Friday was a great day, because for the first time Mike was home to help me load up the SUV with supplies for the homeless. Believe me, that was a special blessing, the older I get the more laborious the chore. Mike always makes sure I have everything I need, loading all the carts and making sure Melchizedek (the SUV’s name) is gassed up.
At Nohl Canyon, the elementary school where we make the sandwiches, the students were lined up ready to help. There were more than 30 students and what normally takes 2 to 3 hours to make 300 sandwiches we accomplished in one hour. My friend Sarah and all three of her daughters were there as well.
Saturday was not such a good day, as I was in an unusual mood. As the morning progressed my spirit was filled with dissension. I was upset because we had to pick up one of members of our team, going 20 minutes out of the way. I started complaining what a hardship this was and that this person needed to make other arrangements. Why was I allowing myself to behave this way? It was as if I had no control over my negative thoughts. The more I tried to show any type of remorse, the more this angry spirit prevailed. I have been picking up this person for years, I am often irritated about this, but this time it was bad.
Once we got to Skid Row, I felt the anointing fall as soon as we opened the rear door to the SUV. I was so conflicted by my poor behavior that I felt unworthy to pray for anyone. This how the enemy works; yes, I was out of the spirit, and because of my anger, I was reminded by Satan that I could not be used of God. That is a lie, and once I snapped out of it I was able to minister to my brothers and sisters on Skid Row.
As soon as we parked, two women approached us to inform us that “Refresh Spot” had recently opened. This wonderful group of people offer free showers and clean fresh towels for the homeless. The Refresh Spot people also allow them free charging stations for their cell phones, and the use of clean restrooms at no charge. Evans, the project manager, also informed us that in a few weeks they will be providing free washers and dryers for the displaced. This is the biggest improvement on Skid Row that I have seen in years.
We met a group of people that were feeding the homeless for the first time. They situated themselves in the most awkward place, where almost no foot traffic passes. I asked them what church they were from, and they said that it was their first time doing this. No church, and just standing waiting for people to come to them. In a loving way I told them that they needed to walk around and hand out the meals and to get to know the people. The irony was that most of the sandwiches were in large paper Gucci bags, the type that designer bags come in. The Lord will bless their effort because their hearts were in the work.
We were blessed to meet so many loving people like Esperanza and her four children, Jocelyn, Jazmine, Richard and Alexa (in stroller not pictured). Esperanza and her children live in a shelter and she is expecting another child. Amber could not stop crying about her children and wanted to be with them, so we need to pray for her to be drug free in order for this to take place.
We handed out Rosaries, and it was a joy to see how many lovingly received the prayer beads. For those of you that may not be familiar with the Rosary, the prayers said are all in the Bible. The Hail Mary is in (Luke 1:28; 1:46-55) and the Our Father is in found in the middle of the Sermon of the Mount (Luke 11:2-4; Matthew 6:9-13) when Jesus is teaching his disciples to pray. A homeless woman, Selene, held her Rosary to her heart while thanking us, she needs prayer for housing.
When we experience this type of peace on Skid Row we can only conclude one thing; we that ministered are going to be under attack. That ugly spirit returned to torment me and instead of praying on the way home, I was again unpleasant. Gary, part of our team, talked to me about being loving to everyone, but I did not want to take his counsel. I called my old buddy Cindy and explained the situation; she promised to be praying for me. After a couple of hours I felt the dark cloud lift, and I repented and was back to my cheerful self. The way the Devil works is to attack our minds or our bodies or those of our loved ones, but in the end the victory belongs to the Lord.
This behavior was out of my character, and I apologized to all that witnessed this unfortunate display of ungodliness. Thank God Mike was not home because for sure I would have picked a fight with him too. After lunch I orders a large serving of humble pie and ate it all alone while praying.
James 1:19-20
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
