Downtown 1/18/2015

"In darkness God's truth shines most clear."  Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

OK, so here's the truth,..I skipped going to church Sunday morning and came straight home from work (I get off work at 7 am).  I was trying to get some sleep before the Packers football game came on at noon.  Well, I ended up getting, maybe, an hour of sleep.  I watched the game (an incredibly disappointing ending) and then tried to nap afterward.  Well, I was too keyed-up to sleep and decided to make the trip downtown then (and get some distance from the way the game ended).  So I got up and loaded up the car, stopped by a local burger joint to get some food and drove into downtown. Now I have to tell you I wasn't in a great mood.  I was really worn out from work with no sleep and disappointed from the game, but knew that both of these issues were temporary and I still had an opportunity to do something of eternal value, to work for the Divine tonight!  So I prayed to God that I would just pour out His love somehow to the people I would meet.  Just pour out love and be a channel for His grace and mercy.....

I didn't really have a plan of where to go, so on the way down I decided to just go to the place where I did the BBQ under the freeway last August.  I got off the freeway at Alameda at about 6:30 pm.  You have to drive around a couple of blocks to get to that little street even though it is right by the freeway off-ramp.  It's now night time.  As I drove around the block I saw Alan, probably the most unkempt looking man of any of my friends downtown.  He was dragging two shopping carts by a gas station/convenience store at Alameda and Olympic.  I pulled in to the station and called out to him. He quickly came over to the car.  Now Alan doesn't talk much at all, the most you'll ever get out of him is a few grunts and a 'uhuh" and that's about it.  Sunday night I got an "OK" when I asked how he was doing and a very clear "Yes" when I asked if he wanted some water with his burgers.  Before I drove away and as he was back standing by his shopping carts I raised up my arm and pointed to him and said loudly so he could hear me, "Alan. Remember.  I love you."  He nodded.  It was already a great trip.    

There were 4 or 5 men gathered directly across on the little street from where I had set up the BBQ last summer and as I drove up Willie greeted me.  I asked if he had given the gift for Nicole and Bill that I left with him the last time.  He told me he had but that they hadn't been by for a few days.  He also told me they had gotten a van now.  With all the people gathered there I had gotten out of the car and opened up the back door so everyone could go through the clothes.  I gave out burgers as several more people came by.  Beverly, a very small petite woman who was at the BBQ last summer, asked how my wife and daughter were doing.  It was wonderful to see so many people come by and get some needed clothing.  One man as he was looking through the closes apologized for the way he smelled.  After seeing Alan a few minutes before I assured him he was just fine.  As people walked up, some of them would kind of hang back a little bit unsure of what was going on.  I would end up welcoming them to come on over and inviting them to go ahead and go through the clothes in the car and take whatever they needed.  During this time at least two people admitted to me that they struggle with substance abuse and several others complained about how "they" had taken all their stuff (a common complaint among homeless folks).  "They" can either mean other homeless folks or law enforcement people.  One man, whose name was Michael, said he was a truck driver by trade and was hoping to get into a "program" Monday.  He asked if I knew of any, but I couldn't think of any off hand.  He was with another man and another man was standing right with us.  I gathered the three men together and we all locked arms around our shoulders and I prayed for them.  After I had prayed for the three of them was when Michael told me of his desire to get some help for his addictions.  So I prayed again with just him that he would find a place and a person to help him along his path.  It was really a special moment.  My biggest disappointment was that I ran out of food before I ran out of people to help.  It's a problem that's becoming more and more frequent.

I began this blog with a quote from Corrie ten Boom about light shining in darkness.  I felt it was a quote so appropriate to this night time visit with people struggling with homelessness, hopelessness, substance abuse and even mental illness.  I also alluded to my desire to use the rest of this day to do something of eternal worth.  I had prayed about pouring out His love on my way down there and had no game plan as to where to go, yet in the end I probably couldn't have picked a better place to go. So as I was looking at some quotes from Corrie ten Boom I ran across another and here it is.  "There are no 'if's' in God's world.  And no places that are safer than others places.  The center of His will is our only safety - let us pray that we may always know it!"  If you're looking for a God sized adventure, then start praying for it.  God will do something.  He will show you things you've never seen before and take you places you've never been before.  Eventually, the new and strange places and things you see will become the norm and you will begin to desire to go even further.  It's awesome.  Pray that prayer with me....--Until next time.  John