Skid row

Ok, I need to update about the week, but it was fairly uneventful until last night when I went to Skid row with the group that goes every Friday night. First let me say that I love my classes and am thoroughly enjoying getting to know the girls on my wing. Not only that, but I've been able to get together with old friends that I don't see too much, which has been a wonderful blessing!

On to Skid row..... I'm not sure how to start this one. For those of you who, like me before last night, don't know what Skid row is.... It's basically the place where the homeless prostitutes, drunkards and drug abusers reside. I don't mean that to come across as harsh, but as accurate. It was the most somber, yet exhilarating experience I've ever had in my life!

The group that goes is known as the "Taco people" because every week they bring tacos and hand them out to the people on the streets. The goal is to build relationships with the people and listen to their stories and share Christ with them. We split up into groups of 4-6 people (at least one guy to every girl) and go out to talk to whoever we come across. For prayer purposes, the names of the people my group talked to are Joe, Tony, Brentwood, Amber (she has a daughter in a foster home named Ashley, and a friend named Hilda you could pray for that we didn't talk to), Willy, and Johnny. If you could pray for any one of them, that would be wonderful!

I won't go into too many details because we were there for about 4 hours, but I will say that the power of the Word of God was made more clear to me than ever before. I was blessed to be able read the Bible to Brentwood and literally see the expression on his face change as God's Word penetrated his heart. I wonder if my purpose there was more for them or me!

Amber scared me at first because she came over to us while we were talking to Brentwood. She was yelling at him, using very colorful language, to stop sitting across the street from her. She was clearly drunk and even had a bottle in her hand as she flailed and ranted. Brentwood looked as though he wanted to slug her and Happy was doing his best to get him to walk away from Amber. Eventually he did leave (praise the Lord) and Becca and I tried to calm Amber down. We ended up learning so much about her and even gave her a copy of the Gospel of John. I asked her if she would read it and she said she would that night. I'm not sure if that actually happened, but she at least has something if she ever feels like reading and the Lord's Word is POWERFUL to cut through her heart!

I really need to go to bed, but I want to share one more quick story about Willy. Becca, Happy and I had stopped to pray while waiting for the other half of our group. There we were, standing in a tiny circle praying for the people we'd already talked to and praying for continued strength for the rest of the night. I prayed, Becca prayed, and in the middle of Happy's prayer someone interrupted and asked if he could pray with us! This was Willy. I didn't actually get to hear everything that he said because another person nearby wanted a taco. He seemed like he knew what he needed to do to get right with the Lord and asked us to pray for him. It was just so cool to see how the Lord works!

After such an amazing night, we met up with the rest of the group and found out that one girl was able to lead a man to Christ that night! His name is Leo and Ryan, one of the regular Skid row taco guys, is going to pick him up and take him to church tomorrow. It was one of the most inspiring, challenging and unforgettable nights of my life! I definitely want to go back, although not next week since Heather, Abigail and I are meeting Ruth to go to Yosemite and climb Half Dome. By the time we actually got in the cars to go home I was so exhausted yet filled with adrenaline. I slept very well last night, after praying again for the people whose hearts were pricked by the Word of God. What an awesome, sovereign, holy, loving God we serve!