"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." --Emma Lazarus, quoted on the statue of liberty"
Blessed be daylight savings time! The last two weeks have been a lot easier because of the time change, in fact, I have left to come home with it still being light out. I just ran out of time last week to write about the trip, so I'll do what I did the last time and write about both last week and this week.
Let me start with last week's trip and admit that nothing memorable, that I can remember, happened. But something happened that night when I got home and the next morning that impacted my understanding of the trip (and all of them for that matter) that I'd like to share. I had given out a dozen sandwiches and at least four blankets and jackets and sweaters. Pretty much the usual stuff I see on these trips and meeting the needs of the people I saw. Since I've done this so many times I tend to forget how much it can impact the people on the receiving end. Most all the blankets were given out in the alley off 25th and San Pedro where a group of people were hanging out. They picked through the clothes pretty well and after I left them I finished the trip by helping mostly single people here and there who were alone. So I got home and after a couple of hours was ready to go to bed. My wife needed a few minutes to put the clean sheets and stuff back on our bed. We have a new puppy in the house and he can get under foot just like a toddler. He has a tendency also to nip at your feet. So I volunteered to take him outside in the backyard and wait with him while my wife got the bed ready (there's coyotes out at night around here). It was now cold out so I put on a heavy jacket and went outside with Buster. We were only out there for 10 minutes max, but I started thinking about the folks I had just seen downtown who were spending the night on the sidewalks and in the alleys with little comforts. I had a fairly heavy jacket on, but if I was spending the whole night outside and trying to sleep, it wouldn't have been enough. No doubt about it, I would have been miserable and sleeping very long would have been difficult at best. The story doesn't end there though. because the next morning I had to make a trip to a recycler in Pomona. As I left the recycler, I saw what appeared to be a homeless man sitting on a curb on Mission Blvd. It looked like he had slipped off the curb (while sitting) and was readjusting himself back on the edge of the curb. He had a big smile on his face and the 'look' of being intoxicated. It was somewhere between 8:30 and 9 am. I thought, "Wow, he probably was drinking just to get through the cold night!". There are many people who live in nice homes who drink or use drugs to get through their nights trying to medicate their way through whatever pain they are feeling in their life. The homeless are no different. They probably don't have $20 for a warm blanket, but they may be able to come up with $2 or $5 for something to dull the pain of cold air. No, I'm not condoning the action for either, but its far easier to understand for someone cold on the sidewalk at night.
OK, yesterday's trip. There were two memorable encounters that will always stay with me. I drove to the burned-out church first to pray and then went on over to the alley by 25th and San Pedro. There were only three people there this week, Becky and a couple of other men, one I see there all the time and the other man I'm not sure I recognized. I didn't take any blankets with me this time (I want to make sure my supply lasts a couple of more months at least), but I did take several sweaters and a couple of jackets and a lot of shirts. It is supposed to warm up this week and perhaps reach the 80's by the end of the week. I had opened up the back of the car and Becky and the man I knew were going through it. Finally, the other guy saw that there were clothes they were getting so he gets up and comes over. He and Becky had been sitting together when I drove up and had some shopping carts in front of them. I figured out the man was smoking drugs behind that barricade. A few minutes later when he was by my car I asked him what his name was. He said he goes by the name of "Wash". He was thanking me for the clothes when I asked him if I could pray for him. Initially, he declined saying he "just wasn't right" right then. I understood what he was getting at. There are times when we all are estranged from God. Whether its over something we're doing or not doing, thinking or feeling, we can feel the 'distance' between ourselves and God and his desire for our lives. Well by now, you probably know me well enough that his 'no' wasn't going to stop me from praying for him. To be sure, he probably still felt uncomfortable, but when I prayed I asked for Jesus to 'help' him see God's higher purpose and will for his life and I said nothing about "help him stop doing drugs". It was short and to the point, encouraging and not condemning. As I always say about times like this, it was a privilege to pray for him. I've always prayed about being a light in a dark place and that alley is a dark place. When I drove up I saw several lighters on the ground. This is the alley where Billy died just a few weeks ago. Drug abuse is prevalent, not with everyone, but with a lot of people around there.
So after I left there I drove around quite a bit looking for people to help, but one man I helped is an old friend of mine. I've seen him off an on for probably 5 years down there. His name is Allan and he is easily the most pitiful man I see down there. He is the picture of homelessness. He is small, with a full beard and matted hair. The clothes he wears he's probably had on for a couple of years. He never talks and the most I get out of him when I see him is a smile when he see's me and if I'm lucky a "Yeah". That's the most he'll ever say at one time. Obviously, there is an element of mental illness here. I usually see Alan around Olympic and Central near a MacDonald's on the corner. He will have a shopping cart that's overloaded with a high mound of 'stuff''. I'll be driving by and see him pushing his cart in the middle of Olympic and call out his name and hold out a burger or something. When he comes over I'll ask him if he wants some water and that's when he'll say "Yeah". It's always a quick drive-by encounter because he's usually on the move in the middle of the street. Yesterday was no exception except he was more downtown on 9th. Instead of a big overstuffed shopping cart he had one of those small two-wheeled carts that you see older women taking to the grocery store. He was dragging it with both hands behind him. His head was down and the hair from his beard and head was covering his face, but I recognized him anyway. I had to circle back around to catch up to him and when I did I handed him a sandwich and a bottle of water through the window. I told him I loved him. As I drove away he immediately walked over to the sidewalk leaving the cart in the street. There was some sort of a table on the sidewalk where he started unwrapping the sandwich. Apparently, he was so hungry nothing else mattered. After driving away I couldn't get this encounter off my mind and drove back looking for Alan so I could give him some more food, but unfortunately, I couldn't locate him again. It was a heartbreak. I'll have to do better the next time I see him. --Until then. John
Monday, March 21, 2016
Monday, February 29, 2016
Downtown 2/28/2016
"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. ---1 Corinthians 13:2-8a.
Sorry its taken so long to make a blog entry, but I've had to work an extra day or two for four weeks in a row. I've made trips the last three weekends, but its been difficult with limited time after working the extra days to write one. This weekend was the first full weekend in a while, so I'll try and give a quick recap of the highlights of the last three trips.
I had a memorable encounter three weekends ago with a young man named Jason. He was on a side- walk just east of Los Angeles St and Venice. We must have talked for forty minutes. I had asked him if he was hungry when I drove up and when he came over to the car I ended up praying for him through the car window. During the prayer he asked if I would get out and "do this right". I'm sure he was lonesome for someone to talk to who wasn't asking for anything in return. He was recently unemployed, but had been employed for a while. However, his employer was very difficult to get along with and he finally had had enough. With no back-up support system (ie. family) here he was on the street. He had a girl friend and got along well with her and her family, but since he was unemployed he felt very insecure and inadequate being around them. Where he was when I saw him was just south of the garment district. I wouldn't have thought of the garment district as being very dangerous, but he told me he had been accosted two or three times walking through there so he walked around it now. Incidentally, that is the area where he had worked. We talked about his work situation, his girl friend and her family and even the knife wounds he suffered. We must have prayed three different times about different issues. One of the things he asked me about was drug use. It seems there were several people he is acquainted with who asked him to participate with them in using drugs and when he refused he was considered "condescending". I told him wasn't being condescending, it was a display of "character" instead. Substance abuse is a very subtle trap and my advice was to stay away from it at all costs. In the end, I told Jason I come down here generally every Sunday evening and I'll look for him if he's in this same spot. He told me he would be here if he isn't in San Diego. I think that's where his girl friend and her family live. Anyway, that's the way we left it. I promised I'd be back the next Sunday.
The next Sunday when I got off the freeway at Los Angeles St I saw a homeless man digging through the trash cans at the corner of Los Angeles and Venice. Instead of turning east on Venice I drove on through the intersection on Los Angeles St and called out to him when I got to the corner across the street. "Hey are you hungry?" He said yes, but as he answered me he recognized me. I told him to wait there and I'd drive around the block and come back to him. It turns out it was a man named Gary who I knew and helped many times about three years ago when he was living in an alley behind the auto parts store down the street on Washington Blvd. It was pure joy to see him again because I had often wondered what happened to him many times in the last three years. He told me he was living on 17th just east of San Pedro Blvd. There are a lot of folks living on that street now, but by the time I get there, they are usually in their make-shift homes for the night. We got caught up on the last three years, he had just gotten over a bout with pneumonia that had him in the hospital for a month. He had his shopping cart and had been recycling all day, it was now time to get over to the recycler by the Jack in the Box on Alameda before they closed. I gave him a couple of sandwiches and water, some clothes and a blanket. As we talked we heard a car coming down the street east on Venice. It was making a lot of noise that turned out to be a flat tire. It was the Honda version of a Bronco. The man driving the car pulled into the drive-way where we were standing and talking. He parked close by and when he got out he asked if I had a jack. I got one out of the back of my car along with the T-bar to undo the lug nuts. Gary was lobbying to change the tire for the man to earn a couple of dollars, but the man said he didn't have any money to give him. Well, Gary was still needing to get to the recycler before it closed at 7 pm (it was now 5:15 pm) so he took-off and I was left with the man with the flat tire and his family. His wife and mother and two you girls were with him. The jack I had given him got the car up high enough to get the flat off, but not high enough to get the spare on. I looked around the alley for something to put under the jack to get it to go higher, but thought I'd look in my car for something else to use. It turned out that I had another jack, the second one was the one for my car and the first one was an extra one I had gotten for another car a long time ago. So he was able to use the second jack to get the actual wheel up high enough to get the spare on it. The only problem was, when he lowered the car down the weight of the car was too much for the spare. There wasn't enough air pressure in the spare to handle it and it was essentially flat when he removed the two jacks. Luckily, I had one of those tire inflators that plug into a cigarette lighter. So another fifteen minutes or so and the tire was inflated to it's proper level. During all this time we talked. I had noticed that they were kind of dressed up and he told me they had just gotten out of church. They lived in Santa Ana. I told them how I knew Gary and that I came down here to help minster to the homeless folks in the area. I told them a couple of stories about my experiences down there. One of which involved helping a young Latino man a few years ago named Alex not too far from where we were right then. I told them that there was something about him that compelled me to try and find a way to get him off the street. Maybe it was because my son's name is Alex and that they were the same age, maybe it was that he had a Spanish language bible that he actually read or that he just seemed like a nice kid that needed a break to get off the streets quickly, I don't know, but I wanted to help him. Anyway, it led me to go to the Dream Center to try and get some help and on the way there I passed by 7th and Alvarado and witnessed a big gang street fight. This image of the street fight stayed in my mind for a week and after praying about what God would want me to do about it I felt led to go back down there and start prayer-walking in MacArthur Park which eventually led to me preaching with some other evangelists in the park. Oh, and by the way, I did get a Spanish speaking contact for Alex and gave it to him the next week. After that, I never saw him again. So after telling these stories to them while we waited for the tire to inflate this man said that there was a free seminary that I might be interested to go to. We exchanged phone numbers and names. So guess what his name was??? Yeah, it was Alex!!! Before we all drove our separate ways, I gathered his family around and I prayed for them. It was special. You know when I think about that whole sequence of events, how if it wasn't for Gary being there, I wouldn't have been there. If I hadn't been there to supply the jack and the tire inflator, this man and his family would have been stuck there as the sun was going down with no Triple A and no way to replace the tire. If I hadn't made a promise to Jason the week before that I would be there, I probably wouldn't have gone downtown because I was really tired and had to go to work early the next morning. God is good. Turned out, Jason wasn't there and I haven't seen him since.
Yesterday's trip was somewhat uneventful. I got down there just about the time the sun went down, so there wasn't a lot of daylight left. I'm looking forward to March 13th and the start of daylight savings time. I went straight to where Don and Kia lived about a month ago under the freeway by the Alameda exit. Neither of them are living there anymore, Dave was there, but he keeps to himself all the time and doesn't know the people living across the street from him. I met a man name Sergio there and he told me that Don and Kia had moved on. I got to pray with him. He thought Don was over by 6th and Towne now. When I ended the night's trip I was at the parking lot at San Pedro and 9th. This is where I ended up on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the new owners of the lot have kicked all the homeless folks out. But Sunday I saw Red and some of the others there one more time in an alley next to the parking lot. I had heard that Shorty had gone to Detroit, but apparently, he's back. Red says he's getting an SRO this week and should be off the streets for good in a couple of days. He also told me that 3 of the folks living around there that I've known and helped have died. Mostly overdoses or mixtures of drugs and alcohol. I had made a dozen sandwiches to take down Sunday. Of the dozen people who received them, its hard to know how desperate they were for food. I do know they all got eaten, so there had to be a few who wouldn't have eaten anything if I hadn't made the trip.
Well, those are the highlights from the last three weeks. One more weekend before daylight savings time. That will help out a lot. It's hard to get up after 4 hours of sleep and get things ready to make a trip before the sun goes down. I'll take all the help I can get with daylight savings time. --Until next time. John
Sorry its taken so long to make a blog entry, but I've had to work an extra day or two for four weeks in a row. I've made trips the last three weekends, but its been difficult with limited time after working the extra days to write one. This weekend was the first full weekend in a while, so I'll try and give a quick recap of the highlights of the last three trips.
I had a memorable encounter three weekends ago with a young man named Jason. He was on a side- walk just east of Los Angeles St and Venice. We must have talked for forty minutes. I had asked him if he was hungry when I drove up and when he came over to the car I ended up praying for him through the car window. During the prayer he asked if I would get out and "do this right". I'm sure he was lonesome for someone to talk to who wasn't asking for anything in return. He was recently unemployed, but had been employed for a while. However, his employer was very difficult to get along with and he finally had had enough. With no back-up support system (ie. family) here he was on the street. He had a girl friend and got along well with her and her family, but since he was unemployed he felt very insecure and inadequate being around them. Where he was when I saw him was just south of the garment district. I wouldn't have thought of the garment district as being very dangerous, but he told me he had been accosted two or three times walking through there so he walked around it now. Incidentally, that is the area where he had worked. We talked about his work situation, his girl friend and her family and even the knife wounds he suffered. We must have prayed three different times about different issues. One of the things he asked me about was drug use. It seems there were several people he is acquainted with who asked him to participate with them in using drugs and when he refused he was considered "condescending". I told him wasn't being condescending, it was a display of "character" instead. Substance abuse is a very subtle trap and my advice was to stay away from it at all costs. In the end, I told Jason I come down here generally every Sunday evening and I'll look for him if he's in this same spot. He told me he would be here if he isn't in San Diego. I think that's where his girl friend and her family live. Anyway, that's the way we left it. I promised I'd be back the next Sunday.
The next Sunday when I got off the freeway at Los Angeles St I saw a homeless man digging through the trash cans at the corner of Los Angeles and Venice. Instead of turning east on Venice I drove on through the intersection on Los Angeles St and called out to him when I got to the corner across the street. "Hey are you hungry?" He said yes, but as he answered me he recognized me. I told him to wait there and I'd drive around the block and come back to him. It turns out it was a man named Gary who I knew and helped many times about three years ago when he was living in an alley behind the auto parts store down the street on Washington Blvd. It was pure joy to see him again because I had often wondered what happened to him many times in the last three years. He told me he was living on 17th just east of San Pedro Blvd. There are a lot of folks living on that street now, but by the time I get there, they are usually in their make-shift homes for the night. We got caught up on the last three years, he had just gotten over a bout with pneumonia that had him in the hospital for a month. He had his shopping cart and had been recycling all day, it was now time to get over to the recycler by the Jack in the Box on Alameda before they closed. I gave him a couple of sandwiches and water, some clothes and a blanket. As we talked we heard a car coming down the street east on Venice. It was making a lot of noise that turned out to be a flat tire. It was the Honda version of a Bronco. The man driving the car pulled into the drive-way where we were standing and talking. He parked close by and when he got out he asked if I had a jack. I got one out of the back of my car along with the T-bar to undo the lug nuts. Gary was lobbying to change the tire for the man to earn a couple of dollars, but the man said he didn't have any money to give him. Well, Gary was still needing to get to the recycler before it closed at 7 pm (it was now 5:15 pm) so he took-off and I was left with the man with the flat tire and his family. His wife and mother and two you girls were with him. The jack I had given him got the car up high enough to get the flat off, but not high enough to get the spare on. I looked around the alley for something to put under the jack to get it to go higher, but thought I'd look in my car for something else to use. It turned out that I had another jack, the second one was the one for my car and the first one was an extra one I had gotten for another car a long time ago. So he was able to use the second jack to get the actual wheel up high enough to get the spare on it. The only problem was, when he lowered the car down the weight of the car was too much for the spare. There wasn't enough air pressure in the spare to handle it and it was essentially flat when he removed the two jacks. Luckily, I had one of those tire inflators that plug into a cigarette lighter. So another fifteen minutes or so and the tire was inflated to it's proper level. During all this time we talked. I had noticed that they were kind of dressed up and he told me they had just gotten out of church. They lived in Santa Ana. I told them how I knew Gary and that I came down here to help minster to the homeless folks in the area. I told them a couple of stories about my experiences down there. One of which involved helping a young Latino man a few years ago named Alex not too far from where we were right then. I told them that there was something about him that compelled me to try and find a way to get him off the street. Maybe it was because my son's name is Alex and that they were the same age, maybe it was that he had a Spanish language bible that he actually read or that he just seemed like a nice kid that needed a break to get off the streets quickly, I don't know, but I wanted to help him. Anyway, it led me to go to the Dream Center to try and get some help and on the way there I passed by 7th and Alvarado and witnessed a big gang street fight. This image of the street fight stayed in my mind for a week and after praying about what God would want me to do about it I felt led to go back down there and start prayer-walking in MacArthur Park which eventually led to me preaching with some other evangelists in the park. Oh, and by the way, I did get a Spanish speaking contact for Alex and gave it to him the next week. After that, I never saw him again. So after telling these stories to them while we waited for the tire to inflate this man said that there was a free seminary that I might be interested to go to. We exchanged phone numbers and names. So guess what his name was??? Yeah, it was Alex!!! Before we all drove our separate ways, I gathered his family around and I prayed for them. It was special. You know when I think about that whole sequence of events, how if it wasn't for Gary being there, I wouldn't have been there. If I hadn't been there to supply the jack and the tire inflator, this man and his family would have been stuck there as the sun was going down with no Triple A and no way to replace the tire. If I hadn't made a promise to Jason the week before that I would be there, I probably wouldn't have gone downtown because I was really tired and had to go to work early the next morning. God is good. Turned out, Jason wasn't there and I haven't seen him since.
Yesterday's trip was somewhat uneventful. I got down there just about the time the sun went down, so there wasn't a lot of daylight left. I'm looking forward to March 13th and the start of daylight savings time. I went straight to where Don and Kia lived about a month ago under the freeway by the Alameda exit. Neither of them are living there anymore, Dave was there, but he keeps to himself all the time and doesn't know the people living across the street from him. I met a man name Sergio there and he told me that Don and Kia had moved on. I got to pray with him. He thought Don was over by 6th and Towne now. When I ended the night's trip I was at the parking lot at San Pedro and 9th. This is where I ended up on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the new owners of the lot have kicked all the homeless folks out. But Sunday I saw Red and some of the others there one more time in an alley next to the parking lot. I had heard that Shorty had gone to Detroit, but apparently, he's back. Red says he's getting an SRO this week and should be off the streets for good in a couple of days. He also told me that 3 of the folks living around there that I've known and helped have died. Mostly overdoses or mixtures of drugs and alcohol. I had made a dozen sandwiches to take down Sunday. Of the dozen people who received them, its hard to know how desperate they were for food. I do know they all got eaten, so there had to be a few who wouldn't have eaten anything if I hadn't made the trip.
Well, those are the highlights from the last three weeks. One more weekend before daylight savings time. That will help out a lot. It's hard to get up after 4 hours of sleep and get things ready to make a trip before the sun goes down. I'll take all the help I can get with daylight savings time. --Until next time. John
Alex changing the tire-with the second jack.He had taken his 'good' shirt off.
Gary on Venice St
Leticia and Antonio--Taken the same day as the others...I just like this photo of them
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Monday 1/26/16--and the Burned-Out Church
"Only a fool would say, 'There is no God!' People like that are worthless; they are heartless and cruel and never do right." Psalm 14:1
"I praise you, Lord, for being my guide. Even in the darkest night, your teachings fill my mind. I will always look to you, as you stand beside me and protect me from fear. With all my heart, I will celebrate, and I can safely rest." Psalm 16:7-9
What started out as 'just another trip' turned into a memorable one. I didn't have any extra money to buy any food to take, so I loaded up the car with clothes and blankets and stuff and took off downtown. I was a little concerned about not having any food to give out and kind of bemoaning the fact that I was going 'shorthanded', but if you have our Lord and His Kingdom with you, you've got everything covered. Actually, in retrospect, no one asked me for any food or water. On the way down there I was trying to decide whether to go look for people to help first or drive by the burn-out church first. I ended up looking for people to help first. After getting off at the Alameda exit I drove around to where John Stokes used to live. I had been told by another homeless man last week (his name was Don), that a newly arrived woman by the name of Kia had started living right where John had lived. I pulled up there next to a large make-shift shelter, but since I hadn't been introduced to her yet I didn't try and 'roust' her out of her shelter. I drove on down the street to where Dave and Don were and stopped there. Dave wasn't there initially, but came by a few minutes later. Don called out to me as soon as he saw me. I parked and got out of the car and opened up the back. There were about 4 other homeless folks about 20 or 30 yards down the street. He called them over. One of them was Kia! So I met her finally. Well they all got clothes and blankets and even a few of the tarps that I had. When I finished praying with Don and Crystal from that group, Crystal asked for special prayer for a friend of hers who had died two days ago. This friend's name was Carrie. So I prayed again, just with Crystal for her heart to be comforted by the Holy Spirit about her friend and so that she knows that others care too about her and her life situation. I stayed with Dave and Don for a while longer before leaving. I let them know it would probably be three weekends before I could return due to my work schedule.
Well, just about all the clothes had been picked through and I was now out of blankets. It was time to drive over the the burned-out church. When I got there it was about 11:30. As I got closer I could see some new timbers up in the roof area and there were several men standing in front of the church. I thought, "Finally...some one's there and I can find out what's going on." I parked across the street and asked one of the men if Pastor Magee was there. He pointed him out to me and a few minutes later we met. I told him I had called and spoken to his wife Mary and few months back and he did recall her telling him about me. We talked about the progress being made with the church's rebuilding process. At this point there seems to be one obstacle remaining with the city building commission about some handicap access and then the rebuilding program can begin. It was a real joy to meet Pastor Magee and see how faithful God truly is in rebuilding this church to be a lighthouse of God's faithfulness to this neighborhood. Pastor Magee told me that the architect of this building was a man by the name of John Austin who was the architect for several well know buildings in the Los Angeles area. So not only is the church building an historical landmark due to it's age, but it's significance as one of Mr Austin's buildings enhances the historical value too. I was able to walk into the building and see the inside first-hand and yes I did pray with Pastor Magee (you knew I wouldn't let that opportunity slip by now did you?). We exchanged phone numbers and I hope to meet with him again soon. What started out as an ordinary trip, ended up on the highest of notes! Praise God. Until next time. John
Here are some photos I took this morning....you can see the new timbers on the roof. Pastor Magee is the one in the white T-shirt and pants on the corner. FYI..I started praying specifically for this church and prayer-walking this neighborhood in September. The fire was three years ago in October...
"I praise you, Lord, for being my guide. Even in the darkest night, your teachings fill my mind. I will always look to you, as you stand beside me and protect me from fear. With all my heart, I will celebrate, and I can safely rest." Psalm 16:7-9
What started out as 'just another trip' turned into a memorable one. I didn't have any extra money to buy any food to take, so I loaded up the car with clothes and blankets and stuff and took off downtown. I was a little concerned about not having any food to give out and kind of bemoaning the fact that I was going 'shorthanded', but if you have our Lord and His Kingdom with you, you've got everything covered. Actually, in retrospect, no one asked me for any food or water. On the way down there I was trying to decide whether to go look for people to help first or drive by the burn-out church first. I ended up looking for people to help first. After getting off at the Alameda exit I drove around to where John Stokes used to live. I had been told by another homeless man last week (his name was Don), that a newly arrived woman by the name of Kia had started living right where John had lived. I pulled up there next to a large make-shift shelter, but since I hadn't been introduced to her yet I didn't try and 'roust' her out of her shelter. I drove on down the street to where Dave and Don were and stopped there. Dave wasn't there initially, but came by a few minutes later. Don called out to me as soon as he saw me. I parked and got out of the car and opened up the back. There were about 4 other homeless folks about 20 or 30 yards down the street. He called them over. One of them was Kia! So I met her finally. Well they all got clothes and blankets and even a few of the tarps that I had. When I finished praying with Don and Crystal from that group, Crystal asked for special prayer for a friend of hers who had died two days ago. This friend's name was Carrie. So I prayed again, just with Crystal for her heart to be comforted by the Holy Spirit about her friend and so that she knows that others care too about her and her life situation. I stayed with Dave and Don for a while longer before leaving. I let them know it would probably be three weekends before I could return due to my work schedule.
Well, just about all the clothes had been picked through and I was now out of blankets. It was time to drive over the the burned-out church. When I got there it was about 11:30. As I got closer I could see some new timbers up in the roof area and there were several men standing in front of the church. I thought, "Finally...some one's there and I can find out what's going on." I parked across the street and asked one of the men if Pastor Magee was there. He pointed him out to me and a few minutes later we met. I told him I had called and spoken to his wife Mary and few months back and he did recall her telling him about me. We talked about the progress being made with the church's rebuilding process. At this point there seems to be one obstacle remaining with the city building commission about some handicap access and then the rebuilding program can begin. It was a real joy to meet Pastor Magee and see how faithful God truly is in rebuilding this church to be a lighthouse of God's faithfulness to this neighborhood. Pastor Magee told me that the architect of this building was a man by the name of John Austin who was the architect for several well know buildings in the Los Angeles area. So not only is the church building an historical landmark due to it's age, but it's significance as one of Mr Austin's buildings enhances the historical value too. I was able to walk into the building and see the inside first-hand and yes I did pray with Pastor Magee (you knew I wouldn't let that opportunity slip by now did you?). We exchanged phone numbers and I hope to meet with him again soon. What started out as an ordinary trip, ended up on the highest of notes! Praise God. Until next time. John
Here are some photos I took this morning....you can see the new timbers on the roof. Pastor Magee is the one in the white T-shirt and pants on the corner. FYI..I started praying specifically for this church and prayer-walking this neighborhood in September. The fire was three years ago in October...
Here's the work going on inside.....
You know, God's always working on the inside...
Unfortunately, I didn't take a selfie with Pastor Magee....maybe next time I will.
Until then....--John
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Sunday downtown 1/10/16
"Come out of sadness from wherever you've been
Come broken-hearted, let rescue begin
Come find your mercy, oh sinner come near
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can't heal
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can't heal....
There's hope for the hopeless and all those who've strayed
Come sit at the table, come taste the grace
There's rest for the weary, rest that endures
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can't cure"
Come as you are---David Crowder
This is the last weekend before my work schedule changes back to nights. Sunday trips downtown will happen after I wake up in the afternoon starting next weekend. This weekend will be very busy trying to get a lot of things done. I had to fit this trip in a lot earlier in the day than I normally do and it was a little rough finding people initially. I had made another big pot of pasta to take with me. In fact, probably a lager amount than I have made in the past, so I was hoping to see a lot of people, but it certainly didn't start out that way. I drove around for quite a while and started to get worried that the pasta wouldn't be hot enough anymore. You can't just see someone on the street and pass some of it through the window, you have to stop and get out of the car and get the pot out of the back seat....needless to say, its a bit of a process. My first attempt was on Trinity St, but no one was there. I drove around some more and ended up going to the parking lot at 9th and San Pedro, but there were only a couple of people there at the time and they didn't seem too interested. So I ended up going on down to 25th and San Pedro to my friends in that alley. To keep other people out of their alley they put up a blockade of shopping carts at the entrance, but when they saw me, Pete moved them around so I could back in there. It was still a tight fit, but I managed to back in there.
After getting in there, I was in the process of getting out of the car when Pete told me that Billy had died a few days ago. I didn't get too many details about his death and I didn't ask much either. I have my ideas about what probably happened, but I don't know and it doesn't really matter how these things happen. I will always remember my first couple of encounters with Billy. It was only about October or so I think when I first met him in this alley.I didn't have much food left when I got to him. I handed out some bottles of water and held hands and prayed with him and Miguel that night. I'm sure it was the first time anyone had prayed with Billy in years, if ever. I ended up finding a couple of cans of mixed veggies in the car and gave one to Billy and one to Miguel. I kept seeing Billy in his make -shift shelter that night lighting something up. I didn't need an explanation as to what he was doing. But the next time I saw him he introduced me to his other friends there as his "best friend". I was honored. The last time I saw him was just a couple of weeks ago. I had again taken down a pot of pasta and while the people in the alley were going through the clothes in the back of my car I was dishing up food out of the side passenger door. Billy had gone back and gotten a bowl from his shelter and wanted me to put his food in it. His bowl was a "little" bigger than the ones I had (like maybe twice the size). You know its in serving others that you learn a lot about the heart of God. We try to understand things in a "one size fits all" mentality. At first I didn't want to "fill up" his bowl because that would mean that he would get more than everyone else, or maybe there wouldn't be enough to go around because he got too much. And sometimes you do have to put some limits on things....I get it, but God's grace is enough that even people who need a lot of forgiveness, get all they need. He needed to know someone cared for him personally, I did. I loved him just the way he was. Over time I would have learned a lot more about his life journey and come to understand him a lot better. We never know how much more time we have to get to know or say the things we want to say to others. Billy was my age and his life brought him to the end on an alley in Los Angeles. I'm sure it wasn't where he thought he'd end up or his parents thought he'd end up when he was a kid. We all have hopes and dreams when we're growing up and as parents you have hopes and dreams for your kids when they grow up. Yet here was where he ended up. When I thought about it later, the day he died was during the time we were having very heavy rains this last week. The fear and the reality of many is they end their lives all alone. Whether its a nursing home a hospital or even in your own home, we face the end far sooner than we usually anticipate. I hope in the short amount of time I had with Billy that he experienced a glimpse of what the Kingdom of Heaven would be like enough to have desired it at the end. I keep thinking of the account of Jesus' crucifixion and how one of the thieves crucified with him asked for a place in His kingdom in the end and Jesus granted him that desire.
Well, there weren't but three or four people in that alley Sunday who received some food, so I had to keep moving. It was still early and people were a little hard to find. I drove down an alley under the I-10 freeway by Central and 16th. There were a couple of guys there who are usually on Trinity St, but had come here for shelter. They called out to me as I drove by so I stopped. I've seen them before. They were listening to the Packer-Redskin football game, so I hung-out with them for a little bit. I told them that I had gone down Trinity earlier, but no one was there. They told me Leticia and Antonio had just walked by a few minutes before. So I saw them next. I still had a lot of pasta left and went over to 8th St. About 3 summers ago I used to see a couple there all the time. There names were Elisha and Maurice. They had left a long time ago and I figured they went to Texas, which is where she was from. I've driven down this street many times since then, but they haven't been there for a long time. Well, Sunday they were! They were back and happy to see me. They told me they thought of me often, probably just like I thought about them and how they were doing. I not only stopped, but I got out my chair and had a bowl of pasta with them. We ate and talked about what's gone on in the last couple of years. It turned out that Maurice's mother had gotten sick and they went out to where she was. She died a short time later and then a month later his father died too. During this time they were able to find some temporary housing and Maurice even found some temporary work too. But everything ran out and now they are back. Elisha seems to be having some physical health problems that they need to see a doctor about. I stayed with them for an hour or so and left a large amount of pasta with them for later that night.
I drove around and helped out a few more people ending up with Phillipe on Venice Ave near Los Angeles St. Phillipe was the man who asked for a blanket back in November and I made a special trip back down there that night to get one to him (See the blog from last November titled "The blanket story") . Sunday I almost didn't recognize him. He had one of those small two wheel carts that you see women walking to a from a grocery store with. He said someone stole his shopping cart with all his stuff in it. Here again is where I learn the lesson of grace abounding with God. We are quick to make judgements about people and whether or not they "deserve" to receive more of our help when we've helped them in the past with the same issues. Yet God continues to forgive us of our shortcomings and now it's time for us to forgive others of their shortcomings too. Here he was with hardly anything! Who was I to deny him the last blanket I had with me. He also received the last of the pasta. Serving is the path to learning. Praise God. --Until next time. John
Here is a link to the song above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuX9oTGBCw8
I love that line....Earth has no sorrow that heaven can 't heal.
PS... If you want to post a comment, you need to log in to google.com
Come broken-hearted, let rescue begin
Come find your mercy, oh sinner come near
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can't heal
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can't heal....
There's hope for the hopeless and all those who've strayed
Come sit at the table, come taste the grace
There's rest for the weary, rest that endures
Earth has no sorrow that heaven can't cure"
Come as you are---David Crowder
This is the last weekend before my work schedule changes back to nights. Sunday trips downtown will happen after I wake up in the afternoon starting next weekend. This weekend will be very busy trying to get a lot of things done. I had to fit this trip in a lot earlier in the day than I normally do and it was a little rough finding people initially. I had made another big pot of pasta to take with me. In fact, probably a lager amount than I have made in the past, so I was hoping to see a lot of people, but it certainly didn't start out that way. I drove around for quite a while and started to get worried that the pasta wouldn't be hot enough anymore. You can't just see someone on the street and pass some of it through the window, you have to stop and get out of the car and get the pot out of the back seat....needless to say, its a bit of a process. My first attempt was on Trinity St, but no one was there. I drove around some more and ended up going to the parking lot at 9th and San Pedro, but there were only a couple of people there at the time and they didn't seem too interested. So I ended up going on down to 25th and San Pedro to my friends in that alley. To keep other people out of their alley they put up a blockade of shopping carts at the entrance, but when they saw me, Pete moved them around so I could back in there. It was still a tight fit, but I managed to back in there.
After getting in there, I was in the process of getting out of the car when Pete told me that Billy had died a few days ago. I didn't get too many details about his death and I didn't ask much either. I have my ideas about what probably happened, but I don't know and it doesn't really matter how these things happen. I will always remember my first couple of encounters with Billy. It was only about October or so I think when I first met him in this alley.I didn't have much food left when I got to him. I handed out some bottles of water and held hands and prayed with him and Miguel that night. I'm sure it was the first time anyone had prayed with Billy in years, if ever. I ended up finding a couple of cans of mixed veggies in the car and gave one to Billy and one to Miguel. I kept seeing Billy in his make -shift shelter that night lighting something up. I didn't need an explanation as to what he was doing. But the next time I saw him he introduced me to his other friends there as his "best friend". I was honored. The last time I saw him was just a couple of weeks ago. I had again taken down a pot of pasta and while the people in the alley were going through the clothes in the back of my car I was dishing up food out of the side passenger door. Billy had gone back and gotten a bowl from his shelter and wanted me to put his food in it. His bowl was a "little" bigger than the ones I had (like maybe twice the size). You know its in serving others that you learn a lot about the heart of God. We try to understand things in a "one size fits all" mentality. At first I didn't want to "fill up" his bowl because that would mean that he would get more than everyone else, or maybe there wouldn't be enough to go around because he got too much. And sometimes you do have to put some limits on things....I get it, but God's grace is enough that even people who need a lot of forgiveness, get all they need. He needed to know someone cared for him personally, I did. I loved him just the way he was. Over time I would have learned a lot more about his life journey and come to understand him a lot better. We never know how much more time we have to get to know or say the things we want to say to others. Billy was my age and his life brought him to the end on an alley in Los Angeles. I'm sure it wasn't where he thought he'd end up or his parents thought he'd end up when he was a kid. We all have hopes and dreams when we're growing up and as parents you have hopes and dreams for your kids when they grow up. Yet here was where he ended up. When I thought about it later, the day he died was during the time we were having very heavy rains this last week. The fear and the reality of many is they end their lives all alone. Whether its a nursing home a hospital or even in your own home, we face the end far sooner than we usually anticipate. I hope in the short amount of time I had with Billy that he experienced a glimpse of what the Kingdom of Heaven would be like enough to have desired it at the end. I keep thinking of the account of Jesus' crucifixion and how one of the thieves crucified with him asked for a place in His kingdom in the end and Jesus granted him that desire.
Well, there weren't but three or four people in that alley Sunday who received some food, so I had to keep moving. It was still early and people were a little hard to find. I drove down an alley under the I-10 freeway by Central and 16th. There were a couple of guys there who are usually on Trinity St, but had come here for shelter. They called out to me as I drove by so I stopped. I've seen them before. They were listening to the Packer-Redskin football game, so I hung-out with them for a little bit. I told them that I had gone down Trinity earlier, but no one was there. They told me Leticia and Antonio had just walked by a few minutes before. So I saw them next. I still had a lot of pasta left and went over to 8th St. About 3 summers ago I used to see a couple there all the time. There names were Elisha and Maurice. They had left a long time ago and I figured they went to Texas, which is where she was from. I've driven down this street many times since then, but they haven't been there for a long time. Well, Sunday they were! They were back and happy to see me. They told me they thought of me often, probably just like I thought about them and how they were doing. I not only stopped, but I got out my chair and had a bowl of pasta with them. We ate and talked about what's gone on in the last couple of years. It turned out that Maurice's mother had gotten sick and they went out to where she was. She died a short time later and then a month later his father died too. During this time they were able to find some temporary housing and Maurice even found some temporary work too. But everything ran out and now they are back. Elisha seems to be having some physical health problems that they need to see a doctor about. I stayed with them for an hour or so and left a large amount of pasta with them for later that night.
I drove around and helped out a few more people ending up with Phillipe on Venice Ave near Los Angeles St. Phillipe was the man who asked for a blanket back in November and I made a special trip back down there that night to get one to him (See the blog from last November titled "The blanket story") . Sunday I almost didn't recognize him. He had one of those small two wheel carts that you see women walking to a from a grocery store with. He said someone stole his shopping cart with all his stuff in it. Here again is where I learn the lesson of grace abounding with God. We are quick to make judgements about people and whether or not they "deserve" to receive more of our help when we've helped them in the past with the same issues. Yet God continues to forgive us of our shortcomings and now it's time for us to forgive others of their shortcomings too. Here he was with hardly anything! Who was I to deny him the last blanket I had with me. He also received the last of the pasta. Serving is the path to learning. Praise God. --Until next time. John
Here is a link to the song above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuX9oTGBCw8
I love that line....Earth has no sorrow that heaven can 't heal.
PS... If you want to post a comment, you need to log in to google.com
Monday, January 4, 2016
Sunday afternoon-1/3/16
"You, O Lord are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me." --Psalm 3:3-5
It was important to make a trip this week if for no other reason than to warn some of my friends of the rain due in here this coming week. The first storms of the current El Nino season are due to hit here Tuesday and continue throughout the week. So I loaded up several blankets and what clothes I had (mostly women's this week) and took off. I bought food when I got down there and had water with me. It ended up being a rather quiet trip. The people at the parking lot at San Pedro and 9th have all moved on. I ended up going to some places I haven't been to in a while around 14th and Essex. There were several 'encampments' in the area and in one of them a man was standing outside his tent area. I asked him if he was hungry and he said yes. When he saw the clothes and blankets he asked if he could have some and I parked and got out. That triggered some activity from several others who were already in their tents. It was only about 2:30-3 pm, but it was looking cloudy and like it was going to rain soon and most everyone was inside their make-shift shelters.
The man I first talked to was Vincent. He had a girl friend in the tent who wouldn't come out he said, because she had some skin disease that was ravaging her body and face. He said he was starting to get a rash across his chest too. He was talking rather quietly and it was hard for me to hear exactly what he was talking about. He said she was in the 'final stages'. This area is rampant with prostitution and drug abuse, so it's hard to be clear about what the real health issue may be. When I left that street I turn down the corner and before I got to the next stop sign I heard someone calling my name. I stopped the car and looked around. Finally, Kesha, came running up. I hadn't seen her in over a year. I had heard she had a broken leg (she told me someone broke it) and had been in a rehab and transition program down on 6th street. She told me Sunday that she had been approved for an SRO housing place somewhere downtown. Although her spot wasn't going to be available for awhile, it was great news to hear and she was very excited about it. When I prayed with her I praised God and thanked him for giving her this opportunity to get off the streets where it safer and perhaps, lead a more normal life.
I was able to help a few others before I got over to Trinity St and saw Leticia and Antonio. It looked like they had lost most all of their stuff. They were putting pieces of cardboard down on the side walk and I think they only had one blanket between them. I gave them the last one I had with me. I told them about the impending rain this week. I don't know where they are going to go. There is the freeway overpass just down the street. Those spaces on the side walk under the freeway will become prime real estate in the next couple of weeks. I prayed with them both and as I started towards the car and Antonio was already walking back to their spot I caught Leticia looking at me. I gave her another hug. I felt I hadn't helped them enough to get through this next week. Please pray for these folks, its going to be a tough 5-7 days to endure.
Well, I hadn't made it down to the burn-out church the last couple of trips. Nothing there has changed since my last trip down there. I'll keep praying for renewal there. Until next time---John
It was important to make a trip this week if for no other reason than to warn some of my friends of the rain due in here this coming week. The first storms of the current El Nino season are due to hit here Tuesday and continue throughout the week. So I loaded up several blankets and what clothes I had (mostly women's this week) and took off. I bought food when I got down there and had water with me. It ended up being a rather quiet trip. The people at the parking lot at San Pedro and 9th have all moved on. I ended up going to some places I haven't been to in a while around 14th and Essex. There were several 'encampments' in the area and in one of them a man was standing outside his tent area. I asked him if he was hungry and he said yes. When he saw the clothes and blankets he asked if he could have some and I parked and got out. That triggered some activity from several others who were already in their tents. It was only about 2:30-3 pm, but it was looking cloudy and like it was going to rain soon and most everyone was inside their make-shift shelters.
The man I first talked to was Vincent. He had a girl friend in the tent who wouldn't come out he said, because she had some skin disease that was ravaging her body and face. He said he was starting to get a rash across his chest too. He was talking rather quietly and it was hard for me to hear exactly what he was talking about. He said she was in the 'final stages'. This area is rampant with prostitution and drug abuse, so it's hard to be clear about what the real health issue may be. When I left that street I turn down the corner and before I got to the next stop sign I heard someone calling my name. I stopped the car and looked around. Finally, Kesha, came running up. I hadn't seen her in over a year. I had heard she had a broken leg (she told me someone broke it) and had been in a rehab and transition program down on 6th street. She told me Sunday that she had been approved for an SRO housing place somewhere downtown. Although her spot wasn't going to be available for awhile, it was great news to hear and she was very excited about it. When I prayed with her I praised God and thanked him for giving her this opportunity to get off the streets where it safer and perhaps, lead a more normal life.
I was able to help a few others before I got over to Trinity St and saw Leticia and Antonio. It looked like they had lost most all of their stuff. They were putting pieces of cardboard down on the side walk and I think they only had one blanket between them. I gave them the last one I had with me. I told them about the impending rain this week. I don't know where they are going to go. There is the freeway overpass just down the street. Those spaces on the side walk under the freeway will become prime real estate in the next couple of weeks. I prayed with them both and as I started towards the car and Antonio was already walking back to their spot I caught Leticia looking at me. I gave her another hug. I felt I hadn't helped them enough to get through this next week. Please pray for these folks, its going to be a tough 5-7 days to endure.
Well, I hadn't made it down to the burn-out church the last couple of trips. Nothing there has changed since my last trip down there. I'll keep praying for renewal there. Until next time---John
Friday, December 25, 2015
Christmas Day downtown-12/25/15
"The LORD is pleased with his people, and he gives victory to those who are humble. All of you faithful people, praise our glorious Lord!" --Psalm 149:4-5
I didn't expect to have today off from work, but when it happened I was totally excited about the prospects of getting a trip downtown in between the morning time with my family and the afternoon gathering of our extended family. I cooked up some food and left the house at about 11:30.
It was a beautiful sunny day and clear due to the windy conditions. It was even more windy in the city and if you were in the shade it was downright cold (low 50's and windy). You'd better have a jacket on (I didn't) if you were in the shade for very long. I had a pot of hot pasta and several blankets to give out.
Now the last couple of times I've made this trip I've ended up at the parking lot at San Pedro Ave and 9th. They had gotten the last of the leftovers and I was determined that this time I would start down there and make sure all my friends there ate first. Also, they had told me that the owners of the parking lot were getting ready to kick them all off the premises, they just hadn't been told when yet. Well, I'm not sure when it happened (I was there the last time on the 13th), but they've all had to leave. I found out a lot of them have moved on. Red got out of the hospital and is in a transition home in the city of Bell and Shorty took a bus to Detroit. Natalie was there with her boyfriend (not sure what his name is). Remember she was worried about having to move outside the fenced parking lot. So below is a picture of the parking lot from across 10th street looking towards 9th, remember you can click on the photos and they'll get bigger:
I didn't expect to have today off from work, but when it happened I was totally excited about the prospects of getting a trip downtown in between the morning time with my family and the afternoon gathering of our extended family. I cooked up some food and left the house at about 11:30.
It was a beautiful sunny day and clear due to the windy conditions. It was even more windy in the city and if you were in the shade it was downright cold (low 50's and windy). You'd better have a jacket on (I didn't) if you were in the shade for very long. I had a pot of hot pasta and several blankets to give out.
Now the last couple of times I've made this trip I've ended up at the parking lot at San Pedro Ave and 9th. They had gotten the last of the leftovers and I was determined that this time I would start down there and make sure all my friends there ate first. Also, they had told me that the owners of the parking lot were getting ready to kick them all off the premises, they just hadn't been told when yet. Well, I'm not sure when it happened (I was there the last time on the 13th), but they've all had to leave. I found out a lot of them have moved on. Red got out of the hospital and is in a transition home in the city of Bell and Shorty took a bus to Detroit. Natalie was there with her boyfriend (not sure what his name is). Remember she was worried about having to move outside the fenced parking lot. So below is a picture of the parking lot from across 10th street looking towards 9th, remember you can click on the photos and they'll get bigger:
and behind me is where Natalie and her boyfriend were staying and here is their picture below:
While I was there with them, several other people came by and I was able to help them too with food water and sometimes a blanket. If you look behind Natalie's boyfriend above, there were two people on the far corner. One of them came over to us, but I ended up driving down and meeting Carla on the corner. Here is her picture:
This photo was taken over the roof of my car. Carla's kind of hard to see, but that's her wrapped up in that light blue blanket. It was really windy on this corner and she was cold even in the sunlight. You can only imagine what it's going to be like tonight when the sun goes down.
So there were a few others that I helped, one was Jesus and he was walking by right there where Carla was. What I'll never forget was the parting conversation with Natalie before I left there. She had told me that she was from El Salvador and had no family here in America. What's surprising is her English is perfect, like she's been raised here all along. Anyway, when I left I had been noticing that she had that blanket wrapped around her that you see in the picture. I asked her if she had a jacket to wear and she told me she had a sweater (she might have even had it on under the blanket). Well I had a big heavy jacket on the floor of the front passenger seat. I didn't put it in the back of the car so that someone seeing it might take it just because it was 'better' than the one they had. I wanted to give it to someone who really really needed it. So I told her that this jacket I had saved just for her and handed it to her through the window. She told me, "I'll remember this always." Of all the presents I could receive or give away, this may have been my favorite ever. --Until next time. John
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Sunday night-12/13/15
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." --Anne Frank
My wife and I have sponsored a child for many years in an underdeveloped country. Yesterday we received a letter from this current child (this is now the second one) who is only 4 or 5 years old. This "letter", since he's too young to write, (let alone in a foreign language) was simply a sheet with 5 categories of living conditions. One was 'my house is located' and the options were, on hills, near a river or on plains. On plains was the option chosen. Another category was "In my house I share a bed with..." and the option chosen was 'my parents'. Another category was "Animals we have at home are"...and written in by the translator was a pig, a cow and a dog. Having a pig and a cow generally indicates the family is fairly well off for that area. However, the "sleeping with parents" indicates most likely a one room dwelling for the family. I bring this up merely to point out the varying degrees of poverty throughout this world and how fortunate we are. I often get stressed out over the deficiencies in my life and then I see how my friends downtown live each day and then through letters from around the world I'm reminded how most of the world lives. How I pray that I would be really content with the abundance that I do have here. It's always such a wake-up call when you see and hear how desperate others lives are. If you've seen the videos on the internet or news of all the refugees pouring in to other countries because their homeland is caught in a war zone and it's no longer safe to live there, then you know how tragic family situations can get. There's not a lot we can do for the people on the other side of the world, but we can help the ones in front of us.
Well, this was my first trip downtown since Thanksgiving and I was really looking forward to going. I decided to make another big pot of pasta to take with me. I had hoped and planned to arrive just before it got dark, and that's pretty much the way it happened. It might have gone better if I had arrived a little bit earlier. The only reason I say that is because as I started to leave the first stop it started raining. It made it a little more difficult to serve people, but no one really stopped coming up to the car when they found out I had food for them. Since it was cold and raining, the hot meal was a real crowd pleaser too. When I buy food I usually get enough to feed about 8 to 10 people, but the pasta ends up serving around 13-14 people and for about half the cost. Last night it did stretch to 14 people. When I ask the people I see if they're hungry, I pretty much get a unanimous answer of yes. It makes you wonder what would they have done, if I hadn't come by. I guess we know the answer, they would have gone without eating anything. So here in America, right nearby, people go to bed hungry at night.
I have received a supply of blankets and was looking forward to the opportunity to start giving some out. Now as with any item, except food and water, if you take too many with you, they'll all be gone in one trip and then what do you do the rest of the winter? The cold weather here in Southern California started about a month ago, but right now through the next 3-4 weeks is when we're at our coldest. I took three blankets with me and they were gone within five minutes of arriving downtown. I got a request for tents and tarps. I'll have to keep my eyes open for those.
One of the heartbreaks of this trip was when I got to the last stop, which was the parking lot at 9th and San Pedro. This was also the last stop I made on Thanksgiving. It wasn't really raining, but there was a heavy mist going on so you got wet just standing around. The people told me that the owners of the parking lot had told them that they were going to make them all move out. They haven't set a date just yet. Natalie was there and she was quite upset about it because the parking lot has a fence around it, although you can drive in and out through the open gates. But she is pretty terrified of the prospect of having to sleep on a sidewalk out in the open. At least inside the parking lot there is some degree of safety. I'll have to keep checking on their progress. I actually thought she lived/slept somewhere else. This is the parking lot where a church holds a service on Monday nights and feeds them too I think. They had "promised" to give them some tents, but so far nothing has happened. With the rain, particularly the prospects of heavy rain this winter, these folks are in desperate need of a place to keep themselves and their stuff dry. Under freeway over-passes become prime turf during this time of year. --Until next time. John
My wife and I have sponsored a child for many years in an underdeveloped country. Yesterday we received a letter from this current child (this is now the second one) who is only 4 or 5 years old. This "letter", since he's too young to write, (let alone in a foreign language) was simply a sheet with 5 categories of living conditions. One was 'my house is located' and the options were, on hills, near a river or on plains. On plains was the option chosen. Another category was "In my house I share a bed with..." and the option chosen was 'my parents'. Another category was "Animals we have at home are"...and written in by the translator was a pig, a cow and a dog. Having a pig and a cow generally indicates the family is fairly well off for that area. However, the "sleeping with parents" indicates most likely a one room dwelling for the family. I bring this up merely to point out the varying degrees of poverty throughout this world and how fortunate we are. I often get stressed out over the deficiencies in my life and then I see how my friends downtown live each day and then through letters from around the world I'm reminded how most of the world lives. How I pray that I would be really content with the abundance that I do have here. It's always such a wake-up call when you see and hear how desperate others lives are. If you've seen the videos on the internet or news of all the refugees pouring in to other countries because their homeland is caught in a war zone and it's no longer safe to live there, then you know how tragic family situations can get. There's not a lot we can do for the people on the other side of the world, but we can help the ones in front of us.
Well, this was my first trip downtown since Thanksgiving and I was really looking forward to going. I decided to make another big pot of pasta to take with me. I had hoped and planned to arrive just before it got dark, and that's pretty much the way it happened. It might have gone better if I had arrived a little bit earlier. The only reason I say that is because as I started to leave the first stop it started raining. It made it a little more difficult to serve people, but no one really stopped coming up to the car when they found out I had food for them. Since it was cold and raining, the hot meal was a real crowd pleaser too. When I buy food I usually get enough to feed about 8 to 10 people, but the pasta ends up serving around 13-14 people and for about half the cost. Last night it did stretch to 14 people. When I ask the people I see if they're hungry, I pretty much get a unanimous answer of yes. It makes you wonder what would they have done, if I hadn't come by. I guess we know the answer, they would have gone without eating anything. So here in America, right nearby, people go to bed hungry at night.
I have received a supply of blankets and was looking forward to the opportunity to start giving some out. Now as with any item, except food and water, if you take too many with you, they'll all be gone in one trip and then what do you do the rest of the winter? The cold weather here in Southern California started about a month ago, but right now through the next 3-4 weeks is when we're at our coldest. I took three blankets with me and they were gone within five minutes of arriving downtown. I got a request for tents and tarps. I'll have to keep my eyes open for those.
One of the heartbreaks of this trip was when I got to the last stop, which was the parking lot at 9th and San Pedro. This was also the last stop I made on Thanksgiving. It wasn't really raining, but there was a heavy mist going on so you got wet just standing around. The people told me that the owners of the parking lot had told them that they were going to make them all move out. They haven't set a date just yet. Natalie was there and she was quite upset about it because the parking lot has a fence around it, although you can drive in and out through the open gates. But she is pretty terrified of the prospect of having to sleep on a sidewalk out in the open. At least inside the parking lot there is some degree of safety. I'll have to keep checking on their progress. I actually thought she lived/slept somewhere else. This is the parking lot where a church holds a service on Monday nights and feeds them too I think. They had "promised" to give them some tents, but so far nothing has happened. With the rain, particularly the prospects of heavy rain this winter, these folks are in desperate need of a place to keep themselves and their stuff dry. Under freeway over-passes become prime turf during this time of year. --Until next time. John
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