Downtown 10/17/2010

I was able to get downtown a little earlier this Sunday, around 10:30 a.m. It drizzled the whole way down there and then off and on when I got there. I have been trying to meet up with Luis across from Lincoln Park the last few weeks. I had gotten a new pair of jeans for him and hadn't been able to give them to him yet. Sunday he was there and we had quite a conversation together. He was laying down all covered up when I arrived (remember it was drizzling) but got up immediately when he saw me. He told me he was glad I came because he didn't have any bread or food or anything. I asked him if his friend that he did the work for a few weeks back ever came by to pay him and he said he did but only gave him $5.00. I told him that the last time I saw him the pants he had on didn't seem to fit very well. He said, "Oh, you noticed that, huh?" I asked if a pair of jeans 34 x 32 would fit and he looked at me kind of funny and said, "Yeah, that's my size." It was kind of cool to give him a pair with all the tags and everything still on them. We looked through the car trunk and came up with some socks and shirts and stuff along with the food and water. He was quite happy. Then the conversation got really interesting. Apparently, somebody had told him that the weather was going to start getting cold and he probably would be better off going back to his family. I confirmed that the weather was going to get really cold by the end of December and that the rainy season here in California is October through April. October and November can be cold at night (around 50 degrees) but during the day the temperatures can get up into the 90's without a cloud in the sky. I then asked about his family and what were the chances of him going back to them. He told me that it would be kind of embarrassing for him to go back because of what had happened. He briefly told me that the Mom (I gathered this was not his biological family) and he had gotten into an arguement. He said it was hard for him to not say what was on his mind when someone was giving him a hard time. He said, "I have a mouth, but sometimes I don't use the right words." I acknowledged the difficulties with keeping one's temper and tongue in check (see James chapter 3). I also told him that he must release the bitterness and anger that he has towards his Mom. I briefly told him about one of the trips downtown that I had a few months back when someone in another car started yelling at me because I didn't take off right away when the light turned green. Although I didn't respond to the other driver I was pretty angry inside. I told Luis that I decided to read a section in the bible where Jesus talks about the people who make up His kingdom. In Jesus' message He tells us to pray for our enemies and although I didn't want to do it I decided to pray for that guy anyway and as soon as I did the anger was released from me. I realized that guy was just caught up in the moment of being in a hurry and I've been there before too. As soon as I realized this the anger went away. I then told Luis that although I don't know the particulars about his situation, if he starts praying for his Mom and his own heart he will be amazed at what God can do. At this point I asked Luis if I had given him a gospel of John booklet before and he said no, so I gave him one and we prayed together. You know I don't really remember exactly what I prayed with him about, I sure it was connected to his relationship with his Mom and family and I probably ended with asking for God's presence in his life and heart. When I finished he said, "I'd like to thank him (God) for sending someone to me." I was stunned and humbled. I told him it was a privilege to be the one sent. During our conversation Luis told me his last name was Ibarra. I told him I was Irish and my last name was O'Connor and a little bit about what the "O" means and that on St Patrick's Day everyone has an "O" in front of their last name, so "Your name would be O'Ibarra". When we parted I said, "Alright Luis, I'll see you later." He said, "That's Luis with an "O"! It was an encounter I'll never forget.
I took Mission Blvd back into town and near 4th St I found Ronald from New Orleans. It was still drizzling some and he was all covered up, but he got up pretty quickly too when he realized I was there to help (see photo). Many of the people I saw Sunday needed jeans but the only pair I had I gave to Luis. Ronald told me he had been traveling around across the country for the last couple of
years. He was down here from Portland trying to get a job through some government program. I was give Ronald all the help I had to give with the clothes and food but I didn't sense any real connection with him. However, I prayed with him before leaving and as I asked for God's blessing in Jesus' name he repeated, "In Jesus' name" with me. I guess you never really know what may be in someone's heart.
Just a couple of blocks away from Ronald was Carlos. I may have met Carlos before, I'm not real sure. He was walking by himself with a couple of small bags with recyclables in them. He was happy and thankful for the help. We had quite a discussion about work and the economy on his level. He said that he goes to an office downtown during the weekdays at 6:00 a.m. to sign up for work. Sometimes there is work for a day or two days maybe even a week at a time, but lately there has been nothing. I told him that may change as we approach the Christmas season. He told me he lives with 7 or 8 other homeless people near Hope St under the freeway. He is 63 and expects to have to work to get by, What he doesn't understand are the people (particularly the ones who live on skid row) who don't work and have no ambition to work. He said, "Some are so young and they don't work". Carlos obviously has the same mentality about working that our grandparents and their grandparents had when they came to this country. We need more people here like him. When I prayed with him, he took his cap off and then thanked me for stopping to help him.
On the other side of the 4th St bridge from Carlos was Michael Wayne, I've helped Michael a few times recently. He is leaving at the end of the month for Portland to live in a Veterans Housing project. It's designed to serve as a rehab and training center for veterans. Michael desparately needs this help at this stage in his life. It was somewhat ironic that Ronald just left Portland for a government program down here and Michael is leaving for a government program up there. I talked with Michael for probably thirty minutes and towards the end a car pulled up. Probably an older model Toyota Corolla I'm guessing. There was a family in it, the man and woman probably in their mid-thirties and a daughter of about 10 years or so. They stopped and got out and they gave Michael a bottle of water and a bag with, I think, some toiletries of some kind. It may have had some food in it, I'm not really sure. It was the first time I saw anyone else offer to help a homeless person and what made it so surprising was that it was a family and not just one person by themself. I was impressed.
After leaving Michael I drove around a little more in that area. I've included some pictures of where some people live under the freeway there at First St. There wasn't anyone home at either of the places where people had set up camp. (See the
photos). After getting out and walking around there and down by the railroad
tracks I was struck by how the homeless can find any out-of-the-way place and make it their home. Then I looked up at the bridge and saw that tree growing in the
crevice, probably 30 feet or more above the ground. It's amazing the places that can make-up a home, for plants and people.

I started over towards Cloud 9 Alley and along the way was able to help Dorothy and Lance. The last time I saw Dorothy she was on Olive St on the sidewalk. Sunday she was on Wall St just off Washington Blvd. I noticed she had on a heavy full length coat with sandals and a very dirty pair of socks. In addition to the food and water I gave her a pair of tennis shoes and several pairs of new socks. While I sat with her she put the shoes and socks on. She never looked up at me but she did thank me several times. She was from the midwest. I had to refrain from saying, "Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore." She's probably heard it a million times. Lance, was walking down Broadway St near 11th pushing a shopping cart. He had just stopped at a small trash can and was about to go through it when I called out to him from my car. Lance was from Santa Monica, I'm guessing him to be in his early sixties. He was surprised to meet another native Californian in me.
With that I crossed over Washington Blvd and parked by Cloud 9 Alley. There were a lot of cars parked around there and Rafael's church was just letting out. I

saw Rafael coming out and he told me he was headed to Lynwood to preach in a church there and would be back at 5 p.m. to preach here again. I've included photos of the front of his church here on Los Angeles St. Just to the right of the building in that parking lot is where Gary lives. Gary and I talked for awhile Sunday too. He had noticed that I didn't seem as "up" as I usually am and I confided to him some of the struggles of the week. So then he prayed for me! Wow, that was great to have him do that for me. When I left he called out after me and said, "Hey, it's good to see you have shoes on today." We laughed about that one and then he said, "I love you man" Can you believe it? I think this area is changing already. God is awesome. --Until next week. John

Downtown 10/10/10

Sunday's trip downtown seemed pretty normal until I got to the alley between Main and Los Angeles streets where I've been prayer walking. At that point the day's trip changed from an average trip to a memorable one. I had come into L.A. by way of Long Beach and came up the Harbor Freeway. I had gotten off at Florence Ave and drove north into the downtown area. I found one guy sleeping on a street corner (with a patch over his eye) but he wasn't interested in any help, so I continued on towards the I-10 and turned onto 18th St. I parked and was able to help a man by the name of Edward and while I was helping him Jackie came over to where we were. Edward wasn't very talkative and when Jackie came over he left. I've helped Jackie a couple of times recently. She seemed somewhat bummed out and I asked her how things were going. She told me her cat of 13 years (Chloe) had died the week before. I asked if I could pray for her and she initially declined but then said, "Well, OK if you want to." I simply asked God to comfort her during this time of grief. She said her cat had been with her through a lot of changes and referred to their early years as, "When I had my life together." Somehow her life has gotten off track and now she is standing on a street corner by a freeway asking for hand-outs. She's probably around 40 years old and seems like such a lost little girl.
A couple of miles away from where Jackie was along the same freeway but near San Pedro St. I found Terry from Dallas and Robert from Atlanta. They were about twenty yards away from each other and both under the I-10 freeway alone. Terry was at least my age and had a few possessions but Robert had almost nothing. He was 41 years old. Along with the food and water they received Robert got a blanket too. The amount of trash and broken glass around them was appalling.
The next person I was able to help was John Stokes from Atlanta. John was one of the first homeless men I met when I began these trips downtown. He was the one I sat down and asked, "What do homeless people need?" I was so new at the time I didn't know very much about their needs. He was the one that told me, "Water, socks and a clean blanket." Well, John received all those yesterday again. Since it has started to get colder he struggles with arthritis in his legs during these times. The police took away his mattress so he sleeps on the sidewalk with only a couple of other blankets between him and the ground.
Last week I met Robert just off Alameda St near 4th St. for the first time. He wasn't too talkative last week but yesterday I saw him again and he actually seemed happy to see me. He was standing almost at exactly the same place as last week. He told me he had eaten everything in the bag from last week. As I drove around the block I saw a couple of blankets on the ground up against one of the buildings. I wondered if that's where he sleeps at night.
I drove over to where Luis sleeps by Lincoln Park but he wasn't there again although his stuff was. I had gotten another pair of jeans for him but will have to keep checking back to give them to him. Along the way back through town I met Costica Vrable near skid row. He said he remembered me but I didn't remember him. He is from Romania and speaks with an heavy accent. The last man I helped was Jessie and he was right there on the outskirts of skid row too. I know I've helped him a few times before because after receiving the bag of food he asked it I had some water too!
At this point all the bags of food were gone and I headed over to Cloud 9 (the alley between Main St and Los Angeles St). There were three men sleeping on the sidewalk of the small street where I park my car. I had some cans of food to give them (I've learned to bring extra stuff each week) but I thought I'd wait until I was ready to leave before giving it to them because they might be awake then. I walked up Los Angeles St and as I got to the new church there were three men standing outside by their cars. As I walked up and said hello one of the men came forward to talk. It turned out his name was Rafael and he is the pastor of this new church. I asked him if I could pray with him for his new church thinking we would stand right there on the sidewalk but instead he invited me inside. I told him how I had started prayer-walking in the back alley of his church four weeks ago when they were first looking at the building. It was pretty exciting to learn that we have both been praying for revival in this area. He told me he came to this country in 1973 (he's 61 now) and was saved in 1977. He has been through a lot and traveled extensively preaching in South America and here in North America too. He had reached the point where traveling was getting to be too much for him and he felt led by the Lord to establish a church here. He has been a pastor of a church near Florence and Broadway in the past and one other one in the downtown area years ago. He told me about the two radio programs he has here locally. I asked if they were both in Spanish and he said yes. I said, "No English, huh?" and he replied, "No English. That's your job!" He also told me his philosophy of pastoring is to preach evangelically and pray for the Spirit to fill the people and empower them to go out and reach the people in the community. What a concept! This is the way the church grew in the first century. He said his radio program has already started to reach people who live nearby and they are coming to the services. We both were getting very excited talking about revival for this area and I asked him to pray for me before I left. I've got to learn Spanish because I don't have any idea what he prayed! It was an inspiring fifteen or twenty minutes we spent together and I told him I'd check back each week when I prayer-walk in that area. What an exciting thing to see God working here. Before leaving downtown I walked around the block and down "Cloud 9 Alley". Gary was waiting for me when I got to his place. We talked for quite a while and ended up talking about his Mother, Marilyn. She lives in Atlanta too. I prayed with Gary about his family situation and specifically for his Mom. I also told him family was usually the best if not only option for getting off the streets. He told me he needed to call her. Maybe next time we'll get to do that. As I left Gary a kitten had walked up to us in the alley. Gary said the
kitten's name was Tyson. I took their picture together. It seems somewhat ironic that the trip started with Jackie losing her cat and Gary having a kitten. As I
walked back to the car the three men who had been sleeping on the sidewalk weren't there anymore. Perhaps next week I'll see them again. --Until then. John

Downtown 10/3/2010

Sometimes a need of one of the people I encounter stays with me all week and I try and meet that need and find them the next week. Such was the case this week. Last week you may recall the first encounter was with a young man named Luis who lives in a gulley across the street from Lincoln Park. He is the one who helped a friend of his for three days (helping him move) and then wasn't paid anything for his time and effort. I had noticed while we talked that his pants were too big and I decided to get him a new pair that fit. So I took off Sunday with a new pair (guessing that a pair size 34 x 32 would fit) in hopes of finding him. However, when I arrived there he was nowhere to be found and I didn't see Phillip or Nancy either. I decided I'd come back by at the end of the trip and maybe he would be there then. With that I went over to Mission Rd to see if I could find Marsela and her dog Moses but again came up empty on that search too. While driving in that deserted industrial area I did find a man digging through a dumpster. His name was Pedro Cruz and he was from Arizona. He spoke very little English but I think he wanted to make sure that I didn't think he was an illegal immigrant. After digging through his pockets he showed me a picture ID from an Arizona Mission Outreach. My feeling is if I find a man digging through a dumpster I think he has bigger issues than whether he's legal to be here or not and my Christian responsibility is to help meet his immediate needs. After giving him a bag of food and some water he was very happy and I think greatly relieved. He even wanted to know, "Are you a Padre?"
Not too far from Pedro I found Richard off Alameda Blvd. I'm not sure if I've ever seen this Richard before. He is a very typical looking homeless person. I'm guessing him to be about 65 years old with very matted hair, a fairly large frame and the smell of homelessness abounding about him. He looked tired and worn out and spoke in a very soft voice. I felt so privileged to put my hand on his shoulder and pray for him. I doubt if any "normal" people ever talk to him much anymore. As I left he had started eating out of the can of soup in the bag of food I left with him. I wondered how long it had been since he had a decent meal.
I drove around for a while after this. I've been trying to find Darrel Roberts who I met a month ago at one of the corners of Pershing Square Park, but I didn't find him today either. I did find a homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk near Central Ave and Pico. His name was Fredrick. When I parked and got out and started walking towards him he got up. I think he thought I was going to run him off. I asked if he needed any food or water but he declined both. I then asked if he needed any socks. That got his interest and he said, "You got any?" I told him I did and opened the trunk of my car. He ended up with the socks and a T-shirt. I again asked him if he needed any food or water but again he said he didn't. His clothes were pretty dirty and he didn't have much in his shopping cart (mostly just recyclables). Before leaving Fredrick I prayed with him and told him to keep an eye out for me since I come around every week. Maybe the next time he'll need more help from me.
Eventually, I ended up going down the alley off Hooper St where Willie and Tara Lee live. Today there was another man living there with them by the name of Chris. They were all sleeping when I pulled up. It had started to cool off (it was about 3-3:30 p.m.) by now and they were all covered up. I noticed Willie didn't have the yellow plastic toddler slide to sleep on anymore. He told me someone had stolen it! The encounter with these three men turned out to be quite memorable. I gave Willie a bag of food and some water and he asked if I could give Chris some too. I said, "Sure" and gave Chris a bag and a gallon of water too. I noticed Chris had on some slippers and asked if he needed some socks. His jaw dropped and he said, "Yes." I then asked if he needed a shirt or anything. He said he could use a big T-shirt (Chris was a pretty big guy). He was standing by the trunk of my car at this point and I had a couple of large T-shirts left out of about 35 or 40 that I had originally. He got the socks, a T-shirt and I had a pair of long shorts that fit too. He asked about shoes and I asked him what size he wore. He told me he wore 12's and I only had 10's in the car except for the pair of 12's that I had on. I told him I'd give him my pair. He was stunned and said, "I think I'm about to cry." He ended up with a blanket too and asked, "You don't have a cap by chance do you?" I said, "Yeah, I have a cap." I had a couple on the floor of the front seat of my car. When I looked I found three, one was a Green Bay Packer cap and I wasn't going to part with that! Besides the Roadway cap was a lot cleaner anyway. He told me that during the daytime the sun has been so hot that the cap will help
alot. He had put everything on at this point and said, "I feel like a new man now! Thank you." (see photo) I took his picture and showed it to him. He said he looked like a big kid. By now Willie wanted to make sure that Tera Lee got some food and water so I took a bag and some water to him. He lives about 10 yards down on the other side of the alley. I asked him if he needed any clothes and he said he could use a long sleeve shirt because he was going to the post office on Monday. I told him I had one just right for him (a bright blue one) and I think I gave him a T-shirt too. By now both Willie and Chris had settled back down on their blankets and were eating and drinking from the water jugs. I heard them comment to each other how nice it was to have good tasting water. They told me that the water they had been drinking tasted so bad due to the pipes it came out of. At this point I usually say, "Let me pray for you before I go." But since they were both sitting down in their 'homes' and quite on the spur of the moment I said, "Let me tell you a story before I go." I had noticed a couple of Bibles in Willie's shopping cart and had already given Chris a Gospel of John booklet. I began to tell them about the Jewish Passover celebration and how during Passover the Jews would live in a tent usually on the roof of their house during Passover week. I explained that they would have a Passover lamb and that this lamb would have to be perfect in order to be used for the Passover celebration and they would generally bring the lamb inside to live with them almost like a pet and the children would become very attached to this lamb. When the lamb was then sacrificed for their sins this became a "real sacrifice" especially for the children and it became something personal to them. I then told them that John the Baptist called Jesus the "Lamb of God" and when we bring this Jesus into our hearts his sacrifice on the cross becomes very personal and real to us too. Chris told me, "Wow, I've never heard it said like that before!" I told them, "Remember, God loves you and so do I. I'll be back by in a few weeks and I'll see you then." I pulled on down and said goodby to Tera Lee as I drove away. It occurred to me that it was the first "sermonette" I had given in an alley downtown. It was pure joy.
I drove south on Central Ave to Washington Blvd and then drove west. When I passed Hill street I saw a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk by himself with a small blue bag. I drove around the block and pulled up next to where he was sitting. I got out and asked if he needed some food. His name was Ron and he originally was from the east coast. I don't exactly remember what clothes I gave him, I know I gave him some socks and a shirt but he kind of surprised me when he asked if I had a belt. The only belt I had was the one I had on and it was my 'best' belt. I then noticed the reason for his request. The pants he had on were, and I'm not exaggerating, at least 10 sizes too big for him. He had to constantly use one hand just to hold them up (see photo). It then occurred to me that I had a pair in the car that might fit (th ones for Luis). I said, "Would a pair of pants size 34 x 32 fit you?" He thought for about 3 seconds and
said, "That's the exact size I wear!" I told him, "Well then take these" and handed him the new pair. I then took his picture and prayed with him. I helped him carry the stuff over to his bag. He told me someone else had helped him earlier that day and pointed to a gospel tract that they had left with him. I told him, "See, God has not forgotten about you." I couldn't help but think that Sunday night when Ron is by himself he has to be amazed about the God who sent two people that day to help him.
From there I drove down to 36th and Broadway to check on the family living in an alley that I know. Sheila and Joe with her brother live in this short alley. I didn't see Sheila but Joe was home and I spoke with him. It turns out they are from Georgia. The last time I had stopped by I didn't have much food left and I wanted to do better this time. Getting by has been a real struggle for these folks and Joe was very appreciative of the help.
Well, I couldn't leave downtown without stopping by the alley where I have been prayer-walking. I drove over there and parked next to the parking lot where Gary lives. He was just coming in from the gate on the alley side of the parking lot. He told me the people with the church in the building next to him have been busy all weekend renovating it. It had been freshly painted on the front of the outside of the building and inside there were now several dozen pews being installed. There were still several workers there and I learned that the pastor's sermons are broadcast down in Mexico on a radio station. Perhaps, that is how they can afford the rent there. Eventually, I prayer-walked down the alley and back down to my car from the Main St. side Remember I was walking in my socks. The alley had been cleaned up remarkably (see photo). I took a couple of pictures in the places where all the debris had been before and then a rather interesting photo of some graffitti with the words "cloud nine". It was a fitting end to a memorable trip. Until next week. --John


P.S. Don't worry about a pair of pants for Luis...I got him another new pair on Monday. Oh, and a pair of shoes for me too.

Downtown 9/26/2010

Rarely, have I had a trip where so many of the folks I met with expressed such pain and sorrow in their lives to me. This was probably one of the most heartbreaking trips I've made, yet I count it as a privilege to have been there to offer comfort and prayer. When I arrived it was 103 degrees at about 1:30 p.m. I tried to find Marsela (and her dog) but didn't see them. I headed over to the Lincoln Park area to find Phillip and Nancy. Before I found them I found Luis. He lives in a gulley by the side of North Main St. about a hundred yards from where Phillip and Nancy live. When I approached Luis I asked him if he needed some water (since it was so hot) but he told me he had the water container that I gave him the last time and he refills it at the park across the street. He asked if I had some bread though. I told him, "Of course, I do." and got him a bag of food out of the car. I asked how he'd been doing since the last time I saw him and he told me he was doing OK but he had just worked for a friend for three days helping him move and then the guy didn't pay him. He was hoping the guy was going to come by Sunday and bring him some money. I thought he was going to ask me for money when instead he asked if I'd pray for him!! I told him that what's I'm here for and asked what the "friend's" name was. I then prayed for Luis and asked God to work on the friend's heart to prompt him to pay Luis what he owed him. With that he pointed across the street to where Phillip and Nancy were. As I started across the street Luis looked into my eyes and said, "Hey, keep doing what you're doing. You're really helping people." I was so humbled.
I crossed the street to where Phillip and Nancy were laying on a blanket in the park. I called out to them and they immediately got up. I asked if they had gotten the food I left for them a month or so ago and they told me they did. I could tell when they stood up they were both pretty high. I told them I had some more food for them and something special I had gotten just for them. Nancy took off toward their "spot/home" and Phillip and I walked back across the street to the car. I gave him a bag of food and then gave him the can opener I had gotten for them. Phillip had told me the first time we met how difficult it was to open up a can without a can opener and how you have to beat on one end of the can against a sharp corner to get it to open up. I'm sure some of the contents of the can are lost in this process. I had also gotten some cans of corn and green beans for them that will need the can opener. Nancy had rejoined us at this point so I prayed for them (it was a group hug when we prayed). When I finished Nancy asked me a question that still shocks me. She said, "Would you pray for us that we could get off drugs!!!" "Absolutely.", I told her and I again put my arms around both of them and prayed that the Lord would be merciful on them and help them to make good decisions in their lives, that this (addiction) is a daily and moment by moment issue that they need help with. When I finished praying, Nancy told me about one time praying to God that He would take away the desire and how she wanted to start the next day fresh. When she woke up she was clear headed and had no need or desire for drugs, but that in the course of the day someone offered her drugs and she relapsed without even thinking about it. I encouraged her to start each day fresh and try to make the best decisions possible each moment and whenever possible--exercise. It really does help. She then picked up the bags of food and left while Phillip and I talked some more. It turns out there is a methadone clinic right near the park. Also, when I left the food for them the last time I wrote that there was a woman by the name of Edith who was reading her Bible directly across the street from their 'home'. I had spoken with her briefly about Phillip and Nancy at the time. I didn't think that she was homeless because she didn't have any 'stuff' with her. It turns out she is homeless and lives in one of the bathrooms at night at the park. I'll look for her next time too.
After leaving Lincoln Park I drove back to the downtown area on Main Street. As I got closer to L.A. I saw a young Latino man sleeping next to his shopping cart in the shade at the far end of one of the buildings along the way. I pulled into the driveway and parked near him. It took a little doing to wake him up and he
immediately started speaking quietly in Spanish. I really couldn't understand much of what he was talking about. His name was something close to Arturo. I think, because I know a few words and would ask him if he needed "comida" or "aqua" that he thought (see photo) I understood him. I was really disappointed that we couldn't communicate better. I gave him a bag of food and showed him the can of soup and that he could pull the top off and that there was a spoon in the bag too. He pulled the top off and wanted to share the can with me. I told him, "No, no...it's todo para usted." (No it's all for you). I gave him a jug of water and a T-shirt and some socks. When I prayed for him he kissed my hand repeatedly. Before I left I'm pretty sure he said in broken English, "You are God come down from the sky for me." Once again, I was so humbled.
I continued on towards downtown crossing over to Alameda Street. Between 2nd and 3rd streets I saw a man sleeping at the edge of a dock in the shade of a tree. The building looked abandoned so I turned around and pulled in and parked next to where he was sleeping. As I got out of the car a man from the other side of the street called out to me asking for some water. I motioned for him to come on over to the car. His name was Noel and he was from Haiti. When I found out where he was from I asked if he had been back there recently. He told me he was there right after the earthquake and everything was flattened. He lost and his uncle and his neice in the earthquake. He was going back there soon because there was no work here. I prayed with him that God would comfort him in his loss and help him to find work. After he left I gently woke up the man sleeping on the edge of the dock. His name was Rick and he was 60 years old. I asked him if he needed some water and he said "Sure,anything that's wet!" It was still very hot. I gave him a bag of food too and said I had some cans of Slim Fast on ice in the car. He said he had been out recycling but it had gotten so hot that he started to feel faint and had to lay down. He had a cup with a little bit of ice left in it and I was able to refill it with ice from the ice chest I had in the car. We started talking and I learned he was from St. Louis and had been out here since 1968. He had been back there twenty five years ago and during that trip his mother, brother and sister all died within a three month period. He told me he hadn't been back there since. Then he told me he had a girl friend here (I think she was homeless too) and about three years ago she had been hit and killed by a tractor trailer truck just up the street. He said at times he could still hear her screams. It was so heartbreaking to hear what he had been dealing with. I prayed with him that God would comfort him in his sorrow and give him the "abundant life" that Jesus promises for his followers. While we talked I noticed he didn't have shoes on and that his socks didn't match. I said, "Hey, do you need some socks?" He said yes and that he really lucked out earlier in the week and found six pairs of shoes in a dumpster and that they were all his size. I had purchased 20 pairs of socks at a local K-Mart store Sunday morning so I could help out people just like Rick. We talked about some of the other folks I knew who lived around in that area. Rick knew them too. Before leaving, Rick said, "Thank you for talking with me. Thanks for the food and stuff, but really, thanks for just talking with me." Once again, I was humbled and privileged to just be there for him.
I figured it was about time (I only had one bag of food left) to head over to the alley between Los Angeles St and Main St. I got over there and parked and walked up Los Angeles St. When I got to the parking lot where Gary lives he greeted me warmly and said, "I was almost about to leave and figured you'd show up just after I left." I was glad to have gotten there just in time. He told me that the group of people who rented out the building next to him had their first church service that morning. I'm sure happy they moved in and pray that they not only have a presence there but perhaps I can partner with them in reaching the men who live in that alley. Gary told me a lot about the two men he knows who live in that alley and how they live very unproductive lives. Perhaps this new church there can be a light for the surrounding area. Gary told me to come earlier next week and he'd wash my car. He said he has a killer stereo and he'd put on some gospel music. I'm looking forward to it. Before leaving I walked around the block and down that back alley. I found one man passed out and another man (I think his name is Charlie from what Gary told me) listening to his I-pod. He acknowledged me but didn't look up as I walked (and prayed) down the alley. Maybe next week we'll get a chance to talk if he sees me with Gary. As I got in my car and started to drive away I saw a young woman and her daughter walking down the small street where I parked my car. The woman bent over and picked up an empty glass liquor bottle off the curb and continued walking. Another homeless man with a backpack had been sitting on the curb down the street. He had gotten up (perhaps to go get that same empty glass bottle) but had started to walk back to where he had been sitting. I ended up giving him (his name was Manuel) the last leftover cans of food I had in the car and drove on home. What an amazing afternoon it was. --Until next week. John

P.S. It was three Sundays ago that I started prayer-walking down that alley. In that time I met Gary and a church moved in to one of the buildings there. I can't wait to see what will happen in the next three Sundays. I only have 3 Sundays left before I switch back to working nights. I may have to start going on Monday or Tuesdays then. That would really change the dynamics of the trips alot. We'll see what happens.

Downtown 9/19/2010

This Sunday's trip was to be the last trip of the summer. I remember last year at this time we were having a heat wave for about three weeks or so and the folks downtown were having to suffer through it. This year's summer has been much milder in comparison. It was really a pleasant afternoon in the low 80's. I had driven around for a while until I pulled in behind some buildings off of Maple and Washington Blvd. From time to time I've found some homeless people on the weekends living back there. This Sunday I almost missed one guy who was there. I saw the tell-tale sign of his shopping cart behind a 3 foot high brick retaining wall. I backed up to park when I saw a man look over from the other side of the wall. It turned out (he was going to the bathroom) to be Jay from Louisiana. We didn't talk too long but he did need the help. I think he was a little embarrassed and I didn't mean to infringe on his privacy. He seemed a little distant so I didn't push a conversation too far. We prayed together and parted. By another building in this parking lot were a group of about five other men. I ended up meeting two of them, Gary and Dave. One of the men was lying down. I was told he had a heart condition. Gary was probably close to 70 years old. He told me he was a Vietnam Veteran who had done 4 tours of duty. I asked when he served and he said in the early 60's. I said, "Oh, that was when we were just 'advisors' there." We laughed about that one because he said he still got shot in the hip. He told me he was out here in California because of the VA hospital. Dave appeared to be in his forties and the others were more Gary's age. I gave them a couple of bags of food and let them go through the trunk for whatever clothing and blankets they needed. It hurts to not be able to do more for our veterans. There also seems to be a lot of Vietnam veterans who are homeless.
I had been given some dog food to give to the homeless who have dogs. One of those is Marsela who I've seen a few times near the 4th St. bridge and Mission Rd. I drove over there hoping to see her but couldn't find her. However, I did see Michael there, who I've helped several times before, and Robert. Robert is 64 years old and from New York. Both men were living under the bridge. Michael knew who Marsela was but said he hadn't seen her in a while. I pray that she is OK and I'll keep looking for her over the next few weeks. Michael admitted to having problems with alcohol and I have a feeling Robert might be a drinking buddy for the moment at least. Without wanting to simply say, "You know you shouldn't drink!", I remembered something a famous actor once said that helped him on the road to sobriety. Someone said to him when he was drinking heavily at a restaurant, "I hope you know what you're doing." He referred to the incident as a key turning point in his life. So I told this story to Michael in the hopes that he would realize that he has control over the choices he makes. I prayed with both of them before leaving. As I left I heard Michael tell Robert that I had helped him several times before. I'm glad to be counted as his friend.
If you read last week's blog you will remember the alley I talked about and how I wanted to start prayer-walking down this alley every week and see what the Lord would do with the opportunity. I felt it was time this week to go there. I feel this will be a long-term project and last week at this same time there was no one there. I drove over there and parked at the end of the alley just like last week. I started by walking on the store front side of the block and then walking down the alley. As I walked up the street (Los Angeles St) I noticed a parking lot where a man appeared to be living. He had a whole lot of stuff including a tent erected on a large wooden pallet. The parking lot was between two old brick buildings. The first one was the place where the group of people I saw out front last week were looking to start a church in. The other building was an old apartment building that seemed to have a lot of people living in it. There were four or five young Latino men sitting out front on the sidewalk and in a car. One was talking to someone up in one of the apartments. They all looked at me as I was walking up the street as if to say, "What is the gringo doing here?" I simply said "Hello" and smiled and kept walking. I reached the end of the block and circled around and walked down the alley. Trash was still piled up at the Washington end of the alley and there were about three places where homeless people lived but still no one was there. I stopped about halfway down and prayed to God with hands raised for the people living in the apartment building and the people who live in this alley, "Lord, what would you have me do here? I am ready and willing. Give me your heart for the lost and homeless." I continued walking down the alley and came to the parking lot between the two brick buildings. Both the street side and the alley had a chain link fence with a gate with a key pad to unlock the gate to get in. Here on the alley side the gate was open about two feet. Remember there was a man living in the parking lot with the tent. I decided to walk in and ask him about the people who live in the alley. It turns out the man's name was Gary. He was 41 years old and originally from Missouri. He was a little surprised to see me walking in there but when he found out I was interested in helping the homeless people living in the alley he seemed very interested to talk with me about it. He knew the names of a couple of the men living there and said they were "out" during the day but would be back at night. Gary told me he struggled with his own addictions but had begun to read his Bible daily and at times would 'preach' to the brick walls because the Spirit seemed to be growing inside of him. I told him about my hope for the people living in the alley. Perhaps we can be partners in this adventure. He walked with me to my car and I gave him a bag of food, water and some clothes. I also gave him a couple of daily devotionals. I walked back with him to his tent and noticed that he had some electrical cords there and had electricity available from the empty brick building. He told me the owner was asking $6K a month to rent that building as it had been renovated for use by a night club. The club was shut down a few months back due to violence (a shooting) in the alley. Gary told me that the one thing that whole area needs is revival. He said they don't need people coming in and dropping off food and saying, "God bless you." and then leaving. What they and all homeless people need is someone who will take the time to sit on the sidewalk with them and talk to them! (To be honest I couldn't believe I was hearing this from him!) After about thirty minutes of talking with Gary he walked me back to my car. He asked when I would be coming back and I told him about this time (4 p.m.)next Sunday. He told me he would be here to meet with me. Yes, before leaving we held hands and I prayed with him. What an awesome experience. I can't wait to see what God has in store for this alley.
Before leaving the area, I had one bag of food left and found Joe under the I-10 freeway near Central Ave. I had seen Joe once before, I think it was July 4th. Sunday, Joe was overwhelmed that someone was giving him so much. He was visibly stunned. He told me he was the oldest in his family and he was used to being the one giving and not receiving. He didn't know how to accept the help. I told him it was my privilege to help him and the others in the area. I prayed with Joe and he showed me the Gospel of John booklet I had given him a couple of months ago. The cover was gone so I gave him another one. It ended up being another blessed trip downtown. --Until next week. John

P.S. An excerpt from a recent book I read about the importance of the Holy Spirit by Samuel Chadwick, "The Way to Pentecost." (1932)

"I owe everything to the gift of Pentecost (the Holy Spirit). For fifty days the facts of the gospel were complete, but no conversions were recorded. [The day of] Pentecost registered three thousand souls. It is by fire that a holy passion is kindled in the soul..."

Downtown 9/12/2010

We cannot do great things on this earth, only small things with great love. --Mother Teresa

This was quoted by our pastor Sunday morning in his sermon. I thought it was a terrific quote and captured my feelings towards the homeless in Los Angeles. Last week's trip was sort of an attitude adjustment for me. I guess every so often we can get a little out of whack in the things we do even when our intentions are good. I never want this ministry to be routine or to be done in a hurry. These people need my full attention when I'm with them. I remember when Mother Teresa died one of the nuns assisting in the work there in India said if they were troubled or preoccupied about a problem they were not allowed to work with the destitute until they were over their problem. I have now seen the value in this policy first hand. It goes hand in hand with another of her quotes, "I think being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, is a much greater hunger, and much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." Sunday, I was determined to put these people first and foremost again. It turned out to be a wonderful trip.
Instead of going early Sunday before church I decided to go afterwards so I had no time constraints. I got downtown about 1:30 in the afternoon and went to an alley off Hooper St. that I've gone down many times before. The last few times no one has been there. This trip was different though. As I started down the alley I saw a man sleeping in the shade of one of the buildings. I wanted to be able to park and get out of my car and talk wih him so I backed out of the alley and drove around to the other end and came in from the other direction. Before I could get to him I found two other homeless men living in the alley. Both I've met before and one greeted me quite warmly and stood up when he saw me coming. His name is Willie (see first photo). Across from him and a few feet down the alley on the sunshine side was "Tera Lee". When I met him before he identified himself as Johnny. He remembered me from the last time when he was down near the Staples Center. He had a skin rash at the time which he still has and warned me against touching him (second photo-Willie standing next to where Tara Lee was inside his home). I was able to give them food, water and clothing and prayed with both of them. Willie said he had been staying in an alley on the other side of the next street down until the police ran all the homeless people out of there. I noticed he had a good pair of shoes on and he told me he got them at the Fred Jordan Mission. I was glad to see him and that he was doing OK. I joked with him about his "bed". It was a plastic toddler's slide. I told him it looked comfortable if you had curvature of the spine. We both laughed about that one. I drove on down to the other end of the alley, parked and got out and looked in on Pablo from Cuba. He was sound asleep but when I asked him if he needed some food he woke up quickly and said yes. I gave him a bag of food which he started eating immediately (see photo). I gave him some water and while we talked he continued to eat and drink from the water jug. I had a little difficulty understanding him. He seemed to have a problem and wanted to know if I knew of a place that could help him. It turned out he was looking for a 'rehab' place. I asked him if he had tried the missions down on 6th St and he told me they were all filled up. I told him I didn't know of any around in the area where he was but I'd ask around. I noticed the shoes he had next to him were pretty worn-out and asked if he could use a new pair. He said yes to that too so I looked in the trunk of my car. I had a pair that were about the right size but I couldn't find any size label anywhere so I told him to try one of them on. When he pulled the blanket back to try on the shoe his socks were so worn-out that the heels were gone on both of them and they were almost like sock slippers. I gave him two new pairs and prayed with him about his drug problem. He told me he "had a bad problem". I gave him some extra food. --Please pray for Pablo.
After leaving this alley I drove down to the alley that Willie said they had been kicked out of. I've driven past this alley many times but never really looked at it as an alley. It just seemed to be the back side of the businesses there. I did find Ricardo there. He was stopped with his bicycle and was rearranging some bags on the handle bars. He told me he had been here in America for "dos anos" and his wife and family were still in Mexico. He was barely getting by. I ended up giving him a bunch of stuff including a bible tract in Spanish. I prayed with him too. I've really got to learn how to pray a basic prayer in Spanish with these folks. When I left Ricardo I continued down the real alley part of this section. Up to where I found Ricardo it was paved and more of a parking lot type area, but after that the "alley" wasn't paved and was in terrible condition. I can't understand why anyone would be kicked out of there because I can't imagine why anyone would be driving down that section of the alley.
From there I crossed Central Ave and drove down 14th St. I only went a couple of blocks and saw a couple with a shopping cart on a corner. I turned around and parked next to them and got out. The man's name was Sam and he recognized me from a few weeks back. The woman's name was Teresa. Teresa was not talkative and not in a good mood. Sam told me she was OK but I knew she was either tweaked out or coming down off of drugs. While I was helping these two out, another man by the name of Terry walked over from across the street. He needed some help too and saw I was giving Sam and Teresa some food and clothing. When I gave them all they wanted out of what I had I prayed with the whole group. Yeah, it was pretty cool, I put my arms around Sam and Terry and Sam held Teresa's hand and I prayed for God's blessing on them. I can't tell you how much I love being able to do this with these people!
Believe it or not I was now out of bags of food. It had taken maybe an hour to reach these seven people. I've learned to throw some extra food (cans of vegetables and boxes of cookies) in the back of the car just in case I run into extra people. So here I was not wanting to leave yet, but being pretty much out of food. I think I had three cans of vegetables and a couple of boxes of cookies. I had an idea in the morning of walking down one of the alleys off Washington Blvd where a lot of homeless people live. I've seen up to 6 people there early on Sunday mornings. I drove over there and parked at the street at the end of the alley. I was glad I didn't drive down it because Sunday there was a lot of broken glass on one end, like someone had dumped some car windows in the alley. Anyway, I walked up and down the alley praying for the people who lived there. No one was there but there were at least three places where people lived, they just weren't "home" when I was there. I walked around to the front of the buildings. I had seen at least one church on the other side on Sunday mornings and this Sunday there were a group of people standing in front of one of the other buildings there. It turns out they were looking to rent one of the buildings so they could have a church there too. I told them of all the homeless
living on the back alley and that they could have an immediate missions outreach there. I walked on up the street to Washington Blvd. Asleep on the sidewalk near the corner was the man in the photo. He never did wake up. I prayed over him and left a Spanish bible tract next to him and walked on around and back down the alley; there still wasn't anyone there. When I returned from a short-term missions trip to Nepal six years ago I started prayer-walking in the area around my church at the time. That ministry morphed into the original www.rightnowcounts.org website with messages geared for non-believers and believers alike. When I walked down this alley yesterday I started thinking about how simply prayer-walking was how this all started for me. I think each week I go downtown I'll prayer-walk down this alley off Washington Blvd. Who knows what God can do with it. It's an alley where
people seem to just dump their trash and drive away, but people created in the image of God live there too. I wonder what He wants to do with this turf. I think He wants to reclaim and redeem lost souls here. It will be a long-term project, but let's see what happens. Until next week. By the way, before leaving downtown I gave away the rest of the food I had left in the car. --John

Downtown 9/6/2010

So this was to be the 'different' trip. The one where I took no food or water with me and just depended on the Holy Spirit to show up, lead the way and make the breakthroughs. I had intended to go on Sunday afternoon, but due to some last minute schedule juggling ended up going late Monday morning on the Labor Day holiday. Things still had the feel of a Sunday afternoon because of the holiday. I was a little nervous and a little anxious as to what would happen but excited to know that whatever was about to happen was going to be the next step in this crazy downtown adventure. I even watched the interview with Rolland Baker again that sparked the idea for this ministry almost a year and a half ago. The motto from the interview still resonates, "If you want to see God working, go to the least likely group of people and start there." When I first thought about going downtown and doing this ministry I thought about going to Pershing Square Park. The last time I had gone downtown was about 1991 or 1992 and I had gone to the jewelry mart district and Pershing Park was directly across the street. The original idea was to go the the park and pray with people there, but before that happened I was led to buy loaves of bread and ended up looking for homeless people living under and around freeway overpasses. I had even driven by the park a few times but it didn't look anything like I remembered and so I never ended up going there. As it turns out, Pershing Square Park has been renovated to the extent that it is raised up several step levels from the surrounding street so you really don't even see a park or any people when you drive by it. So this was the plan, go to the park, find a place to park the car and walk in and find people to pray with. If Pershing Square didn't work out I could go to the park area across Alameda Avenue from the Union Train Station. Sounds simple enough, so here's what happened.
As I got closer to Los Angeles and knowing that I could be at either of the parks for an extended period of time I thought I'd first go down 7th St by the Greyhound Bus Depot. Across from the bus station is where Shoeless Marie sleeps on the sidewalk and a few other homeless people are usually around that area. When I drove down the street there were about 50 Greyhound Bus employees picketing in front of the bus depot and across the street. There was a signal light right in front of the station and most of the picketers were right there. Of course, as I drove up the signal turned red and I had to stop. I had the windows on that side of the car down and naturally one of them came up to the car wanting to give me a hand bill stating the grievances the workers have against the company. I decided if I'm to receive a hand bill of grievances then I'm giving them a gospel of John booklet!!! So the exchange was made and I drove on. About a block down the street I saw a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk on the corner. There were several yellow cabs parked down that street. I drove around the block and parked near them and walked over to the homeless man and started talking to him. We talked about the picketers and I asked him if he had seen Marie because I hadn't seen her in at least two or three months. He said he had seen her the night before and that she usually shows up around dark. I asked him if he thought she goes down to the missions during the day, but he said he didn't know where she went during the daytime. I ended up sitting on the sidewalk and talking with him for a while. His name was Timothy and he was from Cincinnati, Ohio. Then things turned really weird. He told me he was working for the slave nation (?) and was helping people avoid being killed or captured by aliens. He told me how non-human aliens and some humans are capturing and killing people and he and his people were "working" to help them however they could. He didn't say how. Interestingly, as we sat there and talked he appeared quite coherent and sane on the outside. There was no nervous twitching or even a far away look in his eyes with the acompanying sadistic laugh. It was really bizarre to say the least. I calmly asked Timothy under whose authority did he work. He told me "God". Nothing specific about which God or any other name, just "God". I had purchased some tracts to give out and I pulled out two different ones and put them inside a gospel of John booklet and as I handed them to him I said, "Well here's something about the God I serve. His name is Jesus Christ." Actually, I set them down on his blanket right next to him so he could easily see and read the cover. We talked for a couple more minutes and I finally said, "Let me pray with you before I go." I held his hand and prayed with him and walked back to the car. Since it was right across the street he was still in plain view as I drove away. He had picked up the booklet and was looking through it. I'm not sure if what I heard was him talking out loud or laughing (I heard something anyway) but I waved as I drove away and left the results up to "my God". This was a close encounter of "some" kind. Whether it was mental illness or demon possession I don't know. But that's how the trip started!!!
So now I drove over to the Pershing Square area. It took awhile to actually locate it (since it's raised up and kind of hidden) and find a place to park. I ended up in a parking lot across the street. I didn't recognize it at first but the parking lot was behind a building that my
Dad used to work in about 45 years ago. I loaded up my pockets with bible tracts and gospel of John booklets (I had on cargo shorts so I had a few deep pockets) and brought a book to read. I didn't want to take a bible with me because that can immediately be a turn-off for some people so I took with me a book of the journals from the missionary Jim Elliott. I walked across the street to the park and looked around a little. It wasn't quite what I expected. There were a lot of people sleeping (it was around noon by now) and the ones awake seemed to be in pairs. I found a shady place to sit down and read and pray and kind of get my bearings a little. About forty minutes later I got up and decided to walk around the perimeter of the park which is actually the sidewalk and come back inside later. As I got to the sidewalk I found a homeless man sitting with his shopping cart full of plastic bottles. I asked him if that's what he had collected that day. He told me most of it was yesterday (Sunday) but the recyclers were closed Sunday and for the Monday holiday. He was eating peanut butter straight out of a jar with a plastic fork. Before leaving my car I had looked around on the floor in the back and found two small packs of cookies. I gave one to him and he ate them right away. His name was Darrel Roberts (see photo). He was 54 years old and from Florida by way of Cleveland, Ohio. Another Ohioan, I was hoping he wasn't from the 'slave nation'. Darrel was quite humble and I sat and talked with him for twenty minutes or so. He was a Vietnam Veteran (two tours at the end of the war) and had multiple physical problems from both the war and civilian life. Here was my kind of homeless guy that I love to talk with and pray with. Conversation was easy with Darrel. I told him I come downtown once a week and I usually have food and water to give out although I didn't today. However, I did have some socks back in my car. I told him I'd drive by this corner in a couple of hours after I got back to my car and I'd give him some socks if he was still there (he wasn't there). I walked around several blocks before making it back to the park. I let a young 20-ish looking man use my cell phone to call his Mother because he was lost. I talked and prayed with Alberto from Puerto Rico who was sitting on a bench. He told me he was disabled. I asked how he was disabled and he told me he was schizophrenic. He also was looking for his mother, Sharon Stone. Yeah, that Sharon Stone. I guess he was telling me the truth about his disablility. I also saw, would you believe it, Shoeless Marie. I even took a picture of her but I once again forgot to save it. She was barefoot as usual. I couldn't believe she was this far from where she sleeps. I offered her the other pack of cookies but she turned it down. Go figure. When I got back to the park I was rebuffed by one man who didn't want to talk to anyone but ended up eventually talking with a young woman who had been studying in the park. The public library is just down the street but was closed for the holiday. Her name was Azaelia and she was from the east coast. She wasn't homeless but I got the feeling that she didn't have many friends out here. At this point I left the park and went back to my car. I drove by the Union Station park but there was something going on at Olvera St and it looked like most of the people in the park were mostly spill-over from Olvera Steet. So I drove over to 18th and Broadway by the I-10. This is my turf and here's what happened there.
By now it's about 3 p.m. I immediately saw one homeless guy by an alley where I've helped many men before and on the other side of the street another guy holding up a homeless sign asking for 'donations'. I drove around the block and parked by the alley and got out and took a picture of the alley with my cell phone (see photo). I did this as an excuse to talk to the guy standing there next to the alley with his shopping cart. His name was Jonathan from Witchita, Kansas. He was 44 years old. He told me he lives in the alley now but had to wait another hour and a half before he could settle down for the night because the warehouse there was still open for business. I ended up giving him the socks and T-shirt that I had saved for Darrel. When I did that, the guy from across the street came over to ask for help too. His name was Thomas. I gave him some socks and a T-shirt too. I prayed with both of them right there by the trunk of my car. They both were very appreciative. Thomas turned around and saw a woman walking down the street that he knew and said she could use some help. He called her over to us. Her name was Jackie. I ended up giving her some socks, shoes and jeans. It was an incredible 10 minutes. Jonathan made a point of taking me aside and thanking me again for helping him. I told him I'd come back next week and watch for him again.
With this I left and went home. It wasn't quite what I had hoped for in the park. The most fulfilling moments for me were helping the homeless people and praying with them and none of them were in the park. After all, praying with the homeless is what was missing from last week's trip and caused me so much disappointment. The core of this ministry is praying with people. Getting to that point requires me taking the time with each individual encounter so they know God cares specifically for them. I'm sure if I go back to the park consistently I'll get better at hooking-up with the people there and praying with them. By the way, in the book that I was reading Jim Elliot wrote, "Growth is accompanied by corresponding service....growth, ministry, growth, ministry. These two must come together to maintain balance..." He also wrote how disappointed he and some other friends were at the small turnout at one of their evangelistic meetings. It was a comfort to know that even the famous are disappointed at times and must work past it. I'm learning. --Until next week. John