Reggie: In My Mind: Footsteps: Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Each and every time that we go out for another homeless ministry, it's always different.

Different people join me...
we see different faces... different stories...

there's never a dull moment...
and it's seriously always an adventure.

this week, I was joined by my friends from CHURCH Amanda, Jared, Amanda, and Dustin

We hit Hemming Plaza as the sun was setting equipped with:

Socks,

Bibles,

Bottled Water,

Bus Passes,

Brown baggies containing index cards with scripture/words of encouragement and, you guessed it, PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY SANDWICHES!

as we all assembled, I briefed them on how the people are...

.. to engage with them.. pray for them..

and how many homeless people know the scriptures in and out.

as we were divvying up the items a man walked pass us.

he noticed the items and made a remark like.. "that's good right there!"

I asked, "would you like a bible?"

he stopped in his tracks and came back our way..

"Would you like prayer for anything?" I asked

his response was something to the effect of 'I could always use prayer'

"What's your name?"

"Luther"

Luther began to tell us how he was in jail for 18 years.. the day he got out.. he was arrested again.

Today he was released from jail once more.

We laid hands on him and prayed for him.

He shared how he went to church everyday in jail and expressed how 'we should always pray'

He went on his way with new socks, a new bible, bottled water and a PB&J.

IT WAS CRAZY!

God's timing is amazing.... (what would have happened if we didn't go?)

Luther came to us before we even broke into teams and distributed items.

It was very inspirational.

We then split up into teams and walked around the plaza.

It became very apparent that we were passing out water and sandwiches so people came around quickly.

We made sure to engage with the people instead of treating them like charity cases.

Meet Rachel, a women in her mid-20's she approached us for water/PB&J..

"can I pray for you?"

"Yes, my mom passed away August 5th (or 6th)"

I prayed for her and.... issues like that are touching....

all of their stories are...

one man was too proud to accept a PB&J...

one lady spotted us from ACROSS the plaza and was eagerly waving us down as she approached.

the sandwiches weren't in ZIPLOC baggies that closed shut so she was a little skiddish when she saw an exposed sandwich in a bag...

...can't please everybody...

"can I pray for you?"

"YES, FOR A GOOD MAN IN MY LIFE!"

Meet Keshawn [pictured below]

i'm kinda heartbroken looking at this picture.....
he's been awake for 76 hours he said...
he's curious about God and salvation.. but like most homeless.. his heart is calloused...
however, he was different... you could tell he was a good person.
his view of life was more glass half full.

Dustin, Amanda, and I really poured into his life and just encouraged him as best we could....
We gave him a bible...
"What do you do when you feel discouraged?" he asked
it was just really touching... i think the spirit just spoke through us... i don't remember a lot that i said..
i do remember saying that "...David encouraged himself in the Lord" [1 Samuel 30:6]

After the 76 hours remark that he made... i asked him... "you don't go to any of the local shelters [for rest]?"

he replied, "there's a lot of drama there.. and hard drugs... I don't want to be around all that"

it was a catch 22 situation for Keshawn...
We gave him water, sandwich(es), new testament bible.... Amanda offered him socks...
he kinda flipped out in a way... (because he wasn't wearing any)
he was overwhelmed really...
he questioned why we were even out helping...
"my girlfriend doesn't even come see me... I can't go over there because gangs are fighting now... you've seen the news"

we encouraged him a lot and I had a good feeling when he left...
he warned us to leave once the sunset as 'things get a little crazy out here'

all in all the evening went well.

I'm really thankful for both Amandas, Dustin, and Jared for coming out, buying water, making over 20 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and handwriting notes of encouragement on note cards.

In my current life situation, there's this looming feeling of inadequacy that I have towards this homeless ministry. But, God shows up, through different people, time and time again.

God's love for us is IMMENSE

Romans 10:15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!"

This next part has NOTHING to do with the Homeless Ministry but is noteworthy

Hemming Plaza happens to be one of the stops on the monorail...
We got on (legally - .50¢) and had a mini-adventure