Support and its importance

Yesterday an issue was brought to my attention, I have been talking to a young couple quite a bit lately, they live in the DDC. The girl is pregnant, and is about 7 months along, both of them have stories of hard lives and trying to make decisions in tough situations, and it ultimately bringing them to homelessness. The girl approached me, and asked a simple question. ‘Hey Preach, I know you guys help people, well, I need help.’ I quickly asked how could I help. She replied, ‘My grandmother died, and her funeral is tomorrow.’ She looked away and in a quiet voice said, ‘I don’t have anything to wear for the funeral.’ My heart just went out to her, at this point in her life, with a baby on the way, she didn’t even have proper clothes to wear to her beloved grandmother’s funeral.

I was humbled, my mind had been on things that seemed important at that moment, and as I was wondering what I could do, God walked in. One of the folks who has come alongside of BTM is Amy Jones, her and her husband Paul have supported us in times of need, she has created a supply line that she has graciously offered to assist in our Ministry, her’s is called ‘Bag the Cold’. They operate out of the Jones home and have been instrumental in helping us by taking in donations of sleeping bags, blankets, hats, coats, gloves, boots, and many other necessities that have greatly comforted the people that I see everyday. The items have been such a blessing and in God’s infinite wisdom have come to us when most needed, and of course, it is exactly what is need, when it is needed.

I quickly thought to call Amy and tell her of what had been brought before me. As I listed what was needed, a shirt, a pair of pants, and a simple pair of shoes, she responded with, ‘I will have those to you by 2pm’. In a matter of minutes, my prayers had been answered. Amy showed up at the shelter, with the items in tow, and gave them to this gal. I once again stood in awe of God’s work, and the faithfulness of His servants, the clothes fit perfectly, and were exactly what she needed. She was going to go to her grandmother’s funeral  in the proper attire. Now normally, you’d think that would be the end of the story, it isn’t.

One of the folks who saw all of this happen, had to ask. ‘What makes you give a (expletive) about us?’ Normally, I would have said, ‘it’s what we do.’ But the man who asked the question is a man known only as Caveman, he has been known to have a difficult demeanor for the most part, and is one of the ‘hardcore’ guys down there. I looked at him and said, ‘because it is what we are supposed to do.’ He just looked at me. ‘Why?’ he replied. ‘Because that’s what God would want me to do.’ I answered.  ‘for a while I lived at the Four Ten.’ He looked at me and just kinda half smiled, and said, ’wow, you must be one tough mother(expletive), that place was no joke.’ The Four Ten was a homeless shelter for women and children, and when I spent my time there, was when Minneapolis was becoming ‘murderapolis’ for the first time. It was a shelter that became so ridden with crime and drugs that the city decided that nothing could be done to save it, and moved everyone out of it and tore it down, the empty parking lot at the corner of 4^th and 10^th in Minneapolis is all that is left of it. I continued to explain, ‘At more times in my life than I can count, I was blessed to have people just come along, and remind me that I was loved and that my life mattered, and so for me, that’s my job now, and I am blessed to have it, I want to make sure that you guys never forget that there are folks out there who care about you and pray for you every night.

He just looked at me. For the next few minutes we talked of life, spirituality, death, politics, and a lot of other day to day things. It was a great conversation where we laughed and just enjoyed being people with commonalities and good company. As it came time for me to get ready to go I stood up and got ready to go. ‘ain’t ya gonna stay for dinner?’ Caveman asked, as he and Cavewoman(his gal) got into the line for dinner. The line had already expanded to 20 people beyond them, and at least 100 before them. Cavewoman quickly said, ‘You’re with us, just jump in line.’ Who could say no to that. We talked of more, which I will let you know more of later as I may be enlisting some help from some of you for a very righteous cause. The short and skinny of it is that Cavewoman’s son was killed while riding his bicycle when he was hit by a bus. One of his favorite things in the world was to fish, and with some of your help, I would like to take Caveman and Cavewoman fishing somewhere locally where we can spend the day in a boat fishing, and at the end of the day Cavewoman can spread her son’s ashes. So, just let me know via here or just give me a call, if you are interested in helping make that happen. I love each and every one of you and God does too. LLLAKYFOTPA

A Bilble and Rev. Bob Battle

A Bible and Rev. Bob Battle

                On Monday after lunch I was approached by Two Wheeler Greg, he asked if I could possibly give a woman a ride to the clinic. The clinic is just a short walk away from the shelter, I knew the clinic was only a short walk away, but I agreed anyways. As I said yes, Greg said, ‘This is Pat, she is the one needing the ride.’ Pat introduced herself, and thanked me, I think she sensed that I was about to ask her why she was not going to just walk there, and she said, ‘I have fibromyalgia, even short walks for me are extremely painful, my daughter and I both have it, but mine is farther along than hers. I need to get to the clinic so I can be seen and get my medications. I have been trying to get there for a while, but I haven’t been able to, and my medication ran out 3 days ago, and I am in a lot of pain.’ So, I quickly and happily obliged.

                Pat is one of those folks that we are seeing more and more on the streets. She had a professional career, and did quite well for herself. She had raised her daughter Brianna by herself, but was able to push through that and create quite a life for herself. Then her parents got sick, mom first, then dad, and when it was all over the bills from them were too great, and she lost it all. We talked about all of that on the way to and from the clinic. That story will be told shortly as she has agreed to sit with me and share it very soon, but it is from this moment that the other happened.

                On Sunday I had taken some of my guys to church, I have been doing this for a month or so now, and the group keeps on getting bigger. The guys had a blast, my church is a very upbeat church, and everyone I have brought there says they want to come back, and I am praying for some help with that as I only have so much room in my truck, and the number of people wanting to go exceeds the seating in my truck.

                Last Sunday I brought my friend Tawa to church. Tawa is from Belize and is on the far right of the picture posted on the Breakthrough Ministries Facebook page. His only request was for a King James bible, because that is what he preferred to read. I told him that God would provide one, and at the same time, didn’t know how He was going to, because we at BTM are struggling right now. At the same right I knew that God would provide a bible.

                As I dropped Pat off at the clinic, I started to make my way back to the DDC, thinking and praying on how I could find this bible, as I turned the corner from University to Rice street I saw a church I recognized, not because I had attended, but because months before I had been meeting a colleague on the way to a meeting and needed to follow her as I did not know the way to it. She had gotten stuck in this church’s entrance. I remember as we were digging her car out, Pastor Jennie had mentioned, ‘This is Bob Battle’s church, he is a great man of God.’ I had passed the church as I was processing that, but I felt compelled that maybe he could help me, at the same right, it was 11am on a Tuesday, what were my chances of catching him?

                I should have known the answer to that, God put him there right at that moment. For those who know me, you can probably picture the look on his face when I approached him, for those who don’t, let me explain. I am 6’3”, I drive a big ford bronco, and I have both ears double pierced, and I am almost always wearing my black superman baseball cap, and a pair of sunglasses. I have been told that when people first see me, I can seem very intimidating. Either way, Bob had found the need to run by the office with his family in tow, just to stop by for a quick second. As I approached him I could see the tentative look on his face. I was excited so I had hopped down from my truck had approached him saying, ‘are you Bob Battle?!’ he paused, and said, ‘yes, how can I help you?’  I introduced myself and told him how I had arrived at his doorstep, and as I explained ho I had gotten there his demeanor quickly changed. He invited me into the church saying, ‘if you had been a minute earlier or a minute later you wouldn’t have caught me.’ He quickly brought me into the sanctuary and grabbed a brand new KJV bible, and then asked, ‘can I dedicate it to him?’ I responded, ‘I would have it no other way.

                There is still more to the story, but I will finish it later. Either way, God put Rev. Bob Battle and I in the precise place, at a very precise moment to get a job done. So to quote my pastor, ‘PRAISALLUJAH!!!’ I love each and every one of you and God does too. LLLAKYFOTPA

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

                Sometimes we get so inundated with the world that we can fail to see the simplest forms of beauty that have been placed right in front of us. We go through our days refusing to see the thing that God placed all around us to remind us that He is who He is, and that His world is filled with splendor and wonder. All we have to do is to remember to be receptive to it and He will open our eyes to His beauty and grace whenever we ask, or choose to see it.

                 The other day a fight broke out at one of the places that I wander through in the day. Now in the world that I walk in, the fights are commonplace, and yet this one was different. Two large men, about my size fighting it out, and the difference, they were both deaf. Their turmoil released in guttural vocals and a fury of fists. God put me in that moment at that moment. I have loved a quote, and I’m not quite sure who said it, but it is, ‘the greatest evil in the world is not when evil men do their evil deeds, but when good men do nothing to stop them.’ I believe that God has changed me in ways that only God could, and so I stepped in. As I seized control of the moment with one of each of the men firmly in the grasp of each hand a 3^rd man, joined in the fray. God gave me the strength and wisdom to keep hold of the two men and also control the 3^rd.

                As the dust was settling I found myself questioning if this was really where God wanted me, where I was supposed to be in life, and if this was where I really was needed. My adrenaline was pumping through my veins like and out of control freight train, and my mind was racing at a million times a minute. Then, one of the gals came over to me, her name is Mary. She is a sweet older woman with a heart of gold. She has had a rough life, and there has been no windfall or help along the way, so she is on the streets. She is small in stature, her hair is medium length and is peppered with streaks of grey and white hair, she has a variety of ailments, she is blind in one eye and has great difficulty seeing out of the other. You would think that she would not be as upbeat as she usually is, and yet in the midst of all of this. Here she had been no more than 10 feet from the fray with pretty much nowhere to run. She literally ran up to me, ‘Preacher!’ she yelled, it was like she could hear my thoughts,  ‘you are our guardian angel when you are here, when you are here we feel safe because we know you will protect us.’ She then gave me a great hug with her frail little arms that took me aback, I didn’t think that arms that size or that aged and frail looking could hold that type of strength. Guess God had answered my question, and also showed me some of His beauty.

                In that, it also reminded me of something else, that there is beauty and wonder in all of God’s creation, and that many times we choose to ignore it. At many of the shelters there is a deep sense of hurt, pain, loss, apathy, insecurity, and a plethora of all things like that, but there is also joy, wonder, grace, peace, and the things of God. At times the latter seem few and far between, and yet they are there, a constant reminder, and our job is to help others see that on a daily basis. To take the times to not only look for it ourselves, but when we find it to be able to show it to others and when it comes down to it, just spread the love, God’s love. I love each and every one of you and God does too. LLLAKYFOTPA

God’s Plan And The Unforeseeable Future

                                    

     In the past few days I have been privileged to see a shift in much of the goings on at the DDC. I have been moved in so many ways, my heart being broken every single day, and never for the same person or situation. In that, I have seen great and wonderful things happen. I haven’t had much time to blog, my laptop is not working too well, and so the only place I can blog is in the office, and my time there, has been fleeting lately. Before I started this journey, my pastor pulled me aside and asked me, ‘Are you ready to go all in? This is a 24/7 job, and I just want you to be ready for that, but now you will be able to walk in my shoes.’ That last sentence reverberates through me at times, not the ‘walk in my shoes’ part, but the 24/7 part. It has been a 24/7 job. My phone rings at all hours, I can be called away at all hours, and the funny part, I love it. God always gives me time for the things in life that He places importance in. I’m not saying that it doesn’t get overwhelming at times, but I choose to remember a two quotes, one from Mother Theresa that I love, ‘God never gives you more than you can handle, I only wish He didn’t trust me so much.’ and one that just came to me when I have been asked a question that seems to be the one that I am asked the most, or when someone comments on things that go on, ‘I just wake up, God does the rest.’ He is the one who carries me through my day every day, and my only job is to let Him do His. In that, like I have said before, He has made many great and wonderful things happen.

     The other day, I ran into an old friend, at the shelter. At one time in our lives we would spend some of the hours of our days talking sports, all types, and all aspects. He would talk of his family, especially his loving wife. I sat there that morning, our study had been on how all of God’s plans were perfect, how we can only see so far, but He can see into eternity. As we were finishing this up, a man walked over to us to say hi, I had seen him before, so many times, and he had always looked so familiar to me, but I just had figured I had seen him on the streets, but when he said, ‘Hello’, it hit me. I knew that hello, I had heard it over and over again, it had been 20 years, but I would know that intonation anywhere. It was Tim, my heart broke. How could this man be here? What had happened?! I sat in stunned silence, so many questions running through my head. I didn’t know what to do. I just stared at him, and he at me, I could see the wheels turning in his head, but he couldn’t make the connection. I looked a little different 20 years ago, and so did he. I wanted to ask so much, and yet I was afraid. I don’t know why, I sometimes forget that nothing is coincidence; everything is part of the plan. I kept on feeling the need to say something, but I just felt ridden by anxiety for the moment.

     A little while later, I walked out the side door, and there he was, headphones on, listening to music, and just staring off into the distance. I took my chance. ‘Do you remember me?’ I quickly asked.  ‘We knew each other about 20 years ago, we used to talk sports for a couple of hours once a week.’ As he looked up, I saw that he remembered, he stood up and hugged me in a great bear hug. ‘I do remember you, how have you been?’ We quickly started talking about things, and then the time came for the question. ‘What happened Tim? What happened in your life that you ended up here.’ As soon as I asked, his eyes welled up. ‘Yeah, I suppose you would probably wonder that.’ I watched this great hulk of a man slowly sit down. ‘My wife got sick.’ I could see and feel his pain; When I had known him before and we had our talks, it would be over and over about how much he loved his wife 20 years ago. How wonderful she was and how blessed he was that a woman like her could love him. I had never met her, but with how much Tim had talked of her back then I remember how his eyes would light up and dance as he touted about how lucky he was to have a woman like her. ‘She got sick,’ he quietly repeated, ‘the doctors said that it would only be a matter of time, and all we could do for it was to medicate her to keep her out of pain and wait.’ I sat in silence; I had been struck mute by the shock of it. ‘After a while the insurance wouldn’t cover it, and she was in so much pain, all I could do was do everything I could to come up with the money for her meds, and take all of the time off of work that I could. She would sit there and hallucinate from both the disease and the meds.’ He quietly said. I couldn’t fathom what it would be like to see this happen. ‘She would sit in her chair, rocking back and forth, her arms and legs would spasm in the last few months, she’d be sitting there and then all of a sudden she wouldn’t be able to stay still, she wanted to stay still, but she couldn’t. By that time she was hallucinating so bad.’ My heart was being ripped to pieces as I could see this man living this over and over in his head. ‘Did you see that cat run under the Christmas tree’ she’d say. He got really quiet at that moment. ‘I’d say, ‘Honey there is no cat.’ and she replied, ‘oh’ and would go back to rocking.

     I sat in a stunned silence, as he continued. ‘Then one night, she was feeling better, she didn’t have to take too many of her meds, and she seemed like she was on an upswing. So I got her dressed and we went out on the town. We just went out and did whatever we wanted to do, and we had a blast, that may be the best 8 hours of my life. We didn’t have a care in the world.’ As he said this, his voice trailed off. ‘…and when I woke up the next day, she was gone.’ My eyes welled up, and I could feel just truly how deeply his love for his wife ran. ‘After that, I had nothing left, no money, my job let me go right after that, and here I am, I wish God had just taken me too.’

     Words cannot explain the rest of it, other than we prayed, and the Holy Spirit touched my brother Tim that afternoon. The funny part, this is not the story, this is only the lead in to the story, but I will save that story for another day as there are places I need to go and folks that will be waiting for me when I get there. To surmise the second part of this though.  God has been using Tim in some great and wonderful ways in the past week, and I just stand in awe at a man who can survive all of this, and rise from the ashes. I love each and every one of you and God does too. LLLAKYFOTPA