Saturday, January 24, 2009
Part 3: January 24, 2009 - Chilly Willy
I can't fathom or explain in great detail what we did today, but it definitely started with its moments, and ended with tears of joy and gladness. This morning I went to gather some take out boxes from Krogers, Sam's Club, and the Seminary Food Store. They did not have any. Then I stopped by a chinese place which I want to name, but out of self control I will be nice. They had cartons upon cartons of boxes and they wouldn't sell me anymore than 4. At 30 cents a pop I was willing to purchase 30. That's 9 dollars! They would've had enough money to buy 300 more. They didn't budge. So I left everything in God's hands and decided to trust that our group can handle the load. Michael Philips, Jessica and their three kids, Tricia and Jeremiah David, Jonathan Sharp and I headed out in another outreach to feed and clothe these homeless people. This time the group moved further into the canal area, and camped out. They started a fire just inside the area. They were located just outside a restaurant called "San Luis" Mexican restaurant. When we arrived we pulled a table and put all the food out. There was Jessica's yummy chicken and dumplings, Jonathan and I made Maccaroni with cheese and beef, and Tricia and Jeremiahs bread, brownies and other sweet delicacies. The homeless guys were so happy. There were about 10 there when we arrived. Anthony got in another fight and this time he was bloodied pretty badly. He was causing trouble and Manuel another guy pounded him. Manuel was a great guy. His wife and children were at their homes, but he was divorced and separated. He had very little, but he genuinely wanted to read the Bible, and pray with us. There were other familiar faces, but I don't recall some of their names. I met Daniel, and some other guys that were in tears overall the support. The most touching moment was when Jonathan gave up his jacket for Anthony. Anthony was cold but he didn't admit it. In the end we prayed together. When we finished Jeremiah, Tricia, and I headed back to the seminary to get more firewood. We packed his Ford Explorer, and picked up Jonathan to haul over all the firewood. The firewood would keep them warm for the next three days as it will average in the high 20s. There we met Frank. Frank was sober, and wanted to get his life right so he can see his wife and kid. He wanted a shower, and work. But he would do all this for free. We pray that God will use these opportunities to show more of his saving grace. I don't know how this is going to work, but we will do whatever it takes to love on these people. When we left the second time, we took Anthony to his home, and he almost ran us over. It was fine, but it was quite scary. Anyway enjoy some of the pictures.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Part 2 - January 10, 2009 - C.O.P.S
In our second journey to visit these homeless people we were slightly derailed by cops that were at the corner prior to our arrival. The homeless were scattered, and we had to start going mobile to try and stop and serve each one. This was an interesting endeavor as it was tough to find each one and serve them. Jonathan Sharp's family joined us this time. We went ahead and stopped at a liquor store first. There we found about 5 homeless people. We stopped to feed our families and them. We got to meet Andrea who was a stocky lady, who had gone through alot. She lost her father when she was 14, and her life has gone downhill since. She admired the fact that we served her. I got to see a few old faces like Juan, who was there on Christmas. A couple other guys were hanging around but they weren't very open to talking. Another lady, Elisa, came by and talked about an alley way where there are tons of homeless people who need food. We decided to load back up and drive down alleys to serve them. It was unsuccessful. We drove back back home and decided to wait an hour before heading back. The second time around it was just me and Jonathan. When we headed back out there was a much larger group present, and this time we had clothes too. Suzanne who was always yelling and screaming was there, and we got to serve her. Scarlett came to eat as well. We also saw Juan, Jesse, Lazaro, and a few more stragglers we didn't get the names of, but we served them. We saw a man who was by a dumpster and got to serve him some food. His name was Ronnie and he just came back from church. We also drove by a guy who thought we were trying to poison him, but we were just offering him food. That evening me and Jonathan Langley (another neighbor) went back to bring milk, cheerios, and canned drinks. There was about 10 more homeless guys there, and Anthony showed up. He had a job doing roofing with another seminary student, Paul. He was getting ready to go to church but he's going to follow up with me about his experience doing roofing. Since we went while the sun was almost down most of the homeless was punched drunk. It was hard to stay very long, but we got to stay with Jesse who sang a song with us; Amazing Grace. We long to return to serve them yet again...
Part 1: December 25, 2008 - Ground Zero
My family went out to the corner of 6th ave/S Henderson off the Seminary road to a TEXAS CAR WASH place in a dead end street to feed a group of homeless people. There were about 20 people, and we had the opportunity to cook macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, green bean casserole, and cookies for them. We learned many stories. Scarlett, Jesse, Johnny Anthony, Rick, and Martin were some of the men I remembered.
A fight broke out between two clans as 3 homeless guys from another area came by to try and steal the food, but their intentions were good, but everyone was selfishly trying to keep the food to themselves. Everyone had a story. Scarlett had 7 children and 2 ex husbands. She thought she was fat so she chose not to take the food until I served them. Her youngest child was 7, and they all don't go to school. They stay home with one of her lovers who's 345lbs so she says. She had so many needs, and she cried at the sight of a meal. Johnny Anthony is an alcohol/drug addict. He was the rich one in the bunch. He had an ex wife who chased him out of the house because he had a compulsive addiction. He had two kids. They were in California, one who was a starting corner back in high school, and the other a cheerleader. He was happy for them, but sad that he could not see them no more. He continued to offer us money throughout the whole time. Eventually he gave us $22 dollars which we will in turn use that to feed all of them.
Rick was a war-veteran. He had two purple hearts. He fought in Guam and showed me many knife wounds in high stomach and legs. He has since healed but limps around. He was the meanest of the bunch, but I felt I loved him the most. Jesse was the new one in the block. He seemed to know the Lord. He and his friend (forgot his name) asked me to pray for them. He was also a new bum, and does not know the territory. He smokes and has HUGE glasses from the 70s. He was a Cowboys fan as he wore a sweater and told me the Cowboys won't beat the Eagles this week. So I'm thinking that he thinks the cowboys won't make the playoffs this year. Martin was a talker. He was overly religious, and thought all religions should be combined into one.
He told me of his drinking habits, and explained he drank to not get drunk, and was fearful to drink because I was there, but I told them I'm sure there's alot of sorrow to drown out and not to feel guilty just because I'm there; I'm sure if I was given the opportunity and went through the same trials I would do the same. There were others I remember vaguely, like a guy with a black hat, and jacket that was the ring leader. People trusted him the most. He brought all the homeless people over for food. There were others like Alejandro who had a job at a factory, and he comes over frequently to have a beer with the group.
There were others who came in to eat, and then they left. There was a young couple that was married. They ate, and took off. The wife had tears on her eyes. I got to pray with many of them. It was funny that they were all analyzing us. We told them we were from Florida and were Chinese, but they didn't believe us. We had borrowed an Xterra from a friend (Keith), and drove it there and it had a Colorado license plate. We lend our car to a friend to drive to Eldaredo because their car broke down. So they had no reason to believe us. They constantly asked us why we do what we do. All we can say is that Jesus would do the same. We hope to continue this, and possibly make it a ministry so our school would serve them.
A fight broke out between two clans as 3 homeless guys from another area came by to try and steal the food, but their intentions were good, but everyone was selfishly trying to keep the food to themselves. Everyone had a story. Scarlett had 7 children and 2 ex husbands. She thought she was fat so she chose not to take the food until I served them. Her youngest child was 7, and they all don't go to school. They stay home with one of her lovers who's 345lbs so she says. She had so many needs, and she cried at the sight of a meal. Johnny Anthony is an alcohol/drug addict. He was the rich one in the bunch. He had an ex wife who chased him out of the house because he had a compulsive addiction. He had two kids. They were in California, one who was a starting corner back in high school, and the other a cheerleader. He was happy for them, but sad that he could not see them no more. He continued to offer us money throughout the whole time. Eventually he gave us $22 dollars which we will in turn use that to feed all of them.
Rick was a war-veteran. He had two purple hearts. He fought in Guam and showed me many knife wounds in high stomach and legs. He has since healed but limps around. He was the meanest of the bunch, but I felt I loved him the most. Jesse was the new one in the block. He seemed to know the Lord. He and his friend (forgot his name) asked me to pray for them. He was also a new bum, and does not know the territory. He smokes and has HUGE glasses from the 70s. He was a Cowboys fan as he wore a sweater and told me the Cowboys won't beat the Eagles this week. So I'm thinking that he thinks the cowboys won't make the playoffs this year. Martin was a talker. He was overly religious, and thought all religions should be combined into one.
He told me of his drinking habits, and explained he drank to not get drunk, and was fearful to drink because I was there, but I told them I'm sure there's alot of sorrow to drown out and not to feel guilty just because I'm there; I'm sure if I was given the opportunity and went through the same trials I would do the same. There were others I remember vaguely, like a guy with a black hat, and jacket that was the ring leader. People trusted him the most. He brought all the homeless people over for food. There were others like Alejandro who had a job at a factory, and he comes over frequently to have a beer with the group.
There were others who came in to eat, and then they left. There was a young couple that was married. They ate, and took off. The wife had tears on her eyes. I got to pray with many of them. It was funny that they were all analyzing us. We told them we were from Florida and were Chinese, but they didn't believe us. We had borrowed an Xterra from a friend (Keith), and drove it there and it had a Colorado license plate. We lend our car to a friend to drive to Eldaredo because their car broke down. So they had no reason to believe us. They constantly asked us why we do what we do. All we can say is that Jesus would do the same. We hope to continue this, and possibly make it a ministry so our school would serve them.
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