The first question that the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But the Good Samaritan...reversed the question, "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" ---Martin Luther king, Jr from a speech April 3, 1968 (the night before his assasination).
I began a blog back in August with this quote. It seemed appropriate to use it today, being Martin Luther King Day. It is one of my favorite all-time quotes and it encapsulates the message of Jesus' parable of the good Samaritan. You will probably never know how difficult it can be to make these trips downtown sometimes. We all lead busy lives and it's easy to let other things get in the way or to use the "I'm tired card" and just stay home. But two things always seem to win out over the myriad of excuses to not go. The first is the message found in the quote above. What will happen to these people if I don't go. More than likely, the answer is they will remain hungry or hungry and cold. I can't save the world, but I can relieve hunger and cold for a few people and pray with them too. The other thing that comes up is, "What will I miss out on?" I began this ministry to 'be where God was working'. When we make ourselves available for His use, then He will use us and that is always an adventure. Some trips are more adventurous than others to be sure, but you never know what's ahead. You can use the analogy of quality time and quantity of time. Given enough quantity (opportunity) will eventually generate quality experiences.
Today I was given quite a surprise by John Stokes. I was down to my last bag of food and since I hadn't seen John since Christmas Day and since he is by himself again I decided to stop and see him. He was laying down but quickly got up when he saw me. When he came over to the car and we started talking I asked him if he knew what day it was. He said, "Monday". I said, "Yeah, but do you know it's Martin Luther King Day?" He said "No, I didn't know that." That's when he told me that back in the early 60's he marched with Martin Luther King, Ralph Abernathy and Jessie Jackson in Selma, Alabama. I don't know how many people from that era are left who can make that claim. I knew John was from the Atlanta, Georgia area and I was certainly glad I stopped to see him today or I might never have known this. I'm proud to know him and call him my friend.
Well, that was my good fortune today, but along the way I was able to help 5 other people who desperately needed help too. The first was Dorothy. I don't see her to often, in fact, only twice before and today she looked even more worn-out than usual. She was glad to get the food. I also saw Dalton today. I haven't seen him in a few months either and today I found him near where I usually do, but he was sitting down on the sidewalk in the sun light trying to get warm. He had on a jacket and was half asleep when I walked up to him. I gave him some food and a blanket. Mary I saw on Christmas Day. I haven't been able to get much of a conversation going with her yet. She didn't want me to pray with her the last time and I didn't push it today. It will happen when she's ready and I'm OK with that. I just haven't been able to figure her out yet. She sits on the corner at 16th St near Hill St. She has a suitcase and a small chair that she sits on. She appears to be waiting for someone or something to happen, but she's been there now for 2 or 3 months. I don't know what to think of her situation. I'll keep praying that she will open up and talk with me sometime.
A couple of weeks prior to Christmas I met a man named Mark who was living under the freeway at Central and 16th. I tried to find him on Christmas Day, but didn't see him. I looked for him there today and around the corner on 17th St, but still didn't find him. However, I did find Rick from Oakland who knows Mark. He told me that Mark was out recycling. I gave Rick a bag of food and told him to tell Mark I said 'Hello' and that I'd keep looking for him next week. I also had met a young man named Melvin the week before Christmas that I also tried to find on Christmas Day but without success. I was even having trouble finding the corner building where I first saw him. Today I found the location at Stanford and 10th, but he wasn't there today either. That didn't really surprise me, because today is a weekday and that building is a cold storage warehouse that is in use. I'll have to try looking on another Sunday some time.
No trip is complete without an encounter by the Jack in the Box. Today it was a man named Kevin Oneal who was from Arkansas. He had a bicycle and was hitting up people coming out of the Jack in the Box for change. I noticed he seemed to be in quite a lot of back pain. He said he had some vertebrae/disc problems with his back and it was really painful. I didn't have anything for the pain, but gave him a bag of food, which should enable him to get off his bike and his feet. Hopefully, that will give his back some relief too. Yes, we talked about our Arkansas connection and he thanked me for praying with him and giving him the food.
Well, that was today's trip. Six encounters and six people helped. Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan was in response to a question by a religious man of his day which was, "Who is my neighbor?" Five of the six people today I've helped before. Some I've helped only a couple of times and others several times. They all live 25 miles away from me. I say this because some who read this blog don't live in this country and may not know the terrain. I still think of these people as friends and neighbors. I wouldn't want to think tonight about what would they be doing if I hadn't stopped by. I'm sure Dalton is wrapped up in his new blanket as I write this. That is a comfort to know. --Until next week. John
Showing posts with label los angeles christian mission work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label los angeles christian mission work. Show all posts
Monday, January 16, 2012
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Downtown 12/5/2011
"I remember thinking,'What if there are children who will suffer somehow because I failed to obey God?' Hadn't I always taught my kids that actions had consequences? 'What if my cowardice costs even one child somewhere in the world his or her life?' I couldn't live with that thought.." Richard Stearns, CEO of World Vision, from his book "The Hole in the Gospel".
Where do I start, in talking about yesterday's trip. It was relatively uneventful, Monday trips usually are. However, there was a powerful lesson learned and the thought from the quote above certainly came to my mind after one of the encounters. Both the lesson and the encounter happened shortly after I arrived yesterday, so I'll begin there. I have learned in the course of making these trips that a certain amount of prayer is necessary before I go. I hesitate to label a specific amount of time that's necessary, but preparing my heart before going and asking for God's guidance, presence and providence in bringing about the 'right' people and encounters has become part of the preparation for each trip as much as gathering the food and clothing items and getting them into the car. Yesterday, I wasn't quite ready when I arrived so I wanted to go to the Lincoln Park area because I knew I could sit quietly in my car uninterrupted. As I got off the freeway at Main St and the I-5 I saw three homeless people behind a corner market. I wasn't sure I knew them, although one of them was a woman and I might have helped her before. Across the street from these people was another man, Kenny, who I definitely have helped before standing with his shopping cart in the parking lot waiting for benevolent people to help him. Although I wasn't quite ready to start helping people (remember I wanted to go pray first) I filed the location of these folks in my mind and thought if they are still there on my way back through I'll stop and help them. Then I started thinking about how these folks are always there and I began thinking somewhat critically about how they weren't even trying to 'improve their lot'. Here it was about 11:00 a.m. and they were just standing around not doing anything (like recycling). Now since I have total discretion over who I help I thought maybe these folks don't 'deserve' help today. That's when I started getting 'the lesson'. It seems as though everytime I start thinking critically about these people that I work with I am hit with the thoughts of my own sins and weaknesses. Am I somehow more 'deserving' of God's mercy and forgiveness than these people? Of course, the answer always comes back with a resounding "No". All of us, including me, have sins and weaknesses that we have struggled with all our lives. The old sin nature will plague us until the day we die. The difference between God's lofty Holy and perfect status and us is so vast that the differences between my sin and these homeless peoples' sin is inconsequential. Jesus had to die for all of us. Then part 2 of the lesson hit. Peter's question to Jesus about how many times must we forgive others. Peter thought seven times must surely be enough, yet Jesus said we must forgive seven times seventy! In other words, endlessly, because that's how many times God forgives us over the same sins and weaknesses. If we are to be Christ-like, we must be prepared to do the same for others. Do we really believe God's grace, mercy and forgiveness is endless....endless enough to forgive us of our weaknesses? If we believe it enough to proclaim it to others, then we must believe it for ourselves and begin to show that same grace and mercy to others, whether we think they deserve it or not. So I parked the car by the park and started asking God for a pure heart. "Lord, please give me your heart for the lost, because the one I have is like a cold stone." When I drove back through there, Kenny was still in the same place. He thanked me profusely for stopping and helping him. The other three across the street weren't there (maybe they were recycling now after taking a break), but there was a woman across Daley St. At first she was behind a chain-link fence and 3 other women who were standing at the bus stop were looking at her. I drove around a couple of blocks and backtracked to where she was. When I came back there she was crouched down under the freeway overpass. I wasn't quite sure why she was in this position, but when I called out to her and asked if she needed some food she quickly came over to the car. Her name was Yolanda. After taking the bag of food she started walking back to the concrete wall under the freeway. I couldn't stay stopped there (a bus was coming) so I pulled on down the street. It was as I was pulling away that I figured out what she was doing. Under the freeway and positioned along the wall of the freeway are several pipe openings. They are drainage pipes. She was filling up an empty plastic soda bottle with run-off water from a drainage pipe. I was horrified. I quickly backtracked and drove back to her. I had a gallon jug of drinking water---real drinking water. You can imagine how happy she was to receive it. That's when the quote above came to my mind. I'm really not too excited about Monday trips because the encounters are so brief you end up just handing out food and water. My personal disappointment was that I didn't get to pray with anyone on this trip. Yet, giving this woman some clean water was as important as anything else I could have done yesterday. Luckily, God answered my prayer to guide me and to providentially 'set up' this encounter. It only takes a couple of minutes at most to fill up a soda bottle with water from that pipe. Yet I was there at the exact time she was doing it. God rules and overrules. Praise Him for that.
I did see Willie yesterday. He was one of the men at the barbecue a while back. Everyone living in that alley has since had to move because its gotten so dangerous there. He told me where Tara Lee spends the nights. They both have had to move around quite a bit and they can't hang-out during the day where they've been staying at night. They are both spending the nights at different locations. There is still no one living in Cloud Nine Alley and Skid Row was pretty hostile yesterday too.
There was an encounter last week that I didn't talk about. I didn't get the man's name, but I saw him (see photo) sleeping in this corner. He had nothing but the clothes on his back. As I got out of the car I put some extra food in the food bag I wanted to give him. Yet when I walked up to him and asked if he could use some
food, he angrily got up and walked away. He didn't speak English, but I'm sure he understood that I had a bag of food available for him. I wondered how many times we are like this man. How many times have we missed God's blessing because we were too busy to stop and take notice of His presence. Well, just wondering. --Until next week. John
Where do I start, in talking about yesterday's trip. It was relatively uneventful, Monday trips usually are. However, there was a powerful lesson learned and the thought from the quote above certainly came to my mind after one of the encounters. Both the lesson and the encounter happened shortly after I arrived yesterday, so I'll begin there. I have learned in the course of making these trips that a certain amount of prayer is necessary before I go. I hesitate to label a specific amount of time that's necessary, but preparing my heart before going and asking for God's guidance, presence and providence in bringing about the 'right' people and encounters has become part of the preparation for each trip as much as gathering the food and clothing items and getting them into the car. Yesterday, I wasn't quite ready when I arrived so I wanted to go to the Lincoln Park area because I knew I could sit quietly in my car uninterrupted. As I got off the freeway at Main St and the I-5 I saw three homeless people behind a corner market. I wasn't sure I knew them, although one of them was a woman and I might have helped her before. Across the street from these people was another man, Kenny, who I definitely have helped before standing with his shopping cart in the parking lot waiting for benevolent people to help him. Although I wasn't quite ready to start helping people (remember I wanted to go pray first) I filed the location of these folks in my mind and thought if they are still there on my way back through I'll stop and help them. Then I started thinking about how these folks are always there and I began thinking somewhat critically about how they weren't even trying to 'improve their lot'. Here it was about 11:00 a.m. and they were just standing around not doing anything (like recycling). Now since I have total discretion over who I help I thought maybe these folks don't 'deserve' help today. That's when I started getting 'the lesson'. It seems as though everytime I start thinking critically about these people that I work with I am hit with the thoughts of my own sins and weaknesses. Am I somehow more 'deserving' of God's mercy and forgiveness than these people? Of course, the answer always comes back with a resounding "No". All of us, including me, have sins and weaknesses that we have struggled with all our lives. The old sin nature will plague us until the day we die. The difference between God's lofty Holy and perfect status and us is so vast that the differences between my sin and these homeless peoples' sin is inconsequential. Jesus had to die for all of us. Then part 2 of the lesson hit. Peter's question to Jesus about how many times must we forgive others. Peter thought seven times must surely be enough, yet Jesus said we must forgive seven times seventy! In other words, endlessly, because that's how many times God forgives us over the same sins and weaknesses. If we are to be Christ-like, we must be prepared to do the same for others. Do we really believe God's grace, mercy and forgiveness is endless....endless enough to forgive us of our weaknesses? If we believe it enough to proclaim it to others, then we must believe it for ourselves and begin to show that same grace and mercy to others, whether we think they deserve it or not. So I parked the car by the park and started asking God for a pure heart. "Lord, please give me your heart for the lost, because the one I have is like a cold stone." When I drove back through there, Kenny was still in the same place. He thanked me profusely for stopping and helping him. The other three across the street weren't there (maybe they were recycling now after taking a break), but there was a woman across Daley St. At first she was behind a chain-link fence and 3 other women who were standing at the bus stop were looking at her. I drove around a couple of blocks and backtracked to where she was. When I came back there she was crouched down under the freeway overpass. I wasn't quite sure why she was in this position, but when I called out to her and asked if she needed some food she quickly came over to the car. Her name was Yolanda. After taking the bag of food she started walking back to the concrete wall under the freeway. I couldn't stay stopped there (a bus was coming) so I pulled on down the street. It was as I was pulling away that I figured out what she was doing. Under the freeway and positioned along the wall of the freeway are several pipe openings. They are drainage pipes. She was filling up an empty plastic soda bottle with run-off water from a drainage pipe. I was horrified. I quickly backtracked and drove back to her. I had a gallon jug of drinking water---real drinking water. You can imagine how happy she was to receive it. That's when the quote above came to my mind. I'm really not too excited about Monday trips because the encounters are so brief you end up just handing out food and water. My personal disappointment was that I didn't get to pray with anyone on this trip. Yet, giving this woman some clean water was as important as anything else I could have done yesterday. Luckily, God answered my prayer to guide me and to providentially 'set up' this encounter. It only takes a couple of minutes at most to fill up a soda bottle with water from that pipe. Yet I was there at the exact time she was doing it. God rules and overrules. Praise Him for that.
I did see Willie yesterday. He was one of the men at the barbecue a while back. Everyone living in that alley has since had to move because its gotten so dangerous there. He told me where Tara Lee spends the nights. They both have had to move around quite a bit and they can't hang-out during the day where they've been staying at night. They are both spending the nights at different locations. There is still no one living in Cloud Nine Alley and Skid Row was pretty hostile yesterday too.
There was an encounter last week that I didn't talk about. I didn't get the man's name, but I saw him (see photo) sleeping in this corner. He had nothing but the clothes on his back. As I got out of the car I put some extra food in the food bag I wanted to give him. Yet when I walked up to him and asked if he could use some
food, he angrily got up and walked away. He didn't speak English, but I'm sure he understood that I had a bag of food available for him. I wondered how many times we are like this man. How many times have we missed God's blessing because we were too busy to stop and take notice of His presence. Well, just wondering. --Until next week. John
Monday, November 14, 2011
Downtown 11/13/2011
"The LORD took note and listened (to those who still revered Him)... They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them....Then once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him."--Malachi 3:16-13
Yesterday's message in church was, in part, on this passage from the prophet Malachi. The prophet was concerned that the wicked were prospering and the righteous were struggling and the the 'people' were getting an impression of God that He didn't care or wasn't going to do anything about the increase in lawlessness that was rampant in society. Sounds familiar doesn't it? God's response was, "Just you wait and see what happens when I put things right." The inference was for the people who continue to follow the ways of God to keep it up. Don't succumb to the way the society is going. Keep on keeping on. As the morning at church ended and opportunities to do other things came up it was tempting to just 'take the rest of the day off'. I had bought food to take downtown the night before and had everything ready to go there, yet I was feeling kind of lazy. As it turned out I went on downtown shortly after getting home even though I was pretty tired. I drove on down to Lincoln Park and rested in my car for about a half an hour and finally got started looking for people to help at around 3 p.m. Since this is the first trip after daylight savings time ended, I was only going to have about 2 hours of daylight left and needed to get going. The first 4 or 5 people I gave food to were needy enough, but I didn't end up praying with anyone and I felt the trip was being wasted. I stopped at the Jack in the Box to get a cup of coffee and a quick snack, hoping to improve my energy level. As I walked in there was a woman who looked homeless walking out the door. She had a cup of coffee in her hand. I figured that was all she could afford. I ordered, used the rest room and sat down and waited for my order. She had positioned herself by a trash can outside the door and just on the other side of the glass wall where I was sitting. When my order came, two tacos and a cup of coffee, I decided to give one of the tacos to her. Her name was Darlene and she was waiting for someone to give her a ride to a doctor. She didn't say what her ailment was. I commented to her that despite all the grease in the taco, they sure did taste good. She agreed they did.
After leaving there I gave out the last of the food bags and drove over to Cloud Nine Alley. I haven't seen Ray or any evidence of anyone living there in the alley for over a month. I then headed down to skid row. I had driven down there already, but the free parking in front of the police station was full. I was hoping by now there may be a couple of spots open. Somewhere around Olympic and Broadway I saw a most pathetic looking homeless man laying on the corner. His hair was all matted and with his beard you could hardly make out his face. The clothes he had on were the only thing he had. He had nothing else around him except for a styrofoam cup that was empty. I drove around the block to find a place to park near him. When I got out of the car I heard him yelling something, but I couldn't make out what it was. As I got closer someone walked around the corner in front of him and he yelled again. I thought to myself, "Well this could be interesting" as I set a can of soup with a spoon down right in front of him. I told him simply, "This is for you." He grabbed the can of soup and pulled it close to him. I turned to walk back to my car not knowing if the can was going to be thrown at the back of my head. I got to my car and started to drive on down the street. As I drove by where he was sitting on the sidewalk I could see he had already opened the can and was starting to eat out of it. Perhaps a meal in his stomach would calm him down.
I headed on down to skid row and this time found a place to park in front of the police station. Three weeks ago I had noticed a sign on the roof of a corner building on 6th and Los Angeles St. advertising for blankets. I decided to walk down there and check it out. It was still light out, probably around 4:30 p.m. The retail stores in the area were starting to close up, but there were still a lot of people walking around. Los Angeles Street, in particular, was filled with people walking around. I looked from the sidewalk at several of the stores. Most of them in that section were selling various combinations of fabric, rugs, comforters and blankets. None looked to have the kind of blankets I was looking for. I looked across the street at the stores over there and was just about to cross the street when a man came up to me and asked for some help. He had just arrived from Tuscon, Arizona the day before (probably arrived at the El Paso/LA bus depot across from the police station). He had spent the night in the lobby of the police station after he had been beaten up and robbed of the $800.00 he had on him. The police wouldn't let him leave until morning because they feared he might be attacked again by the same people thinking he had more money on him (which he didn't). He was trying to sell me his watch for $3 because he didn't have any money left and didn't want to just ask for a hand-out. I told him I come downtown once a week to help people out just like him, but the food I had was back in my car, parked in front of the police station. So as we walked back to my car together he told me his recent difficulties. He was 63 years old and was a church-going man all his life and was hoping to become an ordained minister. He told me when he saw me he felt the Lord telling him to "Go talk to this man." I gave him some food and clothing. He had a traveling bag and a jacket, but couldn't carry very much more, otherwise I would have given him more food. I gave him the last $10 I had on me and told him to keep his watch. He may need it another day. We prayed, hugged and prayed somemore. He was so thankful that he followed God's 'instructions' (so was I) and approached me for help.
When I left the area and started to process the trip on the way home, I couldn't help but think back to the morning's message at church and how, the prophet Malachi was telling the people to keep following the Lord and His ways that it does make a difference. What would have happened to this man, his name is Everett Whaley, if I hadn't gone down there. What would have happened if Everett hadn't been obedient and approached me for help. Yes, God could have used someone else to help him. But this way, we both know he was helped. We were both blessed and encouraged by the encounter. It was a privilege to be a part of it.--Until next week--John
Yesterday's message in church was, in part, on this passage from the prophet Malachi. The prophet was concerned that the wicked were prospering and the righteous were struggling and the the 'people' were getting an impression of God that He didn't care or wasn't going to do anything about the increase in lawlessness that was rampant in society. Sounds familiar doesn't it? God's response was, "Just you wait and see what happens when I put things right." The inference was for the people who continue to follow the ways of God to keep it up. Don't succumb to the way the society is going. Keep on keeping on. As the morning at church ended and opportunities to do other things came up it was tempting to just 'take the rest of the day off'. I had bought food to take downtown the night before and had everything ready to go there, yet I was feeling kind of lazy. As it turned out I went on downtown shortly after getting home even though I was pretty tired. I drove on down to Lincoln Park and rested in my car for about a half an hour and finally got started looking for people to help at around 3 p.m. Since this is the first trip after daylight savings time ended, I was only going to have about 2 hours of daylight left and needed to get going. The first 4 or 5 people I gave food to were needy enough, but I didn't end up praying with anyone and I felt the trip was being wasted. I stopped at the Jack in the Box to get a cup of coffee and a quick snack, hoping to improve my energy level. As I walked in there was a woman who looked homeless walking out the door. She had a cup of coffee in her hand. I figured that was all she could afford. I ordered, used the rest room and sat down and waited for my order. She had positioned herself by a trash can outside the door and just on the other side of the glass wall where I was sitting. When my order came, two tacos and a cup of coffee, I decided to give one of the tacos to her. Her name was Darlene and she was waiting for someone to give her a ride to a doctor. She didn't say what her ailment was. I commented to her that despite all the grease in the taco, they sure did taste good. She agreed they did.
After leaving there I gave out the last of the food bags and drove over to Cloud Nine Alley. I haven't seen Ray or any evidence of anyone living there in the alley for over a month. I then headed down to skid row. I had driven down there already, but the free parking in front of the police station was full. I was hoping by now there may be a couple of spots open. Somewhere around Olympic and Broadway I saw a most pathetic looking homeless man laying on the corner. His hair was all matted and with his beard you could hardly make out his face. The clothes he had on were the only thing he had. He had nothing else around him except for a styrofoam cup that was empty. I drove around the block to find a place to park near him. When I got out of the car I heard him yelling something, but I couldn't make out what it was. As I got closer someone walked around the corner in front of him and he yelled again. I thought to myself, "Well this could be interesting" as I set a can of soup with a spoon down right in front of him. I told him simply, "This is for you." He grabbed the can of soup and pulled it close to him. I turned to walk back to my car not knowing if the can was going to be thrown at the back of my head. I got to my car and started to drive on down the street. As I drove by where he was sitting on the sidewalk I could see he had already opened the can and was starting to eat out of it. Perhaps a meal in his stomach would calm him down.
I headed on down to skid row and this time found a place to park in front of the police station. Three weeks ago I had noticed a sign on the roof of a corner building on 6th and Los Angeles St. advertising for blankets. I decided to walk down there and check it out. It was still light out, probably around 4:30 p.m. The retail stores in the area were starting to close up, but there were still a lot of people walking around. Los Angeles Street, in particular, was filled with people walking around. I looked from the sidewalk at several of the stores. Most of them in that section were selling various combinations of fabric, rugs, comforters and blankets. None looked to have the kind of blankets I was looking for. I looked across the street at the stores over there and was just about to cross the street when a man came up to me and asked for some help. He had just arrived from Tuscon, Arizona the day before (probably arrived at the El Paso/LA bus depot across from the police station). He had spent the night in the lobby of the police station after he had been beaten up and robbed of the $800.00 he had on him. The police wouldn't let him leave until morning because they feared he might be attacked again by the same people thinking he had more money on him (which he didn't). He was trying to sell me his watch for $3 because he didn't have any money left and didn't want to just ask for a hand-out. I told him I come downtown once a week to help people out just like him, but the food I had was back in my car, parked in front of the police station. So as we walked back to my car together he told me his recent difficulties. He was 63 years old and was a church-going man all his life and was hoping to become an ordained minister. He told me when he saw me he felt the Lord telling him to "Go talk to this man." I gave him some food and clothing. He had a traveling bag and a jacket, but couldn't carry very much more, otherwise I would have given him more food. I gave him the last $10 I had on me and told him to keep his watch. He may need it another day. We prayed, hugged and prayed somemore. He was so thankful that he followed God's 'instructions' (so was I) and approached me for help.
When I left the area and started to process the trip on the way home, I couldn't help but think back to the morning's message at church and how, the prophet Malachi was telling the people to keep following the Lord and His ways that it does make a difference. What would have happened to this man, his name is Everett Whaley, if I hadn't gone down there. What would have happened if Everett hadn't been obedient and approached me for help. Yes, God could have used someone else to help him. But this way, we both know he was helped. We were both blessed and encouraged by the encounter. It was a privilege to be a part of it.--Until next week--John
Monday, October 31, 2011
10/30/2011-Downtown-Don't Pass Me By
"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind and you will be blessed. Although, they cannot repay you, you will be repayed..." --Luke 14:13-14
It had been nearly eleven months since I did the last barbecue downtown. Yesterday would be the last Sunday of daylight savings time so I picked this weekend to do it again. I had told Willie and Tara Lee that this weekend we'd do it and to invite their friends to come. I even had to go downtown last Wednesday for a work issue and when I was done I drove by their alley to remind them again about the barbecue. Now just so you know, I'm a pretty normal person and I worried about the turn-out the rest of the week. It's quite a project to get all the stuff purchased and in the car and not forget something. Would anyone besides Willie and Tara be there? Would they even be there? It's possible they could be run-off by then. Would too many people show up and I wouldn't have enough food? Jesus may be able to feed the five thousand on five loaves of bread and a couple of fish, but I'm not used to hamburgers multiplying. "Oh Lord, please show up and make this go right!" Well, the day arrived and I packed up my car. I got half-way down there and realized I had everything but the charcoal briquets. Yes I had some at home, but not in the car. I had told them I'd be there between 2 and 3 p.m. Well I would have been there at 2 p.m. but now I was going to have to find a store and buy the briquets. I knew there was a Smart and Final store down there, but wouldn't you know it I couldn't find it now that I was looking for it. I decided to drive by the alley and tell my friends what was happening. As I drove down the alley, EJ was waving to me. Chris was there too and they had set up a coffee table with some newspapers on top of it for me to set up shop. I told them what was happening and they told me where there was a store nearby where I could buy the briquets. On my way out of the alley a woman was standing near a building and she asked me, "Am I too late?" I told her "No, I just need to go to the store real quick and I'll be right back." When I got back it was about 2:45 p.m., she wasn't there but about 8 or 9 men were there. A couple of them I didn't know, but most of them I did know. I had been a little concerned about how to do everything without a table, and the coffee table was a big help, but I could have used a much larger (and higher) table. Anyway, logistically it all worked out, a few other people came by and end the end there were about a dozen people served. You know I had always wanted to do this with a group of homeless folks, but figured that I would have to always set up shop at several different locations to reach people because they don't have transportation. Well, by getting the word out and letting the people that I do know spread the word to their friends it works out OK. We had potato chips, hamburgers, sausages, canned vegetables, cookies and chilled water and soda. Of course, before I left I gave out some chocolate candy for "Halloween".
OK, enough about the logistics....so what really happened? When we think about barbecues, whether they were with our families or with our friends, we usually remember them as being a good time. I so much wanted this day to be a good time and a family-type time for these people. Chris told me he was so looking forward to the barbecue all week that he had gotten there in the morning because he didn't want to miss it. I had wanted to video record some clips, but it just didn't work-out this time. I had bought a small camera on the way down there to do it, but we couldn't figure it out in time to do it. One of the guys yesterday, they call he "Dreds" because he wears his hair that way was able to figure out how to get the camera to take pictures so we could look at them. He told me I had helped him and his girlfriend in this same alley earlier this year. Some of the other guys who came by later I had helped out from time to time. They all knew me, but I didn't recognize all of them right away. When I prayed before we ate, I thanked God for always providing for us. I acknowledged that sometimes the provision comes later than we sometimes hope for and sometimes it isn't what we expected, but we're still standing (there were a lot of groans of acknowledgement at this point) and I still thanked God for that provision. When I finished Tara started singing the chorus to the song, "Don't pass me by". I wasn't real familiar with the song, but looked it up on youtube today. There are a few versions of it, including one done with a mime acting it out (yeah I know you don't like mimes). However, it was this version that finally got the message of the song through to me. It is basically the story of the blind man on the side of the road who won't keep quiet when he hears Jesus is passing by. He makes such a noise to get Jesus' attention that the people standing around tell him to shut-up, but he refuses to keep quiet. Jesus ends up healing the man as He passes by. From a homeless man's perspective it was quite a poignant moment yesterday. Everyone clapped. I told them the last song we sang at church yesterday was "everyone's" favorite song. Someone burted out, "Amazing Grace?" I said, "That's the one." I also told them about something I saw in church that morning that reminded me of them. Before the service starts there is a screen where the announcements are given about upcoming events. One of the screens was an announcemnt for a group for Moms where they get together to pray for their kids and each other. The picture on the screen was of a half a dozen small children with the line, "Mom will you pray for us?" When I saw it I thought of my friends downtown. I told them yesterday, that "I know the police can be your best friend and your worst enemy and so can other homeless people. They too can be your best friend and your worst enemy. I want you to know that I'm your friend and I always pray for you." They told me they knew it and always feel blessed when I come by. I was humbled.
It was about 5:30 p.m. when the last burger was eaten and I then started packing the car up. As is my custom, I prayed with them before leaving. I prayed about how hard the rules and scriptures in the Old Testament are to understand and follow, but how thankful we are that God sent His Son to show us, by example, how to live. It was a memorable day. Everyone ate till they were full, everyone enjoyed the time and there were no harsh words spoken by anyone. It was truly amazing. I give all the praise and glory to God, for without Him I couldn't do this. For it's times like yesterday, that I needed God's Spirit to show up and work on our hearts. I started this ministry because I just wanted to be near were God was working. My only wish is that I had started doing this years sooner. As I have grown spiritually during these last two and a half years, the goal now each week is to simply bring the Kingdom of God to these people, if only for a short time. Yesterday it really happened. --Until next time. John
P.S. I had three cooked burgers left in the end. I stopped by where John Stokes and David live under the freeway on Elwood St. They got the last of them. John has been sick lately and very weak. He didn't have enough energy to go to the Jack in the Box and hustle money for a burger. It's great when even the left-overs meet peoples needs. Below are some pictures from the barbecue.
The picture on the left is of Willie, Chis, EJ and Dred. The one on the right is Willie, Me, Chris and EJ in the front. Dred took the picture. The one below is of Prince and Chris.
It had been nearly eleven months since I did the last barbecue downtown. Yesterday would be the last Sunday of daylight savings time so I picked this weekend to do it again. I had told Willie and Tara Lee that this weekend we'd do it and to invite their friends to come. I even had to go downtown last Wednesday for a work issue and when I was done I drove by their alley to remind them again about the barbecue. Now just so you know, I'm a pretty normal person and I worried about the turn-out the rest of the week. It's quite a project to get all the stuff purchased and in the car and not forget something. Would anyone besides Willie and Tara be there? Would they even be there? It's possible they could be run-off by then. Would too many people show up and I wouldn't have enough food? Jesus may be able to feed the five thousand on five loaves of bread and a couple of fish, but I'm not used to hamburgers multiplying. "Oh Lord, please show up and make this go right!" Well, the day arrived and I packed up my car. I got half-way down there and realized I had everything but the charcoal briquets. Yes I had some at home, but not in the car. I had told them I'd be there between 2 and 3 p.m. Well I would have been there at 2 p.m. but now I was going to have to find a store and buy the briquets. I knew there was a Smart and Final store down there, but wouldn't you know it I couldn't find it now that I was looking for it. I decided to drive by the alley and tell my friends what was happening. As I drove down the alley, EJ was waving to me. Chris was there too and they had set up a coffee table with some newspapers on top of it for me to set up shop. I told them what was happening and they told me where there was a store nearby where I could buy the briquets. On my way out of the alley a woman was standing near a building and she asked me, "Am I too late?" I told her "No, I just need to go to the store real quick and I'll be right back." When I got back it was about 2:45 p.m., she wasn't there but about 8 or 9 men were there. A couple of them I didn't know, but most of them I did know. I had been a little concerned about how to do everything without a table, and the coffee table was a big help, but I could have used a much larger (and higher) table. Anyway, logistically it all worked out, a few other people came by and end the end there were about a dozen people served. You know I had always wanted to do this with a group of homeless folks, but figured that I would have to always set up shop at several different locations to reach people because they don't have transportation. Well, by getting the word out and letting the people that I do know spread the word to their friends it works out OK. We had potato chips, hamburgers, sausages, canned vegetables, cookies and chilled water and soda. Of course, before I left I gave out some chocolate candy for "Halloween".
OK, enough about the logistics....so what really happened? When we think about barbecues, whether they were with our families or with our friends, we usually remember them as being a good time. I so much wanted this day to be a good time and a family-type time for these people. Chris told me he was so looking forward to the barbecue all week that he had gotten there in the morning because he didn't want to miss it. I had wanted to video record some clips, but it just didn't work-out this time. I had bought a small camera on the way down there to do it, but we couldn't figure it out in time to do it. One of the guys yesterday, they call he "Dreds" because he wears his hair that way was able to figure out how to get the camera to take pictures so we could look at them. He told me I had helped him and his girlfriend in this same alley earlier this year. Some of the other guys who came by later I had helped out from time to time. They all knew me, but I didn't recognize all of them right away. When I prayed before we ate, I thanked God for always providing for us. I acknowledged that sometimes the provision comes later than we sometimes hope for and sometimes it isn't what we expected, but we're still standing (there were a lot of groans of acknowledgement at this point) and I still thanked God for that provision. When I finished Tara started singing the chorus to the song, "Don't pass me by". I wasn't real familiar with the song, but looked it up on youtube today. There are a few versions of it, including one done with a mime acting it out (yeah I know you don't like mimes). However, it was this version that finally got the message of the song through to me. It is basically the story of the blind man on the side of the road who won't keep quiet when he hears Jesus is passing by. He makes such a noise to get Jesus' attention that the people standing around tell him to shut-up, but he refuses to keep quiet. Jesus ends up healing the man as He passes by. From a homeless man's perspective it was quite a poignant moment yesterday. Everyone clapped. I told them the last song we sang at church yesterday was "everyone's" favorite song. Someone burted out, "Amazing Grace?" I said, "That's the one." I also told them about something I saw in church that morning that reminded me of them. Before the service starts there is a screen where the announcements are given about upcoming events. One of the screens was an announcemnt for a group for Moms where they get together to pray for their kids and each other. The picture on the screen was of a half a dozen small children with the line, "Mom will you pray for us?" When I saw it I thought of my friends downtown. I told them yesterday, that "I know the police can be your best friend and your worst enemy and so can other homeless people. They too can be your best friend and your worst enemy. I want you to know that I'm your friend and I always pray for you." They told me they knew it and always feel blessed when I come by. I was humbled.
It was about 5:30 p.m. when the last burger was eaten and I then started packing the car up. As is my custom, I prayed with them before leaving. I prayed about how hard the rules and scriptures in the Old Testament are to understand and follow, but how thankful we are that God sent His Son to show us, by example, how to live. It was a memorable day. Everyone ate till they were full, everyone enjoyed the time and there were no harsh words spoken by anyone. It was truly amazing. I give all the praise and glory to God, for without Him I couldn't do this. For it's times like yesterday, that I needed God's Spirit to show up and work on our hearts. I started this ministry because I just wanted to be near were God was working. My only wish is that I had started doing this years sooner. As I have grown spiritually during these last two and a half years, the goal now each week is to simply bring the Kingdom of God to these people, if only for a short time. Yesterday it really happened. --Until next time. John
P.S. I had three cooked burgers left in the end. I stopped by where John Stokes and David live under the freeway on Elwood St. They got the last of them. John has been sick lately and very weak. He didn't have enough energy to go to the Jack in the Box and hustle money for a burger. It's great when even the left-overs meet peoples needs. Below are some pictures from the barbecue.
The picture on the left is of Willie, Chis, EJ and Dred. The one on the right is Willie, Me, Chris and EJ in the front. Dred took the picture. The one below is of Prince and Chris.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Downtown 10/23/2011
When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, don't go back to get it, it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings. --Deuteronomy 24:19
Last week was my first week with my new day schedule at work. This means I finish my work week on Saturday night and actually have a normal sleep schedule. So I had't quite decided what to do about this week's trip. Whether to continue to go in the evening, focusing on the streets near skid row and buy food when I got down there or revert back to the way I used to do it and buy bags of food supplies to last someone several days (instead of just one meal). While resting in the afternoon (I'm still used to sleeping in the afternoons) a friend came by with some loaves of bread and other food supplies like I used to bring! Well, that settled it. I still didn't make it down there until close to dusk, but I went with the loaves of bread, cans of soup and cookies supplies. He also had three jars of peanut butter and that proved to be a hit with some of the folks too. With peanut butter and a loaf of bread, one can eat for several days.
I arrived shortly after 6 p.m. but there wasn't going to be much daylight left. I started by going to Lincoln Park (I hadn't been there in months) and saw Ceasar begging on the corner by the park. He got the first bag and I noticed when he thanked me that his english is improving. He immediately walked away and started eating stuff from the bag. It looked like he probably hadn't eaten all day. I looked for Phillip and Nancy and even Luis, but no one else was around the park area that I knew. I left there and drove back into the downtown area and found Robert on 4th St. just off Alameda. He was just standing around there, kind of shuffling because it was starting to get cold. He had on two light-weight jackets. I asked him if he was hungry and he told me he was. After giving him some food and water I asked if there was anything else he needed. He told me he could use a blanket if I had one, but all I had were sweaters. I looked around in the trunk for the largest one I could find and put that around his shoulders. Usually, I've been passing food through the window to Robert, so since I was standing outside next to him I took the opportunity to pray with him. I asked what size pants he wore and told him I'd start looking for a pair his size to bring to him. Robert lives across the street from a very small gas station/truck stop and exists off the generosity of the people passing by in the area. On the weekends, it's pretty deserted. I'm sure he goes without food a lot.
I drove across town using 14th and Pico streets to get to Olive St. I gave another bag of food out to a man named Rodrick on 14th. When I got to Olive St, I didn't see anyone at the spots where the homeless usually hang-out so I went on down to skid row and parked in front of the police station. A block before the police station I noticed at least a dozen cars parked on the left side of the street with their flashers flashing and crowds of people on the sidewalk. After parking I walked back there to see what was going on. As I got out of the car, a man was just walking up from that area and said, "They're giving out stuff!" He had only gotten a couple of nutri-bars and so I asked him if he needed some food, his name was Art. He told me he did, (I'm still not certain why he didn't get more from the people on the other block) so I gave him a bag of food. This was one of the bags with a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. When he saw the peanut butter he got so excited you would have thought I'd given him a hundred bucks! I told him I usually don't give out food without praying for the person, so he gladly accepted the prayer too. I walked on down to the other block to see what was going on. It looked like a church group had brought down a bunch of supplies to hand-out to the homeless people. They were pretty much all college-age people. After standing around and observing for awhile I walked back to where my car was. I had seen a man sitting on the steps by the police station when I first pulled up and now I slowly started up a conversation with him while continuing to watch what was going on back down the street. His name was Terry and we talked for probably thirty minutes. He was originally from the Hollywood area, but moved to the Detroit area as a child. He had been back out here now for over 10 years. It turns out he had been to college, including some bible colleges back there that I wasn't familiar with. He had even been involved in missions work through these colleges. Somewhere along the line, he became disillusioned with the directon these organizations were going. I don't think he lost his faith, but he certainly lost faith in the institutions. We prayed together and hugged. I think he felt a lot better when I left.
As I left the area I gave out the last two bags of food to some homeless people on the corner of Wall St and about 9th St. The man's name was Derek and the woman's name was Jamaica (probably not her real name). The man was obviously homeless (he had a shopping cart, right?), but the woman, really didn't look the part. It's at times like this that I think about motives and how pure my own motives are when I pray and ask God for him to get involved in whatever it is I'm asking about. Does he look at me and my requests the same way I looked at this woman and her request? I'm sure I've given away food and other items to people who just wanted to know what they could get from me. Hopefully, in most of those cases the items ended up in the hands of people who did need them. In my case, I wonder if the silence I experience from God, is really not so silent. Is he answering in a way to draw a deeper and more engaging conversation/relationship with me and I just go on about my life unaware? I think these encounters with the homeless take on a more far-reaching importance than what I see in the moment.
Before leaving the area I prayer-walked on Cloud Nine Alley. Ray's spot seems to be unlived in for a few days. Pastor Rodriguez was preaching, but I didn't go inside. I did stop by the alley where Willie and Tara Lee live. Since there is only one more weekend of daylight savings time we set up this next weekend to do a barbecue. I told them I'd be there between 2-3p.m and to invite their friends. We'll see how it goes. Please pray that I can reach a group of people with God's love. Until next week. John
Last week was my first week with my new day schedule at work. This means I finish my work week on Saturday night and actually have a normal sleep schedule. So I had't quite decided what to do about this week's trip. Whether to continue to go in the evening, focusing on the streets near skid row and buy food when I got down there or revert back to the way I used to do it and buy bags of food supplies to last someone several days (instead of just one meal). While resting in the afternoon (I'm still used to sleeping in the afternoons) a friend came by with some loaves of bread and other food supplies like I used to bring! Well, that settled it. I still didn't make it down there until close to dusk, but I went with the loaves of bread, cans of soup and cookies supplies. He also had three jars of peanut butter and that proved to be a hit with some of the folks too. With peanut butter and a loaf of bread, one can eat for several days.
I arrived shortly after 6 p.m. but there wasn't going to be much daylight left. I started by going to Lincoln Park (I hadn't been there in months) and saw Ceasar begging on the corner by the park. He got the first bag and I noticed when he thanked me that his english is improving. He immediately walked away and started eating stuff from the bag. It looked like he probably hadn't eaten all day. I looked for Phillip and Nancy and even Luis, but no one else was around the park area that I knew. I left there and drove back into the downtown area and found Robert on 4th St. just off Alameda. He was just standing around there, kind of shuffling because it was starting to get cold. He had on two light-weight jackets. I asked him if he was hungry and he told me he was. After giving him some food and water I asked if there was anything else he needed. He told me he could use a blanket if I had one, but all I had were sweaters. I looked around in the trunk for the largest one I could find and put that around his shoulders. Usually, I've been passing food through the window to Robert, so since I was standing outside next to him I took the opportunity to pray with him. I asked what size pants he wore and told him I'd start looking for a pair his size to bring to him. Robert lives across the street from a very small gas station/truck stop and exists off the generosity of the people passing by in the area. On the weekends, it's pretty deserted. I'm sure he goes without food a lot.
I drove across town using 14th and Pico streets to get to Olive St. I gave another bag of food out to a man named Rodrick on 14th. When I got to Olive St, I didn't see anyone at the spots where the homeless usually hang-out so I went on down to skid row and parked in front of the police station. A block before the police station I noticed at least a dozen cars parked on the left side of the street with their flashers flashing and crowds of people on the sidewalk. After parking I walked back there to see what was going on. As I got out of the car, a man was just walking up from that area and said, "They're giving out stuff!" He had only gotten a couple of nutri-bars and so I asked him if he needed some food, his name was Art. He told me he did, (I'm still not certain why he didn't get more from the people on the other block) so I gave him a bag of food. This was one of the bags with a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter. When he saw the peanut butter he got so excited you would have thought I'd given him a hundred bucks! I told him I usually don't give out food without praying for the person, so he gladly accepted the prayer too. I walked on down to the other block to see what was going on. It looked like a church group had brought down a bunch of supplies to hand-out to the homeless people. They were pretty much all college-age people. After standing around and observing for awhile I walked back to where my car was. I had seen a man sitting on the steps by the police station when I first pulled up and now I slowly started up a conversation with him while continuing to watch what was going on back down the street. His name was Terry and we talked for probably thirty minutes. He was originally from the Hollywood area, but moved to the Detroit area as a child. He had been back out here now for over 10 years. It turns out he had been to college, including some bible colleges back there that I wasn't familiar with. He had even been involved in missions work through these colleges. Somewhere along the line, he became disillusioned with the directon these organizations were going. I don't think he lost his faith, but he certainly lost faith in the institutions. We prayed together and hugged. I think he felt a lot better when I left.
As I left the area I gave out the last two bags of food to some homeless people on the corner of Wall St and about 9th St. The man's name was Derek and the woman's name was Jamaica (probably not her real name). The man was obviously homeless (he had a shopping cart, right?), but the woman, really didn't look the part. It's at times like this that I think about motives and how pure my own motives are when I pray and ask God for him to get involved in whatever it is I'm asking about. Does he look at me and my requests the same way I looked at this woman and her request? I'm sure I've given away food and other items to people who just wanted to know what they could get from me. Hopefully, in most of those cases the items ended up in the hands of people who did need them. In my case, I wonder if the silence I experience from God, is really not so silent. Is he answering in a way to draw a deeper and more engaging conversation/relationship with me and I just go on about my life unaware? I think these encounters with the homeless take on a more far-reaching importance than what I see in the moment.
Before leaving the area I prayer-walked on Cloud Nine Alley. Ray's spot seems to be unlived in for a few days. Pastor Rodriguez was preaching, but I didn't go inside. I did stop by the alley where Willie and Tara Lee live. Since there is only one more weekend of daylight savings time we set up this next weekend to do a barbecue. I told them I'd be there between 2-3p.m and to invite their friends. We'll see how it goes. Please pray that I can reach a group of people with God's love. Until next week. John
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
