"He [God] will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying or pain. These things of the past are gone forever." Revelation 21:4
"Now I tell you to love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12
I had only one prayer request as I drove into Los Angeles, and that was to love the people I would meet as God loves them.
I haven't been able to make a trip downtown since the BBQ two Sundays ago. This week I've been on vacation from work and was able to get a trip in on a Saturday evening. I decided to try and find the folks I invited to the BBQ, but didn't show up. One such place was on the corner of San Pedro and about 25th, across the street from the Winchell's donut shop. There are about 4 or 5 folks living there on the sidewalk including Dave Parker and Queen Victoria. I had seen a couple of other people before going over there, but didn't want to see too many others because I didn't want to show up there with only a couple of sandwiches left.
One of the cool things about the folks on this corner is that every time I show up there, several other people walk by or drive by and stop. So it ends up being a lengthy stop with lots of opportunities to talk to different people you otherwise might not meet. This evening was no exception. Since there are a lot of stores on San Pedro Ave, the pedestrian traffic is fairly heavy especially in the last hour or so before the sun goes down. When I arrived only Dave and Victoria were there, but soon a pick-up truck pulled up with Tony and Johnny. Victoria is introducing me to these people as they show up. I don't think Tony was homeless, but apparently Johnny is. Tony didn't accept any food or look at any of the clothes, but Johnny did, I got to pray with both of them before they left. Becky showed up too (I've seen her many times before). Then a man named Bill who it appeared lived on the street with Dave and Victoria came over. Bill was a little difficult to deal with, but I managed. A couple of guys from across the street came over. I had met one of them before and he remembered me. Dave had to take off for a while, but before he left he wanted me to pray for them (he and Victoria) which I did. So sometime along here a woman with two kids walked by. I didn't get a good look at the older child because she had gone on ahead, but Victoria seemed to know them and was saying hello to the little boy, whom I'm guessing was about 4 years old. I said hello to the mom who was probably about fortyish. She told me her son, whose hand she held, was Nicholas and her daughter's name was Ruby. Her name was Elba. Elba didn't speak any English, so I thought she started telling me about a ten year old son at home who was 'incapacion'. I thought maybe this was a child at home, but I think it was about the girl who had gone on ahead down the sidewalk. The daughter, Ruby looked like she was maybe sixteen or so from where I was standing. Anyway, I offered to pray for her family. When I finished she looked up at me and started telling me about her 'esposo' (husband) who was 'muerte' (died). I sensed that this had happened fairly recently. About this time, Nicholas had taken-off down the street after his sister, so Elba had to leave. After she left, Victoria confirmed that her husband had died. I don't know if I'll see her again or not. Perhaps, Victoria knows about where they live and I could check in on them. I felt privileged to pray for them and it was obvious that Elba's husband's death was still fresh on her heart. It was the most special and holy moment of the trip and I just wanted to give out the peace and comfort that only comes from Jesus. I would love to get to know more of the people in the neighborhood and finding out where Elba lives could be a way to get to know other people in the neighborhood. Then again, just hanging out there you end up meeting a lot of folks and those that live there on the sidewalk, like Victoria, seem to know lots of the people that walk by there.
Well, when I finally left there I ended up going to the Jack in the Box on Alameda to wait out the evening traffic for a while. When I was about to get out of the car, a woman who came to the BBQ a couple of weeks was walking out the door with someone. She came up to the car and asked where the BBQ was today! I told her I only do BBQ's a couple of times during the summer months and that I usually just drive around looking for folks in need and told them about some of the stuff that happened on this trip. Eventually, I went inside, but while I was waiting for my order I needed to go get something out of the car. When I went out to the car, John Stokes was walking up. Then while he and I were inside, another guy I know by the name of Kenny walked up. He had a large cup and wanted to get it filled with water. No food, just water (no money). We talked for a while and he told me where he was staying on 14th St. I gave him a couple of dollars to get something to eat with his water and let him look through the clothes in the car. It was amazing how I thought the trip was over and yet there were still opportunities to serve even when I was out of food.
So as I left to go home I kept thinking about Elba and her family. How is she making ends meet? Does she have another child who is handicapped? How can I find her again? How can I remove the sorrow and pain in her life. The verses I opened with came to mind. I was surprised to see a verse in Isaiah mirror so closely with that familiar verse from Revelation. My desire to "love these people as you love them Lord", was answered so powerfully. Be careful what you pray for! --Until next time. John
Here is a photo of Queen Victoria. I asked her to give me a big smile because when she smiles her face just lights up!
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