August 1, 2010
Yesterday was ATL (ask the Lord) day so we split up into our teams and began praying and listening to what God would have us do that day. A couple of teammates were nervous so Christy prayed that the first one might be easy. Two of our teammates envisioned us going to a hospital, one saw a bus station, and I had a beautiful picture of an African American guy with a big smile playing guitar by a fountain and just wanting someone to talk to. So we got ready and when we regrouped I told my team I was thinking downtown Atlanta. Off we went!
We really had no idea where the hospital was but once we got closer to downtown we saw a hospital sign so we exited and found a small public parking lot. As we were getting out of the vehicles an African American guy just appeared out of nowhere. None of us had seen him approaching us, he was just there all of a sudden. Thank You Jesus that Christy had prayed for the first one to come easy. Oh, and did I mention he was the guy I had envisioned?! Maybe he wasn’t playing a guitar by a fountain, but he didn’t stop smiling! God is good 🙂
We stood in the parking lot and talked for a bit while we were deciding what to do. Come to find out his name is Jeremy but he goes by “Alien” (it was a nickname given to him when he was rapping). He also loves playing basketball and his dream is to play in the NBA. He wanted to eat lunch with us so he took us around the corner to a chicken and waffles place. It was packed so we put our name in and waited outside for about 45 minutes just talking to Alien about his family, his life, his precious 4 year old son, Jamar. Alien loves people. He enjoys talking and telling stories and just hanging out. We had some great conversations at lunch and headed back outside. Before we departed, we prayed for him and for God’s direction on his life. He was so thankful and we left him with hugs. As we were walking away, he said, “I love you guys!” So genuine. Such an amazing man (22 years old) with a great story to tell for anyone who cares to listen.
We continued walking towards the hospital and ended up passing by to try to find Centennial Park. On our way, we saw a homeless man sitting under a tree so Alex, Jake and I went over to talk to him. We sat down by him and began asking questions. His name is Mack and he has sickle-cell anemia. He is waiting on a disability check and meanwhile he stays at the nearby homeless shelter and gives people koolaid (you’ve got to give people something good). We talked about the Gospel and he even began challenging us asking, “How do you know God is real?” We all gave our answers and he brought it back to the Bible and totally started preaching! It was so encouraging.
We prayed for him and then went to the next guy under the very next tree. He was sitting on newspaper and the only information we got out of him before sitting for an hour listening to him preach about Jesus was that his name is Peno and he’s from Cuba. He spoke very broken English but definitely brought some truth. He said when people ask him Jesus or money he responds Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!! He has no desire for money, clothes, or earthly things and he trusts in the Lord to provide his every need. Man, if only I had that kind of faith! He talked about the freedom we have in Christ. He totally made me cry when he looked me in the eyes and said something to the effect of, “Men will put you down but God never will. God always loves you!…Don’t follow men. Follow God. Leave everything else you have to follow Him.” Amazing.
I just love when we go out thinking that we are going to minister to others–homeless men in this case–and they end up ministering to us. God has much bigger plans in mind than we could ever even imagine!
