Downtown 4/1/2012

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me [Jesus], because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." --Luke 4:18-19

Believe me, I hesitated quoting this verse. I wouldn't want anyone thinking I have an unrealistic view of myself. Yet the part above that is in bold and italics has always been a special phrase to me. Jesus' announcement and promise to set people free from their bondage, whatever that bondage may be is so visable when I'm downtown among the homeless. If I was really in tune with reality I would see the bondage that is rampant all around us, but Sunday night it went and slapped me upside the head and caused me to take notice of the private hell so many people live in. It happened at the end of the trip.

I had planned on arriving a little later than last week. As I was driving down to the Jack in the Box it was about 6:15 pm the sun was still out and it was probably about an hour before it would set. I thought this would be perfect timing. I had been praying for God to lead me to "His" people that he wanted me to minister to. Yet in the first hour plus, no one was at the regular locations and I hadn't hooked up with anyone so far! I was getting a little nervous, yet I knew God would come through in His timing, not mine. I headed to Wall St because by now the sun had set and it was actually getting dark. People would be starting to collect at the doorways of the closed up shops down there. Sure enough, there they were. I started handing out burgers, blankets and praying with people. I prayed with just about everyone I met. First there was Vincent, then Trisha (actually it's Triesha-from last week) who was with Charles. When they saw me give Vincent a blanket, they asked me for one too. It was getting very cold and breezy at this point. Kirk and Edward and David were on the other side of the block. I had enough burgers for about three or four people left, so I went back to the area near the Jack in the Box to see if any of my 'regulars' were around there.

I ended up under the I-10 freeway at Hooper St. This is where Richard Brown lives. I usually don't look in on Richard too much because as far as homeless people go, he's doing pretty well. But I hadn't talked to him since about Christmas, so I figured it was time and I could also find out some news about the surrounding area. Well Richard had gone "to bed" at this point and his "house" was all closed up to keep the cold air out. I had gotten out of the car and was standing next to his place and called out to him. It was about 8:15 pm. He answered me and started to get up and climb out. He told me Dave was in the spot about 20 feet down and that someone else was asleep with him. Well in a minute or so everyone was up and standing out on the sidewalk with me. A woman named Debra had been inside Richard's "house". Everyone was hungry and glad to get some burgers to eat and then Richard asked me to pray for all of them. After that Dave asked if I had any clothes to give out. He specifically wanted some socks which I had. It turned out Debra didn't have any and needed some too. Pants, a jacket, some t-shirts and a blanket were given out too. While the four of us were standing there, Solo came by and was hungry. Well, I was out of burgers, but I did have some cans of chunky soup, so I gave him a couple of cans. While I was digging around for a spoon to give him and a bag to put the cans in, he had opened one of them and started eating. By the way, the burgers were eaten as soon as I gave them to the others. I love it when I give out food and it's consumed immediatedly, that's when you know you've filled a need. During this encounter, Richard and Debra and I were standing together and talking just the three of us. Richard had commented that he likes to keep this area under the freeway cleaned up because it keeps the police from bothering him. He said that those homeless folks that do drugs invariably trash the area and then the police come by and move everyone out. When he said this, Debra blurted out, "I still do drugs." Then she looked at me and asked, "Would you pray for me to get off drugs?" This is the second time a homeless woman has asked for me to intercede on her behalf. I said "Yes, of course." and put my arms around the two of them and began to pray. I asked for God to help her in making good decisions each day, as each day is filled with opportunities that can go either way. Debra obviously feels like a prisoner and trapped in the lifestyle she's in. The starting point is recognizing our need for help. As with all of us, the One who walked on water, is the One who will walk with us out of our season of trouble. I was privileged to be at this point for Debra. Until next week. --John