In recent weeks I have been really overcome with an intense desire to just love people and demonstrate God's love for the people I meet on these trips. I prayed that I would give everything out of me I could, not just the 'stuff'' I brought with me in the car, but everything inside me as well. I just wanted to give away what God has given me. It's kind of a hard 'thing' to describe, but I hope you'll understand it somehow.
I arrived kind of late in the day, shortly after 5 pm with enough food and water for about 9-10 people. I decided to focus on the 'loners'. People who are off by themselves. Usually, you get the best conversations/encounters with these folks. I drove to Hunter St which is one of the streets around the LA Times building. Maurice and Elaine used to live there, but I haven't seen them in months. It is, however, where my friend Michael and his dog have stayed, although the last time I went there, there was no sign of them. Sunday, I found a couple of guys there, one on a bike talking to a another guy in a tent. When I pulled up and asked them about Michael, they said he was staying there, but wasn't there right then. Their names were Jacob and Miguel. On down the street I almost drove by a man laying on the sidewalk. I stopped and backed the car up to ask if he was hungry. His name was Malich. We talked for quite a while when we found out we both grew up here locally. He went to high school at Manuel Arts and when I told him I went to El Segundo High he asked me if I knew George Brett (the Hall of Fame baseball player). I told him that George was a year older than me and yes I did know him way back in those days We had gone to school from elementary to high school together. Malich seems to be drifting around these days between his home town area and LA. He seemed very likeable and coherent so it was somewhat troubling to see him disconnected from family and friends at this age in his life. I sure hope I see him again soon.
When I had first gotten off the freeway at Alameda I saw a homeless man walking around the cars coming down the freeway off-ramp. I drove back around to get to him. It turned out to be Willie or just "Will" whose picture I put in the blog from the last BBQ. He lives directly across the street from where I had set up. Will is originally from Denver. Can you imagine being homeless in a very cold city like that during the winter? That's why he's out here. I drove on down to Channing St, which is where the BBQ was. Jessie was there in the spot where I had set up and while I was talking with him, Nichole came by. She was the woman who came by in the car several times that day. She told me her baby is due Wednesday and he will be named Billy. I prayed with her for a safe delivery. She lives in what she described as a cheap apartment in Inglewood and works there at the recycler on the corner to make ends meet. She asked if I came across any baby boy clothes to keep her in mind. I'll have to get some things together for her. I look forward to giving them to her.
There were a couple of others I helped before I decided to go down to the area on 25th and San Pedro. This is where my friends Dave and Queen Victoria (and others) live on the sidewalk of that corner. Yet I didn't want to actually see them, but look for Elba, a recently widowed woman who lives in a house on that street. I only had 3 hamburgers left and was concerned about not having near enough food for the amount of people that might be there on the corner. I planned to just go down 25th from the east side going west and look for Elba and maybe ask if anyone knew where she lived, and then take the last cross street before San Pedro. Well, the Lord had other plans! I missed the last street and ended up driving right by all my friends on the corner. Sunday, there were more people there than I had ever seen on that corner before. There were probably seven or eight people sitting on the sidewalk and I only had 3 burgers! What was I going to do? Well,they all saw me and told me to come back around and park there so I did.
The first thing they wanted was to go through the clothes in the back of the car. I told them I didn't have much food left, but I dug around for some bags of chips and I found three cans of food (one was a can of pineapple slices). The one gal in the powder blue jacket shared her burger with the two men next to her. Victoria and Dave got the other two. There were probably a half dozen or so others who came walking by on the street and got to go through the clothes too. It was really a very 'family' atmosphere and no one complained that I didn't have enough food, although some of the passersby were hungry and disappointed that they missed out on what I did have. I even gave out a bible to a man named Pops who asked for one. Anyway, we made plans to do a dinner of sorts in November. It won't be a BBQ, but I'll figure out some way of doing an early Thanksgiving type dinner (it may not be turkey either). I had asked about Elba and if anyone knew where she lived. Victoria and the woman in the brown shirt said she lived in the third house from the corner at the other end of the block. About twenty minutes later, Elba and her grandson Nicholas, came by on their way home! I told Elba (her name is actually Elva) I would stop by her house on my way home. I talked with my friends on the corner for a few minutes more. Dave asked me to pray for them before I left. I told them about the message at church I had heard that morning. It was about being anchored to Christ and how we sometimes drift away from what we know is right. The pastor that morning used an example of a priest by the name of Eli in the book of 1 Samuel and his two (wicked) sons who were priests in the temple. The sons were wicked and immoral, but the father did nothing about their behavior. Some of us see ourselves as the wicked sons, some as the father who doesn't confront the bad behavior. During various times of my life I could identify with both, yet all I could think of during the message that morning was little Samuel who was growing up surrounded by this dysfunctional family. He was "all in" on God's plan for his life and that's what I want to be..."all in". I told my friends how I wanted to just give out everything I had and that "as you know, you guys got everything today". It was actually quite a testimony to them. Then just as I was about to get into my car a woman walked up to me from the street and asked for help. She had been evicted from her house by Sheriff Marshals the day before and she had four kids. I was heartbroken. I gave her the remaining change I had in the cup holder in my car and what was in my pocket. Maybe it was two bucks. The needs are always so great and immediate on the streets.
Well, I had prayed with my friends on the corner before leaving for Elva's house. She was out front sweeping the sidewalk and waiting for me to come by. Luckily, her son-in-law, Nicholas' father, was there and he is bilingual. I stayed with them for over an hour. It looks as though they will be forced to move out soon. They aren't sure where they will go at this point. The son-in-law's name is Emanuel and he has a low paying construction job. He is trying to get into a tech school to get a better job. Elva's emotions are still very raw as you can imagine since her husband died so recently. She brought out her wedding photo album, there were lots of tears as she showed me the people in the photos, both his family and hers. She and her husband, Ruben were married in 1973 at a church on 12th and Los Angeles St. In fact, its down about 10 blocks from the church on Cloud Nine Alley. It turns out Elva is only a couple of years older than me and she has five children. Her daughter, Nicolas' mother is disabled after being shot ten years ago. You can imagine how fearful Elva is about the future with so many problems to deal with. I won't be able to get back down there for two weeks, so I'm hoping I'll be able to find out where they end up if they're gone before I see them again. I'm confident the Lord will keep us connected.
So I began this blog with the intro to the"love chapter" and how my desire was to just love these people as God loves them. I try to read through the bible every year (one of those disciplines I try to do). Wouldn't you know that when I got home Sunday night, the next section of the bible I read was Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians!!!!!! Is that divine planning or what? So I'll end this blog with the first eight verses in this famous chapter from the Apostle Paul. I hope you will see it in a whole new light as I did....
"What if I could speak all languages of humans and of angels? If I did not love others I would be nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
What if I could prophesy and understand all secrets and all knowledge? And what if I had faith that moved mountains? I would be nothing, unless I loved others.
What if I gave away all that I owned and let myself be burned alive? I would gain nothing unless I loved others.
Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do.
Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.
Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful and trusting.
Love never fails......."
Stay tuned. Love likes happy endings and in Christ they are always ultimately going to be happy endings.--- Until next time. John
