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

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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