Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Sunday night-9/27/15

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."  --Ephesians 3:20

Sunday night was more or less a repeat of the last few trips downtown except I reversed the order and went to the alley on 25th and San Pedro first.  I got there before the sun went down so the folks there could go through the clothes I brought while there was still light left.  Someone at work had given me two large trash bags filled with women's clothes and they went pretty fast.  There were a lot of people there since it was close to night time.  I haven't brought any food with me the last month or so due to lack of resources, but I did bring a lot of bottled water.  No one's complained about the lack of food, but the water sure is a hit.  I brought 35 bottles and 20 lbs of ice.  In fact, I had more ice than the chest could hold with all the water bottles, so some of the ice was still in a bag sitting on top. Someone took the bag too (for later no doubt).  I had even bought a bottle of Pine Sol (unopened) and had it on the floor by the back seat and someone asked me if they could have it to clean around their living quarters.  I long ago made the commitment that if I brought it in the car, it was up for grabs. This alley, as I said, is really home to a lot of people and other homeless folks come by to hang-out. During my time there, Nicky, her friend Judy and Carmen came by.  Nicky was the one who helped me serve all the people when I had the dinner on the street corner last November.  Here's some photos of my stop Sunday:

That's Hiram in the back of the car....He's a big guy!
 and that's Becky on the right

The next two photos, first one taken looking towards San Pedro St and the one below it looking back down the alley the other way.


When I first got there and got out I sat down on some mattresses next to a guy named Peter.  I asked him how he was doing (I've know Peter for a couple of years now).  He said he was depressed, but didn't say exactly why.  I was called away right after that and didn't get to talk further with him about what was bothering him.  He asked if I had a couple of dollars to get some food, but I didn't have any cash left on me.  There was a large crowd gathered around the back of the car and on the other side of the car where the water was.  One of the guys from last week wanted me to pray for them right then, but I thought it best to wait until the crowd around the car had died down.  The regulars to that alley were all there, and Hiram who lives in an SRO a short distance away was there too.  I had been there about forty minutes when some tempers flared in one of the 'apartments'.  I was, at the time, standing and talking with Hiram.  I immediately started praying for peace to overcome the place.  As it turned out the woman who was upset, was Judy (Nicky's friend).  She was upset, oddly enough, over the guy who got the Pine Sol and had started using it around his place.  Apparently, she is allergic to the stuff. Well, she just moved away from that area and all was well.  I told everyone about the lunar eclipse (Blood Moon) that was to occur shortly, but it was kind of doubtful they would see it given the limited view of the sky they had in that alley.

I've said many times in these blogs that I try and bring the Kingdom of God down to earth for these folks.  Earlier today I was watching a short video about an after school activity center that some Christians are running in Jackson, Mississippi.  They explained it as a place where the kids in the neighborhood can come and feel safe and be loved just for who they are.  They are told who Jesus is and that He loves them and wants the best for their lives.  One woman summed it up best at the end with the statement,"It's a place where God can do miraculous things in their hearts."  It is the same idea and place I try to provide for these folks each time I see them.  It's not an overnight fix, and certainly takes time to develop a trusting relationship between them and me.  They need to see me acting consistently on their behalf and as an ambassador for Christ.  I have to faithfully and gently portray Christ, in perhaps, a way they have never seen before, but still represents Him not only faithfully, but as someone they want to get to know.

After leaving the alley, I drove over to the burned out church.  It was now completely dark and I prayed in front of the church for quite a while.  No one came by and there appeared to be no changes in the general appearance to the church.  I have learned through experience that things may not appear to be changing on the outside, but God works in different ways and I'm willing to trust His timetable.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to go downtown next Sunday, so --Until next time.  John  

Monday, September 21, 2015

Sunday afternoon-9/20/15


"From my darkest to the very greatest of times, God has always been there."  --Posting on facebook from GodFruits --Sept. 19, 2015


It was another hot September day downtown.  I had brought some bottled water on ice and got down there at about 3:30 pm. I had two objectives, one was to prayer-walk around the neighborhood of the burned out church on 27th and Paloma and the other was to give out the bottled water to my friends living in the alley near 25th and San Pedro.  Due to the heat, when I prayer-walked the neighborhood around the church hardly anyone was outside.  Since I found out what happened to the church through the news report still posted on the internet, I knew more than most of the folks who lived around there.  Remember, its been almost exactly three years since the fire.  When I finished walking around the neighborhood I lingered for a while praying in front of the church.  The flyers I had seen last week were still up, but were fading in the hot sun.  I got in my car and decided to give the only phone number I had for the pastor another shot.  I had called it a couple of times on Tuesday and Wednesday, but no one answered.  I tried calling again.  Would you believe it, Mary, the pastor's wife, answered the phone!  I had to quickly give her some kind of an idea who I was and why I was calling before she thought I was some kind of a crack-pot and hung up.  Anyway, the Lord gave me favor and she heard my story of how I started prayer-walking in this neighborhood and found their church. I mainly wanted to make sure she knew that the flyers they put up a week ago were such a blessing to me to see and I felt if Pastor Lawrence knew that God had raised up someone that he didn't know and wasn't even living in the neighborhood to pray for this church that it might be a blessing to him as well.  I realized that these last three years have, no doubt, been a very difficult time for the both of them.  I told her of the quote I read on facebook. I used it to start this blog.  I hope that sometime soon I can meet with Pastor Lawrence at the church site and pray with him for his church.

I left there and went over to the alley by 25th and San Pedro.  On the way over there I saw Becky pushing her shopping cart with one of her dogs walking along side her.  I gave her some water and she encouraged me to stop by to see the others.  When I got there, there were probably 10 people in the alley.  I didn't have any food (well six cans of vegetables), the rest of the bottled water and some clothes in the back of the car.  I got out and opened the back up.  You may remember me telling you about Billy who I met for the first time there about two weeks ago.  I prayed with him and Miguel the last time and noticed Billy had some rather obvious struggles in life.  Sunday he told everyone I was his best buddy!  That is a testimony to the power of prayer for people in these situations. There were others there that I've known for a long time now, Pete, Hiram and a couple of other guys who I can't think of there names right now.  They asked me if I "had a Word for them".  I said "Of course I do." and held out my arms and started praying for them right then.  There was a passage in the New Testament that I read a couple of days ago, but can't seem to find now, about how God will change your desires and passions to conform to his image.  Anyway, I used this verse loosely and intertwined it with how powerful the name of Jesus is in overcoming temptations and difficult situations in our lives if we will just speak His name.  When I finished you would have thought Billy Graham had just spoken.....the prayer was anointed and touched their hearts.  It was all God's doing, praise be to Him.

All in all, it was a short, but powerful trip.  I promised to be back next Sunday.  I'm looking forward to it that's for sure.  Until next time.  John    

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Monday evening-9/14/2015

"Jesus told his disciples:  'Have faith in God!  If you have faith in God and don't doubt, you can tell this mountain to get up and jump into the sea, and it will.  Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.'"  --Mark 11:22-24


My last trip was two weeks ago Sunday.  I had promised one of my homeless friends, Willie, that I would be back this Monday evening (I worked last weekend), and we'd meet in the alley we were standing in.  I thought it was doubtful that he would be there, but I wanted to hold up my end of the agreement.  I went down the alley a couple of times but no Willie.  I did help another homeless man and decided I'd better try the other alley a little south of this one, but he wasn't there either.  I did help a few other homeless folks in that alley too.

For those who have followed the last couple of these blogs, I have been prayer-walking in an area south of Washington Blvd between San Pedro Ave and Central Ave.  Specifically, by a corner of Paloma and 27th.  Three Sundays ago I found a church that had been burned up there.  I have asked people around there, but no one really seems to know what happened.  Even when it happened was some kind of a mystery.  The first info I had was it happened 6 months to a year ago.  Monday night when I parked in front of the church there was a woman getting in her car and leaving and I was able to ask her what she knew.  She said she had been working there for three years and the church was like that when she first started coming there.  She appeared to be a hospice nurse for someone living a few doors down the street.  I walked back to the church and started praying.  While praying I noticed some flyers taped to the iron fence around the building.  I didn't pay any attention to them at first, but then happened to notice a banner across the top saying, "We're Still Here!!! We're Coming Back Soon"  I looked again and sure enough it was a flyer from the pastor, a Lawrence Magee.  No other details, just a couple of bible verses at the bottom.  Here is what I saw:




You can understand how my prayers for this place received a jolt from the Kingdom of Heaven after seeing this.  I had to remind myself that this flyer wasn't there the last two (only) times I've been here. I saw a couple of women talking across the street a ways and asked them if they knew what had happened to the church, but they hadn't been living there long enough to know.  One of the ladies said the manager of the place where they were living had just left and she would probably know,  So I left my phone number with her, but haven't heard back yet.

OK, so next up was to go visit Hiram who is now living in a SRO on 21st.  When I found the place it wasn't at all what I expected.  I expected to see an old run down converted hotel, but this was a two story duplex with an iron fence in the front and a freshly mowed yard.  It appeared to be pretty well taken care of although it wasn't a 'new' place.  This neighborhood is pretty old.  There was a woman sitting on the porch steps smoking a cigarette.  Her name was Sharon and there was a dog (pit bull I think) with diaper on named Harley laying down near her.  I asked about Hiram and she confirmed that he lived there, but wasn't home at the time.  We talked for probably 15-20 minutes and I told her how I knew Hiram. There were two places on the property, one was for women and one was for men. She said there were sixteen people living there.  I also told her I had given a dinner about a year ago on the street corner where Hiram lived at the time.  She said I could have a BBQ at this place anytime.  I couldn't believe it, but said perhaps in November we could do something there.  Between now and then I'll have to make a few visits to this place and get to know her and the others better.  I only talked to her (nobody else came out) on Monday.

So my original intent was to get into this neighborhood and bring the Kingdom to the people.  The only way I knew how was to start prayer-walking and let God take care of the rest.  So after three trips this is what's happened.  Remember, my conversations with the neighbors is another aspect of this work that should not be discounted.  I actually told the two women across the street from the church that I was led to pray in front of the church just three weeks (and two visits) prior.  They saw these flyers up for the first time too.  I even told Sharon at the SRO house!  Testimonies are a valid and vital part in advancing the Kingdom. Testimonies are written and repeated all through the bible. Current and personal testimonies speak volumes to people in our culture today.

So when I got home I googled the pastor's name and found a news clip from NBC local news from about 3 years ago about this church and the fire.  Here is what happened:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Crouch-Memorial-Church-Pentecostal-Fire-LAFD-Los-Angeles-226957031.html

So I will continue pray and to try and contact Pastor Magee.  I'm hoping that when he hears that someone whom he doesn't know and who has no connection with his church is praying for him and his church that it will serve as a great encouragement just as me seeing the flyers taped to the fence in front of the church did for me.  I'll keep prayer-walking.  Until next time. --John


    

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Sunday downtown-8/30/15


"I've heard You call my name
I've heard the song of love that You sing
So I will let you draw me out beyond the shore
Into your grace

Cause you make me brave
You make me brave
You call me out beyond the shore into the waves

Cause you make me brave
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now the Love that made a way.."    

---Amanda Cook & Bethel Music  "You Make Me Brave"

You can see the all the lyrics to this song when watching the video, just click on 'show more".


Yeah, I really like this song, especially the words about being called 'out beyond the shore into the waves".   Sunday was week two on the Emmaus Road.  I decided to start by going to the burned out church in the photo from last week and start praying there.  I drove around and around and around the area, but couldn't find it.  I finally gave up and parked and started prayer walking where I was.  I said, "Lord, I know you can redeem this time, so help me out here, please."  I walked a couple of blocks and some people were going out to their cars so I decided to just ask them if they knew where the church was.  I showed them the picture on my phone.  Well, they knew exactly where it was and it was exactly where I thought it was.  Only problem was, I WASN'T WHERE I THOUGHT I WAS!  I thanked them and then drove about two or so blocks west (on the west side of Central) and there it was.  I parked and got out and started praying there in front of this church reclaiming the area for His glory.  There is a wrought iron fence around most of the building and a chain link fence in the back. As I walked around it I saw in the back the area were the little kids would have their meeting rooms. I was heartbroken for these kids as the church was no doubt a center of life for a lot of families. There is no sign in front saying what kind of denomination this church was so I have no way of knowing how to contact the pastor.  I found out the church burned about 6 months to a year ago.  I had walked across the street (the church is on the corner of 27th and Paloma) to ask a man washing his car in front of his house (behind another wrought iron fence) what he knew about the church, but he didn't really know anything or at least wasn't saying anything.  He said he was at work when it burned.  I noticed when I was driving around that there are a lot of small neighborhood churches in the area (and I mean a lot). I'll start asking the ones closest if they know anything about what happened to the pastor and the congregation.

When I left the church, I drove by 25th and San Pedro, but once again the people I used to know who lived there aren't there anymore.  I slowly drove passed the next alley north and saw Becky and others in that alley, so I stopped and backed into the alley.  While I talked to Becky I heard some tapping on my car window.  It turned out to be Hiram who used to be one of the folks who lived on 25th!  He has since gotten an SRO (single room occupancy) place on Hooper and 21st.  I was so happy to see him.  I noticed immediately (and asked him) "Have you lost weight?"  Hiram's a couple inches taller than me and was probably over 300-lbs for a while.  He looks a lot better, I just need to find him some clothes and pair of size 15 shoes!  He said where he stays they feed you 3 meals a day, but the quantity and quality isn't the best, hence the weight loss.  Becky told me that a year or so ago she was walking by that church when it was burning!  She didn't know anything about what happened either other than it was an African American church.  It's mostly, but not exclusively, a Latino area, so I don't know if that figured into anything or not.  Hiram said that a lot of the churches in the area are very old and probably of historical importance to the area.  So while I was there in the alley I let the folks go through the clothes in the back of the car and I handed out cold bottled water.  I hadn't brought any food, but it was another really hot day and the cold water was a big hit.  One of the highlights of the trip was meeting a new guy in that alley by the name of Billy.  Billy is about my age with long gray shoulder length hair.  I had given him and another man named Miguel some bottled water.  After I introduced myself to Billy I held out my hand to him and Miguel and offered to pray for them.  So Miguel got up and came over and the three of us held hands and I prayed for them.  I noticed later, after walking back to the folks by my car, that Billy kept turning away and lighting up something in a corner.  I asked Hiram about it and he confirmed my suspicions about what Billy was doing.  All I can say is I hope I see Billy again soon.  I hope to pray with him again and develop a relationship with him.  I don't like to describe and identify anyone by one thing that they do.  We are all a lot more complex than that, but Billy does seem to a have a substance abuse problem.  I hope I can offer him hope and a way out of it.  It begins by loving him the way he is, but helping him realize and become what he can be.  Hiram gave me the address of where he lives now at the SRO.  I hope to visit him there.  He said there are about 25 other men living there.  Perhaps that is where the Emmaus Road will lead.  I don't know.

One other encounter of note.  When I first arrived downtown I bought some ice at a Smart and Final on Hooper St.  As I drove south, I came to an alley where I have had BBQ's before.  I looked down that alley and it appeared to have been cleared out by city maintenance workers.  I decided to drive down it anyway even though I didn't see anyone.  Well, right where I had the BBQ's I saw one of my oldest friends from the street.  His name is Willie and this is right where I first met him too.  In fact, that first encounter was memorable because as I drove up and saw him standing there that day six years ago I asked him if he was OK.  I'll never forget his response.  In a barely audible whisper he said, "I'm hungry and thirsty."  I was able Sunday to give Willie a pair of pants, socks and some cold water.  Unfortunately, I didn't have any food with me, but we were sure happy to see each other.  It had been about 16-18 months since I saw him last.  Here's a picture I took of him Sunday:

  

I'll be working all next weekend so I won't be able to see my friends for a couple of weeks. Please pray for them while I'm unable to visit them.  Until next time. --John