Street Stories - A Ringside Seat To Over 4 Decades Of Taking Jesus To The Streets Of The World

Street Stories

Bobby & Dot Chance

A ringside seat to over 4 decades of taking Jesus to the streets of the world

Acknowledgements

© 2023 Bobby Chance & Dot Chance www.J316GlobalRescue.com email: j316globalrescue@gmail.com

Printed By: B T Johnson Publishing https://shop.btjohnsonpublishing.net 1-866-260-9563

Cover artwork and design by Chick Ciccarelli

Copy Editor Molly Chance-Moore

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Printed in the United States ISBN: 978-1-952645-46-4

Table of Contents

Dedication …………………………………………… ... ……… .5 Thank You ……………………………………………………… .7 About the Authors …………………………………………… ..9 Foreword #1 ……………………………………… .. ………… .13 Foreword # 2 ………………………………………………… ..15 Foreword #3 ……………………………………………… .. … .17 Introduction ………………………………………………… ...19

Chapter 1 The Comforter ……………………… . ………… 21

Lyrics

Concrete Pillow ……………… .. ……………… .33

Chapter 2 I Knew He Would Send Someone ………… .35

Chapter 3 Goldilocks – S.O.S. Salem ……………… . … .43

Lyrics

Let My Hands Be Your Hands …………… ...59

Chapter 4 Fantasy Festival – Key West ……………… ..61

Chapter 5 Haiti – Martial Law …………………………… 81

Chapter 6 Hollywood Babies – Jesus Loves

the Little Children …………………… .. …… 107

Lyrics

Bad Side of Town …………………………… 117

Chapter 7 Russia – “Too Great a Gift”…………… . … .119

Chapter 8 Myanmar Miracle – Cyclone Nargis …… .141

Chapter 9 Thank You For Praying …………………… 159

Chapter 10 Indonesia Earthquake – Arrested

For Preaching Jesus …………………… .. .. 165

Lyrics

Hold Back the Rapture …………………… .207

Chapter 11 Skid Row (Los Angeles) …………………… 209

Chapter 12 New York City – 9 / 11 " Emergency Day " . .. 219

Lyrics

Message America ………………………… ..245

Chapter 13 South Africa –“Why Don’t You Go?”… ..247

Chapter 14 The Green Bar of Soap ………… . ……… .265

Lyrics

Just Outside My Door ………………… ....271

Chapter 15 World Christian Magazine ……… . …… ..273

Lyrics

Lonely Girl/Broken Boy ……………… ....285

Chapter 16 The Philippines – Typhoon Haiyan... … 287

Chapter 17 Oh, Ronnie – From “Coyote” to

Totally Transformed ………… . ............. 311

Chapter 18

Tijuana, Mexico ………………………… .321

Chapter 19

Sendai Japan – Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami ………………… ... … . .......... 335

Chapter 20

Wanted: “Dirty Christianity”………… 349

Lyrics

Don’t Take Jesus to the Street ……… .353

Afterword …………………………………………… .. ……… 355

Endorsements: What Others Are Saying ……………… 357

Dedication

Pastor Sarge and Barbara Haskell

Proverbs 18:24 declares, “there is a friend who

sticks closer than a brother.”

For many decades in our lives and ministry, Pastor Sarge and Barbara Haskell have been invaluable friends to us. These two precious friends have been our closest confidants, encouragers, ministry partners and among our loudest cheerleaders. All of the spiritual treasures and friendship Sarge and Barbara provided us with are incalculable. There is not enough paper or ink in the world to feature them all.

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Our dear Barbara has gone before us and is now home with her Lord and Savior. More than anyone we have ever known; this world truly was not her home. Street Stories is lovingly dedicated to Pastor Sarge and Barbara, our dear friends who stick closer than a brother. Friends of Jesus.

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Thank You

Above all, we want to thank you our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for anointing us , and calling us to serve You in these last days. Thank s from the bottom of our hearts also to our precious daughters, amazing grandchildren, and loving, caring family for the love and sacrifices each one of you have made, making it possible for these Street Stories to have taken place. And finally, Dot and I would like to thank Timothy Johnson and BT Johnson Publishing for their dedication, hard work, unique skill, and gifting from the Holy Spirit. Timothy, who is our Publisher, has now made our dream of "Street Stories" a reality, making it possible for these stories to be read and taken in by readers today, tomorrow and for generations to come! "LOOK what the Lord has done!"

All our love and thanks, Bobby & Dot

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About The Authors

Bobby and Dot Chance answered God’s calling on their lives to take Jesus to the streets in July of 1981. Leaving their professional careers and close family behind in Dallas, Texas, they sold their new suburban home, packed up their three young daughters and a few belongings and began sharing the love of Jesus on Hollywood Boulevard. Jesus broke their hearts for the lost. Upon landing in Hollywood, Bobby and Dot joined the staff of The Holy Ghost Repair Service, a powerful street ministry directed by Charles and Judy McPheeters. A life of full-time radical street evangelism, “influencing the city that influences the world, ” became their passion. As Charles McPheeters put it, the Chances decided to “get out of their seats and into the streets.” A little more than one year after Bobby and Dot’s arrival in Hollywood, Charles McPheeters went home to be with the Lord following a short bout with cancer. Bobby and Dot continued to team with Charles’ widow, Judy, as The Holy Ghost Repair Service literally “dug a foxhole in the devil’s front yard.” As HGRS Associate Director for the next four years, Bobby, along with Dot, truly lived the slogan for the ministry , “Repairing broken lives for Jesus… in the power of His Spirit.” Playing guitar and singing on street corners, street preaching on Hollywood Blvd. and confronting street prostitutes and pimps along Sunset Strip with the Gospel evolved into more than a ministry; it became the Chances’ lifestyle.

Bobby and Dot helped Director Judy McPheeters expand the vital ministry of The Holy Ghost Repair

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Service to include Hope For Hollywood Fellowship – an Assemblies of God pioneer home mission street church on Hollywood Blvd., the Jesus Nite Patrol street witnessing teams, the House of Magdalene refuge home for teen prostitutes in Hollywood, and The Oasis – a Christian coffeehouse and evangelism center in the heart of Hollywood. In 1983, Bobby began annual trips to Mardi Gras in New Orleans where he joined his street ministry friend, Scott Hinkle, along with hundreds of Christians witnessing, preaching on the streets, and leading people to Jesus in the French Quarter. Students from Christ For the Nations Institute always had a huge number of students participating in the Mardi Gras Outreaches. During the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, Bobby Chance, along with many other ministry leaders, served John Dawson and Youth With A Mission to coordinate a massive evangelistic thrust on the streets of Los Angeles. Following the blueprint of the Olympic Outreach, Bobby Chance and The Holy Ghost Repair Service, along with other local Hollywood ministries, birthed the annual evangelism street blitz, SOS Hollywood. Bobby was a founding steering committee member of the National Street Ministries Conference, Directed by Scott Hinkle. Founded in 1984, this dynamic international conference inspired and trained thousands of frontline evangelistic workers to take Jesus to the streets of America, as well as the world. Speakers at the conference over the years included David Wilkerson, T.L. Osborn, Mario Murillo, Arthur Blessitt, Tommy Barnett, Rich Wilkerson, James Robison, as well as many other great evangelistic voices.

In 1986, Jesus called Bobby and Dot to found Streetwise Ministry, a powerful international street

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ministry they directed until 2014. This nationally and internationally focused ministry launched Bobby and Dot not only into the streets of Hollywood, but also into the streets and inner cities of America… preaching the Gospel and sharing Jesus on the streets from Los Angeles to New York City, from Seattle to Key West. Internationally, leading Streetwise Ministry, Bobby has ministered on the streets of Mexico, Canada, Russia, England, Haiti, Japan, Indonesia and Myanmar. Bobby and Dot continually established their ministry of mercy, going into the highways and hedges, compelling the lost and broken to come to Jesus. They go under inner city bridges to feed and comfort the poor, they take food and clothing to lonely street people and regularly reach out to the invisible people society has forgotten. During the mid-1970s, before answering the call to street ministry, Bobby Chance traveled the USA and Canada as a member of Sparrow Records recording artists, Children of the Light . This country-rock style music group shared the stage with early Christian music pioneers such as Keith Green, Scott Wesley Brown, The Archers, Honeytree and many other contemporary Christian artists.They ministered many times in concerts and festivals as Barry McGuire’s backup band. This anointed group of young musicians appeared regularly on Barry’s popular television show, Anyone But Jesus on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). A prolific songwriter, singer and guitarist, Bobby Chance has released three albums since beginning the street ministry. His 1991 release, Message America , has become an evangelistic anthem for street ministry workers across America. Joined by good friend Sarge Haskell, Bobby released a CD of powerfully anointed praise and worship music entitled lift up His name .

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Bobby’s latest CD is a heartfelt collection of songs Bobby wrote called Golden Guitars. He included a few songs from other friends and artists. God is using this collection of songs to touch lives all over the world. In 2014, Bobby and Dot were led of the Lord to shift much of their attention and efforts in ministry to disaster relief ministry and work as street missionaries around the world. They birthed J316 Global Rescue to answer God’s fresh call to the world. Since then, they have ministered in the Philippines, Ecuador, Japan, and Nepal. J316 Global Rescue, under Bobby and Dot’s leadership, have taken ministry teams on more than 10 trips to South Africa. God is using J316 mightily in South Africa and beyond. Currently, Bobby and Dot Chance live in Midlothian, TX where they continue answering God’s mandate to take Jesus to the streets of America and the uttermost parts of the world. They have three beautiful daughters, Amy, Molly, and Emily, and are blessed with three awesome grandchildren, Dakota, Abel, and Elliot. Street Stories is Bobby and Dot Chance’s first published account of more than four decades spent taking Jesus to the streets of the world.

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Foreword #1

It was many years ago when I first encountered Bobby Chance. Barbara and I had moved to LA from “safe, sanitary, Salem, Oregon.” We heard about an outreach called SOS Hollywood, which led us, one night, to the Salvation Army and a long-haired, guitar-strumming, worship leading young man, that was firing-up all in attendance to get out on the streets and save souls! That young man is older now. The long hair is now short, and white. But his message remains the same . “For God so loved the world......” As you read these stories, and read the words to Bobby’s songs, you will begin to sense that there is something more; something bigger than the stories and the music. Between the lines you will sense and feel the heartbeat of Bobby and Dot Chance. Their heart for lost souls is uncommon. Their compassion, humility and sincerity are profound. During times of trial, sadness, and distress, their friendship over the years has strengthened and encouraged Barbara and me. That can also be said by the hundreds that have had the privilege and opportunity to know them over the years. Street Stories is more than a record of a ministry’s activities over the past 40-some years. It is more than a recounting of specific, isolated encounters with everyday people. It is more than the retelling of war stories. Street Stories is about the way the Holy Spirit uses human vessels to fulfill divine purposes.

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Those many years ago at the Salvation Army in Hollywood was a divine appointment for me. The Lord has used Bobby and Dot to change my life. Street Stories may be a divine appointment for you. A divine appointment is meant to be life changing. Street Stories will bless and encourage you. It may make you cry, and Street Stories may change your life.

Pastor Sarge Haskell Family Worship Center Salem, OR

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Foreword #2

My friends, Bobby and Dot Chance, really bug me.

We met in the mid 1970’s when Bobby and I were members of a Christian rock band touring the U.S. and Canada sharing our faith through music. When that ministry concluded, the Chances returned to their home state of Texas and began business careers. But a few years later, all that changed when they sensed God calling them to take the gospel to the streets. So, they quit their jobs, relocated their family to inner city Los Angeles, and have been extending the love of Jesus to the homeless, addicted, trafficked, and forgotten in the heartless urban centers of the world ever since. Street Stories is a glimpse into their remarkable journey of faith, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. But just a word of warning: You may find this account of what God has done and continues to do through their surrendered lives disturbing. Every time I try to settle into the comfortable suburban fortress insulating me from all this world’s pain, the image of the Chances running toward it deeply troubles me…but in a very good way.

Randy Boldt Pastor/Singer/Songwriter Los Angeles, CA

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Foreword #3

Bobby and Dot Chance are dear longtime friends, and co-laborers in the Kingdom of God. I wholeheartedly endorse their book, Street Stories . I’ve walked with them over the years, including being in many different and dangerous life and death situations.

This book is absolutely off the hook, filled with

knowledge and spiritual insight.

Fasten your seatbelt. Get ready to receive an

impartation.

Apostle Dr. Bill Henderson Remnant Gathering Church Colorado Springs, CO

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Introduction

Over the last four decades, much has been written about how Jesus reveals Himself, miraculously saving souls and touching lives in churches and conferences throughout the world.

The supernatural moving of the Lord as He draws

people unto Himself is always exciting and real.

In contrast, very little has been written proclaiming the goodness of God as He comforts, delivers, and saves people publicly, right out on the streets of America, as well as the streets of the world. Throughout Scripture, Jesus fulfilled His public ministry out among broken and hurting people. He came to seek and save the lost. He declared His coming was for those in need of a Physician. Pulling no punches, Street Stories is hard hitting. Authored by Bobby and Dot Chance, it is a rare, insightful look at powerful instances of people on the streets having radical encounters with Jesus. These real-life stories bring the reader up close and personal with broken people on the streets… young runaways, teen prostitutes, homeless people and others who are desperate for a life-changing experience with Jesus.

Street Stories tugs at the heart strings, each page

chipping away at spectator Christianity.

Written with great heart and compassion, Street Stories truly is “a ringside seat to over four decades of taking Jesus to the streets of the world.”

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Profound and powerfully related, this book calls us to follow Jesus’ lead as He instructs His church to leave the ninety-nine and go out in search of the one that is lost.

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Chapter 1

The Comforter

M any Christians have chosen not to tune in to television news reports, deeming them too depressing and disturbing to watch. Dot and I have discovered daily news reporting can help us compile urgent prayer lists. One such news report during a brutally cold winter in Texas furnished us with a great opportunity not only to pray for those involved, but to also put feet to our prayers. Dot had seen on the local news report that the weather in Dallas would be so cold by nightfall, many street people might actually be found dead the next morning. Because many men and women who live on the streets refuse to go into shelters and stay out of the cold, it was probable some of them would literally freeze to death that night as they slept outside on sidewalks, in back alleys and under bridges. Although inner-city shelters can be a safe haven for many, a portion of the street community are reluctant to go into them because they just cannot handle any form of structure in their lives or a regimented environment. Many of them have all their worldly belongings packed into a shopping cart that they push all over town and guard with their lives. Most shelters require those who enter for an overnight stay to leave their shopping carts full of their worldly possessions outside. Although what they have may not seem like much to many people, this means they lose literally everything they own.

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Seeing the troubling report about the street people stirred Dot’s heart and soul. Although she began to pray for all the desperate people on the streets who were possibly facing the coldest night in recent history, she knew it was not enough to only pray for them. This was a time for immediate action. She told me of the forecast she had seen and how authorities predicted many people on the streets may die overnight. She said, “We have to do something.” There was no time to waste. She suggested we cook up a huge pot of homemade beef stew, perk an Igloo jug full of hot coffee and go downtown to the streets, comfort and minister to those precious people who were freezing with no way to stay warm. Our burden is always to introduce people on the streets to Jesus. It dawned on me that it would be a greater possibility to get them saved if we first kept them alive. We knew we had to literally fight to keep some of these homeless people alive through the night, so we would have opportunities to talk to them about Jesus. As always, God gave us His plan. As always, His plan involved ordinary people who are willing to follow Him. Fortunately, Dot and I made an agreement. I would go shopping for all the food we needed, and she would cook it. We felt like this was a good arrangement, as my cooking could actually HARM, rather than HELP those in need! I hurried to the local supermarket. Dot and I had decided to prepare a street meal fit for a king. When we serve Jesus, we need to be reminded we are serving The King. Unfortunately, so many times the food and clothing that groups offer street people and the homeless are things they would never eat or wear themselves.

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Many of us have the attitude that it is not good for us, but the street people won’t mind. They don’t have anything, so they’ll be glad to get it. After all, they frequently eat out of garbage cans and dumpsters, so we assume they don’t deserve quality! I raced through the grocery store aisles searching for the best food money could buy to prepare this life saving meal. I picked the best brands of green beans, corn, carrots, and tomatoes I could find. I bought the best-looking potatoes in the store. I rolled my bulging grocery cart up to the butcher’s counter and ordered some prime cuts of beef. He told me he had a lower grade that would be less expensive. I declined his offer and told him to give me the best beef he had because we were preparing a meal fit for a king. Scripture tells us to give unto the Lord something that costs us something. Dot spent the rest of the afternoon working away in the kitchen, cooking a huge pot of tasty homemade beef stew. She put our kitchen stove to the test as she utilized every available burner, overworking the oven as she prepared pan after pan of homemade cornbread muffins to serve along with the stew and hot coffee. Our home took on the aroma of some of the best food you have ever smelled. I was surprised the neighbors didn’t form a soup line beginning at our front door! I suggested to Dot, “Maybe I should test out the stew and cornbread. After all, we don’t want to serve the people on the street anything we have not personally taste- tested.” She was not convinced. With a knowing grin, she shooed me out of the kitchen, assuring me that her stew and cornbread would be well-received on the street.

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She told me, “If we have any left at the end of the night, you’ll be more than welcome to help yourself.” I felt like I had been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. She knows me so well. As hard as I tried, my strategy to get some of her stew had not worked. By about eight o’clock that bitterly cold evening, we began our journey to downtown Dallas. It was five degrees outside with a wind chill of twenty below zero. Everything around us was frozen solid. The weather report we had heard earlier proved accurate. I went slipping and sliding out to our van, carrying the huge pot of stew, Igloo of steaming hot coffee and pans of homemade cornbread. We also loaded up with Bibles we could give to each person we fed on the streets as we prayed for them. Dot and I put on every coat, sweater, and glove we could find, preparing for the cold we were about to face. We bundled up our three daughters, Amy, Molly, and Emily, and we all climbed into our van. As usual for us, serving Jesus was a family affair. Our children learned at a very young age how to feed and minister to homeless people and runaways across America. They were excited to labor with us, venturing out to minister on the streets during this freeze. They knew lives hung in the balance, physically as well as spiritually. I started up the van and wouldn’t you know it, I could not get the heater to work! It was so cold the control buttons for the heater were frozen solid. Determined to touch lives that bitter cold night, we pressed on toward downtown Dallas without a heater in our van. We reminded ourselves that although we didn’t have a heater, we would be able to return home to a cozy, warm

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fireplace and thaw out after we completed our night of ministry.

In stark contrast, the helpless people we were going to feed and talk to about Jesus had nowhere to go to shield themselves from the life-threatening cold. That night, even if they wanted to get into a shelter, they would not be able to. Most shelters have a set time the homeless must enter by. If they miss that appointed time, they are out of luck and must wait until the next evening to gain entrance. The shelters were so full, people were being turned away. We knew Jesus loved each street person and He would not turn them away from His faithful provision and His unending love. After battling the frozen freeways and near zero visibility, we finally arrived downtown. I quickly experienced “driving by faith.” We came upon a group of people sleeping on the frozen sidewalk. They were huddled together under tattered blankets and what little they could scavenge to cover themselves with. They had to be literally freezing... They had apparently been forgotten by those living in this affluent city, ignored as if they were invisible. I thought of a song I had heard about a homeless man who says, “I was invisible until you asked my name.” We went to the streets to comfort the forgotten homeless people and tell them Jesus cared for them. He had not forgotten them. We assured them that He even knew their names.

We pulled our van alongside them, got out and asked if anyone would like some hot stew and coffee.

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Their excited response was almost like seeing the dead raised! We set up a folding table alongside the van for the coffee and erected an eight-foot cafeteria style table and covered it with bowls of steaming hot beef stew and cornbread. As the people cheerfully and gratefully received the food, I had never seen such joy. They were happy to see they were not completely forgotten. One man blessed us as he excitedly commented the stew and cornbread tasted just like what his Mama had made for him as a child. As Dot and the girls handed out the hot food and warm smiles, I prayed for each precious person, and we gave them Bibles. We assured them Jesus had not forgotten them and that He loved them enough to lay his own life down for them. Some prayed to receive Him as Lord and Savior. Others prayed to the Lord for safety and survival. While downtown, we met a young teenaged girl who was also sleeping on the bitter cold streets. Although she was homeless and without anything or anyone, she had the greatest smile we had ever seen. We talked to her about Jesus and prayed for her. As I put my arms around her with the love of Jesus, my heart broke for her. I know she is precious in Jesus’ sight. She was sleeping on a big, flattened out piece of cardboard and she was using the frozen concrete parking curb for her pillow. I was so touched by her plight, after returning home I wrote a song about her entitled, “Concrete Pillow.” I can still see her ra diant smile to this day!

We hugged the homeless people we had just met and told them goodnight, loaded up our van and

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continued into the night. We asked Jesus to lead us to those who were most desperate. I didn’t realize the event that followed on this challenging evening would be an experience that would change my life forever. We drove to the outskirts of downtown, leaving the city street behind us as we jumped the curb in our van and ventured out under the overpass of two interstate highways. We found ourselves under the bridge of I-45 and I-30. It was so dark and ominous under these freeway bridges, we felt we had left civilization behind. As I stopped the van and we spied out the land, we noticed the most heart-wrenching sight. Two homeless men were huddled near a rusted out 55-gallon barrel, fighting desperately to warm themselves with the flames coming from the fire they had built inside the barrel. I had never in my life seen such a tragic picture of hopelessness. Suddenly, nothing mattered more than helping these men. We didn’t care about the near zero temperature outside. We didn’t care about the lateness of the hour or the possibility of personal danger, we were in a rough part of downtown. We had to reach these desperate men while there was still time. The tragic forecast we had heard earlier echoed in our ears. The bright headlights of our van cut through the darkness as we drove up close to the two homeless men huddled around the makeshift campfire. As our lights shone upon them, they looked startled to see anyone out in such a forgotten area of town. I’m sure t hey feared we were authorities who had come to question them and roust them about. Their fears vanished as I stepped out of the van and shouted my appeal.

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“Hey!” I yelled out. “Do you all want some homemade beef stew and hot coffee to warm your insides?” The two men looked as if they had heard a voice from Heaven. “We came to share Jesus with you,” I continued. They stood and raced toward us as though we were angels sent by God. They were right about one thing…we were sent by God. The girls handed the two men a bowl of stew and some hot coffee and cornbread. They scarfed up the food like they hadn’t eaten in days. Second helpings quickly followed. Although they had appeared tragically lost and downtrodden only moments before, they were suddenly all smiles. I gave each of the men a Bible, wrapped my arms around them and our family prayed for them. One of the men thanked us for the food and the kindness and headed back to the fire barrel, wrapping himself as tightly as he could in a badly worn blanket. The second man, whose name was Ray, came right up to me, obviously with a burning question on his mind. I noticed unlike the other man; Ray had no blanket to wrap himself in. He was living under that freeway bridge this freezing night, wearing only his trousers and a lightweight shirt. His longing question stirred my soul. “Do you know where I could get a blanket?” I looked deep into his hopeful eyes as he eagerly awaited my reply. I have heard it said that the eyes are the window to the soul. I felt as if I could look deeply into his lost soul. My answer was not what he had hoped to hear. “You know,” I hesitantly replied, “I don’t know anywhere we could get you a blanket tonight.” I groped for a more acceptable answer. “There is not a store or shelter open this late…there is no way I can get a blanket

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for you. Maybe I could bring you a blanket back tomorrow.”

He and I both knew without a warm blanket to help protect him from the bitter freeze, he may not make it until tomorrow. His eyes dropped. Just as he turned to walk away, the girls tugged on my pant leg. They made a bold declaration. “Dad,” they said, “We know where we can get a blanket for Ray!” I was trying to find an explanation for their statement. With growing excitement, they repeated themselves. “We know where we can get a blanket for Ray.” I was at a loss to know what they were talking about, but Ray became extremely interested in their certainty. I suddenly realized they were talking about a beautiful white eyelet lace comforter Dot’s mother had given us and we had not yet taken it out of the van. I had pictured that gorgeous white eyelet lace comforter adorning our bed with such beauty. But nothing was more beautiful than the look on our girls’ faces as they longed to run back to the van and present Ray with that big white blanket. In that moment, I realized more than ever that in a relationship with Jesus, He desires that we give everything we are to Him, holding nothing back. He desires that we serve Him with reckless abandon. He longs to change us into something beautiful. Once again, His Holy Spirit was challenging us to give it all… holding nothing back. “You know… that big white blanket in the van. We could go get it for him.”

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I shouted to the girls, “Go get it.” They had never moved so fast. The three of them returned with that beautiful white eyelet lace comforter. Dot and I watched our girls give the best gift they knew how to give to one of the dirtiest, most hopeless men we had ever seen. As we wrapped Ray up tight in that beautiful white comforter, he began to weep uncontrollably. His touching words changed my life. “I know tonight that God is real. He sent you to me. He cared enough about me to give me this beautiful blanket to keep me from freezing.” He broke with emotion. I prayed with Ray as he gave his heart to Jesus. He sobbed and sobbed on my shoulder as the Lord flooded his life with His love and forgiveness. On that bitter cold night under the downtown freeway bridge, Ray was gloriously saved. As our little family climbed back into our van and pulled out from under that freeway bridge back onto the city street, I paused to see the most poignant sight I had ever seen. I glanced back over my shoulder and there, huddled near the 55-gallon drum with warming flames dancing out the top, sat Ray… smiling. He was filthy on the outside. His clothes were torn and tattered. The stench of alcohol and grime permeated his clothing. He was alone and forgotten by the world… considered a reject with no value. He was cruelly marked by many as one of the dregs of society. But, this glorious night, Ray had a radical, life changing encounter with Jesus. He was wrapped up tight in the most beautiful white eyelet lace comforter money

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could buy. You could say that The Comforter sent Ray a comforter!

I laughed as I looked one last time and realized I was seeing a true picture of the redeeming work of Jesus. I once was lost and forgotten, but now I’m found. He saved me, cleansed me, and turned my life around. Though my sins were as scarlet, He washed me white as snow.

I whispered to no one in particular, “Goodnight

Ray… See you in Glory.”

Dot, the girls and I returned home well into the night… warm, rejoicing, and ready to serve Jesus another day. By the way, I finally got to sample Dot’s beef stew. It was well worth the wait… fit for a king.

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Concrete Pillow

by Bobby Chance

She rises in the morning to the sound of city rush,

Sole owner of a shopping cart jam-packed with a lot of

stuff.

Ain’t got two dimes to rub together, or a roof over her

head,

She has a Concrete Pillow and a cardboard bed.

The city tries to kill her, but she ain’t cashin’ in.

Every day she fights for her life and once in a while she

wins.

A sip of coffee from a garbage bin and a little discarded

bread.

She has a Concrete Pillow and a cardboard bed.

Concrete Pillow, does she dream a little dream?

Cardboard bed, does she lay down and cry?

On Calvary, my Savior’s blood was shed,

For those with a Concrete Pillow and a cardboard bed.

Midnight falls around her, she can hear the sirens

moan.

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She’s been called a lot of names, but none of them her

own.

Jesus loves the little children… black and yellow, white

and red,

And those with a Concrete Pillow and a cardboard bed.

Concrete Pillow, does she dream a little dream?

Cardboard bed, does she lay down and cry?

On Calvary, my Savior’s blood was shed,

For those with a Concrete Pillow and a cardboard bed.

Concrete Pillow, does she dream a little dream?

© Big Chance Music/BMI All Rights Reserved

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Chapter 2

I Knew He Would Send Someone

B ecause I am sometimes shy, I had never considered going out on the streets to witness for Jesus when we moved our family to Hollywood from the suburbs of Dallas, Texas. I have always considered myself a “support” person, working behind the scenes, all the while encouraging Bobby to fulfill God’s call. I have always been right alongside him (or right behind him) to give him an extra push if he needed it! It was 1981 and we were working with The Holy Ghost Repair Service. Their motto was “repairing broken lives for Jesus…in the power of His spirit.” I was working in the office doing clerical work which I thought was my call from God. One of our co-workers, Shirley Martin, was extremely outgoing and didn’t have a shy bone in her body! She was almost the female version of my husband. Shirley is called of God to minister to the “ladies of the night.” I prayed often for Shirley, and I was so excited that God had called HER to help girls trapped in prostitution. My heart went out to them. Shirley always had amazing stories to tell of her escapades on the streets reaching out to the girls. One night Shirley was rescuing a prostitute from a local motel. The girl needed to literally escape from her pimp to avoid the cruel beatings that were routinely a part of her daily life. Shirley and the young woman seized a window of opportunity for her to escape. Shirley was in her car in a dark alley behind the motel waiting for the prostitute. The girl jumped into the car when suddenly her pimp appeared right there in front of the car. Shirley

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noticed someone at the opposite end of the alley starting up their engine and she quickly yelled out, “Police, Police, here we are…get him…he’s here…come arrest him!” At the same time, she was flashing her headlights to draw attention. Of course, it wasn’t the police in the other car, but the pimp wasn’t taking any chances. He ran away as fast as he could. The rescue was a success! Shirley Martin and Charles McPheeters (the Director and Founder of The Holy Ghost Repair Service) even wanted to start a home to bring these girls to stay. Charles and Shirley would always say, “It is so hard to witness to the prostitutes and tell them, ‘We’ll be praying for you. Start living for Jesus – He died for you.’ Then we have to leave them on the streets to go back to the hotel with their pimp.” My heart was so moved by their compassion and zeal. I wanted someone to reach out to the prostitutes. I wanted someone to take them in. Someone other than me! I was not saying, “Lord, here am I. Send me.” 1 I was thinking more along the lines of, “Lord, here is Shirley, send her!” I knew I had nothing to say to those girls on the street. Like Shirley, I had never been a prostitute. I didn’t stop to think that Jesus had never sinned, yet He was a friend to sinners. My job would be to pray for a great harvest, for the prostitutes and their pimps to be saved. I would pray for those who went out on the streets to talk to them. That was my calling. After all, I had three little girls at home who were only two, four and almost six years old. I quickly discovered Jesus had other plans for my life. Well, my dear friend, Shirley, was VERY persistent. She asked me numerous times to join her and some other women on the streets to witness to prostitutes. In my kindest, most Southern way, I politely tried to tell her,

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“Thanks, but no thanks.” Shirley wasn’t good at taking “no” for an answer. I must say that I felt like she literally hounded me until I broke! I started to think this woman was being extremely pushy. Why did she care if I went to witness on the streets? I soon found out why. I finally told Shirley that I would join her and her group for a short time on the streets. I did not want to be out late and leave Bobby with our little girls even though they were thrilled that Daddy was staying home to play with them while I went out. I told Shirley, “I will go with you this one time, but I am not going to say anything! I will just watch you work.” At the time, I really meant what I was saying. After all, what could I say that would have any value to these streetwise girls? It was a cool fall night as we prepared to go out on Sunset Boulevard, so I put my coat on Bobby noticed that I had pinned a large button on my coat that said, “I Love Jesus.” Being the experienced street witnesser that he had become, he wisely told me that I should remove the button from my coat because I would “scare the ‘fish’ away” when they saw me coming. Being the “submissive” wife that I am, I told him, “No.” (I have sometimes struggled over the years with the “submissive” issue – my spirit is willing, but my flesh is often weak!) I began to take the button off but I really felt in my heart that I should wear it so I did. I could tell that Bobby felt very strongly about this, but he was willing to allow me to learn the hard way! When I stepped out of the van on Sunset Boulevard that night, I was nervous and even a little bit scared. Wearing that “I Love Jesus” button really made me feel self-conscious. I felt bad that I had not honored my husband, but I also felt I was doing the right thing. Although I had all these conflicting thoughts and emotions swirling around, I thought surely between

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Jesus and Shirley Martin I would be protected! Shirley was never afraid to get right in a pimp’s face if necessary. I was in hopes that if I just went out on the streets one time Shirley would leave me alone and I would never have to do it again in my life! About thirty seconds after we began walking down Sunset Boulevard toward a group of girls a young girl suddenly came running from the side of a building. Wow! What could be happening? Why was she in such a hurry? I was astonished to see that the teeny-bopper hooker was running straight to ME! Dear Lord, help me! What could she possibly want with me? She came right up to me and said, “Hi, I have to read your button!” As she read “I Love Jesus” she began to weep and cry out, “I knew He would send someone, I knew it, I knew it!” Carol then began to share her heart wrenching story with me. Carol was only fourteen years old! She had been raised in an Assembly of God church in Ohio. Her parents divorced and her lesbian aunt and her abusive lover had moved into the house with the family. Carol became very disillus ioned and didn’t understand the circumstances in her life. She rebelled and ran away from home. Carol met a “nice” man who wanted to help her. It turned out that the nice man was a pimp. Her pimp took her from Ohio to New York City and put her up in a hotel, fed her and bought nice clothes for her. He was very kind. Carol needed someone to show her kindness and a little tender loving care. It was only a few days later that the pimp let her know that he “owned” her, and she now owed him a lot. She was told that she was indebted to him. He told her the only way for her to repay him would be to become a prostitute. He told her that God had created her for this

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very thing. That He created her to sell her body on the streets and bring a moment’s pleasure to whomever would pay the price. The pimp decided they would leave New York City and come to Hollywood. He wanted his stable of girls to work the streets of Hollywood. Carol told me that she had laid in her bed and cried the night before I met her. She said that she cried out to the Lord to send a Christian to help her out of the mess she was in. She was so ashamed of what she had become. Never in her wildest imagination did Carol think she would ever sell her body. She knew it was not pleasing to the Lord. She was desperate and saw no way out of her dilemma She knew that only the Lord Jesus Christ could rescue her. It broke my heart to see this beautiful young teenager selling her body on the streets of Hollywood. She never knew from one “trick” to the next if she would live to see tomorrow. She didn’t know if she would ever see her mother again. If she did go back home to Ohio and her mother discovered how Carol’s life had changed, could her mother ever forgive her? Could she ever be her mother’s little girl again? I could not keep my mouth shut! I told her that I knew we had a divine appointment. God had sent me! All the hundreds of Bible studies I had attended and the teaching tapes that I had heard suddenly had new meaning. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The ministry had recently opened the House of Magdalene, so we had a safe place to take Carol to. The House of Magdalene was a home for teenage prostitutes to come to be restored. Carol eagerly jumped into the van with us and we sped away, making a clean get away from her pimp.

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I think it was two or three in the morning before I got home. Well, Bobby knew that when I told him I would be home early from the streets that there would be no way I could stick to that. When I realized how late it had gotten, I was afraid that Bobby was pacing the floor worrying and waiting for me. Much to my surprise, Bobby and the girls were sound asleep when I arrived home. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep! I shed many tears of thankfulness to the Lord for allowing me the opportunity to reach out to Carol that night. His eye is on the sparrow, and I knew He watches over me! I don’t know if I ever thanked Shirley Martin for that night. That one night sharing Jesus out on the streets of Hollywood changed my life forever. If I saw a child about to get hit by a car, I would do everything possible to rescue that child. If I saw someone about to slip and fall off a cliff, I would do everything possible to rescue that person. Why, then, was it so difficult to talk to people about Jesus? One night witnessing out on the streets can change a person’s life for eternity, not only the person’s life hearing about Jesus, but also the person’s life sharing Jesus. It breaks my heart to think that a child may die tonight of a drug overdose or because a pimp beat them to death or… so many different scenarios. If just one kind word and an introduction to my best friend, Jesus, can change their life for eternity, why is it so difficult to say something to them? It can be a good idea for those who do not know what to say on the streets if they wear a Christian button or t-shirt. Instead of scaring the fish away, it can have the opposite effect. It can be the “bait” for the fish to bite. Many times, people will start conversations with you wanting to know about your button or t-shirt.

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The Lord has divine appointments for all of us. There is someone in your world that only you can reach! Just as Carol was waiting for the Lord to send me – someone is waiting for you!

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Chapter 3

Goldilocks – S.O.S. Salem

O n a sunny August afternoon in Salem, Oregon, my good friend, Pastor Sarge Haskell, and I stood side by side on the Marion County Courthouse steps, located smack-dab in the middle of the downtown square. With our well-worn acoustic guitars strapped over our shoulders and His song in our hearts, we anxiously stood ready to boldly praise the Lord. During the previous Sunday morning service that had kicked off our annual S.O.S. Salem Outreach, we had invited members from Maranatha Christian Fellowship, pastored by Sarge and his wife Barbara, to join us in this powerful outdoor praise rally. A small coalition of the willing had shown up downtown and was ready and eager to lift up the Name of Jesus in song, prayer and public proclamation. Before we began, our little band of worshippers formed a circle, held hands, and bowed their heads as Pastor Sarge led us in prayer. I kept my head raised and my eyes open as he prayed for the Lord to be glorified in our praise and worship. Because I had been involved in frontline street ministry for so many years, many of those years of ministry in violent areas in the midst of contentious and riotous crowds, I preferred to keep my eyes open when we prayed to be sure no one was coming upon us with plans to do us any harm.

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Many of my street ministry friends and I always laugh and say that is why the Lord commands us to “watch and pray.” As our faithful band of worshippers began to joyously clap their hands unto the Lord and shout our declarations of victory, Sarge and I loudly strummed our guitars, lifted our voices, and led our group in a glorious time of praise and worship. We ran through street-style versions of This Is the Day That The Lord Has Made; Lord, I Lift Your Name On High and What A Mighty God We Serve. As the Spirit of the Lord began to fall and the joy of the Lord was present, many people in our group began dancing as unto the Lord and lifting their hands in heartfelt adoration of Christ the King. I’m sure in the eyes of passersby who were making their way into the courthouse to take care of important business, our group and its public display of open-air praise and worship appeared a bit peculiar, to say the least. I have to think that to the crowds of commuters who got on and off the city buses that stopped and started nearby, our high-profile celebration of the Lord Jesus Christ appeared a bit radical… bordering on fanatical. Winston Churchill was quoted as saying, “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind… and won’t change the subject.” Webster’s Dictionary states the word fan is defined as “an ardent devotee: an enthusiast.” Webster goes on to say the word fan is short for fanatical.

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Maybe we were fanatical. It is true, we were enthusiastically proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus Christ and we were unashamed to be true fans of Jesus. As people began to crowd around us, curious to see what we were all about, some of our team began passing out Gospel tracts and witnessing to those who had stopped to question us. As Sarge and I continued to sing and lift up the Lord, I noticed several small prayer groups beginning to break out as our team was leading many lost souls in the sinner’s prayer. Hallelujah! The angels in heaven were rejoicing over each sinner who repented and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We were busy rejoicing right along with them. Suddenly, as I looked beyond our gathering and across the downtown courtyard, my rejoicing turned into a heavy burden deep within my soul. I was taken by a sight that grieved my spirit. I was sure it grieved the Lord. About a dozen alternative-style teenagers had crowded into a group of their own and were mocking us and making fun of the powerful ministry the Lord was doing in their midst. They were belittling the Gospel and mimicking the praise and prayer they were witnessing. Several of them were smoking legally, as well as illegal cigarettes, many dressed in black jackets with chains, tattoos and metal piercings adorning their bodies. In the natural, they appeared to be a pretty rag tag bunch with no respect or understanding of the things of God at all.

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As I focused on this radical group even more, I noticed some of them were laughing, wildly jumping, and raising their hands in the air, doing all they could to make fun of Jesus. One of the teenagers even went so far as to lay his hand on another’s head, mimic a prayer and then push him back. The recipient of the prayer fell to the ground as if he had been slain by the Holy Spirit. All of them laughed uncontrollably, then quickly passed the burning cigarette around to each other for another hit. I had seen enough! I was not about to stand by and let these caustic young people mock Jesus without giving them a good preaching to. I quickly handed my guitar to whoever was closest to me and darted toward the crowd of unruly teenagers who were openly making fun of us, also making fun, and belittling the work of the Holy Spirit. I believe that is dangerous territory when people blaspheme the Holy Spirit, even if they are ignorant of the Truth. As the young crowd noticed me approaching them, their eyes grew wide, and they seemed genuinely surprised that I was making my way into their crowd. They seemed unnerved. I made my way to the middle of their little party so I could have their complete attention. I began to question them on why they were mocking and making fun of our prayer and worship. I asked them what Jesus had ever done to them that they would have such irreverent and caustic behavior at the mention of His Name.

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