Monday, November 28, 2011

Downtown 11/27/2011

"And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God, and in accordance with the law and the commandments, to seek his God, he did with all his heart; and he prospered." -- 2 Chronicles 31:20-21, speaking about King Hezekiah

I tend to hear messages at church and understand scripture in ways geared to bringing that message to the people I meet on the streets in downtown Los Angeles. I had read the scripture above in my personal bible reading a couple of nights ago. Then I heard a message on Sunday about a husband and wife who appeared to live a life honoring God, yet somehow there was one glaring problem in their marriage. They were childless and being advanced in years, it looked like there was no hope for a resolution to this problem. Every week I see people who are not "prospering". Many are not living a lifestyle that honors God, but a lot do have a relationship with God that is closer than you may think. So often, the street people feel so separated from God that they feel beyond His reach and undeserving of His help. I try to change their attitude about that. In doing so, it changes my attitude and my relationship with God too. Oh, the couple in the message ended up being the parents of John the Baptist. God is in the business of working miracles.

When I arrived downtown I was 'expecting' a great trip. I just felt this Sunday was going to be different, yet it started out kind of slow. I drove around for quite a while before finding people to help. The first three people I helped; Mary, Henry and Jorge were all destitute and needed assistance, but only Jorge did I have conversaton and prayer with. I drove over to the alley where I did the barbecue last month (yeah, it's been four weeks since then already) and no one is living there now. There isn't even any 'stuff' on the ground to indicate that anyone is living there now, it's all deserted. As I was about to drive down that alley, there was a man pushing his cart along an adjacent alley. His name is Henry (2nd one of the day). He looked up and said, "Oh, you're the Bread Man. Am I glad to see you." It's always nice to be welcomed. Henry has been struggling of late and said that things have been made more difficult because he and a lot of the homeless in that area had been run-off by the police and public safety patrols. Not too far from here I found Jimmy from Texas. He was all bundled up and sleeping on the sidewalk near the Jack in the Box. He was really happy to receive some help and ended up getting some clothes too. When I asked if there was anything special he needed (before I prayed for him) he said he needed to pay someone back the $10 he owed them. Ten bucks seemed to be the going rate Sunday for people needing money. I think three people asked for that same amount (No, I didn't have it to give out).

I drove over to Cloud Nine Alley and still no one is living there either. It's been over a month now and no one is there to pray for (except for Pastor Rodriguez' church). I drove on down to skid row. I parked in front of the police station and got out to start prayer-walking. I asked God to give me someone to pray for during this walk. I was hoping to see Everett Whaley from a couple of weeks ago, but I'm not real hopeful of seeing him again at this point. Anyway, about half-way through the walk a man is walking towards me with a jacket on with no shirt underneath. I don't even remember how our conversation started, but he came up to me and asked how I was doing! I've never seen this man before (his name was Jimmy), so I was a little surprised but not too surprised. I told him I was prayer-walking down there. I asked him what he was up to and he told me he was trying to get into one of the missions later, but needed to 'clear his head first." He then asked me if I would remember to pray for him! I said, "Let me pray for you right now." When I asked God to clear Jimmy's mind and help him to make good decisions I heard him groan in agreement. When we were done Jimmy told me he was hungry. I told him I had food in my car, which was parked in front of the police station and I would be back there in about twenty minutes if he wanted to meet me there. I never saw him again, although when I got back there I waited for awhile. While waiting another man walked up to me and said, "Amigo." Now I don't think that I look like I speak spanish at all, so it was surprising that this guy walked up to me and started talking in spanish. I ended up praying with him too. In the end, I had asked God to give me one person to pray with, and He ended up sending me two and one in a foreign language just to show me how awesome and in control He is!!!

Before leaving I saw Michael, who is back living under the 4th St bridge. When I pulled up he was reading a gospel of John booklet (he was in chapter 9). We talked for quite a while, probably thirty minutes or so. He ended up with a pair of shoes, but didn't need the last bag of food I had. That worked out pretty good, because I found a man named Benny on the sidewalk on 7th St. who did need it. Now when I asked Benny (he was from New York) if he needed some food I had just pulled up in my car and was still sitting in it. He thanked me for the food and then said something I'll never forget. He said, "Do you have any clothes? These clothes I have are full of bugs!" It was a plea from a man desperate for relief. I hopped out of the car and gave him a new set of clothes to wear. He was very old and extremely skinny. I had a pair of pants that I didn't think I'd be able to give away because they were so skinny in the waiste, but they appeared to be able to fit this guy. I've had people complain before about lice being in their clothes from living on the street. I tend to forget about that problem because I don't hear the complaint very often. How miserable it must be to live with that problem and not be able to do anything about it because you don't have any other clothes to wear. I'm so glad to be able to help these people. --Until next week. John

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Downtown 11/21/2011

Then the king will say "Come...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink..." --Matthew 25:34-35

This week's trip ended up being on a Monday in the middle of the day, which is not exactly my favorite time to go. However, bringing relief to the homeless is welcomed by them any time and any day of the week. I haven't seen Phillip or Nancy in the Lincoln Park area in over a year now. That hasn't stopped me from going and looking anyway. As I drove by where they used to stay I saw a man and a woman there at right about the same place. There was another man a few yards away from them, but I couldn't park at the curb right by them. After driving around I found a place to park not too far from where they all were and took a couple of bags of food with me. When I got there I met Tony and Debra. I asked about Phillip and Nancy and Debra did know them. She told me they had gotten a place to stay, but indicated they wouldn't be able to stay there much longer. Both of these folks were about the same age as Phillip and Nancy. Debra said she and Tony had been staying at this spot for about a month or so. I left a bag of food with them and gave the other one to Henry, the man who was living a few yards away from them. I had met Henry earlier in the year shortly before summer. He told me then that he was a farm laborer and was waiting for watermelon season. Monday he told me that this season wasn't very good, but he was getting along OK, just not good enough to afford a place to stay. As I recall he was almost 70 years old. He looks remarkably fit for someone that age. I prayed with him before walking back to my car, which he appreciated. I had asked Debra if they needed some water. I told her I had some in my car and I would drive back by and pass it to her from the curb. When I drove up she came over to the car and got it and saw some cans of ravioli that I had out on the seat. I was intending to give them to her and when she said she loved ravioli and Tony really liked the Chunky soup in the bag I gave her both cans and a jar of peanut butter. I told her the peanut butter they could use with the loaf of bread in the bag. She seemed very thankful and said, "God bless you." She then asked if I would remember to pray for them. I told her, "Let me pray for you right now." So holding her hand through the window I prayed for her and Tony. You would have thought from her reaction that I was the only one who had ever prayed for her (maybe I was). Debra looked like she had lived on the street for a long time, but she was in tears when I drove away. Despite the hardened appearance, even the toughest looking people are like little children inside.

In the course of the next hour and half, I drove over to Cloud Nine Alley (still no one living in the alley) and prayer-walked on skid row. I looked for Everett Whaley from last week, but didn't see him. I had told him last week that I come down there on Sundays, so on a Monday he may not have been around anymore. I hope he has found a safe place to live. I ended up stopping by to see John Stokes and David. I had bought some rodent poison to help them with their rat problem and wanted to make sure they got it. John was there, but David wasn't. John had been very sick the last time I saw him. He was better, but said he was still pretty weak from the whole ordeal. I'm sure the cold weather isn't helping. When I gave him the jar of peanut butter he said, "I love peanut butter. I could eat this whole jar." I wanted to make sure they had enough food to last through Thanksgiving on Thursday. I got to say a Thanksgiving prayer with John before I left.

I thought I only had one bag of food left at this point and I had seen some homeless people near Daley St and North Main. I recognized one of them as a woman I've helped before. I was a little leary of giving one bag of food to her with two other men there, but I decided I'd head back there and see if anyone was still there. On the way, I saw a young twenty-something man looking through a trash can under a freeway, by a bus stop. I circled back and gave the last bag to him. He was obviously very needy, but didn't want to talk much. I think he was embarrassed about his situation. Hopefully, the bag of food will give him some needed relief from hunger over the next few days.

As I drove on home at this point, I didn't realize that I still had one bag of food left on the floor of the back seat. I didn't notice it until I was half-way home. By this time it was night-time and I really don't know the 'turf' where the homeless are staying in the San Gabriel Valley like I do downtown. I was kind of disappointed with the whole trip. I guess mainly because I didn't have a real 'remarkable' encounter. Thinking back I was grateful for the encounter with Debra and Tony even if it just meant that I heard news about Phillip and Nancy. I have a feeling that those receiving the food and water were sure glad I made the trip too. The scripture quoted above was read in church on Sunday. I've heard and read it many times. As I've said before, I try to bring a piece of God's Kingdom to these people each time I go. Along with the food and water, at least a 'piece of His heart." --Until next week. John

Monday, November 14, 2011

Downtown 11/13/2011

"The LORD took note and listened (to those who still revered Him)... They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them....Then once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him."--Malachi 3:16-13

Yesterday's message in church was, in part, on this passage from the prophet Malachi. The prophet was concerned that the wicked were prospering and the righteous were struggling and the the 'people' were getting an impression of God that He didn't care or wasn't going to do anything about the increase in lawlessness that was rampant in society. Sounds familiar doesn't it? God's response was, "Just you wait and see what happens when I put things right." The inference was for the people who continue to follow the ways of God to keep it up. Don't succumb to the way the society is going. Keep on keeping on. As the morning at church ended and opportunities to do other things came up it was tempting to just 'take the rest of the day off'. I had bought food to take downtown the night before and had everything ready to go there, yet I was feeling kind of lazy. As it turned out I went on downtown shortly after getting home even though I was pretty tired. I drove on down to Lincoln Park and rested in my car for about a half an hour and finally got started looking for people to help at around 3 p.m. Since this is the first trip after daylight savings time ended, I was only going to have about 2 hours of daylight left and needed to get going. The first 4 or 5 people I gave food to were needy enough, but I didn't end up praying with anyone and I felt the trip was being wasted. I stopped at the Jack in the Box to get a cup of coffee and a quick snack, hoping to improve my energy level. As I walked in there was a woman who looked homeless walking out the door. She had a cup of coffee in her hand. I figured that was all she could afford. I ordered, used the rest room and sat down and waited for my order. She had positioned herself by a trash can outside the door and just on the other side of the glass wall where I was sitting. When my order came, two tacos and a cup of coffee, I decided to give one of the tacos to her. Her name was Darlene and she was waiting for someone to give her a ride to a doctor. She didn't say what her ailment was. I commented to her that despite all the grease in the taco, they sure did taste good. She agreed they did.

After leaving there I gave out the last of the food bags and drove over to Cloud Nine Alley. I haven't seen Ray or any evidence of anyone living there in the alley for over a month. I then headed down to skid row. I had driven down there already, but the free parking in front of the police station was full. I was hoping by now there may be a couple of spots open. Somewhere around Olympic and Broadway I saw a most pathetic looking homeless man laying on the corner. His hair was all matted and with his beard you could hardly make out his face. The clothes he had on were the only thing he had. He had nothing else around him except for a styrofoam cup that was empty. I drove around the block to find a place to park near him. When I got out of the car I heard him yelling something, but I couldn't make out what it was. As I got closer someone walked around the corner in front of him and he yelled again. I thought to myself, "Well this could be interesting" as I set a can of soup with a spoon down right in front of him. I told him simply, "This is for you." He grabbed the can of soup and pulled it close to him. I turned to walk back to my car not knowing if the can was going to be thrown at the back of my head. I got to my car and started to drive on down the street. As I drove by where he was sitting on the sidewalk I could see he had already opened the can and was starting to eat out of it. Perhaps a meal in his stomach would calm him down.

I headed on down to skid row and this time found a place to park in front of the police station. Three weeks ago I had noticed a sign on the roof of a corner building on 6th and Los Angeles St. advertising for blankets. I decided to walk down there and check it out. It was still light out, probably around 4:30 p.m. The retail stores in the area were starting to close up, but there were still a lot of people walking around. Los Angeles Street, in particular, was filled with people walking around. I looked from the sidewalk at several of the stores. Most of them in that section were selling various combinations of fabric, rugs, comforters and blankets. None looked to have the kind of blankets I was looking for. I looked across the street at the stores over there and was just about to cross the street when a man came up to me and asked for some help. He had just arrived from Tuscon, Arizona the day before (probably arrived at the El Paso/LA bus depot across from the police station). He had spent the night in the lobby of the police station after he had been beaten up and robbed of the $800.00 he had on him. The police wouldn't let him leave until morning because they feared he might be attacked again by the same people thinking he had more money on him (which he didn't). He was trying to sell me his watch for $3 because he didn't have any money left and didn't want to just ask for a hand-out. I told him I come downtown once a week to help people out just like him, but the food I had was back in my car, parked in front of the police station. So as we walked back to my car together he told me his recent difficulties. He was 63 years old and was a church-going man all his life and was hoping to become an ordained minister. He told me when he saw me he felt the Lord telling him to "Go talk to this man." I gave him some food and clothing. He had a traveling bag and a jacket, but couldn't carry very much more, otherwise I would have given him more food. I gave him the last $10 I had on me and told him to keep his watch. He may need it another day. We prayed, hugged and prayed somemore. He was so thankful that he followed God's 'instructions' (so was I) and approached me for help.

When I left the area and started to process the trip on the way home, I couldn't help but think back to the morning's message at church and how, the prophet Malachi was telling the people to keep following the Lord and His ways that it does make a difference. What would have happened to this man, his name is Everett Whaley, if I hadn't gone down there. What would have happened if Everett hadn't been obedient and approached me for help. Yes, God could have used someone else to help him. But this way, we both know he was helped. We were both blessed and encouraged by the encounter. It was a privilege to be a part of it.--Until next week--John