Forgiveness
In San Diego, one of the ministries we joined up with was a ministry to low-income hotels. These are places that rent out one-bed-rooms for $500 per month. The people living there share restrooms, kitchen, and smells (which were harsh). Imagine a kids bedroom and that’s what they’re paying for. It’s literally one step up the latter from living on the streets.
The ministry we partnered with goes in multiple times every week to pray and share the gospel with the hotel residents. There is high turnover, but some of the folks who are there every week have formed a small community. They take care of each other with Christs love.
We went to a weekly bible study and meal in their common room kitchen. Really, it was in a hallway. 30 or so low income hotel folks and about 10 of us from the ministry. We began with some singing, since I had my guitar. They don’t get music often, so this was a huge hit (despite my personal distain for 80-90s praise music). Then a guy from the ministry shared the gospel. Maybe 10 minutes or so.
But the real amazing part of the evening was after the sermon. There was a new guy from the hotel present. He was black, unhealthily skinny, disheveled, and missing some significant teeth. He raised his hand at the end of the talk and said, “You mean God forgives me of everything that I have done?”
“Yes, and everything you could ever do.” Replied the preacher.
And with that a huge smile broke out on his face (with his 3 or so teeth). He was so excited. We all saw true joy on his face. Shock colliding with the reality of the gospel. It was one of the best moments of the trip.
When I think about forgiveness I don’t have that kind of shock and joy anymore. It has become a given for my faith journey. Maybe I’ve lost something. When this guy heard of God’s forgiveness he wasn’t robotic or emotionless. He wasn’t calculated or stoic. He was beaming with excitement. He was like a kid seeing the presents under the tree on Christmas morning, “You mean all of these are for me!?!”
I pray that I would long for God’s forgiveness once again, and explode with joy because I already have it.
Real Danger
In San Diego we saw some seriously crazy stuff. Things that were gross. Things that were wild. Things that were scary. And even things that were dangerous.
Gross: Our group was mostly women, and so while we were on the streets we had many homeless guys try to flirt with them. Most of it was done in a respectful, and almost comical way. But on a few occasions remarks were made to our gals which were simply crude. There isn’t really anything like a drunk, homeless guy who is missing a few teeth trying to flirt with a high school girl from the suburbs.
Wild: The church where we stayed was in the city, but it was also right by the airport. We must have been directly under the path for incoming flights because all day, and all night, planes would fly right over our spot. See picture and video below:
Scary: We also saw many people who were addicted to drugs and alcohol. It was a sad thing to observe. And while most of the drunks we encountered were pleasant enough, one belligerent drunk in particular was very angry. At what? We have no idea, because he was literally incoherent. But the event culminated with him getting up, stumbling around, cussing us out, throwing the water we just gave to him at us, and looking like he might throw a punch. Yikes!
Dangerous: And of course there was some danger in what we did, as there always is. The other male leader from our group arrived by a low flying plane the night we arrived. His flight got in around 11pm and his cab pulled up to the church at about 11:45pm. There were homeless people camped all around the building, and the cab driver turned to my friend and said, “Are you serious? You want me to drop you off right here?” Implying that certainly my friend had more sense than that. “This is the place,” he replied. And so the driver wasted no time throwing my friend’s bag on the curb and peeling out away from that place.
So, you can see, it was a crazy trip. No doubt about it. But as I reflect from the comfort of my couch, I ask myself, was the real danger in us going, or would it have been more dangerous for us not to have gone?
Matthew 25:41-46 ~ “Then he will say to those on his left, ’Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Getting Off The Streets
One of the greatest things that happened to me on the streets was meeting this one guy named Phil (again, changed the name just in case). I met him the very first night we were there and then I saw him twice more. We talked each time I saw him, and each time we talked he told me more and more of his story.
Phil hasn’t always been on the streets. He was a construction worker. He had sustainable income and a home. But due to a set of circumstances he lost his job and eventually lost his house. He found himself on the streets, and in that environment he was also introduced to a way to deal with the anxiety of that life. Meth.
His habit continued until he had sold or pawned all of his tools to have money for his addiction, and with that addiction came the addiction to sex and pornography. In the depth of the pit of his fall he realized he needed to make a change. When I met him he told me he had been clean for 5 months. He had been getting some daily labor jobs, and with that money he wanted to start buying back his tools in order to get a sustainable construction job again.
What I learned from Phil was how hard it can be to get off the streets. Sure, he has made some mistakes and is paying the consequences for his errors. But, since he is homeless, the long crawl off the streets is arduous at best. He has to wait in line for food. He has to wait in line for work. He has to either beg, pay for, or take sink showers (and if he doesn’t look presentable he won’t get work). He must have his cell phone on, charged, and payed for at all times to be available for contact from potential employers (he gives blood to make enough money to keep his cell phone on). All the money he earns goes towards buying tools, but because he is homeless he has to pay for a storage spot to keep his belongings. And after all this it doesn’t leave too much time to send out resumes or go to interviews.
Phil truly wants to get off the streets, but the journey is long and difficult. I had a chance to pray for Phil. And I really think that, if he can stay clean, he will eventually get off the streets. But before I had this experience I think I had the attitude that if they really wanted to, homeless people could get off the streets. And I learned from Phil that the process is much harder that I originally thought.
Amazing Teenagers
On the trip to San Diego I saw many things I hadn’t seen before in my life. I saw a pimp walk his homeless prostitute around the streets. I saw a drunk man on the streets get up to throw the water at me, which I had just given him. I saw business men give me scathing looks as I sat down with the homeless.
But one thing I saw that blew me away was how the teenage girls we took on this trip reacted and ministered. I think we were all a bit uneasy as we started the week off together. None of us had really tried to build relationships with those on the streets, but that was the task set before us.
By the end of day 2 I saw our high school girls, introverts at that, going up to homeless people on the streets, handing them a water bottle, sitting down with them on the ground, introducing themselves, shaking hands, talking, sharing the gospel, and even leading them in prayer.
AND THEY DID ALL THIS WITHOUT US PRODDING THEM ON. THEY JUST DID IT!
I am amazed by this. If our suburban, introverted, high school girls can bust out of their comfort zones couldn’t anyone?
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ’Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.‘ ~ Matthew 25:37-40
More Than Food
Every day while in San Diego we would go out on the streets with water and some food. Our mission was to use the food as a way to enter into conversations with people on the streets.
One day our team met a guy named Jamal (I changed his name just in case). Jamal was a big dude. Probably 6′ 6″ weighing about 250. Football player type. He was probably in his mid 50s.
We handed Jamal a bottle of water and a burrito and talked to him about how he was doing. After a few minutes of breaking the ice he opened up to us in an incredible way. He was on the streets, and yet he had a job. He worked for a moving company, but still couldn’t afford a place to stay. He would be up at 6am every day waiting for the train so that he could get to work on time. Because he didn’t have a place to stay, he would wash his work shirt in a public restroom sink every night so that it would be clean and presentable the next day for work. Jamal told us about his family, his granddaughter (who calls him ‘G-Pop’), and his experiences on the streets.
Before we moved on we had a chance to hold his hands and pray with him. Afterwards, with tears in his eyes he shook the burrito and said, “Y’all aren’t just giving us food, you’re giving us hope.”
I would have been scared of Jamal before. He is a big, intimidating guy. But underneath the exterior stood a man who was in need of hope. I learned that what is needed more than anything on the streets is the hope of Jesus Christ.
Back
I’m back from a week in San Diego spending time with homeless people. I plan on doing a bit of blogging about my trip in the next few days. Check back for more.
Uncomfortable
Have you ever been in a position where you have felt totally vulnerable and extremely uncomfortable? I have and it happened today.
I am laying in my sleeping bag in San Diego reflecting on my first day of this mission trip. The floor I lay on is right beneath the flight pay of every incoming flight to San Diego international airport so if is loud! Today we fed the homeless. We walked the streets and prayed for and over people. We were cussed at. We saw drunks, drug addicts, sinners, and the lot. I was hugged by a drunk homeless man. I smelled things I didn’t like. I saw things I didn’t like. I did things I didn’t want to do.
The underbelly of the city is a place that I am so sheltered from I almost pretend it doesn’t exist.
What does this post really mean? Nothing more than that I am uncomfortable.
Prison
My wife and I visited a young women’s prison facility yesterday with a ministry from our church. There are 40-or-so teenage girls who are incarcerated in this facility for crimes that would cause an adult to do prison time. Our church, hand in hand with a couple other local churches, goes once-a-month to bring these girls a church service with music and preaching. These girls were literally crying out to God for forgiveness. We could see the pain and shame in their eyes. It made our hearts break.
As my wife and I were driving up to the facility we realized that it was less than 1 block away from the apartments we lived in when we first were married. Yet, we never knew this facility existed, let alone any of these girls who were locked up inside.
And as we drove away, my wife said, “those girls are just like our community’s Dalit. We don’t want to see them. We don’t want to recognize they are there. We just want to throw them into ‘slums’ and pretend they don’t exist.”
This was profound. What would Jesus want us to do with these gals?
Matthew 25:39 ~ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?
Lent Water Fast
Uncomfortable
I was in Starbucks two days ago enjoying my fourth Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season. As I sat down I noticed that a guy sitting in the table adjacent to me appeared to be homeless. He had a long dirty beard. His skin was dark from the sun and looked aged after many days and nights in the elements. He clothes were tattered, dirty, and noticeably small for him. He carried 5 shopping bags from a local grocery store, a duffel bag, and a backpack which were all stuffed full. What I am saying is that he obviously didn’t fit the stereotype of suburban Starbucks client.
