Encounters

I haven't blogged about downtown in a while and some stuff was rolling around in my head as I'm doing some late night cookie baking. :) So here goes!

You know, when we first started going downtown to have lunch with our 'Sunday Friends' (a term coined by one of the incredible families who helps us), it was all about getting our feet wet.

We have never experienced homelessness (except in a spiritual way.)

We had never known hunger (except in a spiritual way.)

We had never been truly lonely (except in a spiritual way.)

Bottom line.....we couldn't identify with the people we were meeting ....except in a spiritual way.

So, while God was preparing hearts and minds (ours and theirs) for His work to be done, we provided what we could. A hand shake, a hug, a hot meal, warm clothes. They got to know us and came to trust that we would be there every week. I remember in the beginning them telling us of the discussions on the corner each Sunday, especially when the weather was bad. One guy would let us know that there were doubters in the crowd and he had set them straight. We would be there!

After eleven months, there is no question we will be there. And there is something new. There is an identification that the guys have between us and God. It's always created a chuckle when someone refers to Dave as Pastor Dave or, better yet, Preacher Dave (as he was referred to this past week.) The amazing thing about that is that Dave doesn't preach. They seem to know what we believe and who we follow simply by our actions and the few words that pass between us on Sundays. God is working in such a powerful way in the minds and hearts of each one of us.

I didn't get to go downtown this past Sunday and I hated it. I had some emotional drainage going on and felt tapped out. A few of the guys used Dave's cell phone and called me to say they missed me! I bawled like a baby! Someone once said to me that we should never be fooled into thinking that we would be accepted as friends in the homeless community. I wish that gentleman could have felt what I felt that day. That meant the world to me.

So, since I couldn't go down Sunday, I couldn't wait until Tuesday. We go to a small group (well, kinda - 25+ people the past couple of weeks) downtown and they send a van to pick people up at the Francis House Shelter. Dave and I got there late so we hopped in the car and went down to meet them there. I can't tell you how cool it is to go to a place that used to be scary and foreign to us and get out of the car and be greeted by those we know.

We saw Menelik right away. Dave has written of him before but for those of you not familiar with his story he is an Ethiopian who fought with his family in Sudan. His Dad was killed in front of him. He doesn't know where the rest of his family is or even if they are alive. He has two kids here and lives at the shelter. He struggles with alcohol. He approached us to tell us about how he was reading about Paul and wanting to have the ability, like Paul, to have joy even in his miserable circumstances. He was particularly down and I got the chance to pray with him. He responds so completely to prayer. It's a cool transformation. It was good to leave him better than we found him. God is good.

As we were driving away a girl ran to our car. She asked us to pray for her and her daughter. She said her name was Tennessee and her daughter's name was Savannah. Yes, she spoke with a southern accent. She said she was trying to get off drugs and it was so hard. I asked her if we could pray for her right there and she pulled away and said, "No, I've never done anything like this before but I just felt like I should ask you guys to pray for me." Now, keep in mind that we have never met Tennessee. How did she even know that we were 'the prayin' type'? Cool stuff we can't comprehend or explain. God.

I went to a community breakfast at the Francis House this morning. Juan, one of our friends, invited me to come. What an emotional time. A few sobriety birthdays. Five graduations from the drug/alcohol recovery program. Lots of tears and lots of encouragement. Lives changed by God one step at a time. Struggles, victories, failures, fear, joy, accomplishment, pride, and love all rolled up into a big soppy tearful ball!

Juan was working on Step 5 where you admit your shortcomings to another person. He shared his with me and it made me grateful for his trust and his friendship and that God would let me be a part of his recovery.

It's been a good week. I have struggled in some other areas of my life and, at times, have been nearly incapacitated by them. The bright spots have been in the work God has given us to do downtown. Love, encouragement, and reassurance has come from so many places this week. Some from sort of expected places and some from unexpected places. All of it, ultimately, from God through the people He has placed in my life.

I am going to bed thankful tonight that God is opening doors to connect in a spiritual way with people we couldn't otherwise identify with.