Tonight was an interesting night for our ministry. For the last several weeks I have been communicating and meeting with a group called Sarah and Abraham from Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Chippewa Falls, WI. They had heard about what our ministry has been doing and wanted to learn more about it. So Sanders (Sandy), Marge, and retired Lutheran Pastor Earl joined us Tuesday night from Sarah and Abraham. We also had Mike, Michelle, Barb, and myself (Jens). The night started off busy, being visited by several regular members of our street congregation. However, we soon were surprised both with joy and concern at a new arrival to the streets. Baby Lori Ann was born last Saturday weighing in at about 5 lbs. Though we can celebrate at the birth of a new child of GOD, we know deep in our hearts the difficult times that may be ahead for this child and her mother. Currently the mother is staying at the house of a friend, but we do not know how long this arrangement will last. Not too long after, one of our regular men rode up on his bicycle with a large classic boom-box on the front. This man has recently been the target of a white supremacist, also homeless, that showed up on the streets of Eau Claire a couple of months ago. Sandy, a retired corrections and probation officer, talked for some time with this man about this situation. A family we see routinely pulled up in their car next and stayed to chat for some time. The woman talked to both Michelle and Pastor Earl about a group of people at Positive Avenues that were hoping to pull together a small group to sing at Sojourner House. The woman also brought up concerns about one of our long time street members, a middle aged woman who has been on the street for several years. This woman has been in and out of the hospital several times in recent weeks. She has been having respiratory issues that have only complicated her chronic heart issues. If her current health issues continue to get worse, there is a good chance that she may not make it through winter. Another man who is becoming a regular came up to the van tonight for a short time, as well. He and I have really started for form a connection with each other over the past several weeks . Though he is employed, he continues to live in poverty and is struggling in his battle to maintain sobriety. I prayed with him for several minutes before he left for the evening. The evening was different, however, in that the ministry had more people at the beginning then at the end of our time that we normally spend on the street. Overall we had over 30 people come to the van, though lower than it has been in some time, we were glad we could be of service to these often neglected and forgotten members of our community. As we closed up for the evening,we decided to debrief with the members of Sarah and Abraham and talk about what they had seen this evening. We went to the Café just down the street and talked about various situations members of our street congregation were in, what it means to help our neighbor, how the church is changing, and various other topics. Just as we were thinking about heading home for the night, things got busy again. Mike received a phone call saying there had been an incident at the shelter. The man who considers himself a white supremacist had threatened one of the men we know. The man who was threatened confronted him and told him to back off in defense of himself. Both were kicked out for the evening because of this incident. The victim was able to get away, but was in fear of being found and was looking for help. Later on I took the red ministry van and went out looking for the man to see if he was safe. I was able to find him and talked to him about his situation and made some suggestions of where he could go to be safe for the night. While this was going on we looked out the windows of the café and saw one of our other street members walking down the sidewalk crying. In the past she had been the victim of domestic violence. She carried what few possessions she had in her bag and in a black wooden box. She was on the street because she had broken one of the rules at the shelter several days back by leaving the shelter after signing in and was told not to come back for a week. She has been sleeping outside for several days now but is fearful of trying to sleep at night because other people frequent the same area where she is staying, so she was totally exhausted. We brought her into the cafe, bought her some food and Marge talked with her. Later on we took her to a motel so she could get some sleep and Michelle came by to reassure her. By the time the three of us left the motel, it was about 11pm. After a night like this, it is hard to summarize the feelings and the emotions that were experienced. But if I had to pick one word, that word would be grateful. I am grateful that I am able to be a part of this ministry, grateful for people like Pastor Mike, and grateful that we were able to make a difference in people’s lives. But I think it also reminds us to be grateful for what we have, for where we live, and that we have a safety net to catch us if we fall. Nights like these, make that ever so clear. Please continue to pray for the poor and disadvantaged in our community. Jens |