March 27, 2010: 30 Hour Famine to the Rescue!

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.

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.

January 23, 2010: The Shift to Shamrock

We moved towards the Shamrock station this time around as the homeless group got moved again. This time we couldn't find our usual suspects of people we help but we found a new crop of people near the gas station, Shamrock. We spoke to the owners and they said it was fine we parked out to the side and serve sandwiches, fruit, and water there. We did however try going to the camp site, and saw two guys housed in a house that had been vandalized but was in the process of being built. We gave sandwiches to these two guys, but they were clearly drunk and out of it. At the Shamrock station we met Jamie and his son, missionaries to this area. And they shared the gospel message through the Spanish Bible. It was a very fun time for them and for us to watch them. Shannon, Jonathan, William and I were feeding them, but while we were at it, William and Jonathan heard about this guy who needed blankets and pants. They drove back to the SWBTS housing to get some of these items and came back to give some clothes. My wife, kids, Shannon and I spoke to various groups of people. I spoke to Reynaldo, who in Shannon's words, told the story about Noah and how they got drunk on the boat, and had a huge party. That was kind of hilarious. Reynaldo and I prayed for a little while for strength to endure the weather and the times ahead. Most of these guys needed jobs. I spoke to Antonio and Juan who were both from Guadalajara, Mexico, and they needed jobs more than anything. They wre grateful simply for lunch. I also met some people from El Salvador, which was interesting. I knew some El Salvadorians from Miami, FL, so them having made it all the way to Texas was quite a trip. They hitch hiked a LONG WAYS. Overall the experience was better than expected. I thought we couldn't find anyone, but it was God again, who came through and brought people to us. He's an on time God, and one that forever surprises me at every turn.