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April Showers |
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| Cold Nights and Rain |
April 23, 2007 |
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Dear Friends,
Rain hit him unexpectedly at 3am Thursday morning. He'd found his usual place to sleep, left everything in the wheelchair he uses as his rolling storage unit, and curled up against the cold dark night on the concrete... he woke up too late to do anything other than be soaked to the bone and begin his day early, with all his worldly possessions equally wet. April showers may bring May flowers... and as we love to say here in Southern California, "We need the rain." But it sure is hard on people left out of the economic success of our ever expanding social experiment.
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Working Wet |
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Standing in the rain, waiting, homeless men and women treat us like heroes when we join them on stormy nights. We're always amazed that anyone would stand in the rain and wait for us. We always wonder if anyone will be there- and every week, even in the rain, wind and cold, people humble us with their presence. Think I'd go without a meal before I stood in the storm, let all I own get soaked- with no hope of a hot shower or dry towels -just for dinner, a sandwich, some fruit, a hot drink. But I've never lived in poverty that forces you out into the cold night, just to survive. My life is easy.
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Working Wet- part 2 |
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Our hard core crew was out to work in the rain. When it rains, we try to serve the food as quickly as possible, so people don't have to stand in the cold any longer than necessary. To keep things going- I moved into the food line and helped serve. A rarity. Don't remember the last time I was behind the table. Handing out chips and donuts to guys walking through line: wet, hands shaking with the cold, holding onto their hot cornbread and large cup of Jodi's steaming Chicken noodle soup, waiting for a scoop of dessert, I noticed that by the time they reached me, most people had received so much that they could no longer balance it all. A big part of my job became the simple task of helping guys open their Jackets for Jesus bags so they could get the chips and dessert in. I began by pushing and doing my best to keep the line going... soon, Jodi was reaching over me, patiently helping men and women open their bags, and without saying so, sending the loving message of- "Take your time. They've been waiting." So I slowed down. As if to prove her point, after serving all the chips, I began to wander around and take a few photos with my phone. A friend stepped up and said; "I thought you weren't here tonight. I was going to ask where you were." I informed him that I'd already spoken to him and served him as he went through line twice. My hats off to our weekly servers. They do an amazing job with little notice, even from those they serve and certainly not from the world, and I was humbled to stand with them.
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One More Reason Bart Drives |
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Meet a Need. It's that simple. If you want to do something good for God- find a need and meet it. Bart stepped up when Jackets for Jesus needed someone drive the van. Late Sunday nights are not exactly peak driving time for anyone and for preachers, it's a genuine area of need. I've not been driving in and out of LA for years- for which everyone's thankful -and Bart's now been faithfully behind the wheel for over a year. Two weeks ago today he spent the night in the hospital with a possible heart attack. Took several days to recover and was back with us the same week without missing a beat. Bart saw a need last year and stepped up to fill it. He and his family had been involved with Jackets for Jesus for years, but now he and his son Phil are important members of the weekly crew and everyone who ever rides in the van is thankful that he's driving and not me. I sleep most of the way home from the streets week in and week out- snoring, talking and keeping everyone entertained -but mostly their just thankful that I'm no longer a late night driver. God's got the whole world in His Hands- and He trusts the entire Jackets for Jesus team to Bart behind the wheel each week. Keep him in your prayers.
Room in the van. You're invited to join us in the days to come. The weather should be warming up. The nights are a little friendlier. And we always enjoy the extra workers and fresh conversation. Sunday night we talked about the long term possibilities for Jackets for Jesus. We all agreed that God has amazing things in store. Each scenario we discussed required someone to step up and meet a need. That might be you. People living in poverty are waiting. The invitation to serve life changing. And the world needs people of faith, hope and love to stand up and be counted, now, more than ever, you're invited to join us this Sunday night. There's room in the van.
for changing lives,
Eric
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Jackets for Jesus | 5623 Arlington Ave | Riverside | CA | 92504 |
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