Downtown 5/27/2012

"Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him." Luke 15:1

One of the benefits of this ministry is learning to be obedient to the Spirits's leading. Recently I've been buying 16 cheeseburgers at the beginning of each trip. That usually feeds about 8-10 people. I felt led Sunday night to buy 17 or one more than usual. I've learned to just follow the leading and not question it. More on that later.

If you read last week's blog you will remember that I saw Tara, Chris and Willie in the alley where we had the last barbecue. It was great seeing them all together again and we made plans for the next barbecue for early July. So I drove over to that alley again Sunday, but only saw Chris there. He told me that Tara had left after the last weekend because of harrassment from another homeless person. Willie was still staying there but wasn't due back for awile. I ended up giving Chris 4 burgers for both him and Willie and some socks (which I didn't have last week) and a blanket. We talked at length and one of the things we talked about was a trip he made to a church that morning by bus. Although he didn't talk in detail about the message preached he did sum it up by saying it was the type of message that was very condemning. I made the comment about those type of messages that it makes you wonder where the good news is. I remember reading a book about a guy who spent some time living in a mission house for homeless people. He said every week a church group would come in and do a church service. Apparently, about nine out of ten messages were the 'you're a sinner and you're going to hell' type. He quickly realized that this type of message didn't reach very many of these people. They already knew they were sinners. I pointed out to Chris a verse in Luke 15. It's the first verse in this very famous chapter. This is the chapter that has the three parables of the 'lost things' culminating in the parable of the prodigal son. What sets the stage for those parables is the verse quoted above. If anything can be gathered from the brief detail of tax collectors and sinners gathered around Jesus listening to him talk, it could probably be assumed that he wasn't condemning them as being sinners, but more likely encouraging them to do their best and seek after God. This is the message I gave Chris. Before I left he asked me which weekend I was going to come and do the barbecue. I told him I was going to try for July 1st since I had the prior week off from work.

When I left Chris I drove west on 16th and as I came up to Central Ave there was Willie crossing the street with another man who was also at the last barbecue in October. I called out to them and Willie came over to the car. I passed some food to him through the window. The car behind me at the signal then started honking their horn because the light turned green. I hate when that happens.

I drove on down 16th and crossed San Pedro Ave. There is a small alley that turns off of 16th and goes under the I-10 freeway and then back to San Pedro Ave. Wouldn't you know it, Tara was sitting under the freeway there all by himself. He was so happy to see me. It was quite breezy under the freeway there and I just happened to bring a nice warm jacket on this trip that I was able to give him. He was suffering from a sore-throat that I'm sure will get worse from having to live outside and sleep in the open air. I filled Tara in on the events of the last 30 minutes or so and told him I was looking to do the next barbecue on July 1st. I'm so looking forward to it.

Just around the corner from there I found a couple more homeless men living on the sidewalks nearby. One was Henry whom I've helped before and the other was Antonio and I think I've helped him before too. At this point I'd given out 12 burgers and had five left. I now headed down to 8th and Wall St. On the first street west of Wall St I found a couple that I saw last week. I never did get their names last week and while I was passing some food to them another man came up to me and I gave him some food too. I asked the first couple what they thought the chances would be of me firing up a small barbecue sometime and cooking some burgers for them. I asked if they thought the police would run me off. They didn't know, of course, but they did tell me that the police do patrol the area. I'll have to check-in with the police station on 6th and Wall. Please pray that I will get the OK to go for it sometime. Before leaving that street I had two others, one woman and one man walk up to the car asking for food. In the end, I had just enough hamburgers to give one to everyone on that street. If I had not been listening to the Spirit's leading at the start of this trip, I would have been short of food. Praise God, He spoke and I listened and was able to feed and help 11 people. Until next week. John

Downtown 5/20/2012

"I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor. Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall live in your presence." --Psalm 140: 12-13

In the last couple of years two locations downtown have regularly stood out as memorable. Surprisingly, Cloud 9 Alley has not had much activity in recent times, but another alley off Hooper St has. This is the alley where the barbecue took place last October. This is where Tara Lee and Willie have stayed off and on and Chris has been there at times also. I hadn't seen Tara or Chris since last October. Sunday night the whole gang was there. It was wonderful to see them all. A few other men came by while I was there and we had a great time catching up. People were fed (6 total), clothes where given out and prayers were offered while everyone was there. Unfortunately, I didn't have any socks to give out and that's the one clothing item that there is a constant need for. I was kind of surprised that I couldn't find one pair in the back of the car. However, I did set a target date for the next barbecue as either the Sunday before or the Sunday after the 4th of July, which is on a Wednesday this year. Hopefully, the coast will be clear (that means they won't get run off before then) and everyone will be able to come by on one of those days.

The other location that has become a regular visit is the area near skid row where I began the 'burgers and doorways' outreach last fall. Sunday night another 5 people were reached including two couples. Being as close to the missions as this place is I'm always shocked at the number of people who haven't had a recent meal in this area. I know the streets where the crowds of people are on skid row are filled with drug problems and loud and violent people and I know that's one reason some of these people stay away from there. But you got to figure that if you get hungry enough you're going to put up with just about anything to get a meal. Anyway, it was a privilege to be able to meet needs and pray for people so close to the skid row area. I hesitate to try and do a barbecue down there because I might get over-run very quickly with scores of people looking for a meal that close to the missions. I'll have to ask around sometime down there and see what could be done.

Before ending this week's blog I wanted to express what a victory this trip was. I have been having a lot of personal struggles lately encompassing nearly every realm of life. From health issues and cash flow to just plain being kind of bummed out about a lot of things. I had prayed before leaving the house and asked God's forgiveness for being so unhappy about the way things were going in my life. One of my favorite contemporary Christian songs is by Matt Redman and is titled, "Blessed be the Name". The title and theme of the song is taken from the book of Job where Job has just heard that all his children have been killed. In Job 1:21 he says, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." In the song it echos the example of Job when it says, "Blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in the offering--blessed be your name." I decided Sunday that the path the Lord wants us to take is not the one where we are complaining about our lot in life, but to rejoice and praise God in and through everything. I specifically asked God to let this trip be one where I would 'experience' His presence. I can't express how happy I was when I turned down the alley off Hooper and saw my friends there. It was the most perfect 'gift' I could have received in that moment. Praise God. --Until next week. John

Downtown 5/6/2012

"His [God's] delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love." Psalm 147:10-11

It has been a few days since I made Sunday night's trip, but one thing happened that I wanted to write down so as to have a record and a remembrance of it. I had pretty much finished the bulk of the trip and had gone down to skid row to prayer-walk before leaving. It was about forty minutes or so before it would be dark and as I parked in front of the police station at 6th and Wall I asked God to give me one person I could pray for. I got out of my car and stood in front of it for about a minute or so and then walked to the corner and waited for the signal to turn green before crossing the street. As I stood there a young man of about 18 or 19 years old walked up to the corner and was waiting for the signal to change also. He turned to me and quite boldly asked me the following question. "If you could give me anything in the world that I need, what would it be?" Well I had two bucks in my pocket and had given out all the food I had already so my options did not include money or food. I quickly answered, "Well, I can pray for you." He told me his name was Darnell and he said, "Yes, please pray for me." and he started to walk across the street (the signal had changed to green). I think he thought I would pray for him later. I told him, "Wait, let me pray for you right now." So as we walked across the street together I put my hand on his shoulder and prayed for God's presence and blessings in his life. When we crossed the street we went in different directions. It was at this point that I suddenly realized how quickly God had answered my prayer request for someone to pray for! About 3 minutes was all it took! I didn't even ask him, he asked me! Our God is awesome!

Downtown on a very special week-4/30/2012

The Lord is there to rescue all who are discouraged and have given up hope. The Lord's people may suffer a lot, but he will always bring them safely through. --Psalm 34:18-19

A lot has been said this week about it being the 20th anniversary of the Rodney King trial and the events that erupted quite quickly in the Los Angeles area following the verdict announcement. At the time I was still driving trucks for a living. The day before everything broke loose in chaos, I was stopped by the highway patrol at a make-shift inspection point in the Whittier area. The two officers were giving me a difficult time. The older one was yelling at me, the younger one was accusing me of doing something I hadn't done. Eventually, they let me (and my truck) pass, but I was infuriated by their attitudes. I knew enough to keep quiet and not argue with them, but I made sure I got the number of their patrol car. After talking it over with a friend it was suggested that I go and talk to the CO of the precinct so he was aware of his officers' conduct. Then the next day the rioting began. Well, I knew it would be of no use to try and talk to anyone down there, so I just let it go and moved on. During the next week I drove by many fires, but no real groups of rioters throwing things. I was fortunate. Other truck drivers were not as lucky. Eventually, things calmed down and got back to being normal. Remember I'm old enough to remember the riots of 1965 (I was 10 yrs old at the time). Although, things got back to 'normal' each time, you get the sense that human nature never changes and the discontent and restlessness that simmers under the surface in all of us is somehow always ready for release during a time of high stress.

Well, it was also three years ago this week, that I started making these trips downtown. I was also experiencing a restlessness and a level of discontent in my life that I didn't know what to do with. I could list a number of small things leading up to the first trip that played a part in 'pushing me over the edge' to doing something so radically different than I had ever done before. I guess you could start with the missions trip to Nepal in 2004 and subsequently the prayer-walking in the church neighborhood at the time. Then I took a big step and started printing up the door-hangers and the original Rightnowcounts website with the audio messages and interviews with missionaries. I met some people with amazing stories of God working in their lives. Through all this time I had an insatiable appetite for missionary stories and read countless books about the lives of missionaries both present day and in the past. I started to get the feeling that something was missing in my Christian walk if all I did was read the bible and go to church. There just had to be more to it than that. I wanted the excitement that comes when God intervenes and makes things happen. I had been exposed to the miraculous as stories I read about in books, but now people who I knew and trusted were telling me of the miraculous. Finally, I saw a documentary movie that went around the world filming God in action. It captivated my attention. This was better than any play-off ballgame I had ever watched (and I've watched a few). Finally, the interview I saw with Rolland Baker where I was challenged to find a people group where I least expected God to move and start there. I was floored. I knew of a group of people from thirty years ago that I used to see everyday in downtown Los Angeles. I didn't need to be ordained or apply for a license or get approval from anyone. Just go. Just do it. It is exactly the challenge that I was looking for. It's the challenge of living your faith where the Holy Spirit has to show up. It's the excitement of knowing that you might see, experience and learn a profound lesson about yourself and the character of God at the next encounter with a homeless person that you never would have gotten from reading a book. Now I'm not denigrating reading books and certainly not the Bible. However, something that you read in a book, simply doesn't carry the same weight as experiencing it 'live'. That's why Jesus spoke in parables, so people would see great and profound truths in everyday life experiences.

Let me give you a couple of quick examples from Sunday night's trip. It was almost completely dark. The sun had gone down about an hour before and the very last bit of daylight was just about gone behind the LA skyline. I had 5 hamburgers left and was going down this alley. The asphalt pavement ends about halfway down and it's just dirt, gravel and deep holes with trash dumped along the sides. I came up to where this man and a woman were who I've never seen before. They appeared to be waiting for someone or something. My guess is they were trying to figure out where they could score some drugs. I had the window down and asked if they needed some food. The man was standing right by the car as I drove up and he looked at the woman and then back at me and said 'Yeah'. I gave them some food and water and introduced myself. He said his name was Joe, but didn't introduce the woman. Now I've been down this ally many times before and was always warned about the people that 'hide out' at the spot where I met these two. I was told they were 'evil druggies' and to stay away from them. So it's now completely dark except for the headlights of my car and I'm in the midst of a drug infested alley! Well, I left them and drove on down the alley further where someone I do know had been staying recently. He was there, fortunately, and was hungry and needed some socks too. I got out of the car and dug through the back of the car with a flashlight to find some socks and shirts. As I was getting back into the car, the man and woman from down the alley were coming up towards us. As they passed by me the man said, "Thanks again John." I was shocked. First, that he even remembered my name and secondly that he cared enough to thank me again. It really is true, there is enough good in all of us that God deems us worth saving. Even if there isn't 'enough' good in us, He still deems us worth saving because He created us in His image. Earlier that evening, in the next alley up I met a man named Michael. He was 60 years old and a Vietnam era vet. After giving him some food and water and praying with him, he prayed too, thanking God for sending me to him! I sometimes get discouraged in this ministry. Sometimes I am blinded by only what I see and not what God is doing that I don't see. Does that even make sense? The miraculous is not just in the physical visual world that we see, but also in the spirit world that we don't see. Earlier, I made the comment that human nature doesn't seem to change and that what goes on under the surface is always ready to erupt in a negative way during times of stress. Well, I'm beginning to see that the good, that image of God that is in all of us, is ready to break-out too, given the opportunity to respond to God's love and care that we, as His children, can provide to a world that is in desperate need of seeing and experiencing it. ---Until next week. John