Street Retreat – Home Safe

by | Mar 29, 2009 | buildingaboat, missions, Uncategorized |

HOME SAFE

Well I am home and laying on my sleep number bed safe and sound. Thanks for your prayers over the past couple of days. What a journey man I have never walked so much in my life. One of the things I really enjoyed was the walking because when you walk with 7 guys for two days you really get to connect. It is funny though we would be walking and talking and we would get to a light and all kind of clump together then the light change and we would start walking but you would be walking next to a different guy and a either a new conversation would start or one from a block or two ago would continue. I really enjoyed getting to know the guys on the trip with me and the people on the street.

This morning was COLD it must have been close to freezing when we woke up at 7 or so. That is sleeping in to the homeless they are usually up and rolling before light. We stayed in a park way on the eastside and started walking back it was great we walked along the lake. A guy really should not be by a lake at 7am and not have a fishing pole that is just not right. We walked through Marcus’s hood and by his mom’s house then over to a run down hotel with some of the toughest looking dudes of front. Next thing I know we are just walking over to have a conversation. We gave them some of the socks the guys had brought and find out they are part of a program to get guys off the street. Met a great guy named Joseph who is about a month in and really working to try and clean up his life. Really tough to be there and not have a solution for these guys. So many of the people I hung around were good people just made bad choices and were paying a huge price. Some were very ill and will never make it off the street they will die a lonely confused death and that was very hard to grasp.

We walked over to 35 and 8th and met up with some homeless guys from Saturday. We walked up to a short guy named David and asked how was and he told us he had been hit by car the night before. Just crazy. Flipped up on the hood smash the window kind of hit by a car. The car never stopped. We hung around there for a bit and gave away a couple more back packs the guys were using then moved on to our church downtown.

I was really excited to see Jeannie. We met a few of our friends from the street and they joined us for church. Really great to see how our new friends were welcomed downtown by everyone. I finally got one of the best hugs from my wife. Man it was like second only to the one I got after we walked down the isle together almost 10 years ago. One of my more crystallizing moments was thinking about all of you. How much support I have received from you all in the past and continue to receive. I hope you know how much you mean to me and I grateful you are in my life and that we are in this life together. Sorry got a little sappy there but I just felt so much love from you all this morning walking near the lake. OK I will stop, see that is what happens when you walk next to a lake and don’t fish.

So after church we headed back to 35 to say goodbye and head to our homes. It was hard to say goodbye knowing that i was going to my car and headed straight for the nearest drive thru (seriously) and that I would see them back at Woolridge park on Wednesday when I hand them a pbandj sandwich. They took care of us and protected us on some dangerous streets and I am truly thankful for my brothers and sisters out on the street.

God bless and thanks for letting me share this with you I feel you are all with me out there on these trips and supporting me so you might as well get to enjoy them.

Jimmy

PS need a pair of size 13 dress shoes for a homeless guy.

 

 

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