Downtown 7/30/2012

A few weeks ago at a weeknight church gathering, I felt led to personally pursue a path of seeking to praise God every single day. I must tell you, this is not something that has come easily for me. In fact, I quickly run out of things to say. Oh, and I should add the praise I feel led to pursue is audible. That means I need to speak it out loud. Well, so far, I've mainly been doing it in the car on the way to and from work (about a 45-50 minute drive). After three weeks, this is still a work in progress. Monday when I arrived downtown, I had to get off at a different exit than normal due to the traffic conditions. As I worked my way back to Alameda St I drove by one of the alleys to see if anyone was there. To my pleasant surprise Willie and Tara Lee were there. As I pulled up, I started receiving the warmest welcome from Tara I think I've ever received. He told me how glad he was to see me and how wonderfull I looked! My mood, which had been somewhat passive and preocupied to begin with, and a little irritated with the traffic, changed immediately for the better. What a real, live demonstration of the power of praise! So often, I see a truth demonstrated in front of me while ministering to the poor. Once again, truth experienced is truth remembered. Now, it's up to me to put this truth into practice on a daily basis. Since I hadn't gotten any food yet, I asked the guys if they were hungry. When they said they were, I told them I'd return shortly with some food, which I did. While talking with them after returning, they told me of some of the difficulties they had had with the police running them off the sidewalks in the area lately. What was troubling them so much is that other homeless people with tents weren't run off and they were feeling specifically 'picked on'. My guess is that it was easier to run someone off without a tent than it is with someone who does have one. It's hard to know exactly the mindset of the policemen at the time. Anyway, at one point, Tara said something I won't soon forget. He said, "One day John, you'll speak for us." Whether or not I'll ever be in a position to speak for these people ( a people who have virtually no voice) I don't know. I know that I am able and willing to listen to them and hear their pleas for help. It reminded me of an interview I heard recently with a woman missionary in China. She and her husband have an orphanage for children with special needs. They visit orphanages and take the babies that the other orphanages don't want. Upon visiting one such orphanage the staff almost proudly said the 'babies don't cry here because they know they won't get any special treatment'. Isn't that something to be proud of? Well, this woman told of visiting one such orphanage where there was a very premature baby laying with only a partially formed skull and the head was badly deformed due to no skull. This baby was crying and as this woman picked her up and gently held her, she felt Jesus telling her to say to that baby, "I heard your cry and I sent her (this missionary woman) to you today." Well, I felt that was my calling Monday. To hear these men and listen to their heartache and tell them, "Jesus sent me to hear you today." --Until next week. --John