Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Downtown 4/17/2011

Each Sunday since meeting Alisavel and Javier I have tried to meet with them again. The Sunday I met them it was about 10:30 in the morning and the last two Sundays it has been after 12 noon and they haven't been around. Even the two Cuban men living in the area next to them weren't around either, but all their stuff is still there, so I'm sure they haven't moved on, at least not yet. I was finally able to personally talk to Pastor Rodriguez at the Cloud Nine Church later in the afternoon and told him of their situation. He told me he would try and have one of the parishoners go by and see what they could do. I was grateful for his offer to help. I'll keep you updated as to any progress.
After leaving their place I traveled into town and ended up finding a man on a small street right near Alameda and 4th. He had a shopping cart and was picking up plastic bottles. When I pulled up to where he was and asked if he could use a bag of food I noticed he limped quite noticeably as he came towards the car. When I asked if he could use some water too, he said yes and added, "Water is #1". It was getting pretty warm by this time, probably at around 85 degrees. I asked if he could use some socks and he again said yes, so I pulled over and parked at the curb. He told me his name was Charles Medford and he was from Dallas, Texas. I'm guessing Charles to be around 65 years old. As we stood by the back of the car looking through it to see if there were other things he could use I asked how he was doing. His first response was, "I'm blessed." I noticed a walking cane sticking out of the shopping cart and he essentially used the cart as a walker. He told me as long as the Lord gives him breath, he feels blessed. He told me he has been out here in California for 22 years and so I asked him how that came about. The story that came out was difficult for him to express. He told me he had been married for fifteen years until his wife was unfaithful with a close relative of his. He said, "Some people give their all in a marriage and that's the way I am. And some people never get over it, and that's the way I am too." It was a very poignant moment, a relative stranger sharing a very personal tragedy that has affected him the rest of his life. I reminded Charles that he is still special to God, no matter where he is or what has happened to him. He had a daughter who was in her thirties by now, but talking about her seemed too difficult for him. We prayed together and talked for quite awhile before he said he needed to find a safe place to rest. He told me that when he takes naps during the day that often times his shopping cart is gone when he wakes up and he has to start all over. Please pray for Charles.
A couple of streets over I found Bill who was on a recycling hunt too. It looked like he had found the mother load of plastic bottles in one of the dumpters on that street. I had first met Bill a couple of months ago off Santa Fe. He recognized me first and then I remembered when we first met he was resting from going through a couple of dumpsters at one of the businesses nearby. Since I was fairly close to skid row I decided to go on down there. I looked for Jerry at 7th and Los Angeles but he wasn't there Sunday. I took a couple of photos of the corner where he usually is found. Perhaps he was going to wait until it cooled off before he started 'collecting'. The walk through skid row was relatively uneventful. There was one incident on San Pedro St. that was a little amusing. As I was walking up the street there was a woman who started screaming. She ended up stopping in front of a glass door to a business that was just like a mirror. She stood there screaming obsenities while looking at her reflection in the door/mirror. I pretty much ignored her and walked on by (albeit at the curbside of the sidewalk) but after I got a few yards passed her I glanced over my shoulder to make sure she wasn't about to attack me from behind (she had stopped screaming at this point). Anyway, she wasn't following me, but another woman who was lying on the sidewalk watching looked up at me and said, "That's the 'Exorcist 2'. You remember the Exorcist don't you?" I nodded, "Yes, I remember".
I left skid row and drove over to the alley where I usually can find Tara Lee, but there wasn't anyone living in that alley Sunday. Arturo, wasn't by his spot by the freeway either. However, another man by the name of Ruben was under the I-10 freeway by San Pedro. After helping and praying with Ruben I asked if he had seen Mary at all recently. He told me she is still in the area and has been moving around quite a bit (as they all do).
It was now time to head over to Cloud Nine Alley. As I mentioned earlier I was able to meet with Pastor Rodriguez, but before I did I walked down the alley and talked with Ray. Ray is quite talkative and ended up walking around the block with me. At one of the businesses on the block we went inside and he introduced me to the owner. This building has three floors, I'm not sure what's on the ground floor, but the second floor is a sewing shop and the top floor is a big room where banquets and receptions are held. You'd never guess from the outside, what goes on inside. Later, as Ray and I walked on down the street and came to the church, I was able to introduce him to Pastor Rodriguez. I guess this is what is called networking....I was happy to start getting connected with some of the other people in the block.
Before leaving downtown I stopped by the Jack in the Box. John Stokes was working the door again. I noticed he was wearing the clothes I had given him the previous week. We talked for awhile and he asked me to pray for him. He was trying to earn enough money to get another tent to live in. I told him it was Palm Sunday and at church that morning I heard a message that might be of interest to him. I gave him the 3 minute "Cliff Notes Version" of the message. Now I have read the account in the Gospel of Luke of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem many times. The uniqueness of this message that morning was the telling of the blind man receiving his sight and the tax collector, Zacheus, obtaining salvation (Luke 18:35-19:9) and laying the stories side by side (this is right before Jesus' entry into Jerusalem). In that day a blind man would be not only unable to work, but also was a burden to his family and in all likelihood a beggar (and therefore poor and powerless). The tax collector, was rich and powerful, but disconnected from society because everyone hated him for being a tax collector (and in league with the Romans). So you had the powerful and the powerless having an encounter with Jesus. I added to the message that although you would think that Jesus would be happy that day, the account tells of Jesus 'weeping' over Jerusalem during this triuphant entry. The reason given was that in a few short days they would reject their king and crucify him. I put the two thoughts together for John and told him, Jesus came for the poor and the rich, and not to reject him as your king. It was pretty cool to have heard a message in the morning and then put it to good use before the day ended. I'll have to try and do that again. One last thing, I drove by where I had seen Doug the week before, but there was no trace of him being there. I only hope he is being cared for wherever he is. Until next week. --John

Monday, April 11, 2011

Downtown 4/10/2011--I was specifically named.

I was eager to get downtown Sunday and see what could be done for Alisavel and Javier. This is the couple I met last week who were living in a tent. When I arrived I saw the tent and called out to them but no one came out of the tent. I went back there twice more but no one was there. I have included some pictures of what they are living in. There are some old tires behind a chain link fence and
some tarps in front of the fence. Under the tarps is where the two Cuban men are living. The small tent in front of the tarps is where Javier and his wife live. I checked with the church at Cloud Nine Alley Sunday afternoon, but because Pastor Rodriguez was not there, not much information could be gained as to what they can do. Keep praying for this couple's situation. I feel that there will be more in the future about this situation, or the situation itself
may generate a response or plan of action for future situations that are similar. I have faith in the promise of Romans 8:28.
After leaving Javier's tent the first time I headed over towards Olive St. In that area on Venice Blvd I was able to help Hernando and another man by the name of Kerry. Kerry was digging through a dumpster and when I offered him a bag of food and especially the jug of water he was very happy. He said, "I'm diabetic and I drink water all day so this is perfect." Usually, the quality of water the homeless are able to obtain is very poor. The sun was out all day and it would get pretty warm if you stayed in the sun too long.
I drove around the skid row area but didn't stop at this point. I was looking for Jerry but didn't see him yet. I thought it might be a little early for him to be out so I decided to stop at the Jack in the Box on Alameda for a little bit. When I pulled into the driveway there, I saw John Stokes. As I rolled the window down to say hello he told me, "What a blessing it is to see you today." When I saw him the last time he had told me how he had lost all of his stuff as a result of a police sweep. He still didn't have much so I parked and we were able to get him restocked on a few of the clothing essentials as well as some food and water. I even got him his favorite burger there at the 'Box'. I had parked by this time and parked next to me was an old van that had seen better days. When John and I were going through the trunk I noticed the guy driving it had backed out and was really struggling with the steering wheel. I had just finished up with John and had prayed with him (at his request!) when the guy driving asked if I had any power steering or brake fluid. I told him I didn't have anything like that in the trunk only clothes. He said, "You have clothes? We could use some clothes." There were two men in the van, Adrian (the guy driving) and Rodney, I think they were living out of this van. So these guys got clothes and food too. Jeans were a big item Sunday. I must have given out 5 pairs of jeans during this trip. While helping these guys, another guy walked up by the name of Anthony. John had directed him over to me. Anthony was from Texas. So in the one stop I ended up helping four men and I hadn't even made it inside yet! What timing to have showed up a just the right moment to help all these men.
After leaving the Jack in the Box I headed back towards skid row. This time did I see Jerry (the man with one eye who I met a couple of weeks ago). He was sitting at the same spot on the corner of Los Angeles St and 7th. It took about fifteen minutes or so to find a place to park near there and then another ten to walk back to where he was. By the time I got there he was gone. I was pretty disappointed to have missed the opportunity to talk to him. My guess is he had 'collected' enough for whatever his needs were and had gone off to wherever it is that he stays. So I ended up prayer-walking around the skid row area and actually ended up talking and praying with another man named Jerry. He was out collecting cans and bottles to recycle. It's kind of rare to see someone recycling in the skid row area, but there he was with a couple of plastic bags--and no shopping cart.
I tried one more time to find Javier and Alisavel, but still came up empty. I drove down Alameda all the way to Washington Blvd and turned west. On one of the first streets I passed I saw someone on the sidewalk who I thought might be homeless, so I drove around the block to try and find them. Along the way I saw Don. This turned out to be the 'encounter' of the day. The last time I saw Don was on December 12. That was the week I took the barbecue with me. I had seen Don five days before then and told him I would be back the following Sunday to barbecue for some friends down a certain alley off Hooper which was right near were he was at the time. He ended up waiting the five days at the end of the alley for me to show up. He told me Sunday, after suffering through a very cold night on Saturday that he had been praying to God that I would show up! He was so happy to see me and practically begged me to stop and talk with him. Don suffers from diabetes and looked absolutely terrible. He was in a lot of pain while we talked. He had on a shirt and some shorts and one sock. He complained of frostbite during the previous night and had started a little fire with some wood scraps and had placed his other sock with some water in a can and put the can over the fire. His plan was to 'dry out' his socks in anticipation of another cold night. Well, I gave him some new socks, jeans and a blanket. He never sat up while I was there, so I spread the blanket out over him. Don was very, very depressed. I'd say the last four or five times we've talked he has expressed a desire to die. He feels he is 'right' with God and is living in so much pain that he doesn't want to 'live like a disgrace' anymore. He has spent a lot of time recently in and out of hospitals and although the hospital staffs mostly treat him well, he feels that in being homeless the
hospital management is more interested in warehousing him to generate income from the state than they are in helping him. I listened to Don because I know how much it means to these folks to have anyone really listen to them. I also told him that he is special to God. As an example of how much God cares, I told him I have a son and a daughter and no matter
where they are and no matter what has happened to them I still love them and they are always going to be special to me. Don is no different in God's eyes. No matter where he is or what has happened, God always will love him. Eventually, Don's mood improved. He ended up praising God for answering his prayer to send me to him. I have often said it is a privilege to serve the homeless in the name of Christ. It was even more so Sunday, to have been specially requested by name. --Until next week. John

Monday, April 4, 2011

Downtown 4/3/2011

Sunday's trip was unusual and I'm not sure where to begin describing it. I arrived at about 11:15 in the morning and felt I should start down at skid row instead of finishing there like I normally do. When I got off the freeway I had a few last minute things to take care of before all the bags of food were ready to give out. I had gotten off at the Central Ave exit and the I-10 which actually is 16th St. On the way to skid row I found a couple of men on 16th that I've helped before, one of them was Arturo. Both men were sleeping and so I didn't really talk to them much. I wanted to get to skid row in hopes of seeing Jerry from last week. Unfortunately, I didn't find him, but I parked and walked around quite a bit down there. As I was getting out of the car a man approached me asking for some water and a couple of bucks. I told him I had some water if he was interested in a gallon jug. His name was Keith and he was from Ohio. I told him I really didn't have any money to give out, but I did have some bags of food and asked if he wanted one. He had already gotten the water and started drinking from it when I asked if he wanted a big bag or a small bag of food. He took a small bag. While getting the stuff out of the car he said, "You're a man of God aren't you?" I'm not really sure how one is supposed to answer a question like that. I did end up praying with him, so I guess that answered the question for him. I really hadn't walked around skid row on a Sunday morning before so it was an enlightening experience. I started east on 6th from the police station and turned up San Julian St towards 5th. There are always a lot of people hanging around San Julian here because this street is the entrance to the Union Rescue Mission. Just before getting to 5th St. a brand new
black SUV had stopped and a couple were giving out bottles of water and food out of the back. It was only the second time I've seen anyone doing that in the nearly two years I've been going downtown. I walked on to 5th and turned east and walked to the next street which is San Pedro. Behind a fence I saw a van parked that had seen better days, but it was a missions van with some phone numbers on it. One of the
numbers caught my eye because it was an 800 number with the slogan 'DO AGAPE' I thought that was a great slogan, 'just do it'...'do agape'. I took a picture of the van through the chain link fence and decided to go around to the front of the building to see what was in front. It turned out there was a church service going on in a little store-front building. I took a picture of that too. I continued
walking up San Pedro and back to 6th St. On the corner of 6th and San Pedro I heard the sounds of gospel music coming out of a corner building. There was no sign out front or anything advertising a church of any kind, although there was a banner a few yards down the street for a 'Set Free Skid Row Church', perhaps this was their church service. I stood there for a few minutes with my back up against the building just listening to the music and looking around. Directly across from this building is the Mid-Night Mission building. A gentle breeze had kind of kicked up a little and brought the smell of urine which permeates this whole area. So here I was, with the sound of gospel music in the background and the sights and smells of skid row all hitting me at once and thought, this is exactly the place where the
gospel needs to be, in the most spiritually dark places around. This was skid row on a Sunday morning. Praise the Lord, he has brought His workers where they are needed the most. I took a few more pictures on the way back to the car, one was of the banner I mentioned.
I headed over to Lincoln Park but didn't see anyone so I headed back towards town on North Main St. On my way back I happened to notice a woman in a wheel chair off the sidewalk about 20 yards back in a driveway area. I had passed by her but decided to turn around and go back and check things out. It turned out to be 'the encounter' of the day. I pulled the car right up next to where she was and asked if she was OK. I quickly learned that she didn't speak any English. Well, she could say 'thank you' and 'yes' but not much else. I had gotten out to give her a bag of food and some water when her husband came up. His name was Javier and he did speak some English. As best as I could understand her name is Alisavel and I'm guessing they are in their late forties. They were from Mexico (no surprise there). Javier told me where exactly they were from but I didn't recognize any of the towns he mentioned until he said Loredo, Texas. That's a place I know of. They have been here many years and for the last five years had a place to stay, but in March they ran out of money and have been homeless ever since. It was heartbreaking. I gave them everything I had to give; food, water, clothes, shoes, and a blanket. It just wasn't enough, I was embarrassed that I couldn't do more. They were living in a very small tent next to a couple of Cuban men I have helped before a while back. I prayed with them and promised I would check in with them next week. They were both very appreciative of the help and seemed happy when I left them, yet I was devastated by their situation and hated to leave them. I started asked God what I could do to help them. The answer came quickly enough...the Church on Cloud Nine Alley!!!
The rest of the day was spent working my way over to that church. I still had a few bags of food left and found a few other men in need of help. I drove down the alley where Tara Lee lives but didn't see any of those folks around.
I finally got to the church at Cloud Nine Alley and parked. It was around 1:30 p.m. and their morning church service was over. There were some people there, but Pastor Rodriguez wasn't going to be back until 6 p.m. No one there was able to advise me on what they could do at this point, but I did call the church phone number on Monday and talked with a man named Robert who said they do have an evangelistic team that might be able to do something for them. We have agreed to try to hook-up next Sunday afternoon to see if anything can be done for this couple. It is essential that I get some people who speak the language involved in this. While prayer-walking in the alley there I ended up seeing Gary. He was the man living in the parking lot next to the church a few months back. It was great to see him. He was riding a bicycle through there and we got caught up on events of the last few months. Gary has been staying with various people and has gotten some temporary work here and there. He looked good and I was able to share with him some of the things happening with this downtown ministry. We prayed together...what a blessing it was.
On my way out of town I drove by where one of my friends lives and he just happened to be there. His name is Will. Billy and James used to stay with him. They have since gotten VA housing in Pasadena, but Will is still staying there in an alley off Pico and Central. Right near where Will was I found two men sleeping on opposite sides of the sidewalk. Their names were Ben and Terry. I gave out the last of the food and some clothes for both of them. Ben got some shoes too, but Terry wore size 16 and I just don't have that size! I think the biggest shoe size I've been asked for is 19! I'm not even sure I've seen shoes that size in Payless or Target. Anyway, both men were pretty happy to receive what I had and we were able to have a 'group prayer' before I left for home.

P.S. The success of any missions work is dependent upon the grace of God and our prayers and petitions to Him. Please be in prayer for Javier and Alisavel during this next week. Let's see what God will do for them. Until next week. --John