Sandwich Day 4 : October 2, 2007

Howard

Mary, Joe and the two dogs were under the overpass. Mary and I had a lovely visit. She gave me some insight to her life on the streets. It's her choice to be there. Like all of us, she has a past. She is well versed in the Bible and loves Jesus. I am proud to say she is my friend and to treat her to lunch. Joe is a gentle quiet spirit. He spoke with Rick most of the time. He really liked the brisket sandwich that Lisa had brought last week. Making my bologna sandwiches look bad! I lead a prayer with the four of us and then Joe asked if he could pray. I couldn't hold back the tears as I listened to him thank God. He told Rick that he went to church as much as he could but a lot of the churches would not let him in. This made me want to go into the middle of the highway and scream out with all of my heart and soul. I stand before all who may read this and fear for any church of their fate if they be guilty of such an act.

The Edge

There's Pops!! His eyes light up as he sees us coming across the traffic to greet him. Naturally, he is grateful for the sandwich, apple and bottled water. He made sure that we knew how good those sandwiches were last week. That's it...I have to upgrade my menu!! I smiled as I looked at his feet and he was wearing the new socks that Michael has sent last week. Pops believes in God...I said a silent prayer as we walked away that he finds Jesus. On the corner is a lady that I have not seen before. I introduced myself and asked her name. She said Eva and as she saw the food, she started to cry. She had a cross necklace on and I asked her if she knew Jesus. She said yes, very much. So we said a prayer with her. Unlike Mary, Eva is not on this corner by choice. I lift her up to God this morning and pray for her comfort.

Back to Howard

It's time to get back and we took the remaining sandwiches back to Mary and Joe. James had joined them since we were there. We just handed the bag of food to them from the car window and of course were told..."God Bless You" as we drove off.We saw Rabbit at Grand Ave intersection but was not able to stop this time. He did not see us but God sees Rabbit and I pray special blesses over him. This is week #4 of sandwich days...out of the folks yesterday, Eva was the only one that we did not know. What a blessing these new friends are. I started out to give to people and this is becoming a selfish mission...I am doing all of the receiving. How beautiful God's way is.

--Vicki

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My take..This time was special. As we approached this time it wasn't about the food, it was about the smiles and friendship. They were just happy to see us. That part was so awesome, a relationship has bloomed.. They surely remember little things like the awesome sandwiches. There are so many days I wish a brisket sandwich had that kind of impact on my life. We take so much for granted.

Joe is seeking God. He so wants to quit drinking, he said it was what kept him where he was. I told him to keep praying and asking for help. It will come in Jesus name! Joe wanted to pray for us. What a blessing. He also wanted us to come get him and take him to Church.. We need to pray for a bus :-) Mary is so sweet. She told us waking up to the birds and crickets was a huge part of her freedom and life. She said she was "institutionalized" to that and it was a main reason she stayed on the streets. She is happy and free and knows the Bible better than most folks I know. She is really free. So many long for that freedom and will never find it because they have so much baggage they can't turn loose of.

Pops was especially friendly today and seemed alert and happy. His new socks may have made all the difference. He wants us to participate in the "Stand Down" they do in November to give warm cloths, sleeping bags and such to the homeless. it is aimed at the vets and we need to find out and participate. Eva was different. She looked out of place. She cried immediately when we gave her the food and continued as Vicki prayed. I think we may have had a bigger impact than we thought. When we came out of Danny's chopper shop she was gone. Who knows.. Maybe she was just an Angel looking to see who cared. We were blessed to see her.

Pops talked about how Eva was working while her husband ate. They refer to getting the sign and getting on the corner as working and I have heard that several times now. Most folks think they are just lazy and don't want to work. In the 4 weeks we have been to the corners I can tell you it is work. Hot, wet, dusty, noise, exhaust and the looks from the cars.. You probably couldn't pay people $15 an hour to do what they do.. And it doesn't pay good! They NEVER ask us for money, they take the food and say God Bless. In all the trips I have only seen one car giving them money..Another very blessed day..

--Rick

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