Tuesday night downtown-11/24/15

"Don't keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things.  Your Father knows what you need.  But put God's work first, and these things will be yours as well."  Luke 12:29-31

Well I worked through the weekend, so Tuesday night was the first opportunity to make a trip.  I couldn't even go until it was late and traffic was a mess.  When I got downtown it was just after 5 pm and getting from the freeway off-ramp to the place where I could buy some food took another 45 minutes.  I stayed there (at the burger joint) for another 55 minutes just to let the traffic die down some.  It was about 7 pm when I started looking for folks in need which was about 2 1/2 hours after I left home.

If you read the last blog, you'll remember the guys who needed the blankets.  I had gone back that day to take care of their need and I wanted to check in to see how they were doing.  They were still at the same street corner sleeping.  Remember at 7 pm it's totally night time now and a lot of homeless folks are already asleep for the night.  Philipe was asleep, but George was still awake and took the food for the both of them.  I'm trusting him to share......

I had gone by where Leticia and Antonio hang out.  The place were they sleep at night is across the street from where I usually find them.  During the week they have to wait on some steps across the street until the business is closed and the people have gone home before they can lay down for the night.  I asked them what they were doing Thursday, but I don't think they knew it is an American holiday.  They said they would be right there. I also warned them about the expected heavy rain-fall this winter. They hadn't heard about our impending "El Nino" condition.  I tried to explain it to them and I think they have a vague idea of what I was talking about, but they probably don't have many choices of places to stay.  I would like to bring someone who speaks their language better than I do so they know what to expect.  I keep thinking about Leticia and her situation.  Her son is 31 years old (the same age as my son) and lives in Mexico.  Who knows how many years its been since she's talked to him, let alone seen him.  I asked her a while back if she'd like to go back there and she said it would cost too much money.  Notice she didn't say yes or no, just that it was out of the realm of possibility.  You just know that when she left Mexico to come here she surely never thought she'd be living on the streets after all these years with no hope of ever seeing her son again.  Most immigrants who come here roll the dice and hope for a better life.  My ancestors were no different.  It's painful to watch as people struggle just to survive.  I would be happy to have these folks as neighbors on my street.

Well, I ended up in the parking lot at 9th and San Pedro where I saw the three Native American men a few weeks back.  They weren't there last night, but there were others there.  I had pulled in and one of the men there asked if I had a jacket or sweater.  I told him I did and parked the car and opened up the back door. As a couple of the men started going through the clothes a woman was walking through the parking lot carrying some pieces of cardboard.  They were pieces that she was most likely going to be sleeping on that night.  She asked me if I had any women's clothes.  I told her I did and she repeated the question again because she didn't believe me at first.  I told her, "Yes I do" and she dropped the 3 or 4 chunks of cardboard immediately.  Her name was Natilie and I'm guessing her to be about 25 years old. She had to wait for one of the men to finish looking through the back of the car (there's only room for two people to stand at the back and look through the clothes and that's if they both stand to the side).  When it was her turn she picked out something and asked, "Can I have this?"  I told her yes and she then asked, "Can I have whatever I want?"  Again I told her yes.  I guess some of the church groups put limits on what and how much one person can take and at times I do that too.  But this was going to be my last stop of the trip and if she needed anything in the car, it was hers to have.  I even had my heavy over-shirt up in the front seat that I would have given her if she was unable to find any sweaters to keep herself warm.  I gave her a blanket and some food and water. In fact, she got the last of the food.  Although we talked some while she was looking through the clothes, I didn't ask her how she ended up there.  We talked about being homeless and how using or finding a bathroom is a big problem, especially for the women.  No one allows you to use theirs unless you're buying something.  Kind of a problem when your homeless and penniless.  I've got to keep in contact with this woman and find out if she has any family.  I've got to find a home for this woman.

Well, it was now 8 pm, I was out of food and just about out of clothes too.  I drove over to the burned-out church and prayer-walked that street before leaving.  --Until next time.  John

PS.  Even though it was now 8:20 pm, it still took 40 minutes to get home.  Traffic was still a mess.