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
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