So, as Christians, we always talk about how the Holy Spirit LIVES in us and that probably sounds really weird to non-believers, don't you think? Well, maybe it wouldn't sound so strange if us Christians allowed that Holy Spirit to be RELEASED out of us more often or for some, even at all, so that others could actually see what we're talkin' about. I don't want to be a hoarder of anything, but one thing I especially don't want to hoard is the Spirit of the Living God inside of me.
This past Saturday, 5 of my awesome friends and I decided to go "DDing" in our community. So basically, we paired up in male/female pairs and walked around downtown Bloomington starting at about Midnight, hoping to give some people safe and free rides home in order to show them a glimpse of Christ's love as well as pray we could have an opportunity to share the Gospel to some people in the process.
The Spirit led my friends and I down some unique paths that night and I am filled with joy over hearing everybody's stories of the night. Thomas and Jess S were able to give out a couple rides and exchange numbers with some people that they met that would like to hang out with them sometime, one guy even expressed that he was wanting to start going to our church! The people they gave rides to kept wanting to offer them money and they had to keep expressing that this was FREE, oooh if only people could better understand the GIFT of salvation right!? Besides money, Jess and Thomas were even offered weed by their passengers and Jess got to share that the Lord has freed her from that past, praise God!
Brandon and Jess B spent their entire night helping out one man. He was homeless and they spent the night going to and from the police station and homeless shelters in efforts to find a bed for him to sleep in on this negative degree temperature night. The gentleman expressed his desire for "knowledge" and gave Brandon his phone number telling him he would like to go to church with him. When it came to Sunday morning, Brandon called this man but unfortunately he backed out on his plans about church, you better believe Brandon's gonna call him again next week! 🙂
Then there was Brad and me…. First of all, let me just tell you about my friend Brad real quick. Brandon and I met Brad while we were rock climbing 2 weeks ago. We got to talking and found out that Brad just moved here from Michigan for a job and has been looking around for a church. Could this be any more planned by God? Brandon and I both serve in our ministry of Fuel – a young adult church. Brad jumped at the opportunity to check Fuel out with us! Since then we have gotten to build relationships with Brad and he is just a baller. He is up for trying anything and man, is God doin' a work in his heart because of it!
Brad and I got to personally speak with 10 people that night. One group of 3 that we gave a ride home I was actually able to share with them all about the World Race – man is that a good conversation starter! They were extremely intrigued and it really got their wheels turning on life, the American Dream, and the path they're on. I was able to ask them some pretty "real" questions, but after we dropped them off I expressed to Brad that I wished I would have taken the next step and asked them what their thoughts were on God. I truly believe that the conversation continued for them after we dropped them off, so I pray that we we're able to plant a seed in some way.
By about 2:30 AM we were contimplating if we should call it a night or not and Brad surprised me and said let's go Downtown one more time. (Did I mention Brad is jumping right in!?) We sat in the car parked on the main road where all the bars are and kept our eyes open for any "stragglers." When I looked out my window I immediately saw a man stumbling in the middle of the road… I think he was looking for money. I got out of the car and asked him if I could help him at all… This is where our night really began…
His name is Tookey. I believe Tookey has been homeless for a very long time. Tookey was drunk and drugged out and was DESPERATE for money to support his addictions. That was all he asked for over and over. Brad and I could have just told him that we couldn't give him cash and moved on with our night, but instead we offered to take him to the store and get him some things. Tookey told us he had schizophrenia… he was very paranoid. Everywhere we took him he was afraid to go because he was afraid the cops were there waiting for him. Turns out he has been in jail a few times and did not want to go back. The first store we took him to was closed so Brad and I offered to take him to get some food, Tookey was very excited about that. He kept saying "God's gonna bless you." I tried to tell him that we wanted God to bless HIM! We went to the drive through of Wendy's and Tookey ordered 3 double cheeseburgers and 3 cinnamon rolls. Tookey was still trying anything and everything to get us to give him cash. 80 dollars to be exact. He told us that he needed money to take the buses to find a job. He told us that he needed money so that his "lady" would let him in. He told us that he had a 6 year old son and an 9 year old daughter. The more he asked for cash the more my heart ached for Tookey. He had one thing on his mind, his next high, his next drink. That was it.
We were waiting for Tookey's food for far too long, so I decided to go inside to check on it. I also wanted to see if they had gift cards because the woman at the window told me they didn't and I did not believe her. Of course, they did have gift cards, so when I said "One $50 gift card please." Two men that were right by the counter became very intrigued. They made a comment to the extent of "Someone's getting a lot of cheeseburgers." I told them that someone is very hungry. And somehow I ended up telling them that my friend and I had a homeless man in the car. Ya know what these two guys asked!? "Is it Tookey?"
I couldn't believe my ears! Out of all the homeless people in Bloomington, these two men asked me if I had Tookey in my car!!! Turns out they are bus drivers and Tookey rides the bus a lot. This is the conversation that followed with one of the men, Richard. Right there in the middle of Wendy's.
Richard: Tookey needs help
Me: Yes, but Tookey needs the Lord more
Richard: Well you give that to him then
Me: I will… Tookey needs prayer.
Richard: I need prayer.
Me: I would love to pray for you Sir, what's your name?
Richard: Richard
Me: What can I specifically pray for you about Richard?
Richard: Pray that I don't go to hell.
Me: Why do you think you're going to hell Richard?
Richard: Because I'm a terrible person.
Me: So am I.
Richard: I killed a lot of people…
Turns out Richard is a Veteran and dropped a bomb that killed many people. Richard was extremely burdened by his guilt. There was something about the way he looked at me, his eyes were piercing, there was this soberness about him… When I've told this story to my friends, many of them have said that Richard probably thought I was an Angel. What preceded to follow in Wendy's that night was 100% Holy Spirit and 0% Shannon.
After Richard told me about his guilt and his feelings of being unforgivable, I asked him if he believes in Jesus Christ. He told me he believes in God so I said, "but do you believe in Jesus Christ, Richard?"… By this point everyone in Wendy's is staring at us and they can all hear every word clearly because I was making no effort to speak softly. I was actually making an effort to speak loudly. Richard replies again by saying that he believes in God… again, that was not what I was asking, so it was time for me to be more specific with my question. I said "Do you believe that Jesus Christ came on this earth as God in human flesh, lived a perfect life and sacrificed that life for every single sin you and I have committed. Do you believe Richard, that Jesus was nailed to a cross for your sins so that if you confess and proclaim Jesus with your lips, that you will NEVER have to see hell?" Richard said "Yes I do." So then I spoke to him about repentence. He also told me that he used to be an alcoholic but he has been going to AA meetings for a long time and that he tries to be a good person. I explained to him that none of that is going to make or break him going to heaven or hell. I then asked Richard if I could pray with him right there. So in the middle of Wendy's I prayed the Gospel over Richard. I prayed salvation over Richard. I prayed that he would be freed that very night from his feelings of guilt and that he would be freed from any addiction that may still be gripping him. I prayed that if he had not proclaimed Jesus Christ as his Saviour with his lips that that very night would be the night. At one point I looked up at him and he was staring at me, wide eyed, just nodding his head. A lot of the prayer I do not remember because the Holy Spirit spoke through me before I even had a chance to process what I was actually saying. When we finished praying, I looked him in the eyes and said "I'll see you in Heaven, Richard." and I walked out of the Wendy's to get back to Tookey and Brad.
I gave Tookey his gift card and made him promise me he would not lose it and told him that I wanted to see him put it in his wallet. Tookey knew that I wasn't messin' around. Brad and I took Tookey to Wal-Mart and as soon as we walk in, the greeter at Wal-Mart is yelling "What's up Tookey!?"…. Who doesn't know Tookey!? Turns out my Pastor and close friend, Cedric, ALSO knows Tookey, Tookey sweeps the hair at the Barber shop Cedric goes too haha!
Anyway, Brad and I let Tookey get whatever he wants from WalMart. We end up spending over $100 on him and when we got back in the car Tookey asked Brad for the reciept. He said that he wanted to prove to his Lady that he didn't steal the groceries. Brad gives him the reciept and I think immedietly Brad and I both get the same sick feeling in our stomach… We should not have done that. We took Tookey to a house and we are certain that Tookey was in there showing his drug dealer how much money the groceries cost so that he could get that much worth of drugs. I'm feeling physically sick the whole time Tookey is in that house. I think there were three different instances where I was SO close to telling Brad to just drive away, with the groceries still in his car, leaving Tookey behind. I did NOT want to have any sort of hand in supporting Tookey's addiction. But God kept quietly assuring me that this night was to LOVE, without any condition. It was to BLESS without any disclaimer. There can't be a catch when doing something like this. Because that will not accurately depict Christ's love. Brad and I were there to do what we felt God was asking us to do and nothing more. What Tookey did or did not do with those groceries is in God's hands, and Brad and I trust Him with that completely.
However, when Tookey got back in the car, I immediately asked him for the receipt back. He did not want to give it back to me so one more time, a little firmer, I asked again and he handed it over. I then told Tookey that we would take him to ONE more place but before that I wanted to pray with him. He was eager for that and held out his hand right away. I held his hand and literally prayed as if Tookey was going to die that night. As if Tookey was going to step out of our car and die. I prayed the Gospel over him. I prayed that he would believe that God is more mighty and more powerful than any addiction he has. I prayed that Tookey would only use the groceries for nourishment to his body and that they would not be a part of any scheme to get drugs. I prayed that he would not let anything enter his body that will tempt or destroy him. I prayed for freedom that very night. I can't remember what else I prayed but I was definitely crying. We drove Tookey to the last house, Brad helped him carry in the groceries, and then Brad and I were left alone in the car, speechless.
Brad and I, and our four other friends, will never know the effects we had on the people we encountered. We will never know what impact we made on the Kingdom. We won't even know if the people remembered us the next morning. But we DO know that we were faithful to God in our actions. We DO know that God is crying out for us to do stuff like this more. We DO know that He is desperate to see His children be His hands and feet not because He needs us to be but because He wants us to, like a proud Father. We DID get to feel His heart for the lost, forgotten, and broken. It was painful, it wrecked us, and I know I can speak for Brad when I say both of our lives have most certainly been changed.
