Downtown 2/14/2011

Monday was Valentines Day, but I didn't think it would make much difference to the folks downtown. I started the trip by looking for Willie and Tara Lee. Since I am changing my work schedule in another week I wanted to check in with them to see if we could start planning on doing another barbecue on an upcoming Sunday. They weren't in the alley where I saw them last. Another man by the name of James was there and it looked like someone else was staying there in Tara's old spot, although that person wasn't there when I went by. James was asleep when I pulled up but when I walked up and gently awakened him and asked if he wanted some food or water he woke up quickly. I asked about Willie and Tara Lee, but he told me they had moved on and he wasn't sure where they were. I told him that we had a barbecue right there a couple of months back and he seemed kind of excited about the prospects of it happening again. I prayed with him before leaving and as I finished the prayer with the line, "in Jesus name" I looked up at James and he still had his head bowed. I don't think anyone had prayed with him in a very long time and he was kind of hanging on to the moment. I'm guessing James to be in his early 60's. I hope to see him there again. After leaving James I drove over to the other alley where Willie and Tara sometimes stay, but they weren't there either. There was someone else there, however, and it turned out to be the most poignant encounter of the day. As I pulled up I saw a man sleeping on his side on the edge of a plastic pallet. Sleeping on a pallet keeps people from sleeping directly on the ground which in an alley can be pretty dirty. He didn't have a blanket over him but there was one spread out next to him on the pallet. Since he was sleeping I pulled forward and parked and took a bag of food and a jug of water over to him and asked if he was OK and could he use some food and water. He immediately woke up and said, "Yeah, I could use some water." I could sense the desperation in his voice. I then noticed he was poking the blanket next to him. It turned out his girlfriend was asleep under the blanket. He handed her the water jug and she started to open it right away. I could tell this couple had absolutely nothing. I said, "Could you use another bag of food and some more water?" The man, his name was Vince, indicated yes so I went back to the car and got another bag and some more water. When I walked back to them, Vince had opened the can of soup already and Shannon, the girl, was drinking some of the water. I asked if they could use some socks and a blanket and Vince said yes to that too. I said, "Hey, why don't you come on over to the car and we'll look through the trunk and see what else you can use." When we got to the car and I had handed him several pairs of socks and the blanket Vince said, "It gets so cold at night." We shared a laugh when I told him he could tell Shannon that he had gotten the blanket for her at her favorite department store, Macy's! Vince ended up with a heavy shirt, a sweat shirt and a pair of shoes. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a pair of jeans that fit him, but I did give them some extra cans of food. Before leaving I knelt down by the blanket and prayed for their protection and God's blessing on their lives. I only saw Shannon's face, she was covered up by the blanket the whole time. Both of them were pretty young, in their twenties.
Well, by this time I don't know what to think about Willie and Tara Lee. Hopefully, they will turn up in the next few weeks. I know both of them have spent time in Long Beach in the past so perhaps that's where they are now and they'll be back. We'll just have to wait and see. When I first drove into the area Monday, I had seen Raul and Richard Brown near the I-10 freeway underpass at Hooper St. It has been a long time since I've talked with (Downtown) Richard Brown so I thought we were overdue for a visit and I ended up talking with him for quite awhile. Raul looked better (healthier) than I've ever seen him and I told him so. Both of these men have had their struggles with alcohol and/or substance abuse. This is one of the reasons Richard stays away from the skid row area, because drugs are rampant down there. He's told me a couple of times that the only way for him to stay 'clean' is to 'be' clean and that means staying away from the temptations. Richard always insists on praying with me and usually it is one of the first things we do when we meet. Monday was no different. Before I left Richard and Raul another man walked by and Richard told me to "help him." I had never met "Volquez" before, but he said he needed water. I gave him the last of it that I had.
When I left Richard and Raul I drove over and prayer-walked the Cloud Nine church and alley area and then headed down to skid row to prayer-walk down there. About the time that I was looking for a place to park I received a phone call that necessitated me leaving and driving back home right away. Luckily, I was able to return last night (Tuesday). I know I could have just waited until next week to prayer-walk skid row, but I just want to engage in the calling to make a difference on this turf. I knew that going at night would be a completely different experience than going during the day. Probably the biggest difference is that at night-time a lot of the people who sleep on the sidewalk set up tents. Tents are not allowed on the sidewalks there during the day. When I first parked and got out of the car a man was shouting obsenities to no one in particular. There were a couple of people doing that during my walk (one was a woman). It kind of reminded me of the story in the bible about the demoniac who was living in the cemetary. He's the one that Jesus cast out all the demons in him and the demons then went into the herd of pigs. These people were just acting crazy and there's no telling what the problem was. I found out that the Midnight Mission that was serving lunch last week serves three meals a day and I got there when they were serving their last meal. There looked like at least a hundred people bedded down for the night in that missions's courtyard. I was looking for at least one person to pray with during this visit. That person turned out to be sitting by the steps of the police station. Her name was Rosavella and she was from Mexico. She spoke no English. She looked like this was her first night in L.A. There is a bus service a block or two away from there advertised as "El Paso/Los Angeles Limosine Service". Perhaps she came from there, because the Union Train station is pretty far away. I asked her if she needed some food and she nodded her head. I had some cans of soup in the car and some freshly picked oranges that I gave her. I also had a knitted cap that I gave her (she put that on immediately). Although I was able to ask her name and if she needed some food in Spanish, I had to pray in English. I put my hand on her knee as I prayed and she bowed her head. When I finished, she crossed herself which indicated to me she knew I was prayiing for her. I have got to learn the language so I can be of better service to these folks. I'm guessing Rosavella was in her forties. It was going to be a difficult night ahead for her all alone and out on the street in downtown L.A. Please pray for her protection. --Until next week. John