The cold rain streams down my window as I sit in my warm and dry home, yet hot, wet tears stream down my cheeks as I watch the rain.
I love the rain, especially since we need it so much in Southern California. But I am not crying for the rain.
I am crying for the people I love who must sit in the rain, soaking wet, with nowhere to go and nothing to cover themselves.
Recently my wife and I distributed a car trunk full of tarps, sweatshirts, sweaters, pants, blankets, food and other supplies to the homeless living in San Diego. But our meager supplies fell far short of meeting what they need.
This morning the temperature is fifty degrees. Fifty isn’t all that cold unless you’re soaked to the skin sitting on a wet sidewalk in the rain. Sitting under a tarp helps, but not everyone has a tarp. Some are sitting in the rain, shivering.
Blood on the Sidewalk
Many of our Christian friends are afraid to go with us to buy and distribute clothes, food, and tarps to the homeless. They’re afraid to go to the inner city and mingle with the poor, the bikers, the gangs. They blanch when we tell them of the times we have stood on still-wet blood stains on the sidewalk where someone was murdered during the previous night. (I think this has happened five or six times.)
Sometimes we’re afraid before we go. For some reason we’re never afraid when we’re there. We see beautiful people, who are in the middle of life’s messes.
To Show The Love of Jesus
My friend who does not follow Jesus, who loves the homeless, the poor, and our gay friends wants to go with me today. She is trying to take off work for a couple of hours to join me. We’ll buy tarps and then hand them out.
When the homeless ask who we are and why we’re doing it I’ll say “I follow Jesus and we’re here to show the love of Jesus.” Then I’ll ask their name, and ask what they need. My friend will write it down in my little notebook.
Sometimes I pray with them there on the sidewalk, in the rain. Sometimes they ask about Jesus. Sometimes they bless me, at God’s bidding. I bless them in return.
We’re safe, warm, and dry. But are they?
There is so much need in the world!
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We’re safe. But are they?
Wow. What a question. Especially this time of year.
How did your friend feel afterwards? What did she think?
This did not work out. My friend could not get off work. The place that sells tarps ran out. The rain stopped after lunch (but started again around dark).
I bought twenty seven more tarps today. The rain has passed for now. We’ll wait until another rain is coming and try to pass them out just before it rains (about 4:00 in the afternoon works best this time of year), or when the rain is just starting (when we can see who really has no tarp).
This can be a life-changing experience for someone who does not follow Jesus to go along on one of these little trips. The homeless people they meet and the response of those people to a simple gift and a little love and kindness given in the name of Jesus makes an impression unparalleled by any sermon or what-have-you that they have yet encountered in life.
Thinking of your series on TillHeComes on evangelism, I might say that we don’t go fishing. We make friends and take along snacks and gifts. So far no one has thrown anything at us!
We never met one homeless person on the streets who wasn’t pleased to see us. Some wanted money, most had drug, drink and overwhelming life issues that had led them onto the streets. All wanted and needed to be loved. Last night it went below freezing again here. Being church is taking the love of Jesus with you wherever you go, sharing the abundant fruit He has blessed us with and being outrageously generous. We have two empty chairs at our table this Christmas, Lord show us who we may honour this year. Thanks again Jeremy, for the encouragement and open hearted sharing of the gospel. Bless you mate 🙂
Ian,
Thank you for your response, and for what you are doing. Where are you located, We get a lot of below freezing nights here in Colorado. I love your comment “Being church is taking the love of Jesus with you wherever you go, sharing the abundant fruit He has blessed us with and being outrageously generous”, This is the message so many need to hear.
Pastor FedEx
Edwin, we are based in Blackpool, England. Probably not as cold as Colorado, but cold enough to kill a weakened soul. Thank you for your encouragement, sometimes we miss the Lords quiet support in the timely words of others. Good to know we are working on the same programme, even if we are seperated by geography. Bless you. Ian
May God bless and help you in what you’re doing in Blackpool Ian.
It rarely gets below freezing here in San Diego, but we usually get a few nights in the low thirties in January or February. Temps in the thirties and forties can be life threatening when you’re soaked to the skin. People do die here from exposure almost every winter. In the past few weeks, five of our homeless have been murdered in the streets. Last year, over sixty died, some from murder, health issues, exposure and other causes.
We take church to the people in the streets, like you. We take water and other things, but mostly we take the love of Jesus.
Our Church is making preperations for a couple of projects to help the homeless in Burlington, Vt.
While researching putting on a Homeless Foot Care Clinic I came across another issue that as a guy never even entered my thoughts previously, a need for feminine hygiene products!
Between being on their feet day in and day out, wearing things on their feet that no one should have to wear, so many health issues can be attribuuted to improper foot care. We are partnering with other Churches, a few podiatrists, nurses and volunteers to help identify those that may need further care as well as giving their poor, tired and aching feet a treatment of comfort and giving them back some semblence of dignity then wrapping them in brand new socks along with a couple of extra pairs. We are praying this will be a success so we can convince those involved to make this an ongoing service.
The feminine hygiene products will be an ongoing drive to keep homeless agencies supplied sufficiently as well as taking them to our streets to help the homeless women with their plight. Sometime, Google homeless women’s menstrual health! The dangers to their health they are forced to risk in order to care for themselves during this time is horrifying!
At one point in my life not that many years ago, I would scoff at, turn my head from and even yell out my window “get a job”. Atleast I wasn’t hurting them ‘physically’ or so I thought. But, when we joined this Church that is an Open and Affirming Church our outreach is aimed at those less fortunate, between our Summer Lunch Program which grows every year, collecting for local food shelves and homeless agencies, supporting these agencies walks to raise money. My eyes were opened and my mouth was shut and giving nods, smiles, handshakes and hugs has really ripped my heart at their plight.
Being Vermont our winters are truly unbearable!
A life has been changed and I pray another life has been spared. Comfort, caring and dignity is something all people need but the homeless need it more!
“So if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. John 13:14-15”