"For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat." Isaiah 25:4
It's was a beautiful Southern California afternoon (sunny/70 degrees). Yet despite the beautiful weather, there are still many people on the street in need. I only interacted with a handful of folks and the relief on their faces made me glad that I made this trip. I had prayed beforehand that I would bring joy and peace to people today and it's always an honor when this happens.
The last couple of trips I haven't seen Antonio and Leticia and then the last two Sundays I haven't been able to go either, so it had been well over a month since I've seen them. Leticia's first comment was, "Long time, no see?" They both seemed to be doing OK, but Leticia really wanted me to pray for them before I left and she held me tightly while I did. There have been trips where I've seen her alone and she says Antonio is 'off'. I've also seen him away from her sleeping on the sidewalk. I think she gets very worried about him when he leaves for several hours. I can really only think of one reason why he'd be sleeping during the afternoon. During my time with them another man named Robert walked by and I was able to help him too.
I drove a few blocks away from them on 17th St and found another man named Robert sitting on the sidewalk with just a backpack in the shade. He told me he was from the Atlanta area and everything he owned he had with him! I gave him some burgers and water and asked if he needed some socks. He had a pair on, but he probably had worn them for quite a while. While getting him the socks, he saw a couple of blankets on the seat and asked if he could have one. "Of course" I told him. Seeing his need I asked if he could use some canned food. He told me "Sure" if it wasn't too bulky and hard to carry. So I gave him some cans and had a bag for him to carry them in. He was pretty happy about that. I had asked him if he was an Atlanta Braves fan since he was from there, but he said he was a Dodger fan. I told him the pitcher for the Dodgers had thrown a no hitter earlier in the day. We chatted for a while and I prayed with him asking God to protect and preserve him. He had told me that he found out his uncle had died the day before. He also told me I made his day. It was my favorite encounter of the day.
I stopped one other place off 14th and Paloma. Youngsta (remember him?) and a tall skinny woman were there. A couple of other men, Tyrone and Lee, came by. Everyone got to look through the clothes in the car and got something to eat. While I was there another car, a Cadillac Escalade, drove by and handed out some food too. I had initially noticed Youngsta having great difficulty walking. When I drove up he was sitting on the sidewalk with his shoes off. When he walked over to the car he limped badly. His right toes seemed to be swollen. He lifted up his pant leg and his right leg is really crooked. He said he had been hit by a tractor trailer rig a long time ago. It looked like it had been run over at some point and never healed correctly.
Well, all the food had been given out and I started to drive down towards McArthur Park. As I drove down 7th I noticed the roll-up door with the "I am Legion" words on it not there. Then I saw that the door had been rolled up and the 'store' behind the door was visible. Actually, there were a couple of glass walls behind this door, but no stuff and no one was in there that I could see. Perhaps someone's getting ready to open up an new store there. I'll keep you posted. When I got to the park my Spanish speaking friends weren't there. However, some other groups were there. In fact, there were three different guys preaching in Spanish. I prayed and talked with each one of them before leaving. I actually never did get to preach, but I did get to pray for the people listening. I was a beautiful day at the park with lots of people. A perfect day for open air preaching. --Until next time. John
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Downtown 5/4/2014
Well, it's been ten days since I made this trip and only now do I have a chance to write about it. I prayed to bring relief to people that day (it was a hot one). I met Arthur right about where I had seen Carlos and Kimberly the week before. Another young man named Alexander was on Essex right off of Washington Blvd and then right around the corner and on the next block west was Solo and 'Youngsta'. I had last seen them behind the auto parts store on Washington a couple weeks back. As I drove away from them I saw Grant (another man I know from the place under the freeway on Wall St where I had the last BBQ). Mixed in here was a drive down the dirt alley between 16th and 15th where I've had some other BBQ's. When I first drove down there I saw one man in the alley. As I continued to drive on down, I saw one and then two other men and they were trying to get another man on his feet. When I finally got to where they were, there were a total of five men there and I didn't know any of them. One man seemed to have passed out and two or three of the others were attempting to revive him. I offered them some water which they quickly accepted, pouring one of the bottles over the man's head, saying he had passed out due to the heat. I ended up giving out about five bottles of water before leaving. One of the men made it clear he didn't want me around. He was the one not involved in trying to revive the guy passed out.
When I got to McArthur Park I didn't initially see my other friends there, but then I did find them in a slightly different location. I stood behind them while they preached. During this time there was a man about 30 or 40 feet away talking loudly in Spanish. At first there were a couple of other people he appeared to be talking to, but after awhile he was by himself and continued to talk loudly. He had a little two-wheeled basket/cart like people take to the store when they have to walk there. He kept talking on and on and loudly too and from time to time waving his arms. It was more than a little annoying, although when it was my turn to preach I really didn't pay much attention to him. After a while a few onlookers gathered because he was kind of making a scene. I finally asked Rosalla what he was talking about. She told me that he only believes in the Old Testament. Then it finally clicked, he was Jewish. I then noticed the cap he was wearing (his skull cap kind of blended in with his hair color-gray). I was now a little ticked off and wanted to just go over to him and start reading Isaiah 53 out loud to him, but, I really don't know if he understood English or not. Now I know that Jews interpret Isaiah 53 completely differently than Christians do, so it may have just provoked more anger and hostility. When I told Rosalla what I wanted to do she simply said, "We just need to pray for him." She was so right and I was so proud that that was the attitude of my friends. I'm sure they had a much harder time ignoring this man because they could understand what he was saying. In the end, I realized we now had something else in common with Jesus.....we'd been rejected (heckled) by a Jew. I count it a blessing to be included in the sufferings of Jesus. --Until next time. John
When I got to McArthur Park I didn't initially see my other friends there, but then I did find them in a slightly different location. I stood behind them while they preached. During this time there was a man about 30 or 40 feet away talking loudly in Spanish. At first there were a couple of other people he appeared to be talking to, but after awhile he was by himself and continued to talk loudly. He had a little two-wheeled basket/cart like people take to the store when they have to walk there. He kept talking on and on and loudly too and from time to time waving his arms. It was more than a little annoying, although when it was my turn to preach I really didn't pay much attention to him. After a while a few onlookers gathered because he was kind of making a scene. I finally asked Rosalla what he was talking about. She told me that he only believes in the Old Testament. Then it finally clicked, he was Jewish. I then noticed the cap he was wearing (his skull cap kind of blended in with his hair color-gray). I was now a little ticked off and wanted to just go over to him and start reading Isaiah 53 out loud to him, but, I really don't know if he understood English or not. Now I know that Jews interpret Isaiah 53 completely differently than Christians do, so it may have just provoked more anger and hostility. When I told Rosalla what I wanted to do she simply said, "We just need to pray for him." She was so right and I was so proud that that was the attitude of my friends. I'm sure they had a much harder time ignoring this man because they could understand what he was saying. In the end, I realized we now had something else in common with Jesus.....we'd been rejected (heckled) by a Jew. I count it a blessing to be included in the sufferings of Jesus. --Until next time. John
Monday, April 28, 2014
Downtown 4/27/2014
"Faith is the only currency accepted in the Kingdom of Heaven." --Reinhard Bonnke
Yesterday, on the way downtown I was praying that I would be bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to people wherever I went. I just had this idea of bringing a happy face and a precious time of 'relief' to people struggling on the street Sunday. Although there wasn't that one "memorable" encounter yesterday, it seemed like every encounter was met with the 'relief' of "Oh, am I so glad you came by today."
I had worked all night Saturday night and didn't get to sleep until 9 am on Sunday morning. I struggled to wake-up and get up at 2:30 in the afternoon. I didn't make it down there until almost 4 pm. That's usually a pretty good time to arrive on a Sunday afternoon, however, since I've been going to McArthur Park I usually try to start heading over there about this time to meet up with my Spanish speaking friends who preach the gospel. I had decided before leaving that the part of the trip to McArthur Park would be optional yesterday and my main focus was going to be with my homeless friends for as long as I needed it to be. I had packed up quite a few extra clothes and food with some razors, toothbrushes and toothpaste and took off. Later I would regret that I forgot to take some blankets.....
Most of the encounters yesterday happened in the area around Central and 14th. The first guy was sitting on the curb with his shoes off. He had a bike and looked like he was taking a rest from recycling. His name was Dwight and he was from Chicago. I'm guessing he was in his sixties. When I saw his shoes off I asked if he needed some socks ( I had already given him some food and water). This got me out of the car and gave me the opportunity to pray with him before I left. Down on the next block from Dwight were a couple of other men sitting on the sidewalk too. Only one of them responded to my offer of food. But when I helped another man and woman around the corner from them, one of those men, named Mike, happened to come by and he needed some clothes too. I had already gotten out of the car to open the back up for Joseph and Misha. These two both commented about how cold it has been and they only had the clothes on their backs!!! Luckily, I had come by and was able to get them 'ready' for the cold weather Sunday night. Although it's expected to heat up this week, that doesn't help people right now. Joseph only had on some shorts and a t-shirt. Misha only had on a short dress. I don't know how they were surviving the nights lately. It rained pretty hard here a few nights ago. Joseph said they were from the area around Normandy Blvd. When I saw what little they had I offered to give them some toothbrushes and toothpaste with the razors. They gladly accepted those along with some canned food I had with me. Yes, I got to pray with them too....
So right after leaving them, I drove over to one of the alleys where I've had the BBQ's. I saw a man way down the alley working over a big pile of stuff in the middle of it. This alley isn't paved, so I slowly made my way down it. When I approached where this man was he was still going through the pile, but had started to drag some of the stuff to the side so I could get by. Then he picked up a baseball bat, and at this point I wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with it, but he used it to knock the remaining stuff over to the side as well. As I drove passed him I asked if he was hungry. He didn't understand me at first, but when I said "comida" he understood. I gave him some food and water and he told me his name was Daniel. He turned out to be pretty thankful for the help. You know I didn't notice what the stuff was that he was looking through, whether it was clothing he was looking for or stuff to recycle. I should have been a little bolder and asked if he needed some socks or shirts. I guess I was still a little apprehensive about engaging with an unknown man holding a baseball bat. Around the corner from Daniel and on 16th St I met Derek for the first time. He had his shopping cart and was bending over and reading a newspaper that he had spread out on top of it. I was able to help him with just about everything too. He was amazed that someone would come by giving out stuff to people. He was 48 years old and although I hadn't seen him before he said he usually comes by this area about that time of the afternoon/evening every Sunday. I told him "I do too" and after praying with him I said I'd watch for him next week.
The last stop on this part of the trip was to see Carlos behind some buildings by Washington Blvd and Long Beach Ave and I did see him and gave him some water. I offered to give him the last sandwich I had, but he declined that. There was a woman down the alley digging through some trash dumped in the alley. The trash had been heaped up about 4 or 5 feet high in the middle and completely blocked passage through it. I drove on down to where she was and offered her the last sandwich which she accepted. Her name was Kimberly. She appeared to be about 25 yrs old and was only wearing a short, but bright orange dress. I offered her some clothes in the back but she said she had plenty of clothes (although I don't know where she was keeping them). What she did ask for was a blanket. I usually always take a couple with me, but I completely forgot them on this trip, probably because I was half asleep when I loaded up the car. I told her I'd come back next week at this same time and bring her one. I hope she's there.
Well it was now a little after 5 pm. It seemed like a lot happened in only a little more than an hour, but all the sandwiches were gone. I decided to drive over to McArthur Park and see what was happening. I stopped and prayed by the "I am Legion" sign, but when I got to the park there wasn't anyplace to park within 3/4 of a mile from 7th and Alvarado. I haven't been feeling too well lately and just wasn't quite up to walking that far. So I drove back downtown to Alameda and Hunter St to look for my friends Maurice and Elaine. I wasn't sure if I'd find them, because they were supposed to take a bus to Texas back in February. When I drove up Maurice was out in front of their 'place' on the sidewalk. He pulled out some chairs and I stayed and talked with them for an hour or so. Elaine's dad had died since I saw them last and Maurice's dad has developed stage three lung cancer. So 'things' had come up delaying their exit plan to Texas. We got caught up with all the stuff that had been going on in our lives since I last saw them in February. I gave them the last of the canned food I had and let them go through the clothes in the car. We had a nice visit and a group prayer-hug before I left. It was the perfect end to a good trip. --Until next time. John
Yesterday, on the way downtown I was praying that I would be bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to people wherever I went. I just had this idea of bringing a happy face and a precious time of 'relief' to people struggling on the street Sunday. Although there wasn't that one "memorable" encounter yesterday, it seemed like every encounter was met with the 'relief' of "Oh, am I so glad you came by today."
I had worked all night Saturday night and didn't get to sleep until 9 am on Sunday morning. I struggled to wake-up and get up at 2:30 in the afternoon. I didn't make it down there until almost 4 pm. That's usually a pretty good time to arrive on a Sunday afternoon, however, since I've been going to McArthur Park I usually try to start heading over there about this time to meet up with my Spanish speaking friends who preach the gospel. I had decided before leaving that the part of the trip to McArthur Park would be optional yesterday and my main focus was going to be with my homeless friends for as long as I needed it to be. I had packed up quite a few extra clothes and food with some razors, toothbrushes and toothpaste and took off. Later I would regret that I forgot to take some blankets.....
Most of the encounters yesterday happened in the area around Central and 14th. The first guy was sitting on the curb with his shoes off. He had a bike and looked like he was taking a rest from recycling. His name was Dwight and he was from Chicago. I'm guessing he was in his sixties. When I saw his shoes off I asked if he needed some socks ( I had already given him some food and water). This got me out of the car and gave me the opportunity to pray with him before I left. Down on the next block from Dwight were a couple of other men sitting on the sidewalk too. Only one of them responded to my offer of food. But when I helped another man and woman around the corner from them, one of those men, named Mike, happened to come by and he needed some clothes too. I had already gotten out of the car to open the back up for Joseph and Misha. These two both commented about how cold it has been and they only had the clothes on their backs!!! Luckily, I had come by and was able to get them 'ready' for the cold weather Sunday night. Although it's expected to heat up this week, that doesn't help people right now. Joseph only had on some shorts and a t-shirt. Misha only had on a short dress. I don't know how they were surviving the nights lately. It rained pretty hard here a few nights ago. Joseph said they were from the area around Normandy Blvd. When I saw what little they had I offered to give them some toothbrushes and toothpaste with the razors. They gladly accepted those along with some canned food I had with me. Yes, I got to pray with them too....
So right after leaving them, I drove over to one of the alleys where I've had the BBQ's. I saw a man way down the alley working over a big pile of stuff in the middle of it. This alley isn't paved, so I slowly made my way down it. When I approached where this man was he was still going through the pile, but had started to drag some of the stuff to the side so I could get by. Then he picked up a baseball bat, and at this point I wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with it, but he used it to knock the remaining stuff over to the side as well. As I drove passed him I asked if he was hungry. He didn't understand me at first, but when I said "comida" he understood. I gave him some food and water and he told me his name was Daniel. He turned out to be pretty thankful for the help. You know I didn't notice what the stuff was that he was looking through, whether it was clothing he was looking for or stuff to recycle. I should have been a little bolder and asked if he needed some socks or shirts. I guess I was still a little apprehensive about engaging with an unknown man holding a baseball bat. Around the corner from Daniel and on 16th St I met Derek for the first time. He had his shopping cart and was bending over and reading a newspaper that he had spread out on top of it. I was able to help him with just about everything too. He was amazed that someone would come by giving out stuff to people. He was 48 years old and although I hadn't seen him before he said he usually comes by this area about that time of the afternoon/evening every Sunday. I told him "I do too" and after praying with him I said I'd watch for him next week.
The last stop on this part of the trip was to see Carlos behind some buildings by Washington Blvd and Long Beach Ave and I did see him and gave him some water. I offered to give him the last sandwich I had, but he declined that. There was a woman down the alley digging through some trash dumped in the alley. The trash had been heaped up about 4 or 5 feet high in the middle and completely blocked passage through it. I drove on down to where she was and offered her the last sandwich which she accepted. Her name was Kimberly. She appeared to be about 25 yrs old and was only wearing a short, but bright orange dress. I offered her some clothes in the back but she said she had plenty of clothes (although I don't know where she was keeping them). What she did ask for was a blanket. I usually always take a couple with me, but I completely forgot them on this trip, probably because I was half asleep when I loaded up the car. I told her I'd come back next week at this same time and bring her one. I hope she's there.
Well it was now a little after 5 pm. It seemed like a lot happened in only a little more than an hour, but all the sandwiches were gone. I decided to drive over to McArthur Park and see what was happening. I stopped and prayed by the "I am Legion" sign, but when I got to the park there wasn't anyplace to park within 3/4 of a mile from 7th and Alvarado. I haven't been feeling too well lately and just wasn't quite up to walking that far. So I drove back downtown to Alameda and Hunter St to look for my friends Maurice and Elaine. I wasn't sure if I'd find them, because they were supposed to take a bus to Texas back in February. When I drove up Maurice was out in front of their 'place' on the sidewalk. He pulled out some chairs and I stayed and talked with them for an hour or so. Elaine's dad had died since I saw them last and Maurice's dad has developed stage three lung cancer. So 'things' had come up delaying their exit plan to Texas. We got caught up with all the stuff that had been going on in our lives since I last saw them in February. I gave them the last of the canned food I had and let them go through the clothes in the car. We had a nice visit and a group prayer-hug before I left. It was the perfect end to a good trip. --Until next time. John
Monday, March 24, 2014
Downtown 3/23/2014
"As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in [Matthew's] house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples." --Matthew 9:9-10
I love this image of outcasts gathering around to be with Jesus (tax collectors were considered traitors for collecting money for the occupying foreign government). At a place of grace and truth, people willingly gather. Yesterday this happened to me downtown. I had prayed on the way down to be a place where the Kingdom of Heaven would break through, I had my own expectations of what might happen, but as usual, something completely unexpected happened.
I remember a couple of years ago picking up some food for a Sunday evening run at the Jack in the Box down on Alameda just off the 10 freeway. I gave out 2/3rds of the food and a lot of clothes before I even left the parking lot that night. Sunday I drove over to where I met Arleo last week to see if I could find him. As I got close to that street I saw a couple of people on the sidewalk at 14th and Paloma. One of the people called out to me. It turned out to be Dave Parker who I haven't seen in quite a while. It turns out he has been in Texas for the last couple of months and just got back into town. The other person was a woman (I think) who I've helped before. The last time I saw her, she was with another woman just around the corner from where we were yesterday. The other woman said they were transgender people at the time. They also had the bad cough that was going around at the time. Anyway, that encounter turned out to be similar to yesterday. As I stood there and gave out food and clothing to these two people, other people started slowly coming by. Now usually I don't spend a lot of time on one stop, but as I started meeting and talking to more and more people I decided, "Hey, maybe this is exactly where God wants me to be." I stopped worrying about being on a timetable to get to the next place and decided, "this is it". It was the first time in almost five years of going downtown that I gave out all the food in one stop! Lots of clothes were given out and I had a great time meeting these folks. Dave knew most all of the people that came by. It was kind of interesting how initially some of the people seemed a little wary of me, but Dave would give me a great introduction and after a moment or two they would open up to me and be thanking me for stopping. I prayed with most everyone who came by, it was really a place of grace.
Now I was still on kind of a tight schedule. I was hoping to get back home in time to get to the church service Sunday night where my daughter was singing (by 6 pm). It was now about a quarter to four in the afternoon and I was on my way to McArthur Park. I stopped by on the way and prayed in front of the "I am Legion" door and continued on to 'the Park'. When I got there the very first parking space was available! After parking I walked back down to the corner of the park where my friends are preaching in Spanish. I didn't see the usual people there, but there was one man preaching that I had seen before. After he finished, he handed his microphone and speaker to me and said, "Do you want to preach?" I haven't done this in quite a while now (about a month or so) and I hadn't really even thought about what I might say, but I decided to just go for it anyway. I ended up talking about Martha and how she was so upset with her sister that she wasn't helping her get things ready for the dinner they were having when Jesus showed up. It was the way I felt just a little earlier about wanting to move on from the encounter with Dave and his friends until I decided it was just the place I was supposed to be. Sometimes we are moving so quickly from one thing in our lives to the next thing that we miss the opportunities God has given us to help others and be helped by others. How timely to learn the lesson in a real experience and then turn around and give it out to others within the hour.
So despite the 'timetable' I had going into the trip, I was finished within an hour and a half from the time I arrived. I got to the church on time and enjoyed the service immensely. Now the service was not a 'normal' type service. One of the unique features of last night's service was the opportunity to pick a country in the world, be given a short page of information about that country and place a location pin in a large wall map of the world where that country is. I picked Trinidad and Tobago which is a small group of islands off the northeast coast of South America (Ireland was already taken). I picked this country because a couple of years ago I received several 'hits' on this blog from that country. I still wasn't even sure where it was until last night. However, I still placed a locator pin in the wall map on "Los Angeles" too. After all, that is my turf! --Until next time. John
I love this image of outcasts gathering around to be with Jesus (tax collectors were considered traitors for collecting money for the occupying foreign government). At a place of grace and truth, people willingly gather. Yesterday this happened to me downtown. I had prayed on the way down to be a place where the Kingdom of Heaven would break through, I had my own expectations of what might happen, but as usual, something completely unexpected happened.
I remember a couple of years ago picking up some food for a Sunday evening run at the Jack in the Box down on Alameda just off the 10 freeway. I gave out 2/3rds of the food and a lot of clothes before I even left the parking lot that night. Sunday I drove over to where I met Arleo last week to see if I could find him. As I got close to that street I saw a couple of people on the sidewalk at 14th and Paloma. One of the people called out to me. It turned out to be Dave Parker who I haven't seen in quite a while. It turns out he has been in Texas for the last couple of months and just got back into town. The other person was a woman (I think) who I've helped before. The last time I saw her, she was with another woman just around the corner from where we were yesterday. The other woman said they were transgender people at the time. They also had the bad cough that was going around at the time. Anyway, that encounter turned out to be similar to yesterday. As I stood there and gave out food and clothing to these two people, other people started slowly coming by. Now usually I don't spend a lot of time on one stop, but as I started meeting and talking to more and more people I decided, "Hey, maybe this is exactly where God wants me to be." I stopped worrying about being on a timetable to get to the next place and decided, "this is it". It was the first time in almost five years of going downtown that I gave out all the food in one stop! Lots of clothes were given out and I had a great time meeting these folks. Dave knew most all of the people that came by. It was kind of interesting how initially some of the people seemed a little wary of me, but Dave would give me a great introduction and after a moment or two they would open up to me and be thanking me for stopping. I prayed with most everyone who came by, it was really a place of grace.
Now I was still on kind of a tight schedule. I was hoping to get back home in time to get to the church service Sunday night where my daughter was singing (by 6 pm). It was now about a quarter to four in the afternoon and I was on my way to McArthur Park. I stopped by on the way and prayed in front of the "I am Legion" door and continued on to 'the Park'. When I got there the very first parking space was available! After parking I walked back down to the corner of the park where my friends are preaching in Spanish. I didn't see the usual people there, but there was one man preaching that I had seen before. After he finished, he handed his microphone and speaker to me and said, "Do you want to preach?" I haven't done this in quite a while now (about a month or so) and I hadn't really even thought about what I might say, but I decided to just go for it anyway. I ended up talking about Martha and how she was so upset with her sister that she wasn't helping her get things ready for the dinner they were having when Jesus showed up. It was the way I felt just a little earlier about wanting to move on from the encounter with Dave and his friends until I decided it was just the place I was supposed to be. Sometimes we are moving so quickly from one thing in our lives to the next thing that we miss the opportunities God has given us to help others and be helped by others. How timely to learn the lesson in a real experience and then turn around and give it out to others within the hour.
So despite the 'timetable' I had going into the trip, I was finished within an hour and a half from the time I arrived. I got to the church on time and enjoyed the service immensely. Now the service was not a 'normal' type service. One of the unique features of last night's service was the opportunity to pick a country in the world, be given a short page of information about that country and place a location pin in a large wall map of the world where that country is. I picked Trinidad and Tobago which is a small group of islands off the northeast coast of South America (Ireland was already taken). I picked this country because a couple of years ago I received several 'hits' on this blog from that country. I still wasn't even sure where it was until last night. However, I still placed a locator pin in the wall map on "Los Angeles" too. After all, that is my turf! --Until next time. John
Monday, March 17, 2014
Downtown 3/16/2014
From David Wilkinson's little book, The Prayer of Jabez comes this little anecdotal story...
"There's a little fable about a Mr. Jones who dies and goes to heaven. Peter is waiting at the gates to give him a tour. Amid the splendor of golden streets, beautiful mansions, and choirs of angels that Peter shows him, Mr. Jones notices an odd-looking building. He thinks it looks like an enormous warehouse--it has no windows and only one door. But when he asks to see inside, Peter hesitates. 'You really don't want to see what's in there.' he tells the new arrival. 'Why would there be any secrets in heaven?' Mr Jones wonders. What incredible surprise could be waiting for me in there? When the official tour is over he's still wondering, so he asks again to see inside the structure.
Finally Peter relents. When the apostle opens the door, Mr Jones almost knocks him over in his haste to enter. It turns out that the enormous building is filled with row after row of shelves, floor to ceiling, each stacked neatly with white boxes tied in red ribbons. "These boxes all have names on them, " Mr. Jones muses aloud. Then turning to Peter he asks, "Do I have one?" "Yes, you do." Peter tries to guide Mr. Jones back outside. "Frankly, if I were you..." Peter says, but Mr. Jones is already dashing toward the "J" aisle to find his box.
Peter follows, shaking his head. He catches up with Mr. Jones just as he is slipping the red ribbon off his box and popping the lid. Looking inside, Jones has a moment of instant recognition, and he lets out a deep sigh like the ones Peter has heard so many times before. Because there in Mr. Jones's white box are all the blessings that God wanted to give to him while he was on earth...but Mr. Jones had never asked.
"Ask," promised Jesus, "and it will be given to you" (Matthew 7:7). "You do not have because you do not ask," said James (James 4:2). Even though there is no limit to God's goodness, if you didn't ask Him for a blessing yesterday, you didn't get all that you were supposed to have.
I read this story this morning. I thought to myself, "How fortunate I was to make a special request on my way downtown yesterday. I had asked to meet someone who was desperate emotionally. The special encounter came with the second man I stopped to help. His name was Arleo Jones. He told me he will turn 44 years old this week and he is from the LA area. When I first pulled up and asked if he was hungry he immediately responded with a yes. He said yes to the water too and then I asked if he needed some socks. I noticed when I pulled up that his shoes and socks were off. It was about 3 pm and a pretty warm Sunday (about 78 degrees). When someone says yes to the socks, that opens the door up to a longer conversation because I have to get out of the car and open the back up. Arleo ended up needing a couple of T-shirts and a pair a shoes too. During this time he opened up to me about his frustration with his life. More than once he told me, "I have so much to offer, I have lots of talent and yet I'm stuck here with no hope." Eventually, because he hadn't showered in a while he told me he felt so dirty that he thought about going down to the beach and just swimming straight out until the under current pulled him under and he could just end it all right there. His frustration with life was palpable. He told me he is a father to six kids and that he was a good and patient Dad (you'd have to be with that many) and that a couple of years back he was in church and accepted Christ and even received the gift of tongues and a week or so later he was homeless and on the street! He just couldn't understand "why God had let this happen to him!" You know it doesn't take too long to realize an encounter with someone goes far beyond giving them food, water and clothing. I had prayed for this not fifteen minutes before, but for some reason it always sneaks up on you as a surprise, you're not just on deck, you're up (that's a baseball term), it's time to shine and meet the need with whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to give out. As a man of nearly 60 years of living experience I've had my share of trials and tribulations and I knew and recognized the frustration in his words. This was the real deal and this is why I was called for this ministry. All my plans for later in the day are now on hold as it's time to deal with this man for as long as it takes. You know there are no "magic words" to say, each time and each person is different and I like to first let them speak out their circumstances. Not knowing how much of a biblical background each person has can kind of hinder or limit your use of scripture to help, yet there are some general basics to tell them. Usually, people are familiar with the main patriarchs of the bible and you can tell people that these "great men" of the bible are great because of what they overcame without getting into too many specifics. With Arleo I was able to tell him about how things disintegrated around me a couple of years after my spiritual conversion (family, job, auto accident) and it took a few years to slowly get back up. Nothing happened overnight, it was a slow process. I think Arleo appreciated the fact that I wasn't some 25 year old where nothing bad had happened in their life and was trying to give him "advice". Well, we talked, we prayed and I gave him a card from the Dream Center. I only had a dollar and some change in my pocket which I gave to him. He refused it at first until I told him, "Hey, when you're ready, offer someone the buck to use their cell phone and call the number for the Dream Center. See what happens". With that he took the money. Nearly every time I meet someone in this situation, there are more than one or two factors. With Arleo, he was hungry (he ate the two burgers immediately--and I gave him another one before I left), he was thirsty (he drank the two bottles of water and I gave him another one), he was feeling dirty, frustrated, and no doubt guilt over not providing for his kids and his mistakes in the past that led to this situation. He also needed someone to listen! Someone who knew and understood the difficulties and frustrations of life. It was a privilege to be there, thank you Lord for answering my prayer to be a helper to someone in trouble.
Two other notable encounters for me. Carlos, whom I've been seeing for the last six months or so finally accepted some food Sunday. Also, when I was with my Spanish preaching friends down at McArthur Park later in the day, the battery pack gave out before I was able to speak. When they realized they couldn't fix it and had packed up to leave, I gathered them all together to pray for them. After I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to pray behind them and for being co-laborers in His harvest field they asked me to pray for someone with a special need in their group. One of the women who I thought was just with them (I didn't recognize her) turns out she was homeless and had no place to stay. I prayed for her (her name was Mary) to receive some opportunities for shelter and a new start. When I finished I suggested they take her to the Dream Center. Rosalla knew of the center, unfortunately, I didn't have a card on me (they were in the car), but I told them it was straight up Alvarado on Bellvue. I hope to find out how things went next week. --Until next time. John
PS...Yes, the green is in honor of St. Patricks Day....Hey, I'm of Irish descent!
"There's a little fable about a Mr. Jones who dies and goes to heaven. Peter is waiting at the gates to give him a tour. Amid the splendor of golden streets, beautiful mansions, and choirs of angels that Peter shows him, Mr. Jones notices an odd-looking building. He thinks it looks like an enormous warehouse--it has no windows and only one door. But when he asks to see inside, Peter hesitates. 'You really don't want to see what's in there.' he tells the new arrival. 'Why would there be any secrets in heaven?' Mr Jones wonders. What incredible surprise could be waiting for me in there? When the official tour is over he's still wondering, so he asks again to see inside the structure.
Finally Peter relents. When the apostle opens the door, Mr Jones almost knocks him over in his haste to enter. It turns out that the enormous building is filled with row after row of shelves, floor to ceiling, each stacked neatly with white boxes tied in red ribbons. "These boxes all have names on them, " Mr. Jones muses aloud. Then turning to Peter he asks, "Do I have one?" "Yes, you do." Peter tries to guide Mr. Jones back outside. "Frankly, if I were you..." Peter says, but Mr. Jones is already dashing toward the "J" aisle to find his box.
Peter follows, shaking his head. He catches up with Mr. Jones just as he is slipping the red ribbon off his box and popping the lid. Looking inside, Jones has a moment of instant recognition, and he lets out a deep sigh like the ones Peter has heard so many times before. Because there in Mr. Jones's white box are all the blessings that God wanted to give to him while he was on earth...but Mr. Jones had never asked.
"Ask," promised Jesus, "and it will be given to you" (Matthew 7:7). "You do not have because you do not ask," said James (James 4:2). Even though there is no limit to God's goodness, if you didn't ask Him for a blessing yesterday, you didn't get all that you were supposed to have.
I read this story this morning. I thought to myself, "How fortunate I was to make a special request on my way downtown yesterday. I had asked to meet someone who was desperate emotionally. The special encounter came with the second man I stopped to help. His name was Arleo Jones. He told me he will turn 44 years old this week and he is from the LA area. When I first pulled up and asked if he was hungry he immediately responded with a yes. He said yes to the water too and then I asked if he needed some socks. I noticed when I pulled up that his shoes and socks were off. It was about 3 pm and a pretty warm Sunday (about 78 degrees). When someone says yes to the socks, that opens the door up to a longer conversation because I have to get out of the car and open the back up. Arleo ended up needing a couple of T-shirts and a pair a shoes too. During this time he opened up to me about his frustration with his life. More than once he told me, "I have so much to offer, I have lots of talent and yet I'm stuck here with no hope." Eventually, because he hadn't showered in a while he told me he felt so dirty that he thought about going down to the beach and just swimming straight out until the under current pulled him under and he could just end it all right there. His frustration with life was palpable. He told me he is a father to six kids and that he was a good and patient Dad (you'd have to be with that many) and that a couple of years back he was in church and accepted Christ and even received the gift of tongues and a week or so later he was homeless and on the street! He just couldn't understand "why God had let this happen to him!" You know it doesn't take too long to realize an encounter with someone goes far beyond giving them food, water and clothing. I had prayed for this not fifteen minutes before, but for some reason it always sneaks up on you as a surprise, you're not just on deck, you're up (that's a baseball term), it's time to shine and meet the need with whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to give out. As a man of nearly 60 years of living experience I've had my share of trials and tribulations and I knew and recognized the frustration in his words. This was the real deal and this is why I was called for this ministry. All my plans for later in the day are now on hold as it's time to deal with this man for as long as it takes. You know there are no "magic words" to say, each time and each person is different and I like to first let them speak out their circumstances. Not knowing how much of a biblical background each person has can kind of hinder or limit your use of scripture to help, yet there are some general basics to tell them. Usually, people are familiar with the main patriarchs of the bible and you can tell people that these "great men" of the bible are great because of what they overcame without getting into too many specifics. With Arleo I was able to tell him about how things disintegrated around me a couple of years after my spiritual conversion (family, job, auto accident) and it took a few years to slowly get back up. Nothing happened overnight, it was a slow process. I think Arleo appreciated the fact that I wasn't some 25 year old where nothing bad had happened in their life and was trying to give him "advice". Well, we talked, we prayed and I gave him a card from the Dream Center. I only had a dollar and some change in my pocket which I gave to him. He refused it at first until I told him, "Hey, when you're ready, offer someone the buck to use their cell phone and call the number for the Dream Center. See what happens". With that he took the money. Nearly every time I meet someone in this situation, there are more than one or two factors. With Arleo, he was hungry (he ate the two burgers immediately--and I gave him another one before I left), he was thirsty (he drank the two bottles of water and I gave him another one), he was feeling dirty, frustrated, and no doubt guilt over not providing for his kids and his mistakes in the past that led to this situation. He also needed someone to listen! Someone who knew and understood the difficulties and frustrations of life. It was a privilege to be there, thank you Lord for answering my prayer to be a helper to someone in trouble.
Two other notable encounters for me. Carlos, whom I've been seeing for the last six months or so finally accepted some food Sunday. Also, when I was with my Spanish preaching friends down at McArthur Park later in the day, the battery pack gave out before I was able to speak. When they realized they couldn't fix it and had packed up to leave, I gathered them all together to pray for them. After I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to pray behind them and for being co-laborers in His harvest field they asked me to pray for someone with a special need in their group. One of the women who I thought was just with them (I didn't recognize her) turns out she was homeless and had no place to stay. I prayed for her (her name was Mary) to receive some opportunities for shelter and a new start. When I finished I suggested they take her to the Dream Center. Rosalla knew of the center, unfortunately, I didn't have a card on me (they were in the car), but I told them it was straight up Alvarado on Bellvue. I hope to find out how things went next week. --Until next time. John
PS...Yes, the green is in honor of St. Patricks Day....Hey, I'm of Irish descent!
Monday, February 24, 2014
Downtown 2/23/2014
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord.' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." Matthew 7:21
After having to work all through last weekend and switching to my 'nights' working schedule for the next four months, I made it downtown a little after 3 pm yesterday. Having to work 8 out of the last 10 days and going on 4 hours of sleep in the last day made it a little difficult, but I was looking forward to it. This weekend and next weekend will be the last two weekends before daylight savings time returns, so I wanted to get down as early as I could to maximize the daylight hours. One of the new dynamics about going to McArthur Park is that it kind of ends up being in the 'middle' of the trip. So I bought what I thought would be just enough food to give out before going to the park with the intention of buying more after the park. Interestingly, I bought the food by my house and as I was leaving the parking lot of that store I saw a homeless man named Compton (yes there are homeless folks here in my hometown) that I was able to assist before even getting on the freeway! He had a very small bag of cans he was taking to the recycler behind the grocery store. I'm sure the proceeds from the cans would not have been enough to buy the amount of food and water I gave him. He was very happy indeed.
So after I drove downtown I ended up on a small street called Essex. It is just west of Central Ave. I had helped one other man already, who lived under the freeway at Hooper St (where Downtown Richard Brown used to live) when I drove down this street. The first guy I helped was a man named Angelo. Just down the street from him I saw another man standing near the corner on the other side of the street. I pulled to the curb and called out to him asking if he needed some food. From behind me and on the same side of the street where I was another man answered "Yes." Both men came over to the car. The first man I had seen, his name was David, said they had been waiting for a food truck that was supposed to come by but hadn't showed up. He said I was "Right on time." They both referred to me as a 'blessing' as they were hungry. Luckily, I had just enough food for the both of them and gave them a bottle of water too. I told them (the other man's name was Mike) I was on my way to preach the gospel in McArthur Park, but offered to pray for them before I left. I reached out my arms to both of them. Now I think this was a first for me, I had one arm out each window holding each man's hand as I prayed for them. It will always be a cherished moment for me. When I concluded the prayer saying, "In Jesus' name", they both repeated it! I drove away to both of them saying, "God bless you." What a precious moment. It was now 3:20 pm. I had been worried about not having enough time to give out the normal amount of food I buy, so I bought less, and now I had given it all out in about 15 minutes. I drove on over to McArthur Park thinking maybe after the park I can come back through here if there's enough daylight left.
It took a while to find a place to park at the park, but I finally made it in there. I had stopped briefly on the way to pray in front of the "I am Legion" sign. It was now about 4 pm when I started walking through the park. I usually see two Spanish speaking evangelical groups on opposite ends of the park along 7th St, but today I saw neither. As I walked around through the park though I saw the women that I normally preach with walking around. I said hello to them and they told me that they didn't have the microphone and equipment that day so they were walking through and handing out tracts. I asked about Rene and they told me he was in Guatamala this week (apparently that's where he's from). Rosalla is from Mexico and two of the other women are from El Salvador. Another young woman (she was probably about eighteen) was with them, but she said she was born here. We talked for a while, I told them I loved them and would see them next week. This was right by the statue of Monsignor Oscar Romero. Over by the corner of 7th and Alvarado, where we normally would be preaching, I saw a couple of men who are with a man who usually preaches after we do. That man, Pastor Rafael, was not there Sunday, but these two men were handing out tracts. As we stood there talking we saw another group of men talking nearby. I asked Willie what was going on there (they were speaking in Spanish) and he told me that some other groups with strange doctrines sometimes go through the park arguing with people over doctrinal issues. You know I try to keep things simple: Love God, love people, God loves you and Jesus died for your sins. Now follow His example and His teachings as you live your life (abide in Him). Simplicity. Pray always. The first century church didn't have the bible, but they had the Holy Spirit with them. This was the source of their power and the church grew. We can learn a lot from the first century church. Well I continued to prayer-walk all around the park. On the west side of the park I have always seen a large group of people there with boxes and boxes of food. The food looks like mostly produce, but there are probably a hundred people around there every weekend. I found out the food is free (you just have to stand in line to get it) and it would appear it is a ministry outreach from some kind of church group. I'll keep asking around to find out more about this group. Hmm, handing out food. I don't see anything strange about that doctrine! That would be actually be doing the 'will of the Father'. --Until next time. John
PS. I did end up going back through the downtown area and met up with John Mellon. I hadn't seen him in over a year. He was in the Jack in the Box and told me he was living near 17th and Naomi St. While I was ordering some coffee and tacos John got into an altercation with another man who punched John in the face! Yes, inside the Jack in the Box! You just never know what's going to happen next downtown. --John
After having to work all through last weekend and switching to my 'nights' working schedule for the next four months, I made it downtown a little after 3 pm yesterday. Having to work 8 out of the last 10 days and going on 4 hours of sleep in the last day made it a little difficult, but I was looking forward to it. This weekend and next weekend will be the last two weekends before daylight savings time returns, so I wanted to get down as early as I could to maximize the daylight hours. One of the new dynamics about going to McArthur Park is that it kind of ends up being in the 'middle' of the trip. So I bought what I thought would be just enough food to give out before going to the park with the intention of buying more after the park. Interestingly, I bought the food by my house and as I was leaving the parking lot of that store I saw a homeless man named Compton (yes there are homeless folks here in my hometown) that I was able to assist before even getting on the freeway! He had a very small bag of cans he was taking to the recycler behind the grocery store. I'm sure the proceeds from the cans would not have been enough to buy the amount of food and water I gave him. He was very happy indeed.
So after I drove downtown I ended up on a small street called Essex. It is just west of Central Ave. I had helped one other man already, who lived under the freeway at Hooper St (where Downtown Richard Brown used to live) when I drove down this street. The first guy I helped was a man named Angelo. Just down the street from him I saw another man standing near the corner on the other side of the street. I pulled to the curb and called out to him asking if he needed some food. From behind me and on the same side of the street where I was another man answered "Yes." Both men came over to the car. The first man I had seen, his name was David, said they had been waiting for a food truck that was supposed to come by but hadn't showed up. He said I was "Right on time." They both referred to me as a 'blessing' as they were hungry. Luckily, I had just enough food for the both of them and gave them a bottle of water too. I told them (the other man's name was Mike) I was on my way to preach the gospel in McArthur Park, but offered to pray for them before I left. I reached out my arms to both of them. Now I think this was a first for me, I had one arm out each window holding each man's hand as I prayed for them. It will always be a cherished moment for me. When I concluded the prayer saying, "In Jesus' name", they both repeated it! I drove away to both of them saying, "God bless you." What a precious moment. It was now 3:20 pm. I had been worried about not having enough time to give out the normal amount of food I buy, so I bought less, and now I had given it all out in about 15 minutes. I drove on over to McArthur Park thinking maybe after the park I can come back through here if there's enough daylight left.
It took a while to find a place to park at the park, but I finally made it in there. I had stopped briefly on the way to pray in front of the "I am Legion" sign. It was now about 4 pm when I started walking through the park. I usually see two Spanish speaking evangelical groups on opposite ends of the park along 7th St, but today I saw neither. As I walked around through the park though I saw the women that I normally preach with walking around. I said hello to them and they told me that they didn't have the microphone and equipment that day so they were walking through and handing out tracts. I asked about Rene and they told me he was in Guatamala this week (apparently that's where he's from). Rosalla is from Mexico and two of the other women are from El Salvador. Another young woman (she was probably about eighteen) was with them, but she said she was born here. We talked for a while, I told them I loved them and would see them next week. This was right by the statue of Monsignor Oscar Romero. Over by the corner of 7th and Alvarado, where we normally would be preaching, I saw a couple of men who are with a man who usually preaches after we do. That man, Pastor Rafael, was not there Sunday, but these two men were handing out tracts. As we stood there talking we saw another group of men talking nearby. I asked Willie what was going on there (they were speaking in Spanish) and he told me that some other groups with strange doctrines sometimes go through the park arguing with people over doctrinal issues. You know I try to keep things simple: Love God, love people, God loves you and Jesus died for your sins. Now follow His example and His teachings as you live your life (abide in Him). Simplicity. Pray always. The first century church didn't have the bible, but they had the Holy Spirit with them. This was the source of their power and the church grew. We can learn a lot from the first century church. Well I continued to prayer-walk all around the park. On the west side of the park I have always seen a large group of people there with boxes and boxes of food. The food looks like mostly produce, but there are probably a hundred people around there every weekend. I found out the food is free (you just have to stand in line to get it) and it would appear it is a ministry outreach from some kind of church group. I'll keep asking around to find out more about this group. Hmm, handing out food. I don't see anything strange about that doctrine! That would be actually be doing the 'will of the Father'. --Until next time. John
PS. I did end up going back through the downtown area and met up with John Mellon. I hadn't seen him in over a year. He was in the Jack in the Box and told me he was living near 17th and Naomi St. While I was ordering some coffee and tacos John got into an altercation with another man who punched John in the face! Yes, inside the Jack in the Box! You just never know what's going to happen next downtown. --John
Monday, February 10, 2014
Downtown 2/9/2014
"Then the king (Jesus) will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when [did we do these things to you]?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' --Matthew 25:34-40
Last week's trip occurred on Monday. When the trip is during the week, the opportunities for conversation are greatly limited due to traffic congestion and my available time. However, I did see Robert that day. He lives near Alameda and 4th by a little mini truck stop. Robert is about 70 years old and lives off of the hand-outs people give him in that area. He is old, tired and speaks in a whisper. I had asked him last week if there was anything special that he needed that I could bring him. I had given him some food, but suggested maybe a blanket or a jacket. He said, "I could use a blanket I guess." So Sunday I brought him one. While we stood at the back of the car I asked if there was anything else he could use. I had asked if he needed some socks and he said yes to that and then he asked if I had a T-shirt. Now usually I let the people I see just go through the clothes and take whatever they see that they need, but Robert is so old and weak from years on the street that I went through the clothes myself looking for a T-shirt. Lo and behold I found a white T-shirt, just what he wanted! I didn't even know I had one in there! A sweet gentle smile appeared on Roberts face! That was worth the trip right there. We talked for a few minutes, Robert barely speaks loud enough to hear and standing by Alameda St doesn't help either. I asked him how old he was, but I couldn't hear his response. I asked where he was from originally and he told me "this area". I told him I was from "this area too". I prayed for Robert and gave him enough food to last into Monday. I was privileged to help him through his day.
Two weeks ago I wrote about a man named Carlos who I see hanging around some buildings in an industrial area by Washington Blvd and Alameda. Actually, he hangs around closer to Long Beach Blvd and Washington. Anyway, he has never accepted any food, but I had given him a blanket a while back and the last time I saw him a bottle of water. This time he accepted another bottle of water and we talked some more (he declined the food again). I saw him reading a book on the French language. He told me when he was in school, years ago, he had taken a couple of years of French, so he was trying to study the language again. I learned that he is from Nicaragua. He told me, "Nicaragua is in Central America". I told him that I knew where it was and that one of my best friends at work was from that country too. I learned the word for "socks" in Spanish is "calcetines". Little by little, Carlos and I will build a relationship. I am convinced that beyond the physical needs that Carlos and others have, the most important commodity that they need is someone spending some time with them. Listening to their stories and their dreams helps validate their lives as worth something to someone. Eventually, I'll be able to help them understand that their life is far more valuable than they ever imagined.....in fact, priceless to their Creator God.
During the course of the trip, I drove over to the Lincoln Park area. I ended up parking and using the public restroom facilities. As I was starting to walk back to my car a homeless man stopped me and asked me if I wanted a peach. He held up a bag with 4 or 5 peaches in it. I declined his offer, but asked him if there was anything he needed. He replied, "I could use some meat". I told him, "Well, I think I can help you with that. Follow me back to my car, I think I've got something there for you." It wasn't very far to get back to my car, but along the way he told me he was from El Paso and that he had just gotten out here a couple of days ago. He said, "Its too cold there in the winter and too hot in the summer." When we got to the car I gave him a deli sandwich and a couple of bottles of water. I asked if he needed some socks. He said, "Well, my socks are wet, I guess I could use some." I think he was surprised that I had some to give out. His name was Daniel and he was 54 years old. I got to pray for him too. The "coincidence" of meeting him was pretty amazing. To think I almost brushed him off as I walked back to my car because I was on a mission to go help people and here right in front of me I almost tripped over someone in my blindness who needed help.
A few months back when my trips downtown were finished I had stopped by a friend of mine from work who was in the hospital with a serious health issue. I saw him in the hospital and at his house when he got out and talked with him a couple of times on the phone. Word got around at work that I had seen this guy and gone to his house and prayed with him. Few people ever expected to see this man return to work, but last week he did return. One of the other guys at work who knew I had gone to see him came over to my desk and talked with me about how amazed he was that our friend had returned to work. We chatted about it for a few minutes and then just before he went home he said in all seriousness, "I guess that prayer stuff really works." Without hesitation or even thinking about it I replied, "Prayer always works." It didn't occur to me until a while later that pretty much everyone in our department knew that I had gone over to pray for and with this man. It was now a testimony to the power of God. What a privilege to be a part of that story.
Well, I'll finish this blog with a quick word on my trip into McArthur Park. It went pretty much the same way it has gone the last few weeks. I got there as my Spanish speaking Pentecostal friends were preaching and at the end, they let me preach too. While they are preaching I'm praying for the hearts of the people milling around in that area of the park. There seemed to be more people there than usual due to some "get the vote out" folks who were gathered around the statue of Signor Oscar Romero. Anyway, as I was standing behind my Pentecostal friends I noticed a few other Christians walking around in the park that day. One couple was a very young couple, I'm guessing in their mid to late twenties who walked right up to me when they saw my Bible in my hands. His name was Luke and hers was Katie. He had on a T-shirt with some words on it about Jesus so we had an immediate bond and talked for quite awhile before it was my time to preach. During this time I also noticed a Muslim family walking past us. I commented about this family later to the Spanish speaking group that was going to take over after we left and one of the men said, "I didn't want to have anything to do with them." I told him, "Remember, Jesus died for Muslims too. We'll never reach Muslims unless we're willing to talk to them." One other thing of note. A blind couple walked passed us at one point too. They both had their walking sticks out. My father was blind the last thirty years of his life and he used a walking stick too. My biggest regret yesterday was not going over to pray for them. Another missed opportunity. Until next time. --John
Last week's trip occurred on Monday. When the trip is during the week, the opportunities for conversation are greatly limited due to traffic congestion and my available time. However, I did see Robert that day. He lives near Alameda and 4th by a little mini truck stop. Robert is about 70 years old and lives off of the hand-outs people give him in that area. He is old, tired and speaks in a whisper. I had asked him last week if there was anything special that he needed that I could bring him. I had given him some food, but suggested maybe a blanket or a jacket. He said, "I could use a blanket I guess." So Sunday I brought him one. While we stood at the back of the car I asked if there was anything else he could use. I had asked if he needed some socks and he said yes to that and then he asked if I had a T-shirt. Now usually I let the people I see just go through the clothes and take whatever they see that they need, but Robert is so old and weak from years on the street that I went through the clothes myself looking for a T-shirt. Lo and behold I found a white T-shirt, just what he wanted! I didn't even know I had one in there! A sweet gentle smile appeared on Roberts face! That was worth the trip right there. We talked for a few minutes, Robert barely speaks loud enough to hear and standing by Alameda St doesn't help either. I asked him how old he was, but I couldn't hear his response. I asked where he was from originally and he told me "this area". I told him I was from "this area too". I prayed for Robert and gave him enough food to last into Monday. I was privileged to help him through his day.
Two weeks ago I wrote about a man named Carlos who I see hanging around some buildings in an industrial area by Washington Blvd and Alameda. Actually, he hangs around closer to Long Beach Blvd and Washington. Anyway, he has never accepted any food, but I had given him a blanket a while back and the last time I saw him a bottle of water. This time he accepted another bottle of water and we talked some more (he declined the food again). I saw him reading a book on the French language. He told me when he was in school, years ago, he had taken a couple of years of French, so he was trying to study the language again. I learned that he is from Nicaragua. He told me, "Nicaragua is in Central America". I told him that I knew where it was and that one of my best friends at work was from that country too. I learned the word for "socks" in Spanish is "calcetines". Little by little, Carlos and I will build a relationship. I am convinced that beyond the physical needs that Carlos and others have, the most important commodity that they need is someone spending some time with them. Listening to their stories and their dreams helps validate their lives as worth something to someone. Eventually, I'll be able to help them understand that their life is far more valuable than they ever imagined.....in fact, priceless to their Creator God.
During the course of the trip, I drove over to the Lincoln Park area. I ended up parking and using the public restroom facilities. As I was starting to walk back to my car a homeless man stopped me and asked me if I wanted a peach. He held up a bag with 4 or 5 peaches in it. I declined his offer, but asked him if there was anything he needed. He replied, "I could use some meat". I told him, "Well, I think I can help you with that. Follow me back to my car, I think I've got something there for you." It wasn't very far to get back to my car, but along the way he told me he was from El Paso and that he had just gotten out here a couple of days ago. He said, "Its too cold there in the winter and too hot in the summer." When we got to the car I gave him a deli sandwich and a couple of bottles of water. I asked if he needed some socks. He said, "Well, my socks are wet, I guess I could use some." I think he was surprised that I had some to give out. His name was Daniel and he was 54 years old. I got to pray for him too. The "coincidence" of meeting him was pretty amazing. To think I almost brushed him off as I walked back to my car because I was on a mission to go help people and here right in front of me I almost tripped over someone in my blindness who needed help.
A few months back when my trips downtown were finished I had stopped by a friend of mine from work who was in the hospital with a serious health issue. I saw him in the hospital and at his house when he got out and talked with him a couple of times on the phone. Word got around at work that I had seen this guy and gone to his house and prayed with him. Few people ever expected to see this man return to work, but last week he did return. One of the other guys at work who knew I had gone to see him came over to my desk and talked with me about how amazed he was that our friend had returned to work. We chatted about it for a few minutes and then just before he went home he said in all seriousness, "I guess that prayer stuff really works." Without hesitation or even thinking about it I replied, "Prayer always works." It didn't occur to me until a while later that pretty much everyone in our department knew that I had gone over to pray for and with this man. It was now a testimony to the power of God. What a privilege to be a part of that story.
Well, I'll finish this blog with a quick word on my trip into McArthur Park. It went pretty much the same way it has gone the last few weeks. I got there as my Spanish speaking Pentecostal friends were preaching and at the end, they let me preach too. While they are preaching I'm praying for the hearts of the people milling around in that area of the park. There seemed to be more people there than usual due to some "get the vote out" folks who were gathered around the statue of Signor Oscar Romero. Anyway, as I was standing behind my Pentecostal friends I noticed a few other Christians walking around in the park that day. One couple was a very young couple, I'm guessing in their mid to late twenties who walked right up to me when they saw my Bible in my hands. His name was Luke and hers was Katie. He had on a T-shirt with some words on it about Jesus so we had an immediate bond and talked for quite awhile before it was my time to preach. During this time I also noticed a Muslim family walking past us. I commented about this family later to the Spanish speaking group that was going to take over after we left and one of the men said, "I didn't want to have anything to do with them." I told him, "Remember, Jesus died for Muslims too. We'll never reach Muslims unless we're willing to talk to them." One other thing of note. A blind couple walked passed us at one point too. They both had their walking sticks out. My father was blind the last thirty years of his life and he used a walking stick too. My biggest regret yesterday was not going over to pray for them. Another missed opportunity. Until next time. --John
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