Write me in in pencil…

Today was a little different for us. Since I spent the weekend away camping with Nick, we decided to do Starfish Lite this week. What that looks like for us is simple bringing a meal and lots of fellowship. No trailer with buckets of clothing, no socks, no hygiene, no shoes. Just us. And in actuality, the great folks at Papio Creek Church cooked the meal this week, so we simply had to show up with plates, cups, etc., and a willingness to hang out with our friends. And that we did. It was one of the most stress free days I can remember. And after the night I had with my man Nick, that was a pretty welcome ordeal for me. Nick and I spent the weekend at Platter River State Park camping, fishing hanging out and just generally doing the guy thing. We also took advantage of our time to have a little talk about what it means to become a young man. Oh yeah. That talk. But it was an amazing weekend. Nick caught about 6 or so pretty good sized large mouth bass, a bunch of blue gill, a snapping turtle the size of a basketball and a catfish that stretched out about as long as him. It was a great weekend. Right up until about midnight Saturday night. That’s when it hit. And that’s when I remembered the pile of miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup wrappers I’d seen the night before. My man Nick plowed through a bag of ‘em in no time and they plowed through him in no time. Midnight. 2:30. 3:00. 7:00. Like clockwork. And we were staying in a cabin with no running water. It wasn’t a pretty sight. I’ll spare the details, but it was a long night for my buddy. So a Lite day was a welcome thing indeed. The nice thing about it? It allowed me so much more time in conversation with various folks. Normally I feel like my head is on a swivel making sure I take care of all the things that we do on a Sunday. Today? Not so much. It was actually like a relaxed Sunday meal in the park and it was indeed good.

I was talking to my friend John today. He had a story. Seems he "flies a sign" on a specific corner coming off an interstate ramp every Sunday morning. Now you have to understand a few things about John. I’ve mentioned him before. His place of residence is normally a bridge abutment. He moves around occasionally, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t do the change of address thing with Uncle Sam. But he pretty much lays his head wherever most nights. Oh, and he’s an agnostic. So today he’s telling me the story of his Christian friend that comes by every Sunday morning and drops him a bit of cash. Every Sunday morning. And normally John is waiting on the same corner. This morning? Not there. John, for some reasons that shall go unmentioned, "fell asleep" in a field a little ways from his normal Sunday spot. His Christian friend, however, parked his van, traipsed through the muddy field and found John asleep. Guess John’s alarm clock failed him on this morning. So the guy finds him, wakes him and gives him the usual. So John, I’m guessing a bit surprised at the lengths his Christian friend has taken to find him, tells the guy something like this. He says "You know, I know a couple you need to meet. Dave and Robin are a Christian couple that come to the park every week. They don’t belong to any organized religion, they just love God." He also tells the guy the following, " Dave works at UP and one day he walked out of that building and God tapped him on the shoulder and said ‘Take care of those homeless people in that park Dave’. " So John is telling me this story and I’m taking it in man. I’m always curious what exactly our friends think about the crazy suburbanites that show up down here. John summed it up pretty good. We just love God. And John invited his Christian friend to come visit us some Sunday on the corner. I hope he makes it. Love to meet him.

I got the most amazing email last week. I was in the library one day last week looking for someone and ran into another friend. He is from Nigeria. Been here about 3 years or so. Came here to finish his studies. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s in his early 50s. He’s been staying at a local shelter ever since, as far as I know. And he is the most gentle, unassuming, and just nice guy that you’d ever want to meet. So I run into him in the library and we chat for all of 5 minutes. The next day, he sends me the following email, which I’m sharing with his permission. I was humbled to read his note. It is an amazing situation that I find myself in. It can be very trying at times, but God continually sends these kind of reminders to us. He is so extremely faithful to His ministry. I am so very blessed to be a small part of this thing.
----------
Dear Dave,

It was nice talking with you on Monday. As I said, you were CONSPICUOUSLY absent on Sunday. Your wife, Robin, as usual was at the helm of affairs. She did a very a good job. It is always wonderful when all of you are there. The absence of either of you is noticeable. This is only my personal opinion.

I find your presence soothing. You exude such warmth and radiate optimism. Your cheerfulness adds extra meaning to what you do. I am Catholic. St. Teresa of Avila said that a sad face Christian is the work of the devil. You may not realise how your (you and your family) cheerfulness adds to what you do. There are other people who come to park to deliver lunches but their attitude I find reprehensible that I do not even want to partake of their "kindness". So please, continue the good work you are doing. You are exemplary especially when the attitude and abuse of some of us who avail themselves of your benevolence is not encouraging. This shows the power of your conviction.

You may be wondering why I am saying this. Charity is not an option for a Christian. It is an obligation. Courtesy is an aspect of Christianity. Gratitude is another aspect. Giving praise to whom praise is due is the greatest praise to God and an aspect of a clean heart. You can see where i am coming from.

Please continue the good work you are doing and

May the God of Love and Peace be with you and your family,

Cordially and Fraternally Yours,
Magundat.
----------
And finally I had a great conversation with our friend Bill. I think we determined that we hadn’t seen each other since Memorial Day. Long time. You see, Bill had a few arrest warrants our and if he were to be seen in the park, he’d face the inevitable. So sometime during the last few weeks, the inevitable happened. He was arrested and sent to jail. I think this time it was for eight days. Now Bill is a guy I have a standing Thursday lunch deal with. I’ve mentioned this before. He rarely shows up. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve actually met. Maybe even less than one hand. But it’s still a standing deal. And today he showed up for the first time in a couple of months. We talked about meeting this week. His response? I don’t make many plans Dave. I understand Bill. So he tells me to write him in in pencil. It’s the nature of the lifestyle I suppose. Goes with the territory. Doesn’t know if he’ll make it. I will. Have to. As my friend Magundat says, this thing is not an option. I don’t care if it were or not. I’m going. Every week. Every Sunday. Every Thursday. And any other day that anyone wants to meet. Have to. And ya know? I want to. So for Bill? I’ll go ahead and write him in in pen. Because whether Bill shows up or not, I’m going to be there. Because if he does show up, I’ll be there. Have to.

Peace and have a great and blessed week.

Go out and make a difference.

…it matters to that one… :)