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Who are the homeless? What are they thinking as we walk by without looking them in the eye? What do they want from us as they hold their sign at the stoplight while we fiddle with the radio knobs on our car dashboard? <\/p>\nWho are the homeless? What are they thinking as we walk by without looking them in the eye? What do they want from us as they hold their sign at the stoplight while we fiddle with the radio knobs on our car dashboard? <\/p>\n
Do the homeless have dreams? Desires? Wishes? Hopes? <\/p>\n
What circumstances in life led them to this spot on the cold, wet pavement under the bridge? <\/p>\n
If we want to help the homeless, the very first step is seeking to understand who they are and how they think. The best way to do this is by listening to their stories. <\/p>\n
Here are a few of the stories I have heard from homeless people in my town as I spent Easter Sunday among them:<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a dream,\u201d said the homeless woman sitting on the sidewalk. \u201cI have a dream that I will have a large house that I can fill with children, the unwanted, unloved, and abused children of the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a little five year old girl I know. She gets passed around and used by men.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s also a baby. He can sit up, so someone sets him out on the front steps of the apartment building where he lives. Sometimes people give him something to eat or drink. He\u2019s in the sun when it\u2019s hot. Sometimes he falls over and falls down the steps and gets hurt and cries. If he\u2019s lucky, someone sets him up again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s his mother?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve asked people who she is and no one knows. They say he\u2019s just out there when they come out the door and they never see anyone take care of him. I want to give him a home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe innocents. The Lord gave me the word innocents<\/em>. I asked him who the innocents are. He told me they are the children no one wants. I pray for them. Will you pray for them?\u201d<\/p>\n We assure her we will.<\/p>\n We walk around the corner to a group of homeless women sitting under tarps. \u201cMelinda\u201d was busy working on something on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw you coming down the street and I\u2019m making this for you.\u201d Somewhere Melinda had come up with a small pink foam cross and foam stickers in the shape of hearts, churches, and the words \u201cJoy\u201d, \u201cPray,\u201d and \u201cLove God.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJesus rose up from the dead on Easter,\u201d Melinda told us. \u201cHere, this is for you to remind you of that. Would you like some tickets to a movie? It\u2019s about a girl that got hurt, but God helped her in all her trouble. I have two extra tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n We accept the tickets and thank her, and give her and her friends water, food, and shirts.<\/p>\n \u201cHappy Easter!\u201d they shout as we walk on to another group of homeless people.<\/p>\n Yes, the risen Lord walks among the homeless, not only on Easter, but also on every day of the week. He is there, among the beauty of those who know and love him, but also in the middle of incredible darkness.<\/p>\n \u201cSix homeless men have been murdered down here lately,\u201d said our friend \u201cArthur\u201d. We\u2019ve known Arthur for several years. He dreams of starting a business and getting off the street. <\/p>\n So far it hasn\u2019t happened.<\/p>\n \u201cOne night I was coming back to my cart and there was a dead man laying right there,\u201d Arthur said, pointing to a small patch of ground planted with bushes. \u201cSomeone had bashed in his head and his brains were all over the place.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you afraid?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n \u201cSure, but this is all I got. So far I\u2019ve been lucky, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDrug deal gone bad?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe. I dunno. I was walkin\u2019 around for a couple of hours. It was late and there he was when I came back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy doesn\u2019t this stuff get in the paper, Arthur?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNobody cares when one of us gets murdered. It\u2019s bad publicity for the city.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe care, Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe know. You show it.\u201d<\/p>\n Incredible beauty walks among the homeless, but incredible evil also is their constant companion.<\/p>\n With my little pink cross held in my hand, we round the corner a couple of hundred feet from where the man had been murdered a few weeks before.<\/p>\n \u201cThem damn cops won\u2019t let us play football there in the street,\u201d a couple of them tell me.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u201d I ask.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t know, but they\u2019re gonna pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFriends, we have sweet grapes, water, and buffalo-wing flavored goldfish crackers for you\u201d we announce as we purposely walk between the policeman and the group of angry men. \u201cWho needs a fresh, clean shirt? I have a bag of them here. My wife even ironed them for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Soon we are handing out food, water, and shirts and the mood of the crowd changes. Only one man continues to taunt and curse the policeman. The policeman tells him to calm down, then returns to the safety of his cruiser while the crowd sat, eating grapes and crackers. Some tried on their new shirts.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is Easter,\u201d we proclaim. \u201cHave a good Easter, guys.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHappy Easter!\u201d several tell us.<\/p>\n None of these men mentioned Jesus rising from the dead and no one gave us an Easter cross. But no one jumped the policeman and no one got shot, either.<\/p>\n Jesus walks the streets. He’s on the corner with the prostitutes. He’s in the alley with the addicts. He walks the streets on Easter morning and on every other morning. <\/p>\n People are murdered there on the street, but others are safe. Jesus is with them both.<\/p>\n Some mothers set their babies on the front steps of their apartment buildings and leave them alone. Other mothers make plans to get off the streets and make a home for the unwanted and unloved children. Jesus cries with and comforts both.<\/p>\n The homeless have dreams … and Jesus dreams along with them.<\/p>\n We see Jesus walking these streets. Have you seen him there? We see him every week walking these streets. He\u2019s not hard to find if you know how to look.<\/strong><\/p>\n And YOU can help.<\/p>\r\n Fill out the form below to receive several emails about how to love and serve the poor and homeless.<\/p>\r\n\r\nThe Pink Cross<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nMurder Walks These Streets<\/h2>\n
Get the Cop<\/h2>\n
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A group of about twenty angry homeless men are milling around. One police cruiser with one policeman inside backed into place in the middle of the street in front of them. The policeman rolled down his window, then opened his door, got out and stood there, facing off with the men.<\/p>\nJesus Walks These Streets<\/h2>\n
\r\nThere is so much need in the world!<\/h3>\r\n