What a Sunday! We had a bit of a Birthday Party Sunday. We decided a few weeks ago to rectify the fact that several of our friends in the downtown Omaha community are not the recipients of some of the simple pleasures. Things some of us often take for granted. I don't know how most people do it, but at my house growing up? You have a birthday? You get a birthday cake. We didn't have a whole lot growing up. That happens when there are 10 mouths to feed. We weren’t in a bad way, just had to make things go a little further. But if someone had a birthday coming up? You better believe a cake was going to be the center piece of the evening. At my house? Let me tell you...if there's a birthday, there's a homemade cake to go along with it. Without fail. So As I was talking to my friend Joe a few weeks ago, he mentioned that he's not had a birthday cake in 10 years. 10 years!! Yesterday, our great friend Crystal and her daughter Tori show up with 2 ginormous birthday cakes. God bless ya Crystal! We had a little birthday celebration right there under the trees in God's park in downtown Omaha. It was cool. Now it was hot yesterday, as it has been in much of these United States recently. I mean SWELTERING hot. These poor folks have to deal with this weather on a constant basis. Man, am I blessed. So our first birthday party was a success I believe. Funny enough too, because sandwiched around our downtown party, we celebrated my man Nick's 10th birthday Friday and we'll celebrate Robin's xxth birthday tonight (Monday). Lots to be thankful for in our house. Now we did spend Friday evening at the Amazing Pizza Machine. It's kind of a hyped up version of Chucky Cheese. So we had a great weekend of celebration and I think our friends were thankful and blessed. Also, I did meet a young lady who asked about birthday presents. Do you guys give out birthday presents, she asked me? Did I mention that she was pushing a stroller? And did I mention that her 1 year old son was in the stroller? His birthday in August 27th. I think we can find him a birthday present. God has blessed us with many resources lately. Our friends at Heart Ministry have a supply of things that a one year old might like for a birthday present.
I was also able to chat with a young fellow for quite a while Sunday. Aaron is originally from Davenport, Iowa. If I got the story correctly, he followed a young lady here to Omaha. Now, that may heave been his first mistake. :) So anyway, I first met Aaron about 3 weeks ago. He swore to me that it was last week, but I know better. Anyway, he's 23 and homeless in Omaha. 23? Homeless? How? And staying at the Sienna Francis House while he looks for work. He told me a few weeks ago (or last week if you believe him) that he was looking for work. I know that one of the local trash companies hires pretty frequently. So I told him to go there and see what he could find. Apparently, he starts work there tomorrow. Needs an apartment now. Wants to get out of the shelter. But the interesting thing about our conversation? We got to talking about one of his tattoos. It was a six point star on his upper shoulder. Now, I had just offered him a bible and he told me had one. Even quoted a verse out of 1st Corinthians. Then he shows me his star? Says it represents something he does? Now I'm pretty naive in regards to some of this stuff. But I know one thing for sure. There's no way you can do both. As we got deeper into the conversation, he tells me it represents alchemy. Positive energy, magic, stuff like that. A sort of magic? After I get home, of course Google becomes my friend. It confirms to me what he's told me. From Google - 'As you can see from the following drawing, the six pointed star actually depicts an ancient alchemical formula. It shows how the four elements: Fire, Water, Air and Earth can be harmonized and combined into Gold - the symbol of Love and Spirituality." So I told him that there is no way you can quote a verse of scripture, God's Word, in one breath and tell me this stuff in the next. No way. Doesn't work that way. It wasn't confrontational at all. Maybe it should have been a little sterner? I don't know. I just told him that he was treading in dangerous waters. Slippery slope indeed. I think we'll see more of Aaron and hopefully we'll be able to get into a more meaningful dialog. It's hard in the short time we have on Sundays to make it stick, if you know what I mean. But we'll keep on trying.
Earlier in the afternoon, as I made my way through the line, I was chatting with my friend Tom. Tom was in a car accident years ago and lost an eye. Has a glass eye now. I was asking him about it, because he was telling me of his need for sunglasses. It was at that point that he acted as if he was going to take his glass eye out! Asked me if I wanted to see it?! No!! Don't take that thing out! Man...People are getting ready to eat Tom! Gotta keep your eye in!! Just a little something struck me as odd yesterday. I'm never surprised at the stories anymore. Some of them are just a little creepy. No, the eyeball has to stay in!
And finally, last week a fellow asked me if we could help him get a pair of tennis shoes. Leonard is a very frail looking fellow and talks very softly. Did I mention that he is frail? I'm talking skin and bones thin. I only met Leonard a few weeks ago. Time and faces seem to run together in this thing we’re doing. I really try to remember all the names. The only thing that seems to work for me is repetition. Unless it’s a name like Maxwell or Menelik. Something like that. But Tom? Pete? Dan? Those are tough ones that only repetition seems to work for. Now Leonard asked for a pair of sneakers last week and for some reason I remembered his name. Had a really bad pair of sneakers on and he was in definite need. So we managed to scrounge up a pair of new sneakers for Leonard. So this week, first thing he asks me is did we get the sneakers? Sure did Leonard, but I need for you to hang around until the crowd thins out a little. It's not something we advertise anymore. When we first started doing this thing, we were making a "needs list". Got out of hand rather quickly. We had people shopping! And God was delivering. But as the numbers grew, it got out of hand. Just got to be more than we could manage. So now we try to keep it on the down low. If someone has a need, we definitely try to help out. God continually blesses us with just what we need. So who are we to doubt that He'll provide? So Leonard didn't mind hanging around for his $7.50 sneakers. Hey, we can't afford the big dog sneakers, so we do what we can. And Wal-Mart just marked them down recently. It's a great deal if you have nothing at all. Anyway, as the afternoon progresses and we are packing up, I get Leonard his shoes and he asks for a ride. He only needs to go about a mile or so, but it's uphill all the way and it's miserably hot. And Leonard is sick. I told him sure, I could give him a ride. So as we get everything packed up and get ready to leave, we're chatting with the stragglers and just wrapping everything up. Leonard comes over and asks if we can leave, as he isn't feeling too well. It was obvious. So we get in the car and head west out of the downtown area. We begin to chat. These are the times I'm able to decompress and get in some quality conversations. It may only be a 10 minute conversation, but we take what we can get. So Leonard drops the bomb on me. Did I mention he was sick? Yeah, he's sick. Full blown case of AIDS. Final stages. Whoa. As we are driving and chatting, I ask how? Is that an appropriate question? Who knows? Probably not. But I ask it anyway. Needle? Yep. Heroin? No. Cocaine, meth, whatever. The point is he's dying. And it's pretty obvious. So here I am wondering how in the world I didn't get my butt in gear and give him a ride earlier and get him to his apartment and out of this miserable heat. I just didn't know. I felt terrible. But he tells me this - “I'm going to see the Father". And he says 'I hope He'll forgive me because I haven't been a good person for most of my life". Well Leonard, I don't know much. But I know this. He is a God of compassion and forgiveness. He will forgive you. I promise you that. As he is getting out of my car, I look back and see him ambling up to his apartment door. All 90 pounds of him. God help my soul. May God bless Leonard's soul. I hope I get another chance to chat with Leonard...
One last thing...Robin was chatting with another Tom. Look there are lots of Toms, Mikes, Dans, Johns...you get the point. Tom made the following statement to Robin. He said "I may be homeless, but I'm not useless". What a concept. A couple of our friends were beaten up pretty badly last Wednesday morning. It seems that a gang of young teenagers get their kicks out of beating up homeless fellows in the park. Tommy and Bobby were sleeping in the park under the 13th Street bridge when they awoke to a beating. Tommy carries a folding chair around with him and they were actually beating him with his own chair. Bobby got the wrong end of a pipe. He’s in intensive care. I have no idea what would possess someone to do something like this. No idea. Drugs? Anger towards someone? They surely didn’t know the guys they were working over. What a sad state of affairs. Sad indeed. Anyway, if you are so inclined, pray for Bobby, Tommy and Leonard. They may not make the right choices lots of time, but they surely don't deserve to get beaten by hoodlums. Surely not. And pray for the young misguided fellows that are wreaking this havoc in the downtown community. For surely, they know not what they do…
Peace and have a great and blessed week.
..."it matters to that one"... :)
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