Downtown 9/25/2011

"...for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness." ---Lamentations 3:22-3

A few minutes ago I was reading a letter from a baseball manager thanking the team's fans for their support during the year (the team had just been eliminated from playoff contention). It was a pretty classy letter and it got me thinking how thankful I am to be on God's team. Despite my human frailties and sinfulness, He still uses me. How cool is that? Two thousand years ago, to cover sin, a person would have to continually take an animal to the temple for the priests to slaughter because only innocent blood would work. Now we claim the blood of Jesus' more perfect sacrifice to cleanse and recleanse us of our sins. It is the free gift we Christians keep talking about, but it wasn't free for God. It cost Him dearly. Yet His willingness to provide a way to repair our relationship with Him has always been in place. That is why the prophet Jeremiah could make the statement I quoted above. "His mercies are new every morning,"...if we ask for it. It continues to amaze me that our Lord and Savior can use a sinner like me to do His work. What a privilege it is!

During last week's trip downtown I wasn't listening to His call and direction until the very end of the trip. Then things started happening almost immediately after I did. I wondered after I left what the trip would have been like if I had obeyed His calling and went directly down to the recent focus area from the start. Last night I wasn't going to repeat that mistake, yet God had something else in mind and it was simply amazing. A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I could use something to keep the hamburgers warm. Since then I received an insulated bag (one that was better than the one I had) and a box that I could plug into the cigarette lighter in my car (do they still call them cigarette lighters?). So last night I loaded up the ice chest with water and ice and my new box and bag and headed down to the Jack in the Box on Alameda. In an effort to try to hurry and get down to the focus area, I decided to go through the drive-thru which turned out to be a mistake. It takes too long for them to cook twenty hamburgers and the line behind me started to back up. So I parked and went inside to wait for them. While waiting a man by the name of Michael who used to live by the 4th St bridge came in. It's quite a ways away from where he usually stays so I was surprised to see him there (it had been a few months anyway). He recognized my car and came in to see me. As we walked out to my car carrying the box with all the burgers, there was another man standing outside that he recognized. He called him over to us. While I was putting the burgers in the insulated bag another homeless man by the name of Clark came up and before I knew it about 3 or 4 other homeless men and one woman came up also. I had opened the trunk to allow them to take whatever clothing items they needed. I prayed with all of them, some in the first group and others one on one. It was as unexpected as it was unbelieveable. By the time I left the parking lot of the Jack in the Box I had given away about 70 percent of the burgers and water! If I had stayed in the drive-thru line, I would have totally missed the opportunity. As you know I frequent that place almost weekly and never have I been able to help that many people at once, let alone in that parking lot.

Well, Michael needed a ride down to where he is staying which now is at an SRO building (Single Resident Occupancy). I think he probably got in due to his being a veteran. I don't think the rooms have bathrooms, they are just a room and the 'hotel' is full of other people who are in the same situation. You have to get on a waiting list to get one and I don't know how long you can stay there on the government tab. Anyway, the place was down on 5th and Los Angeles St and right near where I was going anyway. After dropping him off I headed over to Wall and 8th. I had the rest of the burgers in the insulated bag and got out there and started meeting the people on that street. The first man was Dennis from Texas. Well, you probably can guess what happened next. After I finished praying with him a woman walked up looking for help. She and her husband 'live' in one of the doorways across the street every night. Her name is Deena and his name is Edwin. I had helped them the first night I went to this street. At the time I think I said that she seemed very receptive to me but Edwin seemed like he really didn't want me to hang around. Deena told me that Edwin had told her to go see if I could help them out so she came over to me. I ended up giving them some clothing (there wasn't a lot left in the trunk at this point) and walked back over to him with Deena. He was listening to the football game so I asked him what the score was. In talking with them, they told me that often times people will come by and give out food, but that they never come over to their side of the street, that's why he sent her over to me. So in about 10 or 15 minutes I had given out the last of the burgers and had the opportunity to pray with everyone! Awesome!

For the last couple of weeks I have made it a regular routine to pray daily during the week for not only the people I have helped the previous week, but also for those I will meet the next week. I've been asking for God's Holy Spirit to go before me to prepare the way and to soften the peoples' hearts that I will encounter. God's presence was probably never more evident to me and His Spirit at work than last night. It just amazes me that He uses me. Until next week. --John