Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Downtown 1/21/2013

"Be fearless for your destiny." --Heidi Baker

Last week's trip was on a Tuesday and left me with no time to make a blog entry about it.  For the most part it was an uneventful trip with the exception of one encounter that left me a little flustered.  I wasn't sure what to make of it and it doesn't bear going into any details.  Suffice it to say my reception from the homeless has pretty much gone well 99% of the time.  Yes, I've been sworn at, propositioned by prostitutes (both male and female), approached by drug dealers and even discouraged by law enforcement officers.  You have to expect these things to happen from time to time if you work among this group of people.  In the end, if you have been called to go, then you know you have no choice but to go...and keep going.  When I finally sorted out my feelings over what happened, the quote above from Heidi Baker came to mind.  "Be fearless..."  That's the key.  I'm not going to intentionally do anything stupid or reckless, but people who go to the front lines know the risks they take.  Because of the actions of one, I need not abandon all the others.  Since yesterday was Martin Luther King day, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes by him the night before he was assassinated.  He was speaking to a group of pastors in Memphis and made this incredibly insightful statement concerning the story of the Good Samaritan.  I've quoted it before, but it bears repeating here.  "The first question that the priest and the Levite asked was, 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?'  But the Good Samaritan reversed the question:  'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'"  I have come to have close relationships with many of the people I have met here in the last three and half years.  I can honestly say I love these folks and think about them during the week and worry about them if I haven't seen them in a while.  In the last three months or so, I've written about Gary who has been living in an alley behind an auto parts store on Washington Blvd.  Yesterday, his stuff was gone.  Just when our relationship was growing in depth and content...I not only don't know what happened, but I have no way of finding out either.  I'll have to keep praying for his well-being and hope he's just had to relocate for the time being.

Eugene, on the other hand, is one of my regulars and he has an employment opportunity in Seattle and he and his wife, Helen, are leaving for there this weekend.  What a great privilege to pray for them about their great opportunity.  I'm hoping they make the best of it.

I also met Trudy yesterday for the first time.  He was asleep on the sidewalk near the corner of Washington Blvd and Long Beach Blvd.  He had one shoe on and one shoe off.  There wasn't a place to park nearby and I had to drive around the block a couple of times before finding a place, but eventually I was about to park and get over to him.  It was around 1:00 pm and it was warm.  I'm sure the sidewalk was fairly hot too.  I decided to just offer him some water at first.  When he woke up and saw me he immediately reached for the water (that's what I was counting on).  He then said he was hungry too when I asked.  I noticed his socks were about as thread-bare as they could be and still be 'on'.  In fact, his foot with the shoe off didn't even have a sock, so I brought back some socks with the food.  I was kind of surprised that before eating the food, he was putting on the socks!  It always amazes me that with so many people working in that area, no one had stopped and offered to help this man.  I prayed with Trudy before leaving him.  I doubt if I'll ever see him again, but you never know.  Sometimes, I'll see someone a year or so later.  I won't remember them, but they'll remember me, because I prayed with them!

There were a couple of other men I helped yesterday, Luis, in the Pico and Olive Blvd area and Curtis off 14th Place near Central Ave.  Both were very appreciative, but one woman named Mary was just special.  I saw her pushing her cart west on Washington Blvd.  There wasn't a place to pull over (that's one of the problems with going during the week).  I drove down a couple of blocks and then around the block and came back up to Washington Blvd just as she was crossing the street.  I was the first car in the right turn lane as she was coming across.  I made eye contact with her and held out a bag with some food and water in it.  She hustled over to the car as fast as an elderly woman can and gratefully thanked me for the food.  I had only seen her once about a week or two ago and remembered her name.  When I called her by name her face lit up like you wouldn't believe.  It made my day!  She made it across the street with her cart and stopped on the corner and started to eat the food from the bag.  She waved and smiled to me as I pulled on through.  What a blessing to me to help her. 

On the way to the freeway, I stopped to give John Stokes the last of the food.  Last year he told me that he had marched with Martin Luther King back in the early 60's when he was a youth.  I know John is from the Atlanta, Georgia area, but I seem to recall him saying it was in Alabama.  Anyway, it was fitting to see John yesterday.  I'll leave you with one last quote from Dr. King:  "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"  --Until next week.  John      

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Downtown 1/8/2013

The Lord has sent me to comfort those who mourn...he has sent me to give them flowers in place of their sorrow, olive oil in place of tears, and joyous praise in place of broken hearts.  --Isaiah 61:2b-3a.

Yesterday, I woke up actually feeling pretty good physically.  The day before was the first of my infusion treatments (kind of like dialysis for my muscle cells).  Anyway, I felt hopeful about my physical health for the first time in a long time.  Before leaving for the trip downtown, I prayed that I would be able to bring hope to others.  That seemed to be the thought that was stuck in my mind as the "word of the day".  So off I went to spread hope...

When I drove down the off ramp at Alameda St, shortly before noon, a man named Willie was walking by the cars on the left side of the off ramp asking for change.  I hadn't bought any food yet, but I did have some bottled water which I offered to him.  He quickly came over to get one and said, "I thought I was going to die of dehydration.  Thank you."  I went back by a little later after buying some food and found him about to walk over the Jack in the Box (it was just across the street).  I gave him a couple of burgers.  He told me he was just about to go over to the Jack in the Box.  He probably had just received enough money begging on the off ramp or was going to go begging over there.  I had also given away a burger to a homeless man inside after ordering.  He had gotten a taco.  Yeah, one taco.  They sell two tacos for a buck so you know he didn't have enough for even two.

The morning passed relatively uneventful.  I couldn't find my friend Gary behind the auto parts store, but did find a couple of men alone, one on Olive (Juan) and the other (Ivan) in front of a store-front church called "The Promise".  It was kind of ironic seeing him at the door steps of this small church with a big painted sign spelling out "Promise" above him.  After giving him some food, he thanked me and wished me a "Happy New Year."  I did find my old friend Willie on the alley where I had the last barbecue.  I hadn't seen him since that time which was September 30th.  He told me how the police had run them (Chris, Tara, Dave and John) all off a few days after that barbecue.  Chris was now in an SRO (single resident occupancy) and he said John Mellon was too.  Tara was still around, but not staying in one place very long.  He told me which SRO place Chris was staying in and I plan on trying to see him there sometime soon.  I told Willie to tell Tara I said hello and we would have another barbecue sometime in the spring.  I wanted to give them something to look forward to.  He was really happy to hear that.

A little further down that alley I saw 'Chicago' and not too far from there I found Allen on Olympic Blvd.  I love helping Allen.  He is probably the most unkempt man I see living down there.  He never says more than an occasional "OK" or "yeah".  If someone was to give him money, I doubt very much if he would venture into a fast food place and order something.  I think that would be too overwhelming for him.  If it was a street vendor he might be willing to point at what he wanted, but that would be about it.

I drove around some more with only a couple of burgers left looking for someone to give them to.  On 15th St just west of Alameda I saw a man pushing his shopping cart which was about a quarter full of recyclables.  He was on the same side of the street I was and I 'luckily' was able to pull up right along side of him.  I called out asking if he needed something to eat and held up a brown bag containing two burgers and a bottle of water.  He stopped and came over to the car to get it.  I asked him his name and he told me "Pops" and that he was 78 years old, 78 is pretty old for someone living on the street.  I immediately and jokingly said, "Is that all?"  He replied "I'm about as young as you are."  I had reached out my hand through the window to introduce myself.  He was wearing some cloth gloves and they were wet, perhaps from picking up bottles and cans from the street.  I said to Pops, "Let me pray for you before I go" and started praying.  While I was praying he started crying and kind of groaning.  When I finished praying I looked up at him and he was visibly shaken.  He said, "Lord bless this man.  Lord bless this man in a mighty way."  I have prayed for many things on these visits.  Sometimes its to find people who 'really need the help' or who are 'desperate'.  Usually, there is some particular type of situation that these prayers are directed for and I have to admit that
God always seems to find a way to answer them.  Today, it was just to find people who needed hope.  As I left Pops, I couldn't help but see how this encounter fit the particular parameters of this prayer.  He had accepted the food in the bag even though he had no idea what was in it.  He seemed relatively happy and content just receiving the food.  It wasn't until I started praying for him that he got emotional.  I would love to see and talk to this man again to find out his story.  It seemed apparent, that praying for him triggered some internal and spiritual need and hope that food alone didn't cover.  I drove away completely wrecked at the privilege of serving God in this way.  I couldn't have asked for a more clear and complete answer to my prayer of bringing hope downtown that day.  --Until next time.  John



    



Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New Years Day downtown

If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? --James 2:15   

I couldn't stop thinking about Gary all night.  Knowing first hand how painful kidney stones are, all I could think about was how difficult it must have been getting through the night with that kind of pain and with the temperature dropping down into the 30's.  At 8 a.m. I got up and went downtown looking for him and arrived shortly after 9 a.m.   Well, despite my best intentions to give him some of my left-over medications I couldn't find him.  However, I did see John Mellon as I was getting off the freeway.  On Christmas Eve I had seen him at the off-ramp and promised to come back and see him, but by the time I got back there he was gone.  Anyway, I hooked up with him this time and got him some warm clothes to wear.  I even got him some hot coffee and a couple of breakfast burgers.  After not finding Gary, I did see a couple of other guys (I was looking for Oscar and Jose, but they weren't around either) near his spot.  One guy's name was Tong Wong.  He was sitting in a nearby parking lot.  It looked like he had some king of skin ailment.  He had taken his shoes off, and was scratching his legs.  They were chalky white.  He had on some pants and had a blanket/rags wrapped around his torso.  I asked if he needed some socks (I didn't see that he had any).  He told me yes and as he came to the back of the car and saw a jacket he asked if he could have that.  I quickly gave it to him along with a couple pairs of socks and a couple of t-shirts.  I asked him if he was from Taiwan.  He said yes, but he said yes to just about everything I said.  Anyway, I left him a lot better off than when I found him.  I'm guessing he was only about 35 years old.  There was another man about thirty yards away from him sleeping in an alley.  After calling out to him and asking if he was hungry, he quickly got up and came over to the car.  I say quickly, because he came as quickly as a man with a hangover can move at that time of the morning after just waking up.  I think I've been in that condition a time or two myself on New Years day when I was much younger.  I was just glad to help.  I'm only sorry I couldn't find Gary and give him some medication help.  Hopefully, I'll see him next week. --Until then.  John