I haven't seen John Stokes in quite a long time. He had to relocated from his spot under the I-10 at Olympic Blvd and Elwood St a while back. I was pretty sure where he had moved to and had gone by there and called out to him a couple of times, but there was never any response from inside his make-shift shelter. Sunday I did the same thing and once again there was no response. As I pulled away and turned the corner about twenty yards away, there he was on the sidewalk laying on a couple of blankets in the shade of the freeway. He said it was too hot inside his "place" at that time of the afternoon and was waiting for it to cool off. We got caught up on his situation and why he had to relocate. I also asked him about his Social Security problem. He turned 66 years old in May and since May a year ago has been expecting to receive benefits from them. But he found out this last time that since he has been receiving disability payments from them for the last twenty years or so, that he is ineligible to receive any 'retirement' benefits. He was expecting with the increased benefits that he would be able to move back to the Atlanta area where he is from and where he has family. That was his last hope for getting off the streets for his remaining years, now those hopes are dashed. While we were talking a woman named Jackie came by and asked for some help and then right after her someone from a couple of years ago, Dave, came by. Dave used to live by John at the other location a couple of summers ago and then one day he disappeared. Nobody knew what happened to him. We found out that he had been picked up by the police, but now he's back and I am glad to see him.
While I had the two of them together I asked if they could think of a place where we could do a BBQ in a couple of weeks. John came up with the idea of the parking lot across from where they used to live. The building is not in use on Sunday afternoons and it is under the freeway and therefore in the shade (a crucial consideration during the summer). He told me to ask the manager during the week days, so I took a trip down there today to ask him. He seemed to be OK with it (he knows John quite well), but will have to run it by the corporate people for final approval. Please pray for us that doors will be opened to do this. We are looking for an August 17th date. One last thing about this stop. It was right at the end of my visit with them that a van with some nuns pulled up and stopped down the street. Dave and the other homeless folks were hurriedly heading down there to get the free meal they were giving out. While everyone else was hustling down there, John stayed for a moment longer with me and asked me to pray for him before I left....... After praying with John I turned around and drove down to where the van had stopped. They were leaving now, but I didn't see any of them praying with anyone. Just an observation, not a condemnation. Giving out physical help is a great thing for those in need. But if you have the Holy Spirit in you, why are you passing up the opportunity to give Him out too?
Now I have written about Angel who is a homeless woman living in an alley off Pico Ave and Olive St. I hadn't seen her for a couple of weeks and then I saw her last week. She is from Utah and will turn 58 next month. She was extremely happy to be able to look through the pile of women's clothes I had brought. For some 'odd' reason I had put extra women's clothes in the car this trip. I got to take her picture this week. See last week's blog as to why I didn't take one then. Angel has a broken knee cap that never healed
There were some others that I was able to help, Hugo around the corner from the alley where my little friend "Rocky" is penned up.
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