Downtown 5/1/2011

After skipping a trip last week due to the Easter weekend, I was looking forward to Sunday's trip. I tried to find Javier and his wife, but the Cubans living next to where they were said they were living in what sounded like one of the low cost hotels (I'm not sure which one) downtown in the skid row area. Although I'm glad they are not living in a tent anymore, some of those hotels are substandard and have people living in and around them who aren't the best of neighbors either. At least this is a start though, and they're off the street. I don't know if Pastor Rodriguez was able to play a part in getting them some help or not, but I'll find out when I see him next time.
I ended up seeing John Stokes next. He was back at his spot under the freeway off of Olympic and Alameda. The last time I saw him he was trying to get together enough money to buy a tent. Apparently, he wasn't able to come up with enough for a tent, but he did come up wih some carpeting that served as a floor and a couple of walls for his 'house' Sunday. I ended up giving him the last sleeping bag I had. He was very appreciative. Tuesday, May 3rd, is his birthday, he will be 63 years old. One of the gratifying things about our relationship that is almost 2 years old now, is that every time I see him he asks me to pray for him. Not too far from where John was I looked for Willie, whom I haven't seen in a while now. I couldn't find him Sunday either, but while I was in that area I found "T". (No not Mr T.) When I told him my name was John he said, "Well, that's my last name." "T" was from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and had five brothers. He also had a grandmother he loved very much. He was quite talkative and since it was pretty warm at that point and he had been working (looking for recyclables) he was thirsty and needed the water I had. I told him I'd look for him again next time when I was down there.
On the other side of town by Pico and Olive streets I recognized Dalton. He was sitting under some shade on the curb on Pico Blvd eating something for lunch (I'm not sure what it was). When I commented to him that it was a nice day to be sitting under a tree having a 'picnic' he said, "It's a beautiful day." It always amazes me how so many of the homeless people I meet can take pleasure in some of the simplest joys they experience, like a nice day, especially in lieu of the many pressing needs they have.
After taking a break at the Jack in the Box on Alameda I headed down to the skid row area. As I drove by 7th and Los Angeles streets I saw Jerry (the man with one eye) sitting on his spot there by the corner. I found a place to park around the corner and a couple of blocks down and walked back to where he was. I had brought a small bag of food (a couple of cans of beef ravioli and some cookies) and gave them to him as I said, "Hey, Jerry how ya' doin." I guess Jerry doesn't see too well with the one eye that he does have but he recognized my voice. I had given him a bag of food the last time I saw him and so he said, "You're the guy from the church, I recognize your voice." I was kind of disappointed that he didn't want me to sit next to him because it would mean people wouldn't be giving him any money while I was there. He had a cup that he would shake and people would drop coins and dollar bills into it. I respected his situation and stood back out of the way and observed what was going on for about twenty minutes. Jerry did pretty well
collecting coins from people as they walked by. It is a very busy intersection with a lot of foot traffic. It is on the outskirts of the garment district which has a lot of people walking around just about every day of the week. One young man passing by gave Jerry a hard time about using his handicap to get people to give him money. I didn't want to intervene, but I felt like asking the man what his handicap was (besides lack of compassion). As the time of my standing there drew to a close, I asked God what I could say to Jerry as I left. I wanted to leave Jerry with something besides the food in the bag, something of lasting value. Within a short time it came to me what to say. I walked up to
Jerry (on the wrong side because I startled him) and put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Jerry, I have to go now, but make sure you don't forget to feed your soul too, OK? I'll see you next time." With that I left and crossed the street intending to go on down to 6th St. After crossing the street, I stood there for a minute or so and looked back at Jerry. Then I crossed over to the other side of Los Angeles St and then back across 7th until I was on the corner directly across the street from him. That's when I took the picture on the right with my cell phone. It's too far away to really see what Jerry's 'handicap' is. The right side of his forehead/skull and eye area are sunken in quite a bit, like he had been crushed in some kind of an accident. Jerry had stood up a couple of times while I was behind him and I'm guessing him to be about 6' 1"-2" tall. I'm going to have to come up with some other innovative way of talking with Jerry besides just basic greetings. Perhaps I could take him to lunch some time. I don't know just yet, but I want to figure out a way to reach him. Please pray that something develops here. I walked on down to 6th and prayer-walked the skid row area. I ended up praying with a couple of people there. I'm not really sure yet, but a couple of people acted like they recognized me. Perhaps, the persistance in going there is starting to pay off and people there are not surprised to see me anymore. One interesting thing that happened, was while walking back to the car on 7th St. a policeman about 20 feet ahead of me was picking up something on the sidewalk. As I got to where he was and asked him what he was picking up he said, "You know what it is." I had a pretty good idea what it was, small white rocks of crack cocaine that someone had thrown away in trying to get away from him. His police car was parked around the corner in the middle of the street with the lights flashing. I guess he was in the middle of a situation so I didn't try talking with him further. I'm sure this is a scene that happens several times a day around there.
I left the skid row area and drove up to the alleys where I used to see Tara Lee and Willie. I drove down those alley's a couple of times Sunday, but no one was there except Tony on the last trip. Tony is a friend of theirs and said they might be showing up Sunday night or Monday for a few days. I'll keep checking next week.
In that same area I happened to drive by John Mellon and his girlfriend Dawn. They were on 14th Pl. by Griffith St. I had never seen John at this location before and found out they had lost all their stuff recently. While they were away from their spot one of the businesses in the alley where they stayed had taken away all their stuff. It was a clear message that they wanted them to move, because nothing else in the alley was disturbed! Dawn was most upset that the blanket I had given her was gone. She referred to the blanket as her 'snugglie'. I was able to supply them with the usual; socks, shirts and yes another blanket. John commented as I pulled up that they had just been talking about me and how they wished I would come by. Talk about the Lord leading!!!
Well, it was time to head over to Cloud Nine Alley. After parking and walking over to the south end of the alley I saw my friend Gary there picking up a few odds and ends. He had his bicycle with him and it looked like he was getting ready to leave. He was happy to see me, although I could tell he was not happy about something. I commented that he seemed kind of bummed out and he told me that a couple of days before he had gotten into an argument with one of the managers of the businesses in that alley. Gary does odd jobs for some of the businesses there and this particular one, although he's on good terms with the owner, the manager doesn't seem to want him around. I listened to him tell me what happened and share his feelings of disappointment about it. It just so happened that I had witnessed a similar example of someone losing it a day or so before and how it made for an uncomfortable situation to be around even though I wasn't involved in the problem. I remembered how in Hebrews the author talks about how Jesus, our High Priest, was a man and faced the same things we face and how he was not unfamiliar with how we felt. When we prayed together I asked the Lord to watch over our hearts because they were wounded over these experiences and needed His comfort. Gary was right there with me on the same page as we prayed. It was a wonderful heartfelt moment we shared together. I learned from Gary that there are now a couple of other people living around the alley. One is Fred who seems to be in and out of jail due to drug related problems and a woman named Lily who built a little shack in a vacant lot between the alley and Main St. I'm looking forward to meeting up with these people now too. Until next week. --John

P.S. May marks the end of the second year that I've been going downtown. I hope to make a short 3 or 4 minute video in one of the alleys very soon and posting it here on the blog to mark the occasion. Monday night my wife and I were in the San Fernando valley. As we drove home at around 10 p.m. we passed by downtown at night. All the buildings were lit up and it really looked beatiful. It made me think, though, of all the people I've met in the last two years who live in the 'shadows' of these buildings and pretty lights and how tonight they're living and sleeping right down there again. Hopefully, I touched some lives there, I know they've touched mine.

Downtown 4/17/2011

Each Sunday since meeting Alisavel and Javier I have tried to meet with them again. The Sunday I met them it was about 10:30 in the morning and the last two Sundays it has been after 12 noon and they haven't been around. Even the two Cuban men living in the area next to them weren't around either, but all their stuff is still there, so I'm sure they haven't moved on, at least not yet. I was finally able to personally talk to Pastor Rodriguez at the Cloud Nine Church later in the afternoon and told him of their situation. He told me he would try and have one of the parishoners go by and see what they could do. I was grateful for his offer to help. I'll keep you updated as to any progress.
After leaving their place I traveled into town and ended up finding a man on a small street right near Alameda and 4th. He had a shopping cart and was picking up plastic bottles. When I pulled up to where he was and asked if he could use a bag of food I noticed he limped quite noticeably as he came towards the car. When I asked if he could use some water too, he said yes and added, "Water is #1". It was getting pretty warm by this time, probably at around 85 degrees. I asked if he could use some socks and he again said yes, so I pulled over and parked at the curb. He told me his name was Charles Medford and he was from Dallas, Texas. I'm guessing Charles to be around 65 years old. As we stood by the back of the car looking through it to see if there were other things he could use I asked how he was doing. His first response was, "I'm blessed." I noticed a walking cane sticking out of the shopping cart and he essentially used the cart as a walker. He told me as long as the Lord gives him breath, he feels blessed. He told me he has been out here in California for 22 years and so I asked him how that came about. The story that came out was difficult for him to express. He told me he had been married for fifteen years until his wife was unfaithful with a close relative of his. He said, "Some people give their all in a marriage and that's the way I am. And some people never get over it, and that's the way I am too." It was a very poignant moment, a relative stranger sharing a very personal tragedy that has affected him the rest of his life. I reminded Charles that he is still special to God, no matter where he is or what has happened to him. He had a daughter who was in her thirties by now, but talking about her seemed too difficult for him. We prayed together and talked for quite awhile before he said he needed to find a safe place to rest. He told me that when he takes naps during the day that often times his shopping cart is gone when he wakes up and he has to start all over. Please pray for Charles.
A couple of streets over I found Bill who was on a recycling hunt too. It looked like he had found the mother load of plastic bottles in one of the dumpters on that street. I had first met Bill a couple of months ago off Santa Fe. He recognized me first and then I remembered when we first met he was resting from going through a couple of dumpsters at one of the businesses nearby. Since I was fairly close to skid row I decided to go on down there. I looked for Jerry at 7th and Los Angeles but he wasn't there Sunday. I took a couple of photos of the corner where he usually is found. Perhaps he was going to wait until it cooled off before he started 'collecting'. The walk through skid row was relatively uneventful. There was one incident on San Pedro St. that was a little amusing. As I was walking up the street there was a woman who started screaming. She ended up stopping in front of a glass door to a business that was just like a mirror. She stood there screaming obsenities while looking at her reflection in the door/mirror. I pretty much ignored her and walked on by (albeit at the curbside of the sidewalk) but after I got a few yards passed her I glanced over my shoulder to make sure she wasn't about to attack me from behind (she had stopped screaming at this point). Anyway, she wasn't following me, but another woman who was lying on the sidewalk watching looked up at me and said, "That's the 'Exorcist 2'. You remember the Exorcist don't you?" I nodded, "Yes, I remember".
I left skid row and drove over to the alley where I usually can find Tara Lee, but there wasn't anyone living in that alley Sunday. Arturo, wasn't by his spot by the freeway either. However, another man by the name of Ruben was under the I-10 freeway by San Pedro. After helping and praying with Ruben I asked if he had seen Mary at all recently. He told me she is still in the area and has been moving around quite a bit (as they all do).
It was now time to head over to Cloud Nine Alley. As I mentioned earlier I was able to meet with Pastor Rodriguez, but before I did I walked down the alley and talked with Ray. Ray is quite talkative and ended up walking around the block with me. At one of the businesses on the block we went inside and he introduced me to the owner. This building has three floors, I'm not sure what's on the ground floor, but the second floor is a sewing shop and the top floor is a big room where banquets and receptions are held. You'd never guess from the outside, what goes on inside. Later, as Ray and I walked on down the street and came to the church, I was able to introduce him to Pastor Rodriguez. I guess this is what is called networking....I was happy to start getting connected with some of the other people in the block.
Before leaving downtown I stopped by the Jack in the Box. John Stokes was working the door again. I noticed he was wearing the clothes I had given him the previous week. We talked for awhile and he asked me to pray for him. He was trying to earn enough money to get another tent to live in. I told him it was Palm Sunday and at church that morning I heard a message that might be of interest to him. I gave him the 3 minute "Cliff Notes Version" of the message. Now I have read the account in the Gospel of Luke of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem many times. The uniqueness of this message that morning was the telling of the blind man receiving his sight and the tax collector, Zacheus, obtaining salvation (Luke 18:35-19:9) and laying the stories side by side (this is right before Jesus' entry into Jerusalem). In that day a blind man would be not only unable to work, but also was a burden to his family and in all likelihood a beggar (and therefore poor and powerless). The tax collector, was rich and powerful, but disconnected from society because everyone hated him for being a tax collector (and in league with the Romans). So you had the powerful and the powerless having an encounter with Jesus. I added to the message that although you would think that Jesus would be happy that day, the account tells of Jesus 'weeping' over Jerusalem during this triuphant entry. The reason given was that in a few short days they would reject their king and crucify him. I put the two thoughts together for John and told him, Jesus came for the poor and the rich, and not to reject him as your king. It was pretty cool to have heard a message in the morning and then put it to good use before the day ended. I'll have to try and do that again. One last thing, I drove by where I had seen Doug the week before, but there was no trace of him being there. I only hope he is being cared for wherever he is. Until next week. --John

Downtown 4/10/2011--I was specifically named.

I was eager to get downtown Sunday and see what could be done for Alisavel and Javier. This is the couple I met last week who were living in a tent. When I arrived I saw the tent and called out to them but no one came out of the tent. I went back there twice more but no one was there. I have included some pictures of what they are living in. There are some old tires behind a chain link fence and
some tarps in front of the fence. Under the tarps is where the two Cuban men are living. The small tent in front of the tarps is where Javier and his wife live. I checked with the church at Cloud Nine Alley Sunday afternoon, but because Pastor Rodriguez was not there, not much information could be gained as to what they can do. Keep praying for this couple's situation. I feel that there will be more in the future about this situation, or the situation itself
may generate a response or plan of action for future situations that are similar. I have faith in the promise of Romans 8:28.
After leaving Javier's tent the first time I headed over towards Olive St. In that area on Venice Blvd I was able to help Hernando and another man by the name of Kerry. Kerry was digging through a dumpster and when I offered him a bag of food and especially the jug of water he was very happy. He said, "I'm diabetic and I drink water all day so this is perfect." Usually, the quality of water the homeless are able to obtain is very poor. The sun was out all day and it would get pretty warm if you stayed in the sun too long.
I drove around the skid row area but didn't stop at this point. I was looking for Jerry but didn't see him yet. I thought it might be a little early for him to be out so I decided to stop at the Jack in the Box on Alameda for a little bit. When I pulled into the driveway there, I saw John Stokes. As I rolled the window down to say hello he told me, "What a blessing it is to see you today." When I saw him the last time he had told me how he had lost all of his stuff as a result of a police sweep. He still didn't have much so I parked and we were able to get him restocked on a few of the clothing essentials as well as some food and water. I even got him his favorite burger there at the 'Box'. I had parked by this time and parked next to me was an old van that had seen better days. When John and I were going through the trunk I noticed the guy driving it had backed out and was really struggling with the steering wheel. I had just finished up with John and had prayed with him (at his request!) when the guy driving asked if I had any power steering or brake fluid. I told him I didn't have anything like that in the trunk only clothes. He said, "You have clothes? We could use some clothes." There were two men in the van, Adrian (the guy driving) and Rodney, I think they were living out of this van. So these guys got clothes and food too. Jeans were a big item Sunday. I must have given out 5 pairs of jeans during this trip. While helping these guys, another guy walked up by the name of Anthony. John had directed him over to me. Anthony was from Texas. So in the one stop I ended up helping four men and I hadn't even made it inside yet! What timing to have showed up a just the right moment to help all these men.
After leaving the Jack in the Box I headed back towards skid row. This time did I see Jerry (the man with one eye who I met a couple of weeks ago). He was sitting at the same spot on the corner of Los Angeles St and 7th. It took about fifteen minutes or so to find a place to park near there and then another ten to walk back to where he was. By the time I got there he was gone. I was pretty disappointed to have missed the opportunity to talk to him. My guess is he had 'collected' enough for whatever his needs were and had gone off to wherever it is that he stays. So I ended up prayer-walking around the skid row area and actually ended up talking and praying with another man named Jerry. He was out collecting cans and bottles to recycle. It's kind of rare to see someone recycling in the skid row area, but there he was with a couple of plastic bags--and no shopping cart.
I tried one more time to find Javier and Alisavel, but still came up empty. I drove down Alameda all the way to Washington Blvd and turned west. On one of the first streets I passed I saw someone on the sidewalk who I thought might be homeless, so I drove around the block to try and find them. Along the way I saw Don. This turned out to be the 'encounter' of the day. The last time I saw Don was on December 12. That was the week I took the barbecue with me. I had seen Don five days before then and told him I would be back the following Sunday to barbecue for some friends down a certain alley off Hooper which was right near were he was at the time. He ended up waiting the five days at the end of the alley for me to show up. He told me Sunday, after suffering through a very cold night on Saturday that he had been praying to God that I would show up! He was so happy to see me and practically begged me to stop and talk with him. Don suffers from diabetes and looked absolutely terrible. He was in a lot of pain while we talked. He had on a shirt and some shorts and one sock. He complained of frostbite during the previous night and had started a little fire with some wood scraps and had placed his other sock with some water in a can and put the can over the fire. His plan was to 'dry out' his socks in anticipation of another cold night. Well, I gave him some new socks, jeans and a blanket. He never sat up while I was there, so I spread the blanket out over him. Don was very, very depressed. I'd say the last four or five times we've talked he has expressed a desire to die. He feels he is 'right' with God and is living in so much pain that he doesn't want to 'live like a disgrace' anymore. He has spent a lot of time recently in and out of hospitals and although the hospital staffs mostly treat him well, he feels that in being homeless the
hospital management is more interested in warehousing him to generate income from the state than they are in helping him. I listened to Don because I know how much it means to these folks to have anyone really listen to them. I also told him that he is special to God. As an example of how much God cares, I told him I have a son and a daughter and no matter
where they are and no matter what has happened to them I still love them and they are always going to be special to me. Don is no different in God's eyes. No matter where he is or what has happened, God always will love him. Eventually, Don's mood improved. He ended up praising God for answering his prayer to send me to him. I have often said it is a privilege to serve the homeless in the name of Christ. It was even more so Sunday, to have been specially requested by name. --Until next week. John

Downtown 4/3/2011

Sunday's trip was unusual and I'm not sure where to begin describing it. I arrived at about 11:15 in the morning and felt I should start down at skid row instead of finishing there like I normally do. When I got off the freeway I had a few last minute things to take care of before all the bags of food were ready to give out. I had gotten off at the Central Ave exit and the I-10 which actually is 16th St. On the way to skid row I found a couple of men on 16th that I've helped before, one of them was Arturo. Both men were sleeping and so I didn't really talk to them much. I wanted to get to skid row in hopes of seeing Jerry from last week. Unfortunately, I didn't find him, but I parked and walked around quite a bit down there. As I was getting out of the car a man approached me asking for some water and a couple of bucks. I told him I had some water if he was interested in a gallon jug. His name was Keith and he was from Ohio. I told him I really didn't have any money to give out, but I did have some bags of food and asked if he wanted one. He had already gotten the water and started drinking from it when I asked if he wanted a big bag or a small bag of food. He took a small bag. While getting the stuff out of the car he said, "You're a man of God aren't you?" I'm not really sure how one is supposed to answer a question like that. I did end up praying with him, so I guess that answered the question for him. I really hadn't walked around skid row on a Sunday morning before so it was an enlightening experience. I started east on 6th from the police station and turned up San Julian St towards 5th. There are always a lot of people hanging around San Julian here because this street is the entrance to the Union Rescue Mission. Just before getting to 5th St. a brand new
black SUV had stopped and a couple were giving out bottles of water and food out of the back. It was only the second time I've seen anyone doing that in the nearly two years I've been going downtown. I walked on to 5th and turned east and walked to the next street which is San Pedro. Behind a fence I saw a van parked that had seen better days, but it was a missions van with some phone numbers on it. One of the
numbers caught my eye because it was an 800 number with the slogan 'DO AGAPE' I thought that was a great slogan, 'just do it'...'do agape'. I took a picture of the van through the chain link fence and decided to go around to the front of the building to see what was in front. It turned out there was a church service going on in a little store-front building. I took a picture of that too. I continued
walking up San Pedro and back to 6th St. On the corner of 6th and San Pedro I heard the sounds of gospel music coming out of a corner building. There was no sign out front or anything advertising a church of any kind, although there was a banner a few yards down the street for a 'Set Free Skid Row Church', perhaps this was their church service. I stood there for a few minutes with my back up against the building just listening to the music and looking around. Directly across from this building is the Mid-Night Mission building. A gentle breeze had kind of kicked up a little and brought the smell of urine which permeates this whole area. So here I was, with the sound of gospel music in the background and the sights and smells of skid row all hitting me at once and thought, this is exactly the place where the
gospel needs to be, in the most spiritually dark places around. This was skid row on a Sunday morning. Praise the Lord, he has brought His workers where they are needed the most. I took a few more pictures on the way back to the car, one was of the banner I mentioned.
I headed over to Lincoln Park but didn't see anyone so I headed back towards town on North Main St. On my way back I happened to notice a woman in a wheel chair off the sidewalk about 20 yards back in a driveway area. I had passed by her but decided to turn around and go back and check things out. It turned out to be 'the encounter' of the day. I pulled the car right up next to where she was and asked if she was OK. I quickly learned that she didn't speak any English. Well, she could say 'thank you' and 'yes' but not much else. I had gotten out to give her a bag of food and some water when her husband came up. His name was Javier and he did speak some English. As best as I could understand her name is Alisavel and I'm guessing they are in their late forties. They were from Mexico (no surprise there). Javier told me where exactly they were from but I didn't recognize any of the towns he mentioned until he said Loredo, Texas. That's a place I know of. They have been here many years and for the last five years had a place to stay, but in March they ran out of money and have been homeless ever since. It was heartbreaking. I gave them everything I had to give; food, water, clothes, shoes, and a blanket. It just wasn't enough, I was embarrassed that I couldn't do more. They were living in a very small tent next to a couple of Cuban men I have helped before a while back. I prayed with them and promised I would check in with them next week. They were both very appreciative of the help and seemed happy when I left them, yet I was devastated by their situation and hated to leave them. I started asked God what I could do to help them. The answer came quickly enough...the Church on Cloud Nine Alley!!!
The rest of the day was spent working my way over to that church. I still had a few bags of food left and found a few other men in need of help. I drove down the alley where Tara Lee lives but didn't see any of those folks around.
I finally got to the church at Cloud Nine Alley and parked. It was around 1:30 p.m. and their morning church service was over. There were some people there, but Pastor Rodriguez wasn't going to be back until 6 p.m. No one there was able to advise me on what they could do at this point, but I did call the church phone number on Monday and talked with a man named Robert who said they do have an evangelistic team that might be able to do something for them. We have agreed to try to hook-up next Sunday afternoon to see if anything can be done for this couple. It is essential that I get some people who speak the language involved in this. While prayer-walking in the alley there I ended up seeing Gary. He was the man living in the parking lot next to the church a few months back. It was great to see him. He was riding a bicycle through there and we got caught up on events of the last few months. Gary has been staying with various people and has gotten some temporary work here and there. He looked good and I was able to share with him some of the things happening with this downtown ministry. We prayed together...what a blessing it was.
On my way out of town I drove by where one of my friends lives and he just happened to be there. His name is Will. Billy and James used to stay with him. They have since gotten VA housing in Pasadena, but Will is still staying there in an alley off Pico and Central. Right near where Will was I found two men sleeping on opposite sides of the sidewalk. Their names were Ben and Terry. I gave out the last of the food and some clothes for both of them. Ben got some shoes too, but Terry wore size 16 and I just don't have that size! I think the biggest shoe size I've been asked for is 19! I'm not even sure I've seen shoes that size in Payless or Target. Anyway, both men were pretty happy to receive what I had and we were able to have a 'group prayer' before I left for home.

P.S. The success of any missions work is dependent upon the grace of God and our prayers and petitions to Him. Please be in prayer for Javier and Alisavel during this next week. Let's see what God will do for them. Until next week. --John

Downtown 3/27/2011

When I first arrived downtown, it looked like it might rain a little bit, but luckily it never did. I saw Ron again under the 4th Street bridge. This Sunday he was pushing a shopping cart about to do some recycling. He told me, "I don't make any money recycling when it rains." The reason behind this is that there are fewer people out when it rains, so there is less trash (ie. recyclables) to collect. I heard that complaint more than once Sunday. I was happy to finally see Willie on Olympic Blvd just east of Alameda. He was pushing his cart and had few recyclables and very few possessions in it. The last couple of times I've seen Willie he hasn't been with Tara Lee or any of the other people he usually hangs with. Apparently, there's been a falling out among them. I was able to not only help Willie with some food and water but also some shirts, a pair of jeans and some socks. He needed a pair of shoes, but I just didn't have any his size. Willie gave me a general idea of where he's been staying and I'll have to keep watching for him. He seems very lonely these days. I was glad we were able to spend some time in prayer together.
When I left Willie I drove to the end of that same block and saw Alan who I hadn't seen since the end of last summer. He looked exactly the same with a full beard and the same green overcoat. I doubt if he's bathed since I saw him last. I called out to him, "Alan is that you?" and he looked up and over at me and I'm sure I saw a smile on his face. I asked how he'd been doing in all the rain, but all I got was a shrug of his shoulders and a slight nod of his head, as if to say, "I've made it through another winter." Alan doesn't talk to anyone, but I was sure glad to see him and I think he was glad to see me. I've wondered what's happened to him the last month or so because I haven't seen him around. I'm glad to know he's OK.
Before ending up down on skid row I was able to help four other men. During this time I don't think I've ever seen as many people digging in trash cans and some, in fact, eating out of them. One man's name was Richard. He had found a plastic thing that fast food places will put a sandwich or a salad in and he was eating the leftovers. I've encountered Richard before and he has never accepted help from me and Sunday was no different even though he was eating out of a trash can. Another man looking for food in a trash can was a man named Jeremiah who I remembered from about 5 weeks ago. At the time I saw him then, I commented that I didn't think he was in his right mind. Sunday confirmed my suspicions that he is mentally ill, however, he did accept the help as did a couple of others on that same block.
The lasting impression of Sunday's trip was seeing a man sitting on the sidewalk on the corner of Los Angeles St and 7th Ave. He was sitting with his back up against a pillar of the building on that corner. His face was deformed. Where his right eye should have been was covered in discolored skin. Something about his mouth and lips didn't quite look right either. I knew right away I had to find a place to park and get back to this man. I parked again in front of the police station and grabbed a bag with a couple of cans of food and some packs of cookies and started walking the couple of blocks back to where this man was. When I got there I noticed he had a clear plastic cup with some money that he had collected from the people passing by. I walked up and said, "Hey, this is for you." and handed him the bag. I asked what his name was and he told me his name was Jerry. I noticed his right hand was bandaged up and wished I had brought some socks with me to give him too. I asked if he usually can be found around in this area and he told me yes. I told him I'd start looking for him again when I come down there. When he answered he sounded not only completely coherent but relatively happy and upbeat too. There were a lot of people walking around on that corner and a private conversation was pretty much impossible, but next time I'm going to just sit down next to Jerry and take the time to get to know him. I'm looking forward to telling him that God loves him and I do too. Until next week. --John

Downtown 3/20/2011-The first day of Spring?

Rain threatened on and off from the time I arrived at 10:00 a.m. By the time I left at 1 p.m. it was raining heavily. So much for sunshine on the first day of Spring. I figured I'd be finding people under the freeways or at least under something. The first guy I hooked up with was Ron who usually lives on top of the 4th St bridge, but Sunday he was underneath it. He told me when it rains it's the only time they (the homeless) can legally laydown on the sidewalks during the day. He was all wrapped up in a large white nylon-type blanket and riding out the bad weather.
After leaving Ron, I drove over to Olive St. In front of an abandoned auto body repair shop I found three latino men huddled under the front doorway overhang. They were all sitting/laying on an old mattress on the ground there. Last year I had a quite memorable enounter with four men in front of this exact same location. It was sunny that day. When I lifted up a bag of food so they could see it, two of the men immediately got up and came over to the car. The third man, after seeing the other two getting the bags got up and came over too. I heard him say, "comida" (food) and he kept making eating motions with his hands. All three men were hungry. The first two who came over where Hernando and Luis. I know I've helped Hernando before and probably Luis too. The third man I didn't get his name. While driving over to Olive St. I happened to pass by a man sleeping under an awning on 16th St. just before Main St. After leaving the men on Olive St I needed to find a gas station (and soon) and ended up in a station just across the street from this man. His name was Jose. Although, I intended to drive back to this guy, after seeing the men on Olive St and then noticing my car was almost out of gas, I kind of forgot about (photo)
him. Wouldn't you know there was a gas station directly across the street from where he was (although the station turned out to be closed)!
I haven't seen Willie in about a month now. I thought I might try driving by where I last saw him on the east side of Alameda. However, when I got there he wasn't there. I did see a man laying under the freeway there all covered up with a couple of blankets. It turned out to be my buddy John Stokes. He has lived for years about 20 or 30 feet away from where I saw him Sunday. Recently, the police have made him move from there during the day. I commented about the few things he had with him. He told me the police had taken everything away a week or so before.
One of the things he missed the most was a little AM radio that he had. He said he listened to his favorite program, Coast to Coast, every night on it. He asked me if I could get him another radio with an ear piece. I told him I'd look for one. John had on a light jacket with no shirt on underneath. I was able to come up with a couple of long sleeve shirts, a knit cap and a sweatshirt with a hood. He was doing a lot better when I left.
At this point I had one bag of food left. I decided to prayer-walk down skid row before leaving the area. As I drove around the area a little bit before parking the car I found David sitting in a doorway on 7th. He was cold and hungry and it was starting to rain more consistantly. I parked in front of the police station. The tents had already gone up along the sidewalks (see photo) due to the rain. Most people had found a place to hang out under a covering so there weren't near as many
people out standing around as there usually are. I walked around a couple of blocks that I normally don't go down. One man named Bill, was struggling with his cart and umbrella. I asked him how he was doing and he said, "Miserable." That kind of sums up the general feel of the whole place Sunday. I did give Bill a can of food, although he passed on the cookies due to the condition of his teeth. What is normally, during good weather, a hard enough struggle to survive, is made even more difficult in the wet weather. Even crossing the streets is difficult due to the water in the gutters. Most of the gutters seem to be stopped up so there is a lot of standing water that one has to jump over to cross a street. That's one of the reasons I didn't walk all the way down 6th like I normally do. However, every side street down in the skid row area is home to many people too. It was difficult to watch the people with few possessions trying to get by, in particular, those with shoes that obviously didn't fit. There were also many people with no jackets, maybe just a small blanket draped over their shoulders. On a digital thermometer I had noticed the temperature at 50 degrees.
It was starting to rain a lot more and by the time I got to Cloud Nine Alley it was a real downpour. I parked and hopped over the water in the street/gutter and started down the alley. At the south entrance to the alley I noticed someone new had put up a temporary 'house' complete with plywood and tarps to help keep them dry during the rain. He won't be able to stay there on Monday. It looked like Ray was probably in his 'house' too, but since it was raining so heavily at this point I didn't try to talk to any of the residents. I prayed, I stepped over large pools of water and tried to keep out of the range of the drain pipes that were spewing out a lot of water. One thing that the rain will do, is help wash away the smell of urine which can be overpowering at times around skid row and Cloud Nine alley. I was really soaked by the time I got back to the car. I survived, the folks living on the streets and alleys survived and more importantly, winter is officially over! From the streets of downtown L.A. I can tell you we're all looking forward to springtime! Until next week. John

Downtown 3/6/2011

Well, it was my first Sunday trip downtown in several months. I arrived there shortly before 1:30 p.m. and didn't leave until after 6 p.m. It was a good trip blessed with good weather and I was able to pray with each person I encountered. It helps to be able to park and get out and actually talk with the folks living on the street. I had been praying for a breakthrough in my prayer-walking on Cloud Nine Alley, but more on that later. My first encounter was with David on Olive St. He was sleeping on the sidewalk next to his shopping cart. It was sunny at this point in the day and he had found a place to get warm while sleeping. It looked like the only clothes he had he was wearing and although he had some water he really needed the food and some socks. I noticed the jeans he was wearing were way too big, but I didn't have any that fit him. I was able to give him a knitted cap and he was very appreciative of that.
Around the corner from David, I almost drove past another man sleeping in a parking lot alone. When I got over to him and asked if he needed some help, he started speaking in Spanish and kept talking thinking I understood him (which I
didn't). I think he said his name was Jaime, but I'm not sure. After giving him some help and praying with him he said, probably about the only words he knew in English, "Oh, thank you." I received it like it was a blessing from a king.
I continued to drive around in that area near Olive St and on a very small side street just west and parallel to Olive I encountered three different men on the same street. Luis was the first man I met. He spoke very little English and when I finished praying with him I noticed he had taken his cap off and had bowed his head. I then thought he might be able to use one of the knitted caps I had so I gave him one of those too. He had nothing except the clothes on his back, the bag of food I had given him and a handful of coins. His words to me as we parted were, "Thank you so much." Just down and across the street about 20 yards was another man sleeping on the sidewalk. His name was Hernando. He looked familiar, but he didn't indicate that he recognized me. Through the car window I asked if he needed some food and he responded by getting up and coming towards the car. I
stopped and got out to meet him. Here was another man who again, had nothing but the clothes on his back. His last words to me were, "Have a happy day." Just past Hernando was another man who was all bundled up and sitting on the sidewalk next to his shopping cart ( a man with a shopping cart is a man with some status on this street!). His name was Reginald. He was 46 years old and from Houston. He told me he had moved out here with his grandmother when he was 4 or 5 years old because,as she explained it, the educational benefits were better. I thought he was going to cry just thinking back about it. I had given him a bag of food and when I asked if he needed some water he told me, "I'd really like some beer." I told him I wasn't set up to go around giving out beer, but I did have some water. He then told me, "I willing to have whatever the Lord will provide." In the bag of food I gave him was a can of Chunky soup with beef in it. He told me it was his favorite soup. When I got back to him with the water he had already opened the can and had started eating. I ended up giving him a couple more cans of food. We actually talked for about fifteen minutes or so and it was really nice since the first four encounters I hadn't really been able to engage in conversation much. When I left Reginald, I told him loved him and God loved him too. He cheerfully replied, "God always loves me." One of the really cool things about the men on this street was that they all acted like they couldn't believe their good fortune that day. It's amazing what a little help at the right time can mean to someone.
Before going over to Cloud Nine Alley I drove over to the other side of town by Alameda St. I ended up seeing John Melon and his friend Dawn on an alley just east of Alameda at Olympic. Both of them had been injured in an alley they were living in on the other side of Alameda. John was doing OK, but Dawn never did stand up while I was there. I hadn't seen John since last fall. At the time he told me he was with Dawn and told me to go drive by where they were living, but when I did she wasn't interested in receiving any help (she didn't know who I was). In fact, I never did see her, but only talked to her through the make-shift 'housing' they had set up at the time. Anyway, John is quite a talker and told me in detail how they had been run over by the trucks going down the alley and that none of the drivers ever stopped or would acknowledge their injuries. It was another example of how homeless people are invisible and have little or no recourse when they are abused. The memorable thing for me about this encounter was that I prayed with them before leaving. Now, John was one of the first people I met when I started making these trips and the first time I met him I offered to pray with him before leaving, but he refused the offer of prayer. One of the last times I saw him, when we parted he told me he loved me and that he would pray for me. What a turnaround, huh? This time I prayed with the three of them and with my arm around John. This is the power of building relationships. Amen!
Now it was time to head over to Cloud Nine Alley. Since I've been going during the week for the last few months, it has seemed a somewhat fruitless endeavor. Deep inside I know that prayer time is never fruitless, but we get impatient when we don't see quick results or progress. During the week the church is not open and the people living in the alley aren't there in the daytime (at least I never see anyone). The only people I see are the people working in the businesses that are on either side of the alley. The alley is their back door. Today I knew the church would probably be open, although it was still a couple of hours before the 6 p.m. service would start. I started prayer-walking up Los Angeles St and then back down the alley. As I got to about the half-way part and just past where the words 'cloud nine' are spray painted I saw a man standing out in the alley. We said hello to each other and started talking. I asked him if he knew Gary who had lived in the parking lot next the church just a little further down the alley. He told me Gary was one of his best friends and he had actually seen him a couple of days before when a film crew shot some footage there in the alley. It turns out his name is Ray and he lived in a literal hole in the brick wall on one side of the alley. The hole is actually a doorway that is not in use. It usually has a pallet or two leaning up against it and is covered with blankets. I have never seen anyone in there. I told Ray that I've been coming down this alley once a week for several months now and one time recently I saw all his stuff laying out in the alley like it was there to dry out. I told me that "Yeah, everything got wet in the rain." I also told him I had left a can of soup on one of the pallets a while back. He was kind of shocked and said, "That was you?" I told him it was and he told me he had heard something and a minute or so later he poked his head out and saw someone (me) walking down at the end of the alley. He then saw the can of soup and put the two together. He told me the can of soup was a god-send at the time. He started telling me a little about himself at this point. He has a family history of Lupus that has claimed the lives of his mother, uncle and sister. He told me he has the disease also, although I didn't see any signs of it at this point. Ray was very talkative and we actually had a lot in common. He is 44 years old. When I told him I prayer-walk this alley once a week he asked if next week he could walk with me! Perhaps, God has placed me here to walk with Ray in the months ahead. If that's the case, I look forward to it. I'll take it one week at a time, hopefully, we'll be able to hook-up again next week. We must have hung out together for 45 minutes or so. I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with Ray.
Well, it was now time to head over to skid row. As I turned down 6th St and passed by the police station I saw a KCal 9 TV crew interviewing someone in front of the police staion. I didn't recognize either of them and didn't think much more about it. I drove on down the street and passed by the missions and found a place to park. Usually, I take a bag with some cans of food and start praying and looking for someone I might give the food to. However, I was out of food except for a few packs of cookies so I put about 5 or 6 of them in my pockets and just started walking back up the street. It was still light out, probably a little after 5 p.m. One missionary group had set up a food table across the street from the Midnight Mission and they were just about to finish up serving meals there. I think they do this every Sunday. There was also a large crowd of people already inside the courtyard at the Midnight Mission and it was really noisey there as I walked by. A police car with a couple of policemen was parked a little ways past the entrance because there was an injured man sitting cross-legged on the sidewalk there. They asked him if he was in pain, but I didn't hear his response. They told him that paramedics would be arriving soon. I didn't see where he was injured. I ended up in front of the police station just after the TV crew had pulled away. I thought I would stay there and pray for a few minutes asking for some guidance on who I might pray with. I looked up behind me by the police building and saw a man sitting right near me on the planter retaining wall. About 10 feet behind him was a flag pole and I noticed that the American flag was at half-mast. I asked the man if he had heard about anyone dying that might make them lower the flag. He said he hadn't heard anything and didn't think anyone 'famous' had died and his guess was perhaps a policeman had died. I ended up talking with "Bill" for probably 20 minutes or so. Bill was from Chicago, 63 years old and has been out here for most of the last 20 years. At one point he was looking for his cain which he had hung on the railing to the handicapped ramp (where I had been standing) and got up to go get it. I took the opportunity to hand it to him and went and sat down with him. I asked if he could use a pack of cookies. He told me he had gotten a meal, but no dessert so, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I would like some cookies." Bill had worked for the railroad back in Chicago and had gotten a broken back in a train accident. He told me everyone else in the car he was in was killed, so he considered himself lucky to have survived with just a broken back. He also, in a separate train accident, had been buried for 5 hours under a pile of coal from a box car and ended up with asthma. Despite these misfortunes, he considered himself to be doing OK and he couldn't complain. He first arrived out here 20 years ago and then after a time had left the area. When he came back here 10 years ago the turnover downtown among the homeless was probably 50 percent. Then he left and came back again about 5 years ago and there had been another big turnover of people, until now there were few people left from even just 3 or 4 years ago. Well, I prayed with Bill before leaving, asking for God's protection and healing and for some help for Bill's current situation. As I got up to leave he thanked me for praying for him. Just then a man in a wheelchair was going down the street right in front of us and I said "Hello" to him. He returned the hello and thanked me for "praying with us" (now I hadn't prayed with him). He was wearing a Korean War Veteran's cap and I took the opportunity to thank him for his service for our country. I told him both of my parents were in WWII. He told me he lost two brothers in that war. We talked for just a minute or so as we crossed the next street. He was turning down the side street and I was continuing on down 6th. I helped push him up the handicapped 'driveway' to get on the sidewalk and he again thanked me for praying with them. By now it was after 6 p.m. and it was getting a little cold. The folks down there were putting up their tents for the night and hoping it wouldn't rain. It turns out it did rain later that night. I was kind of bummed out about it. I handed out the rest of the packs of cookies on my way back to the car. All in all, it was a really good trip. I love going on Sundays, I think you can see what a difference it makes in the ability to talk with people. Until next week. --John