Downtown 2/20/2012

"...Moses saw that the bush was on fire, but it was not burning up. 'This is strange!' he said to himself. ' I'll go over and see why the bush isn't burning up.' " Exodus 3:2b-3 -- Moses and his encounter with God at the burning bush.

Recently I was asked why I make these trips downtown. Of course, there are many others who care for the homeless, but what was it that was different about me that compelled me to go where others don't go. Over the weekend, I heard the above scripture verse from Exodus quoted. The speaker was a filmaker who has filmed God moving in miraculous ways all around the world. He said he identified with this verse and wondered how many others may have also seen the burning bush that Moses saw, but didn't walk over and check it out. In this filmaker's world, others have told him that they too felt the urge to make the same movies he has made, but for one reason or another didn't. Two and a half years ago, when I started making these trips, I just wanted to be where God was working. I'm glad I chose to go (and check out the burning bush) and haven't regretted it since.

Yesterday's trip was an experience I won't soon forget. After purchasing a bunch of burgers at the Jack in the Box I headed over to an alley off Hooper St. I gave a couple of burgers away to Sam on the way there and when I got to the alley I saw Willie who I hadn't seen since Christmas day. While talking with him, another man by the name of Lee came around from the other side of the wall where we were. He had heard us talking. I gave him some burgers. A couple of minutes later another man named James came walking by and at this point I got out of the car and opened the trunk and started giving out clothes to all three. During this time I was telling Willie (who has been to the barbecues I've done down there) about my hopes for the next barbecue. I hope to be able to have one with a bunch of people from the area and take the opportunity to talk about some of the things that grieve these people, in particular those who have passed away. All three of these people knew the woman who passed away on the street a couple of months back. Lee seemed particularly tuned in to what I was talking about. When I prayed with the three of them, I somehow felt the deep presence of God in our midst. I had put my hand on James' shoulder, but Willie was standing a little ways away and I couldn't reach him with my other hand. While praying I felt another hand reach up to mine. It was Lee's and not Willie's hand. Anyway, I finished praying with them and said goodbye and drove over to the next alley down.

In this alley I found John Mellon sleeping. When I woke him up, he told me he had been hit by a car last Thursday and was seeing a physical therapist down by Wilshire and Alvarado. His knee was still badly swollen and he had been prescribed some pain medication, but because he didn't have any ID, he couldn't get the prescription filled. He needed to go to the DMV and get an ID and asked if I'd give him a ride. While talking with John, Lee from the other alley walked up. He was looking for a ride also, and in the same area where John wanted to go. Now I've talked before about one of the difficulties of being homeless is what do you do with your stuff when you have to go somewhere distant like these guys had to. Without getting into the details of what happened, I ended up taking Lee to a place in East LA where he could get some government relief funds. He wanted to get checked into a rehab program immediately. While we rode in the car together he told me that he had $7 the day before and instead of buying a meal with it he bought drugs. He told me about many poor choices he had made in his life and how he was now sick and tired of the mess he had made of his life. He also told me he was HIV positive and his sister, who was a nurse, had essentially begged him to come stay with her. When he heard Willie and I talking he was starving from not having eaten in a couple of days. When he came around the fence to where we were I had immediately asked him if he needed something to eat. He couldn't believe it at the time and that I gave him water and socks too. Then the conversation that I was having with Willie about the homeless people who have died on the street really got to him because he knew the woman who had died. In fact, the last thing that woman said to Lee was, "Check in on me, because I don't want to die on the street." Lee's lifestyle and the circumstances of me coming by and helping them and praying with them finally got to him and he had had enough of the street life! He was ready to do whatever it took in one of these rehab programs to get cleaned-up and off the streets! Praise God. Can you believe it? Now when Lee got the relief money at the place we went to, he gave me $20. I told him I didn't want it and to keep it and use it towards his needs. He insisted I take it and basically dropped it on my lap (he was sitting in the back seat). I'm thinking if he was only interested in himself, he would have easily taken the money back if I refused it. But the fact that he insisted that I take it and told me how much he was blessed by our time together made me think he really was ready to make a lifestyle change. I'll be praying for his life.

Now back to John Mellon. John had put some things in my car (a backpack and some clothes) and we were going to meet at a recycling center a few blocks away from the alley. Somehow, we got our signals crossed and I couldn't find him for a couple of hours. I finally found him back at the alley. He was all upset and worried that I had lost his backpack and the clothes. Actually, he was worried that I had given them away and they had some of his 'valuables' in them. It took awhile, but he finally calmed down and I told him that I had driven by the DMV and due to the holiday on Monday it was closed. So I ended up taking him to his physical therapy session on Wilshire and Alvarado. It was only a fifteen or twenty minute car ride over there, but it took him about forty minutes to get ready and we had to take his bicycle in the trunk because he didn't have a place to leave it. The therapy was only suppose to take fifteen minutes too, but ended up taking an hour. Through it all, I kept my calm (even though I was anxious to leave) throughout this whole time. I kept wondering if God gets this frustrated with me and yet keeps His composure. If I am to bring the Kingdom down here, then I'd better be a good ambassador and represent God's Kingdom as best I can. Anyway, it all worked out. I got John back with his bicycle safely and left him in good spirits. It was now 6 p.m. and I was really ready to go home by now. Luckily, with the holiday, traffic wasn't too bad going home. In reflecting on the day and putting the scripture above into this picture, it became all the more meaningful to me that I chose to take the opportunity to 'go check out the burning bush' two years ago. If I hadn't have gotten started, I would have missed out in giving Lee the opportunity and the motivation to want to get off the streets. God is always looking for someone willing to be used by Him. We start by making ourselves available to Him. --Until next week. John