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Tuesday the 29th of November
could easily have been ..
one of the best days of my life.
for starters...
a co-worker left a bag of butterflake rolls,
chocolate chip cookies,
dinner rolls
and a giant loaf of italian bread.
pretty nice of her right?
the night began.
and i say night because after daylight savings,
the sun goes down at 5pm.
the air was COLD!
Not PLAY IT OFF LIKE IT AINT COLD cold...
There's an #OCCUPY movement going on in downtown Jacksonville.
Very nominal.
With a big loaf of bread in my hand looking out for any needy.
I approached their area
a table had bread and one guy was making a peanut butter sandwich.
they had tents, umbrellas,
laptops,
wifi
it was kind of disturbing.
to make sense as to why I approached them,
I asked if they'd like a loaf of bread.
(maximum 15-20 people)
I was out as quick as I was in.
I then met
Jared Gibson, a co-leader of Footsteps Homeless Ministry,
and I met up at Hemming Plaza
we then rode to
the Sulzbacher Center
where dinner line is nearly a block long.
Jared prayed before we began.
one of this week's donations for the night
was a BIG THICK WINTER COAT!
(thanks Jonathan Zack for the donation)
meet "Cowboy" a man I met on the streets a week ago.
he actually had a nice black jacket on.
It was comparable to a North Face.
We traded.
we gave his black jacket to a guy who was just wearing a t-shirt
it had to have been 60 degrees out
not cold if you're from up north
..that's a bit nip to Floridians.
IT WAS CRAZY HOW MANY DIFFERENT ITEMS WE HAD
the first three people that approached us got beanies.
one got wrap around ear muffs
shirts
khakis
pants
they searched
and looked
the bag of food?
GONE!!!
we solicit prayer requests from people.
50/50
50% of those who accept have a respond with a specific request
25% oblige, take their hats off (if wearing one),
close their eyes and bow their heads letting you freestyle.
the other 25% blurt out a generality - HEALTH! SHELTER!
... part of Jared's prayer before was
that if we could minister to at least one person let it be
Meet Robert, a Vietnam vet. He's in a wheelchair.
we met him in the vicinity of the Sulzbacher center.
we offered him bread
but I don't think his body could handle
the sweetness of the roll. (?)
he asked for prayer..
to wake up and see another day.
Jared prayed then he spoke to us more.
we sat by his side.
he's in his mid-50s
Vietnam vet
has a problem with alcohol
in a wheelchair due to accidents shattering both hips.
and replacements that are misaligned.
he can't walk normal again.
he "lives" in a government supplemented
program giving him housing.
the residents are mentally ill.
Robert feels he's the only one that has his wits about him
while the rest rest are inciteful.
his 18 year old roommate in this house provokes him to anger...
because Robert is on SSI,
the program tells him where he can live.
his young roommate infuriated Robert so much so
he left the facility
and WHEELED his way downtown from lem turner
a 6 hour trek.
we saw him on day 11 of "fleeing" his residence.
after hearing all that I asked if I could pray for him again.
afterwards, he asked me if I could take him back home.
he wheeled towards the back door.
backed up.
opened it.
stood up via the door frame
and got in my car.
with his chair folded in the trunk
his address was put in the gps.
he was AMAZED by the gps.
no lie.
"oh it tells you where you're going"
along the way,
he began to tell us
of going to Vietnam at the age of 17.
2 tours.
bootcamp in my hometown of San Diego.
being stationed in Guam.
being a foster child.
adoption.
respecting elders.
this young generation.
we made it to his house.
we hugged him goodbye.
he wheeled up the ramp towards the door.
that was the first time we took a homeless person home
