I am so thankful for William Woo for this visit to the homeless. He brought 8 chinese youth kids from the Dallas metroplex to join us for our usual homeless visit. We bought 9 loaves of PBJ sandwhiches and 4 loaves of bologna sandwiches. We also had over 40 bananas and went out to reach the homeless.
Our first visit took us near the canal. At the canal we saw three people. Juan and his two friends were there. One person had crutches but they were sleeping there. William immediately knelt down and prayed for one of them, while the rest of us gave food, drink, and fruit to them. We prayed for them and did some small talk. It was difficult to see them going through so much, but one thing I noticed was that they were brothers and that they looked out for one another.
Second we moved further up the street to Shamrock. There we met up with maybe 5 other stragglers who needed food. We tried praying with a few of them but they didn't want it. They ended up taking some food which we gladly obliged. The chinese youth were holding up. They didn't find as much to do I'm sure, but that's the life of going rogue. It's harder to meet them at their territory that serving them at a homeless shelter. Usually that's the easy way, but I enjoy going rogue too much.
Third, we headed back down towards the Texas Car Wash. This time we wanted to give the rest of the sandwiches back to the first group we met. Instead we ended up running into Anthony, Jaime, Joey, and Torres. This group had 2 drunk guys and Joey was on the floor. Torres came late, but he was heavily liquored up. Anthony who was totally sober took his ring and started to show off. I was hoping and praying they wouldn't fight in front of the kids. Praise God, they didn't. Torres then wanted a hug, and I gave him one. He started to cry. So all the youth kids and myself prayed for this man. He definitely had some struggles in his life. Anthony kept telling us that he wouldn't cry or open up to them, but when we were there he started to well up in tears. He shared his sorrows and how he did not want the kids to have the same fate. He told them that he respected them. This was an amazing moment. A completely different experience than the other two groups.
God sent us three different groups of people. One group that was receptive of us, the second which was apprehensive, and the final group that was broken from us. It's amazing how God works. When we were about to leave, He gives us one last taste of His goodness. I'm glad we are able to remain faithful for so long. I will definitely keep going to this area to reach out to these fellows. I'm not sure if they'll ever change or if I'm enabling their sin, but one thing I'm sure is that I love each and every one of these homeless guys. I appreciate their willingness to love me in return.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
February 20, 2010: The Power of One
This trip I went alone as Jonathan, Jeff, and others were busy this weekend. It was a nice outreach- cold. It was a cloudy morning and I went with bologna sandwiches to feed them. I also had some hot chicken soup in a huge pot. I drove up to the first station where a bunch of homeless guys usually hang out behind the trees one street beyond the Texas Car Wash. In behind the homes I saw an empty mattress or what I thought was an empty mattress and a cooking pot. There were about 3 guys sitting around smoking a joint and drinking some beers. Anthony and Joel (the incarcerated one) were hanging out. Joel was his usual self; drunk. Anthony was fully aware, but again feeding his depression with those who would understand. I gave them some soup and sandwiches and prayed with them. Not much has changed and they're still looking for jobs. I'm glad to have spent a little bit of time with the both of them. Upon leaving I stumbled upon the mattress again. This time it moved. Underneath the blankets was Abel. Drunk and left out to sleep. His wife kicked him out of the house. His life was changing, but now he has returned back to his past. I know recovery will take time, but I was deeply saddened to see him this way. We prayed, and I took him home. From his house I took off to the second station off Shamrock. I met up with Yo, and a few of his friends. I gave the soup and all the sandwiches to them. A lady with a few husbands came by for food. She had been in the army, but seemed to be struggling. She's one of the few prostitutes around and owe alot of debt. She needed Jesus.
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