Tonight was rather unexciting, which isn't a bad thing. I arrived at 6pm to find Brent, Pastor David of Plymouth UCC, Mike, and Sandy M already there. We had a steady stream of visitors, I estimate between 35 and 40, but most stayed only for a few moments and took a bag of food, some juice, and a water bottle. We gave one man some pants, shirts, and shoes. He is very large and we had trouble finding clothing to fit him, but a friend of the Street Ministry came through with donations and we passed the items on to him.
A young woman, who is expecting in late December, stopped by. She has a job and a car, but no home. We are concerned about her, especially as she gets farther along in her pregnancy, and are hoping we can help her find better housing than the shelter. Another man, who had lived under a bridge in town for over a month, was hopeful that he has a job lined up as a launderer starting next week. He has also found temporary housing with a friend of his. We hope both the job and housing work out for him.
The sky threatened rain throughout the evening, but, for the most part, it was a pleasant evening weather wise. We did get a few minutes of light drizzle and that reduced our stream of visitors briefly, but otherwise it was dry with the temperature in the upper sixties and an occasional gentle breeze. Several homeless people commented on the weather appreciatively.
I heard a few street rumors--this person was in jail and that person left Eau Claire, and so on. We learned that one of our former regulars has found a place and was off the street--that's always good news to hear.
Two different men appeared to be shaking and twitching and "bouncing off the walls" as they talked with us. We wondered if their actions were drug related--at least one of them has a reputation as a heavy drug user. He immediately started eating some of the food we gave him as he talked to us in a herky-jerky manner. The other man, perhaps in his late teens, smoked a cigarette as he walked around--across the street, then back over to us, then to another car in the parking lot, then back to us--never calmly and never stopping to rest. On the whole our visitors seemed young tonight; most of those staying in the shelter appeared to under 25.
As shelter opening time, 7pm, approached, the number of visitors to our vans dwindled, and we packed up and left.
Please pray for, and care for, the poor.
George
A young woman, who is expecting in late December, stopped by. She has a job and a car, but no home. We are concerned about her, especially as she gets farther along in her pregnancy, and are hoping we can help her find better housing than the shelter. Another man, who had lived under a bridge in town for over a month, was hopeful that he has a job lined up as a launderer starting next week. He has also found temporary housing with a friend of his. We hope both the job and housing work out for him.
The sky threatened rain throughout the evening, but, for the most part, it was a pleasant evening weather wise. We did get a few minutes of light drizzle and that reduced our stream of visitors briefly, but otherwise it was dry with the temperature in the upper sixties and an occasional gentle breeze. Several homeless people commented on the weather appreciatively.
I heard a few street rumors--this person was in jail and that person left Eau Claire, and so on. We learned that one of our former regulars has found a place and was off the street--that's always good news to hear.
Two different men appeared to be shaking and twitching and "bouncing off the walls" as they talked with us. We wondered if their actions were drug related--at least one of them has a reputation as a heavy drug user. He immediately started eating some of the food we gave him as he talked to us in a herky-jerky manner. The other man, perhaps in his late teens, smoked a cigarette as he walked around--across the street, then back over to us, then to another car in the parking lot, then back to us--never calmly and never stopping to rest. On the whole our visitors seemed young tonight; most of those staying in the shelter appeared to under 25.
As shelter opening time, 7pm, approached, the number of visitors to our vans dwindled, and we packed up and left.
Please pray for, and care for, the poor.
George