Good News

Update 7.9.11

I want to focus a little less on all the academics this week and a little more on reflection.  There are some things that I have had you praying for that God has answered!  There are some things that are new that I am wrestling with.  Really the goal of this update is to share in praise for God’s goodness and to seek him for his guidance as I continue forward this summer.  Also for everyone who is getting this if you would like to hear a sermon from the church I am attending while I am down here go to this link: http://sermon.net/underground  I highly recommend this week’s sermon on Corinthians 11.  The church here is not afraid to look at hard passages and the message this morning was amazing!  If you are open to be challenged and you enjoy good preaching and bible study check it out!

Good News!

Ok, so first things first.  As I type this I am not homeless.  I have been planning a homeless weekend where I would go without a home guided by a friend of the underground who lives in the streets.  In an earlier post this summer I talked about a man named Dale and how he left to go back to the streets.  In the following post I spelled out a conversation that we had with Dale and how difficult it was to try and help a person who does not think they need it and does not want to get well.  So over the last couple weeks I have been talking with George and with Dale about going to spend the weekend with him. 

Last Saturday I asked Dale if it would be ok for me to join him this weekend and he told me that he had to figure a few things out, but that might work.   The reason that I am not on the streets even right now is that Dale has decided to come back (this is a direct answer to prayer, thank you to those of you who have been praying for Dale, praise God)!  Dale came back and said that he needed to talk to George and Will since he was ready to come back.  The two of them prepared to meet with him and talked through everything they felt they needed to say to Dale but when they met with Dale they were surprised as Dale said everything to them that they felt they needed to tell him.  He said he was tired of being on the streets, that he wanted to get right with God, that he was ready to recognize and try and get help for his alcoholism, and that he would do whatever George and Will needed him to do so they could help him.  George explained to me that he knows Dale really well and he can tell when he is lying or not being genuine and that in this conversation George knew Dale was sincere and that he really wanted to pursue a better life.  He explained that in hard conversations it is really easy to think that the other person isn’t hearing a word that you are saying, but as he talked to Dale, Dale kept repeating back to him many of the things they talked about in previous conversations.  Dale had a complete posture of humility; he recognized that he was wrong, that he could not help himself, and that he needed forgiveness form George and Will and help to get his life in order.

Here are some of the reasons that I think led to this process of Dale making such a radical turn around in a very short time period.  One surface level issue is that life on the streets is hard.  Since going to live on the streets a few weeks ago Dale has been robbed several times (of his bike, his hat, his tent), he has been sleeping on the concrete and flying a sign during the day to make money, he has been mugged and beat up.  When it rains like it did all last week is cold and wet, and then when it stops even at night he is hot and under attack from mosquitoes.  Even as he came back to The Initiative he has a black eye from the most recent time he got jumped.  Life on the streets is hard, but Dale knew this going in, and willingly chose that life over a house, protection from the rain, from getting robbed or beat up, and from the bugs; a couch to sleep on, and regular meals so there has to be something deeper.

    

  I believe that one of the biggest things this past week that affected Dale’s decision took place last Saturday, the same day I asked him if I could come spend a weekend with him.  He was visiting for the day and joining us for a fourth of July party and it was the first time he had seen most of the Timothy Initiative guys since he left to go live on the street a few weeks back.  As all the guys trickled into the kitchen every single one of them saw Dale and in a genuine but over the top greeting told him that they were happy to see him and that it was good to see him.  It was incredible how perfectly the timing was that as one group of guys walked in a said hi to Dale another would follow to the point that Dale got overwhelmed and felt what I believe was a deep longing for real community and a deep conviction in his heart springing up and being drawn out by the genuine love of his brothers!  When he couldn’t take it anymore he said, “man I am not gunna come around here no more,” to which George replied that the guys were just really happy to see him, and glad he was at the party.  Dale didn’t reply but I watched him and I couldn’t begin to tell you what he was thinking in that moment, but I do know that this kind of love produces a joy that does not exist in his life on the streets.  In our pastoral care class this week one of the things we talked about was that we must be careful with the person who does not want to get well because the truth is that when we are away from joy and love and community for too long we become unable to handle those good things like the starving person is made sick by food. 

Dale could not accept the love of his brothers because in his head he lives in a street mentality where that kind of sacrificial love not only does not exist but seems counter to everything necessary for survival.  Dale knows what it is like to be stolen from and beat for insignificant amounts of money and guys I honestly believe that something in Dale revolted against love at that party because he could not stomach it.  But, I also believe with all my heart that this moment was crucial to cracking deaths hold on a man who was literally living his life to die.  I think that love penetrates the darkest and hardest parts of even the most unrepentant and stubborn of hearts.  Know that I am crying as I type this and it is with reverence and wonder that consider a God who brings life out of death.  You only have to read the conversation I have recorded from Dale to know that it is ONLY by the grace of God and his love, and in this situation as it overflows out of broken men who in their own redemption reflect that love even in this simple way, that is capable of pulling someone like Dale from a path to destruction back to a place of life!  What else is there to live for if not to be vessels of this incredible love to a dying world, guys we cannot miss this, for the Dales in the world we cannot fail to love as we have been loved and I beg you wherever you are to join me in recognizing we are broken and in our brokenness have received grace and love and in our weakness but an abundance of God’s strength we simply cannot refrain from bringing this good news to a dark world.  Is it worse to be mocked for the way that we love or to have access to the incredible and all surpassing love of God, the truth and yet we remain silent?  Who are we pouring out love to in our lives?  Are we willing to sacrifice for Jesus and for the Gospel?  I know that so often I do not live up to this call, that I care more about what people think of me than what God thinks of me and as I praise God for the work he is doing in Dales life I want to strive to remember this calling and to live a life of love and sacrifice for others!

Sarah and the Kids

        

    Another thing that I asked you to pray for was the family that the guys and specifically Ricky have been trying to help.  This Friday was the day that time was up on the motel room the Timothy Initiative guys paid for and it was coming down to the wire on getting Sarah and her boys help.  To make matters worse they had to be out of the room at 10:30 on Friday morning and with nowhere to go they would be on the street in the pouring rain.  As Sarah texted Ricky and asked what she should do his stress was through the roof.  We were trying to finish up a job we had been working on all week but Ricky couldn’t focus, he was too worried about Sarah and the kids.  There was a possibility that the same afternoon Ricky would hear from the homeless help program he was trying to help get Sarah into but it wasn’t definite.  Also if everything couldn’t get processed on Friday (which it didn’t) Sarah and the kids would have to survive the weekend and wait until Monday for help from this organization...

In a climactic moment Danny pulled Ricky Watson and I into a back room of the house we were working in to pray.  We prayed for Sarah and her kids, for the situation and wisdom about what to do and we surrendered to God that he was in control.  After we prayed we talked about what we could do in the meantime until we heard from the organization.  Watson suggested that they let Sarah and her four boys stay at their house to keep them out of the rain until they could figure something else out.  Technically this breaks some timothy Initiative rules but the guys felt like they were in uncharted territory and decided this was the best option.  So, Danny went to go pick them up from the motel and he brought them to the Giddens house.

       

     Later that night Ricky called a homeless shelter called the Good Samaritan, or just the Good Sam.  He spoke with one of the directors of the shelter named John and explained the situation.  Typically It is very difficult to find a room for five people but thankfully this weekend there was a room for Sarah and her kids and they could stay until Monday!  The best part is that when Ricky said that would work and asked how much the room cost John told him the room was free.  Ricky told me later that almost instantly all of his stress was gone.  He felt like a weight had been lifted and he just thanked God that he provided.  Most people would not have tried to help Sarah and her kids and the complicated situation that they were in, but Ricky did!  He worked hard and sacrificed his own resources (which are very limited) to help them out and now they have an incredible opportunity to change their lives.  Thankyou for being a part of this work by praying for Sarah’s situation! 

The Street and Ybor

        

    Where I live on E 22 Ave. in Tampa is one of the poorest and, according to police records, dangerous places in the city.  The other day David my housemate and a friend from across the street Kelly met a man who owns a house in our neighborhood, but lives elsewhere.  When he found out that this is where we live he told them how bad our neighborhood was and offered to sell them a gun which he had in his car.  They politely refused, but were very surprised at this man’s harsh reaction to where we live.  I have to tell you that in truth we do live in a bad neighborhood.  Down the street from me just a few houses is a crack house, and on the corner probably 100 feet from my front door there have been several shootings over the years (no one from the underground though).  Down a street right next to mine a few months ago a 6’3’’ fairly built man from the underground was jumped by six men in masks.  They pistol whipped him and tortured him by putting a gun in his mouth as they robbed him.  Granted he was walking around at one in the morning, but these kinds of events are still sobering when I think about the place that I live.

           

     That is my street, but it doesn’t stop there, the underground building is located on 7^th Ave in Ybor city.  The street and that section of town is nationally known as Gaybor.  On 8^th street you will find many clubs, a scientology complex, strip clubs, sex “sin” shops, and even a gay bath house, and then on 7^th more of the same.  If you walk down either one of these streets on a weekend night you might encounter people inviting you to a zombie burlesque show or have a man invite you to a club with “five dolla beers and butt naked women.”  Its possible that you will see men and women wearing next to nothing, men and women, men and men, women and women, all showing way too much affection in public, and then of course the homeless sleeping in the street.  Also If you want alcohol, drugs or sex they are readily available.  As I walked down 7^th the other night I had a profound sense of sadness, and also anger.  I feel like there is so much death and darkness in Ybor, so much that it almost feels hopeless.  But it reminds me of the story behind song “God of This City” by a band called Bluetree and made famous by Chris Tomlin.  Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXh_tgjnYJw  to hear what I am talking about.  Basically God is God, and he is sovereign over all cities and even the darkest parts of Ybor.  I have been blessed to be a part of the work the underground is doing in Tampa and I believe that even when it seems helpless, greater things are yet to come here!

     

       The reason I am bringing these things up is because I wanted to share something.  I have never felt unsafe in my house here in Tampa.  I have never felt afraid that something bad would happen to me, or afraid of my street.  Occasionally I will sit out in front of my house at night and just pray over the street and I just feel right being here, knowing that this is where Jesus probably would have come.  Part of why I love the Underground and wanted to come be a part of this community this summer was because I believe they have faithfully followed God into a dangerous and difficult place, and that because of their faithfulness there is a sense of hope being restored to my neighborhood and Ybor.

What would Jesus Do?

        

    To try and wrap this update up without going too much longer I want to tell you one quick story and leave you with a question.  AS David and I walked back to his car after one of our classes at the Underground a drunk man stumbled up to us at the curb.  Nearly falling over and through heavily slurred speech he told us he needed four dollars to get into a club and he wanted to know if we had any change.  To this David replied that he had change, but not money, that he had real change in Jesus, and he asked the man if this is really what he wanted to live for...  The man took a little while to even process what David was saying because of how drunk he was, but then waved his hand dismissing us and stumbled on his way.  As we kept walking David and I walked about what had just happened.  One of the questions David asked me, a little exasperated, was “What would Jesus have done in that situation?”  That is my question for you.  I feel like I don’t really know what Jesus would have done, I have some ideas, but I am really not certain.  That being said, I bet some of you reading this probably have some good ideas so instead of sharing what I am thinking I would love to hear your feedback.  What would Jesus do if approached in this way? (I don’t know that there is a right answer to this question, but I do think that it is worth talking about.) 

There are a couple other things I wanted to write about but I think I will save them for a blog post in the middle of this week...

Things to be praying for:

       

     Answered prayer, we caught up on the jobsite and finished the tiling on time and it came out great!!!

          

      There was a situation with two of the guys just a couple days ago where they broke the rules of the house, and decisions have to be made about consequences and the right steps to take forward.  Please pray for wisdom for George, Will, Ricky, and Danny as they try to figure out what to do.

      

      Pray now as I figure out whether or not I can still spend a weekend on the streets, or if instead it will make more sense to do something like spend a day on the street trying to get the 8 dollars I need to spend the night in a shelter, only to be woken up and kicked out at 5 a.m.  Pray that God will help me to seek him in this as an opportunity to grow and learn and not as a notch in my spiritual belt.

Pray for Dale as he works towards recovery!

Pray for Sarah and her kids as they transition to a new step in their new life.  Pray that Sarah will be motivated to make the most of this opportunity to find work, and pray that she will be able to get a job!

Pray also for me that everything I am learning will not just be head knowledge, but truth that penetrates my heart and motivates me to live for Christ!

           

Thankyou for your prayers and support! 

In His Love,

~Kyle