Downtown 11/5/2012/Monday night

"....a matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses before it is confirmed." --Deut. 19:15. 

Due to the time change over the weekend, I couldn't get downtown until it was completely dark last night.  I had been praying that God would not only lead me to those who needed help , but grant me contact with some of my "regulars" whom I haven't seen since the barbecue in September.

After picking up a bunch of burgers I drove over to the two alleys where I've held the barbecues.  Both alleys are still vacant.  However, I did see some make-shift homeless shelters set up in a fenced vacant lot between two buildings by one of the alleys.  I decided to park the car and walk over and see if anyone I knew was living in there.  When I called into the first shelter I was greeted by a woman named Helen.  I hadn't met her before.  It turned out she was from Arkansas, a place where my parents and grandparents had lived.  I asked her who else was living in the other spots in there and she said Dave lived in one of them, but he wasn't there at that time.  I told Helen, Dave was from the mid-west area too.  She then told me that there was another person in her shelter so I went back to my car and got some more food and water.  When I got back there another man had showed up that I did know.  I think his name is Terrance, but I'm not sure.  He did recognize me and said he was "sooo glad to see me and that all of our mutual friends had been worried that something had happened to me!"  He told me he had just left Willie on the other side of the block from the Jack in the Box and then told me where Willie and some of the others had been staying on the other side of Washington Blvd.  While talking to Helen and Terrance I noticed what appeared to be a woman sleeping on some milk crates a sort distance from where we were standing.  Helen said she was sick with the flu.  I left some food for her and Dave.  Before leaving I prayed with Helen and Terrance.  Terrance reminded me that he still wanted to go to church with me sometime down in that area.  What a blessing this encounter was and an answer to prayer too.

After leaving them I drove over to the area off Washington Blvd where Terrance said Willie had been staying.  I had driven by the Jack in the Box, but I didn't see him there.  I thought perhaps that Tara Lee might be there if Willie wasn't back yet.  I did see some homeless folks sleeping in an alley directly behind Washington, but since I didn't recognize them and they were asleep, I decided not to wake them.  At this point I drove back over to the Jack in the Box area to see if Willie might be there.  I still didn't see him, but I did see John Mellon riding his bike into a recycler there.  While waiting for him to finish his business there I saw a man sitting by the end of a truck with his shoe off.  He was massaging his left foot.  I finally asked him if he needed a new pair of socks.  It turned out a 10-lb piece of metal had fallen on his foot and it was still hurting pretty badly.  I gave him some food and water and in a little while some friends of his, a man and a woman, pulled up in a van.  Later, as John Mellon was going through the clothes in the back of the car these folks came over too.  Wouldn't you know, the guy with the hurt foot ended up with a new pair of socks (which he had declined earlier).  The most memorable thing about this encounter was a statement John made to me as I was leaving.  First he told me to save a seat for him in heaven if I got there before him or he would if he gets there before me.  Keep in mind, that John, who was one of my first acquaintances when I started going downtown three and a half years ago, and didn't want me praying for him way back then.  He's come a long way, huh?  Then he followed that up with this stunner.  He said, "God 'arranged' for us to meet tonight".  "I know it couldn't be Satan-he wouldn't want us to meet- it had to be God!"  Remember my prayer on my way down there?  I had asked God for some contact with my regulars.  Here it was, full on night time, by now it was almost 8 p.m.  I had met Terrance who just "happened" to walk through a vacant lot that I had just "happened" to venture into looking to help who ever was there.  Then I just "happened" to see John Mellon riding his bike into the recycler on the other side of the block from the Jack in the Box.  How many coincidences do we need to see God's hand in this?  Before leaving I drove over to Olive St (the other side of town) and gave out the last of the burgers to a couple of men sitting on the side walk.  I think they would have gone to sleep without eating if I hadn't come by (another "coincidence" related to my prayer to meet those who needed help that night).  Both men were Latinos who didn't speak much English.  Before leaving I prayed for them.  When I finished and looked up, both men had their heads bowed.  Even though they couldn't understand me they knew I was praying for them.  It gets me every time that happens. 

The verse in Deuteronomy that began this blog says, "a matter is established or confirmed by the testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses."  Well I had at least three 'coincidences' as confirmation that |God listens to prayer last night.  Do those count?  ---Until next week.  John