Blustery Day Feeding the Homeless

With 20 sandwiches all made up, my wife and I headed down to Seattle to give them away. We tucked a Pocket Gospel into each lunch bag. On the way, we stopped at Fred Myers to get lunch sized chips and water to help wash the whole thing down.

It was a blustery morning, and I was afraid that the weather might put a severe damper on our efforts, but God had greater things in store for us.

Near a bus station in Lake City, there is a little square where people wait for buses (I guess), because I had seen a bunch of people there when we drove though that way, a couple of weeks ago. But this morning, there were only a handful of people waiting there for a bus. I young woman said "no, I don't need lunch", when I offered it to her, so I went in and gave a couple of haggard looking people lunch, just before they had to catch their bus. While I was walking back to my wife who was waiting for me in the car, the young woman who didn't need lunch, commented something to me, and I said, "oh, yes, I was just giving lunch to people." She said, "that's nice". I asked her if she had a Christian background, and she said, "yes." I asked her "where do you go to church?" She said, "I have a Christian background, but I'm not a Christian now." I said, "oh, you should look into the Bible, it is amazing, I read it and it changed my whole life." She said, "the last time I looked into the Bible, is what made me reject it. With my life-style, my god is more expansive than that." I explained, that "I don't know what your life-style is, but you need God's forgiveness in spite of your life-style. If you've ever lied, or stolen anything, or used God's name in vain, then you are guilty and you need God's forgiveness." Then her bus came and she had to leave.

We drove through downtown Seattle, and each time we would see a homeless person on the street, I got out of the car and handed them a lunch bag and a water. I was very encouraged by the warm responses of gratitude I received from each of them as I gave them lunch.

Now comes the excitement. We drove down past Pikes Place market, down towards the Seattle Aquarium, and saw a bunch of homeless people on the street, just out from under the Alaskan Way Viaduct. My wife pulled over, and I got out and began to gather the lunch sacks and waters to take to the people. They came over asked, "do you have food?" and gathered around me at the tailgate of my car, and I gave one guy a lunch right there, but thought better of having a bunch of people right there. So I told them I'd bring the food over to the curb on the other side of the street where there were several people sitting.

I stepped onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street, and several people came up and asked for food. I doled it out a little at a time. I asked everyone there if it was okay if I shared a little Gospel message I had prepared for them. They said, "sure, go ahead."

I hadn't even finished my first sentence, when a woman went berserk, and threw the lunch at me, and shouted, "why don't you let me eat in peace." A couple of men who were standing there told her to leave me alone and let me talk. I finished my little prepared speech about the first three commandments, "You shall have no other gods.", "You shall not make for yourselves idols", and "You shall not use the name of the LORD your God in vain." The lady was not happy that I was preaching, but several men put themselves between her and my back. So she went over and got into a shouting match with someone else. I noticed she had pulled out something round and shiny and was shaking it in some guy's face. It turned out to be a pizza cutter.

I finished presenting the Gospel message, and as I came back to my car, I was able to pray with one man named David, who was homeless, and from somewhere else (I think he said Louisiana.)
I got back into the car, and my wife was trembling. She had prayed for me intensely and I could tell. I was protected from that woman who was definitely being influenced by demons.

What an honor and privilege to share the Gospel with people on the street. May God bless them and protect them, and continue to provide for them, and may they turn their lives over to Him.

God bless...