue to look in on him.
After seeing Carlos I headed over towards Cloud Nine Alley. On the way, I found Jose sitting on the sidewalk on Central Ave near Washington Blvd. He had a cup of soda from some fast food place but no bag of food to go with it. When I offered him a bag of food he quickly got up and came over to the car for it. I think the soda was the only thing he was going to have that night if I hadn't stopped. When I got to the church, Gary was outside by the parking lot sweeping up. Part of his arrangement with the owner to stay there requires him to clean a couple of the parking lots and surrounding areas that the owner has. Since he was busy working, he couldn't stop to have a barbeque. However, I did give him some food that he could cook for later. I prayer-walked the alley and since the church was open and about to have a service soon I ducked in and stood in one of the back pews and prayed. They had a praise band (yes, in Spanish) going on up in the front, it was about 5:30 p.m when I walked in there. I stayed until a little after 6 p.m. Several people came up to greet me. I was told that Pastor Rodriguez was in Mexico for a wake. Before leaving a man walked up to me; he was a pastor from Dallas who was going to be preaching that night. He asked if I was staying, but I told him I had one more group of homeless people I was hoping to meet with before leaving for home. He said, "I was starting to wonder when I saw you if this church was becoming bilingual!" I asked them to let Pastor Rafael know I had stopped in. Amazingly, despite the language barrier, I always feel welcomed there by everyone.
Well, I wanted to give Billy, James and Will one more shot before I left for home. I got there at about 6:30 p.m. and Will was sitting on a crate in their alley off 14th St and Stanford. I called out to him by name and he told me that Billy and James were due back soon, but they had gone to a church in Long Beach and would be riding the Metro coming back. He had gone to a local church nearby. When I asked if he was up for a barbeque he said yes and we hoped Billy and James would show up soon. Unfortunately, when I left at 8 p.m. they still hadn't gotten back. However, Will and I had a good time eating and visiting. I hadn't eaten anything with Willie and Tara because I knew I couldn't eat every time (well I probably could if you know my appetite) so Will and I ate together. His birthday is this coming week and he will be 53 years old. He is from the Compton area and has lived in this area all his life. He has 3 sisters and had one brother who was killed in the Viet Nam war. Now you may remember that Billy, James and Will were the guys I met a couple of months ago who all had bibles with them (it was a Sunday evening that night too) and they asked about a verse in Romans that I told them about. Last night, Will was telling me about some of the churches in the area that he had been to and how some of them were quite judgmental towards homeless people. I told him about the first two verses in Luke 15 and how people who were looked down upon by the 'regular' people in society always gathered around Jesus to hear him talk. In fact, he had me underline it in his bible (it was nighttime by now and he had difficulty seeing anything in print). We had a very enjoyable time. Towards the end I told him that Billy and James weren't going to believe that I had come by and cooked for him so I cooked the last of the hamburgers and left them with him. While I was there, a man who goes by the name E.J. came by and said he had just been with Willie and Tara. Will knows them too.
Well it was time to go and as I drove towards the freeway I couldn't help but notice all the homeless people all around the area. I think in this section of town, since it is somewhat close to the missions, they end up coming here just to get away from the crowded conditions on the skid row streets. All in all, it was a good day and a good trip. I'll have to do this again in the spring. Until next week. John

Downtown 12/7/2010

A month or so ago I saw an elderly woman at the 60 freeway off-ramp at Azusa Ave in the City of Industry. She was holding a homeless sign and stood next to the curb with a walker. My guess is she was between 65 and 70 years old. The light was green as I approached and I had to drive on through the intersection. Recently, in the last week or so my wife has seen this same woman standing there and has had the opportunity to give her some assistance a couple of times. The other night as I was going to bed my wife expressed to me her concern (with tears) over how this woman was going to get through yet another cold night. I gently comforted her and said, "You're now catching the spirit of 'Right Now Counts'. It's hard to just forget about them when you come home, isn't it?" It's now been over a year and a half that I've been making these trips downtown and many nights I've wondered how my friends are doing. Are they hungry? Are they warm? Dry? What are their chances of ever getting off the streets? The older ones who have lived the lifestyle for many years have the survival techniques down, but the young ones, what are their prospects? Mark Twain was once asked if the verses in the bible that he didn't understand bothered him. His response was, "It's not the verses that I don't understand that bother me, it's the ones that I do understand that bother me." Jesus summed up our obligations to others when he simply stated, "Love your neighbor as yourself." A religious leader questioned him further and asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus' response was the story of the Good Samaritan, with the point being, whoever is in need is your neighbor. Sometimes the need is not always physical. Yesterday, one of my encounters was with a man named Doug. I've helped this man several times in the past, but it has been several months since I last saw Doug. As it turns out, he had been in the hospital battling diabetes (Type 1). He is about my age, maybe even a couple of years younger and is facing a very difficult road ahead being homeless and having to deal with this disease. He may eventually have to go to an assisted living facility. He knows his prospects are not good. I'm not sure exactly what I said when I prayed with him, but I know I prayed something about being in His (God's) presence eternally, and asked God to give Doug a taste of that presence here and now. When I finished Doug said, "Wow, you really helped me to zero in on where I need to focus my mind." All I could think of was praise God that the Holy Spirit guides us to pray when we don't know what to pray for. Our "neighbors" are everywhere and I know we can't help everyone we see. But the help needed may be just a kind word or encouragement at the right time. Yesterday, I was able to talk to Gary who lives in the parking lot next to the church on Cloud Nine Alley. I asked him if he had talked to him Mom recently. He had expressed a desire to see her a couple of months back. Her name is Marilyn and she lives in Atlanta. I offered him my cell phone to call her if he knew her number. He told me he would sure like to see her at Christmas, but she was at work during the day and he didn't have her work number. When we prayed together I expressed to God Gary's desire to see his mother and if not at Christmas, perhaps New Year's. I think just the idea that he shared this deep heartfelt desire to someone was of benefit to him because he thanked me afterwards. It would make sense that many of these homeless people are "homesick" for not only home and family, but just for the idea and memory of things being the way they used to be and this memory is something they treasure in their hearts and minds.
One final word. Last week after one of my encounters I was asked by a policeman to not help the homeless in that area. He said to go to the missions area (5th,6th and 7th streets) because the homeless will return to whatever area they found help and the businesses in this area don't want the homeless on their sidewalks. I didn't argue but simply said OK and left that area. Wouldn't you know that yesterday there was a homeless man on a sidewalk at the exact spot where the policeman told me this last week. Now where this man was, was not in front of a business but next to a parking lot on Olive St. I tell you this not to appear proud or anything, not but because I disobeyed the police, but only because that was where the "neighbor" who needed the help was. I tried to take his picture, but he was under the shade of a tree and it didn't come out. We are carriers of God's light and God's presence. Bringing this light and presence to this world full of our 'neighbors' can take us to some of the darkest places of despair and hopelessness that we can imagine. As James says in the opening chapter of his letter, "Count it all joy." and may I add, "Count it all joy", 'when we have the privilege of bringing this light and His presence to those neighbors in need.' --Until next week. John