Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Downtown 7/30/2012
A few weeks ago at a weeknight church gathering, I felt led to personally pursue a path of seeking to praise God every single day. I must tell you, this is not something that has come easily for me. In fact, I quickly run out of things to say. Oh, and I should add the praise I feel led to pursue is audible. That means I need to speak it out loud. Well, so far, I've mainly been doing it in the car on the way to and from work (about a 45-50 minute drive). After three weeks, this is still a work in progress. Monday when I arrived downtown, I had to get off at a different exit than normal due to the traffic conditions. As I worked my way back to Alameda St I drove by one of the alleys to see if anyone was there. To my pleasant surprise Willie and Tara Lee were there. As I pulled up, I started receiving the warmest welcome from Tara I think I've ever received. He told me how glad he was to see me and how wonderfull I looked! My mood, which had been somewhat passive and preocupied to begin with, and a little irritated with the traffic, changed immediately for the better. What a real, live demonstration of the power of praise! So often, I see a truth demonstrated in front of me while ministering to the poor. Once again, truth experienced is truth remembered. Now, it's up to me to put this truth into practice on a daily basis.
Since I hadn't gotten any food yet, I asked the guys if they were hungry. When they said they were, I told them I'd return shortly with some food, which I did. While talking with them after returning, they told me of some of the difficulties they had had with the police running them off the sidewalks in the area lately. What was troubling them so much is that other homeless people with tents weren't run off and they were feeling specifically 'picked on'. My guess is that it was easier to run someone off without a tent than it is with someone who does have one. It's hard to know exactly the mindset of the policemen at the time. Anyway, at one point, Tara said something I won't soon forget. He said, "One day John, you'll speak for us." Whether or not I'll ever be in a position to speak for these people ( a people who have virtually no voice) I don't know. I know that I am able and willing to listen to them and hear their pleas for help. It reminded me of an interview I heard recently with a woman missionary in China. She and her husband have an orphanage for children with special needs. They visit orphanages and take the babies that the other orphanages don't want. Upon visiting one such orphanage the staff almost proudly said the 'babies don't cry here because they know they won't get any special treatment'. Isn't that something to be proud of? Well, this woman told of visiting one such orphanage where there was a very premature baby laying with only a partially formed skull and the head was badly deformed due to no skull. This baby was crying and as this woman picked her up and gently held her, she felt Jesus telling her to say to that baby, "I heard your cry and I sent her (this missionary woman) to you today." Well, I felt that was my calling Monday. To hear these men and listen to their heartache and tell them, "Jesus sent me to hear you today." --Until next week. --John
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Downtown 7/22/2012
"And anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name, just because you belong to me, will surely be rewarded." --Mark 9:41
Well, no one gave me a cup of cold water, but since it has been so hot, I decided it would be a good day to give the homeless I met a bottle of cold water. So I loaded up the ice chest with ice and bottled water and took-off for downtown. I hadn't been able to go since the barbecue (3 Sunday's ago) because of my schedule so I was really looking forward to going Sunday. As it turned out, it was a very quiet day. I think most everyone had looked for a place to hide from the heat. I prayer-walked on skid-row and then bought some burgers and started looking for folks. I found a couple of men (Willie and Steve) on one of the alleys off Hooper St., but none at some of the other 'regular' spots I go to. I even went over to Lincoln Park and didn't find anyone there. Robert who lives across from a mini truck stop on 4th and Alameda had already be given a stash of food from someone. I ended up down off Wall St and 9th around 6:45 p.m. Everything went quickly then. Everyone on that street was quite thankful for the help. I got a few laughs when I "apologized" for the water being 'so cold' that the bottles were hard to hold in your hand. Probably the most memorable moment came when I first arrived downtown and had finished prayer-walking the skid row area. I was getting in my car when I saw a man sitting near the door to the police station. I had noticed him earlier walking slowly and all bent-over like you see some old folks with osteoperosis. I felt he needed a bottle of cold water. After walking up to him and handing him a bottle from the ice chest, I said, "It looks like you could use this." I think he said, "God bless you." three times to me as I walked back to the car. --Until next week
Well, no one gave me a cup of cold water, but since it has been so hot, I decided it would be a good day to give the homeless I met a bottle of cold water. So I loaded up the ice chest with ice and bottled water and took-off for downtown. I hadn't been able to go since the barbecue (3 Sunday's ago) because of my schedule so I was really looking forward to going Sunday. As it turned out, it was a very quiet day. I think most everyone had looked for a place to hide from the heat. I prayer-walked on skid-row and then bought some burgers and started looking for folks. I found a couple of men (Willie and Steve) on one of the alleys off Hooper St., but none at some of the other 'regular' spots I go to. I even went over to Lincoln Park and didn't find anyone there. Robert who lives across from a mini truck stop on 4th and Alameda had already be given a stash of food from someone. I ended up down off Wall St and 9th around 6:45 p.m. Everything went quickly then. Everyone on that street was quite thankful for the help. I got a few laughs when I "apologized" for the water being 'so cold' that the bottles were hard to hold in your hand. Probably the most memorable moment came when I first arrived downtown and had finished prayer-walking the skid row area. I was getting in my car when I saw a man sitting near the door to the police station. I had noticed him earlier walking slowly and all bent-over like you see some old folks with osteoperosis. I felt he needed a bottle of cold water. After walking up to him and handing him a bottle from the ice chest, I said, "It looks like you could use this." I think he said, "God bless you." three times to me as I walked back to the car. --Until next week
Monday, July 2, 2012
Downtown 7/1/12---Summertime BBQ
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his subjects to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.... Then he said to his subjects, "the wedding is ready...So go into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet." Those subjects went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found,...so the wedding hall was filled with guests. --Matt 22
In the blog for the last barbecue in October of last year I quoted Jesus at a dinner party telling the religious leaders to give a banquet to people who couldn't pay you back. We often go to dinner with friends and one time you'll get the check and the next time another will pay. Instead, Jesus tells us to give a dinner for people who can't reciprocate. Well, what happens when they don't show up? You can imagine my first thoughts when I drove down the alley Sunday and I didn't see anyone there! Here the car was loaded up (even remembered the charcol this time) and no one was around. Remember you can't call
homeless people up the night before to remind them. Well, I was about fifteen minutes early. I had seen two men at one end of the alley that I didn't (picture at right is the first alley all cleaned up and no one home) recognize. I decided to park and wait for a while and see if anyone showed up, then I'd go over to the next alley and see if anyone was there. My back-up plan was to go ahead and cook all the food and then drive around and give it out. The two men I had seen came by where I was parked in a couple of minutes and we exchanged hello's. One of them asked if I was the guy doing the barbecue! I told him I was, but where was everyone? I had noticed also that the alley had been cleaned up of all the trash that had been dumped in it. About two or three months ago someone drove a truck through there and dumped a couple of loads of trash in the alley. Well, the city workers had come through since last Monday and cleaned the whole alley of all the debris. The police had also come through and ran all the homeless people off. I asked these two men if they had seen Willie or Chris or anyone who had been living around there. They said they had probably moved over to the other alley. I decided to check a vacant lot between two of the buildings in the alley and sure enough, Willie and EJ were there. Willie said he was hoping I would show up, but didn't know if I was going to or not. We quickly agreed to go over to the other alley and do the barbecue there. Now the other alley isn't completely paved and that's the part where we were going to have to do it. Along the sides of this section of the alley are dried up weeds. The only spots with no weeds were in front of the roll-up doors of a couple of the businesses. One of my fears was what would happen if a police car came by while I had the grill going. In this area I knew they would shut me down immediately. So I had to pick the best spot I could that was clear and I still had to pull some of the weeds out. While I pulled some of the weeds out, I discovered too late that one clump of weeds had been someone's toilet. Yes, I got some on my right hand and I had no hand sanitizer with me. Last time it was the charcol, this time it was hand sanitizer! I did have some extra water so I cleaned my hands as best I could and kept going with the program. What else can you do? I figured with this kind of a start, it couldn't get any worse. So I set up the grill on a borrowed table at the back end of my car. The guys had started to congregate about ten yards from the front of my car. There were places for them to sit there because there was a make-shift 'home' for someone there. Anyway, at this point things started to go fairly smooth. EJ went and told Dave and Richard Brown who lived nearby and a few other men started to show up. I was only bummed about them stationing themselves the ten or so yards away from where the grill was. I was somewhat forced to stay by the grill and keep flipping burgers and wasn't able participate and talk in the 'group' setting. I would go down there periodically, but couldn't stand around there for long without having to get back to the grill. Richard stayed with me while he was there and a couple of other men did too and I was able to talk with them. One of the things I had hoped to be able to talk with the group about was their friends who die on the street. So guess what happened. A woman had come by (I'll call her Della) and joined us. She was 27 years old and a few months pregnant. We had seen each other a few times before and she remembered my name. She was sitting with the group of men and talking. In fact, she was telling them about some other woman who had died in a shopping cart down in the skid row area a few days ago. She was lamenting the fact that when she got there the coroner and police wouldn't let her get close enough to see who it was. Obviously, the police and the coroner wouldn't know who this woman was, but someone on the street just might be able to identify who it was and thereby help them be able to notify next of kin. I couldn't have asked for a better opening to talk about the subject. Unfortunately, I couldn't talk too long without having to go back to the grill. However, one of the goals of the barbecue was accomplished. The next one was the subject of forgiveness. I have noticed that the homeless are no different from any other group of people when it comes to this. Often times their limited circle of friends makes the situation worse and they become stuck over this problem and can't seem to get past it. They harbor grief in their hearts for years and years over something that happened long ago and bitterness and distrust of people becomes a huge part of their personality. I had heard a message on this about a week ago that was quite enlightening. In this message the pastor related the story in Matthew 18 about Peter asking Jesus if forgiving someone seven times was good enough. Jesus told him seven times seventy (which essentially means don't stop forgiving others). Then Jesus told a story about a king who forgave one of his subjects a debt of a huge amount of money, but when the subject sent someone else to debtors prison over a very small amount of money the king got very angry and ended up sending him to prison too based on his lack of forgiveness. The point being that God forgives us continually and we, in turn, must forgive others. This pastor went on to say that Jesus, when he was arrested was treated brutally before he was even crucified. Remember the Passion of the Christ movie? Jesus was a bloody mess in the end. What if Jesus had said, "You know I'm drawing the line at you guys pulling my beard out." Or, "Here I am willing to die for your sins, but I'm drawing the line a you shredding the skin and muscle off my back with your whips." Or, "No way you're blindfolding me and then using me as a punching bag, after all, I haven't done anything to deserve this!" Instead, Jesus took it all and said nothing. He saw the big picture. Not only was he setting the ultimate example for us, it was the main purpose in his coming. Well, I got to spend a great deal of time with two of the men who came by. One was Jessie and the other was Gus. In fact, Gus was one of the two men I had seen originally in the first alley. They came by at different times so I got to talk with them individually at length. It was pretty cool the way it worked out. With patience and God's timing it all worked out. I ended up cooking all the hamburgers before I left and then drove over to the area near skid row where I've helped the people living in the store doorways in the evening. It was almost 7 p.m. at this point. Once again, it was the perfect time to show up there. The last of the businesses close between 6-6:30 p.m. and so the homeless start showing up at just the time I showed up. I had a crowd of people around the car and gave out the rest of the food. I had taken two plastic tubs full of pants and shirts. When I got home there was only one shirt left and I must have given away two dozen pairs of socks too. I got to pray with people, I got to feed and clothe people. It was a good day downtown.
OK, so the last thing that occurred to me when I got home was this. I got home after 8 p.m. and was pretty tired, but there was still work to do (like emptying out the car and putting everything away). So as I'm doing this I was wondering about something. When God pulls us out of whatever predicament we're in, after it's over (when we think it's over) is He still having to 'clean up' our messes like I was having to do after my trip downtown? Just wondering.....--Until next time. John
At left is Jessie and Dave Parker by my car. You can see the other guys a little way down the alley. Below right is Richard Brown.
Below is the grill set up behind my car and the picture below that is what it looked like directly across from the grill. You can see all the dried up weeds along both sides of the alley. Yeah, people actually live in this alley! On the bottom picture you can see some black tarp/trash bags in the distance down the alley. That's where John Mellon lives. The stuff behind Jessie and Dave above where the rest of the guys were is where a couple other people live.
In the blog for the last barbecue in October of last year I quoted Jesus at a dinner party telling the religious leaders to give a banquet to people who couldn't pay you back. We often go to dinner with friends and one time you'll get the check and the next time another will pay. Instead, Jesus tells us to give a dinner for people who can't reciprocate. Well, what happens when they don't show up? You can imagine my first thoughts when I drove down the alley Sunday and I didn't see anyone there! Here the car was loaded up (even remembered the charcol this time) and no one was around. Remember you can't call
OK, so the last thing that occurred to me when I got home was this. I got home after 8 p.m. and was pretty tired, but there was still work to do (like emptying out the car and putting everything away). So as I'm doing this I was wondering about something. When God pulls us out of whatever predicament we're in, after it's over (when we think it's over) is He still having to 'clean up' our messes like I was having to do after my trip downtown? Just wondering.....--Until next time. John
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Downtown 6/25/2012
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts. --Zech. 4:6b
Well this was to be the last opportunity to connect with people before the planned barbecue this coming Sunday, July 1. I needed to make the trip on a Monday and early enough to get to the wholesalers to purchase socks. I've just been pretty much out of them the last couple of weeks except for a used pair here and there that I've found. Anyway, I accomplished that part of the trip right away and then headed over to the alley where we had the barbecue last time. I had gone down it earlier, before I bought some food just to see if anyone was there. I found three people that I didn't recognize, although one of the men did recognize me. I gave out water and told them I'd be back later with food. When I came back, only Ricardo was there. He didn't speak much English, so conversation was limited. I then went over to the next alley down and found Rick and John Mellon. Rick asked, "Are you the guy that's doing the barbecue?" I told him yes and that it would be this coming Sunday on the next alley over. He indicated that the others would all be there. John Mellon wanted to know when July 4th was. He thought that was the date, but I told him it was next Sunday the 1st. I drove around to a couple of other regular spots and helped a couple of people that wanted to remain anonymous, and then stopped by 14th Place to see Ernest. At the spot where I expected to find Ernest, I found Kenny from San Francisco. I didn't recognize him, but he recognized me. He got up from the sidewalk and came over to the car and asked if I had any water or food. He said we met about a year ago at the Jack in the Box and I had given him (his words) a can of beef soup and bread and prayed with him. Wow. An encounter I didn't remember and he remembered it vividly. I ended up giving him some clothes and as we talked he said he was thinking of going back to San Francisco. He said it seems as though every time he's about to get his act together he makes a bad decision and everything unravels for him. Without being specific about what those "decisions" were he said,"You probably know what I'm talking about." I told him that I used to teach safe driving lessons to truck drivers. Part of the training was to teach them to not just look at the vehicle directly in front of them, but to look 15 to 20 seconds down the road for any potential problems. Life is a lot like that. We need to look beyond the immediate situation that presents itself and see what might happen later in 15 or 20 hours from now if I do this or do that now. I think he got the point without me having to tell him, "Don't do stupid stuff." The amazing thing was that I had never thought about using an example from my safe driving classes in this context. It just came out on the spur of the moment!
I ended the day stopping under the freeway at Hooper St to see Richard and Dave and let them know about Sunday's barbecue. Dave was at the last one. Both men seem to know a lot of others in the area. Hopefully, they will get the word out and there will be a turn-out. Please pray for this Sunday. --until next time. John
Well this was to be the last opportunity to connect with people before the planned barbecue this coming Sunday, July 1. I needed to make the trip on a Monday and early enough to get to the wholesalers to purchase socks. I've just been pretty much out of them the last couple of weeks except for a used pair here and there that I've found. Anyway, I accomplished that part of the trip right away and then headed over to the alley where we had the barbecue last time. I had gone down it earlier, before I bought some food just to see if anyone was there. I found three people that I didn't recognize, although one of the men did recognize me. I gave out water and told them I'd be back later with food. When I came back, only Ricardo was there. He didn't speak much English, so conversation was limited. I then went over to the next alley down and found Rick and John Mellon. Rick asked, "Are you the guy that's doing the barbecue?" I told him yes and that it would be this coming Sunday on the next alley over. He indicated that the others would all be there. John Mellon wanted to know when July 4th was. He thought that was the date, but I told him it was next Sunday the 1st. I drove around to a couple of other regular spots and helped a couple of people that wanted to remain anonymous, and then stopped by 14th Place to see Ernest. At the spot where I expected to find Ernest, I found Kenny from San Francisco. I didn't recognize him, but he recognized me. He got up from the sidewalk and came over to the car and asked if I had any water or food. He said we met about a year ago at the Jack in the Box and I had given him (his words) a can of beef soup and bread and prayed with him. Wow. An encounter I didn't remember and he remembered it vividly. I ended up giving him some clothes and as we talked he said he was thinking of going back to San Francisco. He said it seems as though every time he's about to get his act together he makes a bad decision and everything unravels for him. Without being specific about what those "decisions" were he said,"You probably know what I'm talking about." I told him that I used to teach safe driving lessons to truck drivers. Part of the training was to teach them to not just look at the vehicle directly in front of them, but to look 15 to 20 seconds down the road for any potential problems. Life is a lot like that. We need to look beyond the immediate situation that presents itself and see what might happen later in 15 or 20 hours from now if I do this or do that now. I think he got the point without me having to tell him, "Don't do stupid stuff." The amazing thing was that I had never thought about using an example from my safe driving classes in this context. It just came out on the spur of the moment!
I ended the day stopping under the freeway at Hooper St to see Richard and Dave and let them know about Sunday's barbecue. Dave was at the last one. Both men seem to know a lot of others in the area. Hopefully, they will get the word out and there will be a turn-out. Please pray for this Sunday. --until next time. John
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Downtown 6/18/2012
I promise to take care of them and keep them safe, to look for those that are lost and bring back the ones that wander off, to bandage those that are hurt and protect the ones that are weak. --Ezekiel 34:15-16a
Once again this week I was hoping to reconnect with at least some of my friends who have been living in the alley off Hooper St where I hope to do the barbecue in a couple of weeks. But Monday evening, no one was there! Although it's still a little early, I guess I have to be prepared to adapt. After all, the barbecue may be what I want, but it may be God has something else in mind. I drove on down 16th and saw James pushing his cart towards me just past San Pedro Blvd. He was happy to see me and said the others (our mutual friends) were still around in the area. We talked about the barbecue coming up and he was looking forward to it (he was at the last one). I can't remember if he knew about it already or not, but he said he'd be there at the next one.
I drove on down to another regular stop under the freeway by Central Ave. I found a young man named David and not too far from him another man named Pablo--both needing a meal. I didn't have much conversation with either one and drove on around the block. I was about to turn left off Central Ave and on to 17th St and go east when a man caught me eye walking up Central. He was carrying a couple of bags and walking slowly south. I decided to get back across the street and see if he needed help. It turned out his name was Jose. While helping Jose another homeless man and woman were walking towards us and they needed help too. Jose ended up kind of hanging around after the others left. He asked for another burger for his brother Carlos. I ended up giving him a ride about 25 blocks away to 36th and Broadway. While giving him the ride I found out he had been in the US for about 8 years and arrived originally in New York from Mexico (go figure). He repeatedly said he couldn't believe someone was really helping him. He said he had been in the Mexican army and still had a bullet in his right leg and showed me his thumb where the end had been shot off. I can see why he wanted the ride. When I dropped him off I asked if he needed any clothes, so we ended up looking through the back of the car for shirts and a pillow and even a sleeping bag. He was very thankful and when I prayed for him he kissed my hand repeatedly and looked up in the sky and thanked God for sending me. It's always such a privilege to help people who are in such great need and who are truly thankful for the person who stopped to help them.
Well it was getting close to the end of daylight and I headed back over to another alley off Hooper St. At first no one was there, but then John Mellon showed up and then another man named Daryl. Daryl was by someone's stuff that I thought might be Chris' stuff because I recognized a sleeping bag I had given Chris a couple of weeks ago. He confirmed that it was Chris' stuff and that Chris would be back later. Before I left, a woman named Cindy showed up. John had gone on down the alley to his spot and he directed her to me for help if she was hungry. She hurried over to me looking for help. She looked the part of a street person, dirty, tired and worn-out with open sores on her face. She had on a shirt, shorts and shoes with no socks. She said her shoes hurt because they were so worn-out. I think I still had the back of the car open so I have her a sweater and a new shirt and some new shoes and socks. I found something she could sit on to change her shoes and a piece of cardboard she could put her feet on while she put the new socks and shoes on. During this time I had an opportunity to talk with her and pray with her. She told me she not only had a drug problem, but had hepatitis too (not really surprising considering her condition). She complained of a lot of aches and pains which she thought might be arthritis. I told her that sleeping outside sure would make the aches and pains worse. We talked for awhile about overcoming some of her addictions and I encouraged her to come to the barbecue in a couple of weeks. She said she would. I forgot to mention that John had asked me about it too. I hadn't told him, but somehow he knew about it. He told me he would be there so maybe word is getting around, we'll soon see about that. If it (the barbecue) doesn't go as planned and I have a day like I had Monday evening--that would be fine too.--Until next time-John
Once again this week I was hoping to reconnect with at least some of my friends who have been living in the alley off Hooper St where I hope to do the barbecue in a couple of weeks. But Monday evening, no one was there! Although it's still a little early, I guess I have to be prepared to adapt. After all, the barbecue may be what I want, but it may be God has something else in mind. I drove on down 16th and saw James pushing his cart towards me just past San Pedro Blvd. He was happy to see me and said the others (our mutual friends) were still around in the area. We talked about the barbecue coming up and he was looking forward to it (he was at the last one). I can't remember if he knew about it already or not, but he said he'd be there at the next one.
I drove on down to another regular stop under the freeway by Central Ave. I found a young man named David and not too far from him another man named Pablo--both needing a meal. I didn't have much conversation with either one and drove on around the block. I was about to turn left off Central Ave and on to 17th St and go east when a man caught me eye walking up Central. He was carrying a couple of bags and walking slowly south. I decided to get back across the street and see if he needed help. It turned out his name was Jose. While helping Jose another homeless man and woman were walking towards us and they needed help too. Jose ended up kind of hanging around after the others left. He asked for another burger for his brother Carlos. I ended up giving him a ride about 25 blocks away to 36th and Broadway. While giving him the ride I found out he had been in the US for about 8 years and arrived originally in New York from Mexico (go figure). He repeatedly said he couldn't believe someone was really helping him. He said he had been in the Mexican army and still had a bullet in his right leg and showed me his thumb where the end had been shot off. I can see why he wanted the ride. When I dropped him off I asked if he needed any clothes, so we ended up looking through the back of the car for shirts and a pillow and even a sleeping bag. He was very thankful and when I prayed for him he kissed my hand repeatedly and looked up in the sky and thanked God for sending me. It's always such a privilege to help people who are in such great need and who are truly thankful for the person who stopped to help them.
Well it was getting close to the end of daylight and I headed back over to another alley off Hooper St. At first no one was there, but then John Mellon showed up and then another man named Daryl. Daryl was by someone's stuff that I thought might be Chris' stuff because I recognized a sleeping bag I had given Chris a couple of weeks ago. He confirmed that it was Chris' stuff and that Chris would be back later. Before I left, a woman named Cindy showed up. John had gone on down the alley to his spot and he directed her to me for help if she was hungry. She hurried over to me looking for help. She looked the part of a street person, dirty, tired and worn-out with open sores on her face. She had on a shirt, shorts and shoes with no socks. She said her shoes hurt because they were so worn-out. I think I still had the back of the car open so I have her a sweater and a new shirt and some new shoes and socks. I found something she could sit on to change her shoes and a piece of cardboard she could put her feet on while she put the new socks and shoes on. During this time I had an opportunity to talk with her and pray with her. She told me she not only had a drug problem, but had hepatitis too (not really surprising considering her condition). She complained of a lot of aches and pains which she thought might be arthritis. I told her that sleeping outside sure would make the aches and pains worse. We talked for awhile about overcoming some of her addictions and I encouraged her to come to the barbecue in a couple of weeks. She said she would. I forgot to mention that John had asked me about it too. I hadn't told him, but somehow he knew about it. He told me he would be there so maybe word is getting around, we'll soon see about that. If it (the barbecue) doesn't go as planned and I have a day like I had Monday evening--that would be fine too.--Until next time-John
Monday, June 11, 2012
Downtown 6/10/2012
My friends be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything. --James 1:2-4
After missing the trip last week, I really needed to go this week to connect with my friends about the planned barbecue the weekend before July 4th. When I got down to that alley off Hooper St, I only saw Terrance and his girl friend there. He told me that he had seen some people earlier that stayed further down the alley, but not recently. I told him to relay the info to them that I was still planning on coming down there on July 1st and he was invited to come too. I didn't see anyone else in the alley and I even went back later to check, but no one else was there. Bummer. We'll just have to see what develops over the next couple of weekends. In fact, a couple of the places where I usually find folks were deserted Sunday. However, I did find plenty of people in need and actually gave out the food and clothing supplies in near record time.
Nearby, on 17th by the I-10 I found Joe. Joe is from Illinois and I've helped him a couple of times. He had a odd request Sunday. He asked for a couple of dollars because he needed to get some new shoes. I asked him what size he wore because I had a few pairs in the back of the car, but he wore size 14's!! Well, I literally only had a couple of dollars to give him but I also remembered a cheap shoe store on the corner of Los Angeles St and Washington Blvd that advertised shoes from $7.99 and up. I told him he might check there sometime when he gets enough cash. I know that the selection of 12's (my size) is generally pretty slim in most stores and it has to be even worse to find 14's. However, a store like this might have gotten a whole bunch and at a cheap price and it might be worth checking into. About a hundred yards down the street from Joe I found another man lying on the sidewalk. His name was Paul and after I gave him some food he asked if I had any more so he could give it to the "woman who was living in the car" parked right in front of me. As I drove away he was knocking on the window of her car. Most of the time the poor are quick to remember and help others nearby in the same condition.
Well I had eight burgers left and ended up on 14th St between Griffith and Palamao. I saw Ernest lying on the sidewalk. He remembered me and asked where I had been. There are usually several homeless folks living spread-out on the streets around this area. While Ernest and I talked two others by the names of Coco and Larry had walked to the corner of Palamao and 14th and Earnest motioned for them to come over to us. Another young man by the name of Juan was riding his bicycle and he was flagged down too. By the grace of God they were all fed and clothing was given out. In fact, when I was loading up the car before leaving I was thinking how cool it would be to give away "all" the clothes every time I made a trip. Sunday was about as close as I've ever come to giving it all away. Awesome. When I prayed with Larry and Ernest (Coco had left already) Larry asked if I had a bible to give away. I only had the paperback one I carry in the car so I gave him that one. Earnest asked for one too, but all I could give him a Gospel of John booklet. Ernest and I talked for quite awhile, probably thirty minutes or so. Our constant companion was Pedro, the Rotweiller guard dog behind the fence across the street. I think Ernest is probably Pedro's only friend. Ernest was wearing some sandals that I had given him a few months back when he needed something to walk in, but open so his feet could remain dry. Ernest thanked me for helping the homeless in the area. It was high praise and humbling at the same time. I also knew the original source of the praise and He knew I needed to hear it.
So with all the food being given out, I headed down to the skid row area to prayer- walk before leaving. I prayed that God would give me someone to pray with. I parked in front of the police station like normal and got out and started walking down 6th St. I got to Central Ave and turned up the street towards 5th. Just a little ways up the sidewalk (which was crowded with homeless people) I was about to pass by a man who called out to me saying, "You look beautiful." He then repeated it. His name, it turned out, was Ron and I'm guessing him to be about a 40 year-old African American man. He was dressed casually in shorts, but very clean looking with glasses. I was thinking, perhaps he lives in one of the SRO buildings in the area (because of his clean clothes). He then said he noticed I was walking like I was in pain and he said sometimes you just have to ignore the pain and walk through it. Wouldn't you know it, but I had been thinking how painful it was to walk around because of all of my current health issues, just one of them being the sore left foot I have. When Ron finished talking I asked if I could pray with him. He agreed and I thanked God for reminding me through Ron that I need to "walk" and "walk through" my own personal issues with as much grace as possible. I thanked Ron again and as we continued walking on down the street I reflected to him that "I'm walking a little taller and a lot more pain-free!" Before I got back to my car I couldn't help but think about the tremendous opportunity for transformation that this area has. So often I think of all the despair and troubles that this area holds. The spiritual depression and darkness of these streets is sometimes overwhelming. I was glad to be reminded that God sees the potential of what it could be. --Until next week. John
After missing the trip last week, I really needed to go this week to connect with my friends about the planned barbecue the weekend before July 4th. When I got down to that alley off Hooper St, I only saw Terrance and his girl friend there. He told me that he had seen some people earlier that stayed further down the alley, but not recently. I told him to relay the info to them that I was still planning on coming down there on July 1st and he was invited to come too. I didn't see anyone else in the alley and I even went back later to check, but no one else was there. Bummer. We'll just have to see what develops over the next couple of weekends. In fact, a couple of the places where I usually find folks were deserted Sunday. However, I did find plenty of people in need and actually gave out the food and clothing supplies in near record time.
Nearby, on 17th by the I-10 I found Joe. Joe is from Illinois and I've helped him a couple of times. He had a odd request Sunday. He asked for a couple of dollars because he needed to get some new shoes. I asked him what size he wore because I had a few pairs in the back of the car, but he wore size 14's!! Well, I literally only had a couple of dollars to give him but I also remembered a cheap shoe store on the corner of Los Angeles St and Washington Blvd that advertised shoes from $7.99 and up. I told him he might check there sometime when he gets enough cash. I know that the selection of 12's (my size) is generally pretty slim in most stores and it has to be even worse to find 14's. However, a store like this might have gotten a whole bunch and at a cheap price and it might be worth checking into. About a hundred yards down the street from Joe I found another man lying on the sidewalk. His name was Paul and after I gave him some food he asked if I had any more so he could give it to the "woman who was living in the car" parked right in front of me. As I drove away he was knocking on the window of her car. Most of the time the poor are quick to remember and help others nearby in the same condition.
Well I had eight burgers left and ended up on 14th St between Griffith and Palamao. I saw Ernest lying on the sidewalk. He remembered me and asked where I had been. There are usually several homeless folks living spread-out on the streets around this area. While Ernest and I talked two others by the names of Coco and Larry had walked to the corner of Palamao and 14th and Earnest motioned for them to come over to us. Another young man by the name of Juan was riding his bicycle and he was flagged down too. By the grace of God they were all fed and clothing was given out. In fact, when I was loading up the car before leaving I was thinking how cool it would be to give away "all" the clothes every time I made a trip. Sunday was about as close as I've ever come to giving it all away. Awesome. When I prayed with Larry and Ernest (Coco had left already) Larry asked if I had a bible to give away. I only had the paperback one I carry in the car so I gave him that one. Earnest asked for one too, but all I could give him a Gospel of John booklet. Ernest and I talked for quite awhile, probably thirty minutes or so. Our constant companion was Pedro, the Rotweiller guard dog behind the fence across the street. I think Ernest is probably Pedro's only friend. Ernest was wearing some sandals that I had given him a few months back when he needed something to walk in, but open so his feet could remain dry. Ernest thanked me for helping the homeless in the area. It was high praise and humbling at the same time. I also knew the original source of the praise and He knew I needed to hear it.
So with all the food being given out, I headed down to the skid row area to prayer- walk before leaving. I prayed that God would give me someone to pray with. I parked in front of the police station like normal and got out and started walking down 6th St. I got to Central Ave and turned up the street towards 5th. Just a little ways up the sidewalk (which was crowded with homeless people) I was about to pass by a man who called out to me saying, "You look beautiful." He then repeated it. His name, it turned out, was Ron and I'm guessing him to be about a 40 year-old African American man. He was dressed casually in shorts, but very clean looking with glasses. I was thinking, perhaps he lives in one of the SRO buildings in the area (because of his clean clothes). He then said he noticed I was walking like I was in pain and he said sometimes you just have to ignore the pain and walk through it. Wouldn't you know it, but I had been thinking how painful it was to walk around because of all of my current health issues, just one of them being the sore left foot I have. When Ron finished talking I asked if I could pray with him. He agreed and I thanked God for reminding me through Ron that I need to "walk" and "walk through" my own personal issues with as much grace as possible. I thanked Ron again and as we continued walking on down the street I reflected to him that "I'm walking a little taller and a lot more pain-free!" Before I got back to my car I couldn't help but think about the tremendous opportunity for transformation that this area has. So often I think of all the despair and troubles that this area holds. The spiritual depression and darkness of these streets is sometimes overwhelming. I was glad to be reminded that God sees the potential of what it could be. --Until next week. John
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Downtown 5/27/2012
"Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him." Luke 15:1
One of the benefits of this ministry is learning to be obedient to the Spirits's leading. Recently I've been buying 16 cheeseburgers at the beginning of each trip. That usually feeds about 8-10 people. I felt led Sunday night to buy 17 or one more than usual. I've learned to just follow the leading and not question it. More on that later.
If you read last week's blog you will remember that I saw Tara, Chris and Willie in the alley where we had the last barbecue. It was great seeing them all together again and we made plans for the next barbecue for early July. So I drove over to that alley again Sunday, but only saw Chris there. He told me that Tara had left after the last weekend because of harrassment from another homeless person. Willie was still staying there but wasn't due back for awile. I ended up giving Chris 4 burgers for both him and Willie and some socks (which I didn't have last week) and a blanket. We talked at length and one of the things we talked about was a trip he made to a church that morning by bus. Although he didn't talk in detail about the message preached he did sum it up by saying it was the type of message that was very condemning. I made the comment about those type of messages that it makes you wonder where the good news is. I remember reading a book about a guy who spent some time living in a mission house for homeless people. He said every week a church group would come in and do a church service. Apparently, about nine out of ten messages were the 'you're a sinner and you're going to hell' type. He quickly realized that this type of message didn't reach very many of these people. They already knew they were sinners. I pointed out to Chris a verse in Luke 15. It's the first verse in this very famous chapter. This is the chapter that has the three parables of the 'lost things' culminating in the parable of the prodigal son. What sets the stage for those parables is the verse quoted above. If anything can be gathered from the brief detail of tax collectors and sinners gathered around Jesus listening to him talk, it could probably be assumed that he wasn't condemning them as being sinners, but more likely encouraging them to do their best and seek after God. This is the message I gave Chris. Before I left he asked me which weekend I was going to come and do the barbecue. I told him I was going to try for July 1st since I had the prior week off from work.
When I left Chris I drove west on 16th and as I came up to Central Ave there was Willie crossing the street with another man who was also at the last barbecue in October. I called out to them and Willie came over to the car. I passed some food to him through the window. The car behind me at the signal then started honking their horn because the light turned green. I hate when that happens.
I drove on down 16th and crossed San Pedro Ave. There is a small alley that turns off of 16th and goes under the I-10 freeway and then back to San Pedro Ave. Wouldn't you know it, Tara was sitting under the freeway there all by himself. He was so happy to see me. It was quite breezy under the freeway there and I just happened to bring a nice warm jacket on this trip that I was able to give him. He was suffering from a sore-throat that I'm sure will get worse from having to live outside and sleep in the open air. I filled Tara in on the events of the last 30 minutes or so and told him I was looking to do the next barbecue on July 1st. I'm so looking forward to it.
Just around the corner from there I found a couple more homeless men living on the sidewalks nearby. One was Henry whom I've helped before and the other was Antonio and I think I've helped him before too. At this point I'd given out 12 burgers and had five left. I now headed down to 8th and Wall St. On the first street west of Wall St I found a couple that I saw last week. I never did get their names last week and while I was passing some food to them another man came up to me and I gave him some food too. I asked the first couple what they thought the chances would be of me firing up a small barbecue sometime and cooking some burgers for them. I asked if they thought the police would run me off. They didn't know, of course, but they did tell me that the police do patrol the area. I'll have to check-in with the police station on 6th and Wall. Please pray that I will get the OK to go for it sometime. Before leaving that street I had two others, one woman and one man walk up to the car asking for food. In the end, I had just enough hamburgers to give one to everyone on that street. If I had not been listening to the Spirit's leading at the start of this trip, I would have been short of food. Praise God, He spoke and I listened and was able to feed and help 11 people. Until next week. John
One of the benefits of this ministry is learning to be obedient to the Spirits's leading. Recently I've been buying 16 cheeseburgers at the beginning of each trip. That usually feeds about 8-10 people. I felt led Sunday night to buy 17 or one more than usual. I've learned to just follow the leading and not question it. More on that later.
If you read last week's blog you will remember that I saw Tara, Chris and Willie in the alley where we had the last barbecue. It was great seeing them all together again and we made plans for the next barbecue for early July. So I drove over to that alley again Sunday, but only saw Chris there. He told me that Tara had left after the last weekend because of harrassment from another homeless person. Willie was still staying there but wasn't due back for awile. I ended up giving Chris 4 burgers for both him and Willie and some socks (which I didn't have last week) and a blanket. We talked at length and one of the things we talked about was a trip he made to a church that morning by bus. Although he didn't talk in detail about the message preached he did sum it up by saying it was the type of message that was very condemning. I made the comment about those type of messages that it makes you wonder where the good news is. I remember reading a book about a guy who spent some time living in a mission house for homeless people. He said every week a church group would come in and do a church service. Apparently, about nine out of ten messages were the 'you're a sinner and you're going to hell' type. He quickly realized that this type of message didn't reach very many of these people. They already knew they were sinners. I pointed out to Chris a verse in Luke 15. It's the first verse in this very famous chapter. This is the chapter that has the three parables of the 'lost things' culminating in the parable of the prodigal son. What sets the stage for those parables is the verse quoted above. If anything can be gathered from the brief detail of tax collectors and sinners gathered around Jesus listening to him talk, it could probably be assumed that he wasn't condemning them as being sinners, but more likely encouraging them to do their best and seek after God. This is the message I gave Chris. Before I left he asked me which weekend I was going to come and do the barbecue. I told him I was going to try for July 1st since I had the prior week off from work.
When I left Chris I drove west on 16th and as I came up to Central Ave there was Willie crossing the street with another man who was also at the last barbecue in October. I called out to them and Willie came over to the car. I passed some food to him through the window. The car behind me at the signal then started honking their horn because the light turned green. I hate when that happens.
I drove on down 16th and crossed San Pedro Ave. There is a small alley that turns off of 16th and goes under the I-10 freeway and then back to San Pedro Ave. Wouldn't you know it, Tara was sitting under the freeway there all by himself. He was so happy to see me. It was quite breezy under the freeway there and I just happened to bring a nice warm jacket on this trip that I was able to give him. He was suffering from a sore-throat that I'm sure will get worse from having to live outside and sleep in the open air. I filled Tara in on the events of the last 30 minutes or so and told him I was looking to do the next barbecue on July 1st. I'm so looking forward to it.
Just around the corner from there I found a couple more homeless men living on the sidewalks nearby. One was Henry whom I've helped before and the other was Antonio and I think I've helped him before too. At this point I'd given out 12 burgers and had five left. I now headed down to 8th and Wall St. On the first street west of Wall St I found a couple that I saw last week. I never did get their names last week and while I was passing some food to them another man came up to me and I gave him some food too. I asked the first couple what they thought the chances would be of me firing up a small barbecue sometime and cooking some burgers for them. I asked if they thought the police would run me off. They didn't know, of course, but they did tell me that the police do patrol the area. I'll have to check-in with the police station on 6th and Wall. Please pray that I will get the OK to go for it sometime. Before leaving that street I had two others, one woman and one man walk up to the car asking for food. In the end, I had just enough hamburgers to give one to everyone on that street. If I had not been listening to the Spirit's leading at the start of this trip, I would have been short of food. Praise God, He spoke and I listened and was able to feed and help 11 people. Until next week. John
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