Downtown 4/14/2013

"If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.  By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because he has given us...His Spirit." --` 1 John 4:12b-13 

In the last several years I have prayed for some foundational changes in me that I have mentioned in these blogs from time to time.  One of the first prayer requests a few years back was for a heart like His for the lost.  Six months or more ago, I started praying for the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22 to be displayed in my life.  Over the past week my prayer focus has shifted slightly to asking God for a heart that pursues Him,....relentlessly.  I hadn't thought about it at the time, but yes, this is the exact sentiment expressed in Psalm 42:1.  I can't really say what prompted this, other than a simple and pure desire to follow as closely as I can in His steps.  As I prayed for yesterday's trip, I asked for a greater expression of His presence in the encounters and for me to just love these people as he wants them to be loved and feel loved...and so here is what happened.  Oh, one more thing, I asked to see someone of the 'old' BBQ gang too, I haven't seen any of them in months.

My first encounter was with a woman named Ricoh.  I saw her in an alley looking through some clothes that had been dumped on the ground there.  This alley had at one time been paved with asphalt (maybe twenty years ago), but now its filled with dirt and pot holes.  This is what the clothes were laying on that she was looking through.  As I pulled up, I asked her, "Do you want to look through the clothes I have in the back of the car?"  Of course, she jumped at the chance.  I gave her some food and water and she asked, "Are you the guy that comes on Sundays and gives out food?"  Apparently, she had heard about me from John Mellon.  During the course of our time together she must have hugged me three times because she was so happy to receive the help.  At one point she told me, "Well, I'd rather be out here and homeless than getting beat up at home by my boyfriend."  Here was a young woman just wanting to be loved and cherished and instead was being abused and disrespected by someone who should be her protector at home.  How disgraceful.  I was able to give her a large duffle bag to put her clothes and the blanket in.  I prayed earnestly for her before leaving.  I hope I see her again soon. 

In the next alley over, I saw Robin again from last week.  He was in the exact same spot as last week, and asleep again.  He thanked me for the help, but said very little.  I guess things are still strained at home for him.  On down that same alley where I found four people last week, I found one man named Ricardo this week.  I hadn't met him before, but he was from the general LA area.  He admitted to me that it was drugs that caused him to end up on the street.  I told him this has happened to many people and he wasn't alone.  I then told him that Jesus was a friend to those who were hurting and the 'outcasts' of society.  I told him how in Luke 15:1 Jesus himself was condemned by the religious rulers for talking with "tax collectors and sinners".  I said the church needs to be here, right where he is, helping the people who need help.  You wouldn't believe it, but he hugged me twice and thanked me for not only helping him with food and clothes, but just stopping to talk with him.  At one point he told me, "I can tell God is in you!"  I held Ricardo as I prayed for him.  I told him that the day he was born, God smiled down on him (as he does with all of us) and that he was a person of worth.  Before I left I gave him a copy of the New Testament and reminded him that what we talked about was from Luke 15.  What a great encounter this was.

Next, I looked for Antonio and his wife Leticia.  They were on the same street, Trinity, that I've seen them on in the past.  For some reason they looked older Sunday.  They must be in their fifties.  I found a couple of other men, one in the alley behind the auto parts store where Gary used to live and another man named Mario at a gas station.  Both men said very little (English is not their primary language), but they thanked me for the help.  As I drove around on the south side of Washington Blvd, I happened to glance at someone walking down the other side of the street and thought they looked familiar.  It turned out to be Willie!  After a while, we met up on Wall St just north of Washington Blvd.  He was staying on the sidewalk with another man named Tom under the I-10 freeway where the MTA parks their buses.  The three of us talked at length and we were able to get caught up on where Tara, Chris and Dave are.  I don't know at this time whether I'll be able to see them all together again, but we'll see what happens in the next few months as the weather warms up.

This trip seemed to go by far too quickly.  I only wish I had more resources to look for more people to help.  It's troubling to see so many people hurting, yet being able to bring them hope and a little bit of heaven, if only for a little while, is so amazing and such a privilege.  I'm looking forward to next week.    --Until then.  John