Peace, Love & Hygiene: Vol. 66- What an incredible evening. I have had to stay back the past couple of weeks because of some health issues I was having. I’m feeling better now. One of the first things I wanted to do was get back to my mission.
The theme for this week would have to be: Reunited. It felt good to be back where I belong. Whether that be on concrete with other crazy, committed, volunteers; or with the homeless widow who is always there to look out for everyone, or the old man who was thankful and full of praise that he got to eat that day. We were all one team again. We were all on Team Human.
It was one of those nights where all we had to do was pull over and before you knew it, there was a handful of starving people excited to see us. Traci was diligently handing food out to all the people who needed it. Then she helps everyone get clothes while I get the personal care purses, etc.
One thing I noticed right away was that the girls had more bruises and knife wounds than usual. Everyone was out of pepper spray. Every person asked for it. A few girls told stories of how they wished they had it during a violent encounter. It was wished for sorely by every lady I saw tonight.
We fed a homeless man who had no legs.
We saw my Widow who Sits! She was in high spirits despite anything else. She said she wished I had pepper spray because she was too afraid to pan handle without it anymore. Her boyfriend is very good to her. He’s a nice man. He’s trying to use his handyman skills to get them off the street and into an actual apartment or something. He was doing okay for a while, but she said he was having a rough go of it lately. We talked about some of the things she was working on and dealing with. Then we gave lots of hugs and had more laughs before parted ways for the week.
I met an older man named Peter. He talked to us for a long time in a very prophetic way. He told Traci and I truths about ourselves and even our children. He spoke very quietly so you could barely hear him. But he spoke to Traci for a long time.
I thought I would see Marylin Monroe tonight. I was super excited. I heard she had a baby.
We parked at an intersection for a little while. There was a vacant lot that had a man-made tent on it. There was also a truck cab that I could see had a tarp thrown over the top of it to make it a shelter. I noticed a large pile of trash on the curb near where they were. It made me wonder if it attracted rats. I thought it looked like a scary place to live.
The last spot of the night had us ending on a high note. There were many sex workers who recognized the van and gravitated, or sometimes ran to us. They were also homeless and hungry. We were able to give people what we had in clean clothes. Everyone was extra grateful to be clean.
Even after we ran out of food, there were still people who kept coming up and asking. We offered them clothes and hygiene though, and that still helped a lot. After we passed out the last meal we thought we were done.
Then I saw something I don’t I have ever seen before. And that, my friends, is NOT and easy accomplishment. Traci and I had just packed up the van and I was programming the map for home when I see a very pregnant lady waddling for all she’s worth in a bee line towards the van. As she got closer to me, I rolled down the window. That’s when I noticed the huge cigar she was smoking.
“Do you have any clothes left? I really need clothes!” She was about 5 feet tall and had a voice like Larry King.
“Of course, we do sweetheart. Go around to the side and take a look at what we have left.”
As she was going through the clothes, at least another 4 people came and asked me for food. Sometimes, I look forward to the days I might get a big government grant so I can really help all the people we see. I talked to another volunteer who said he would come out earlier in the day with us so we could see more people. Especially the ones whose neighborhoods are too unsafe to go to after dark.
It felt good. It felt right to be where we were tonight.
The Magdalene’s Mission Team is working on putting together a yard-sale fundraiser. Details soon!
#MagdalenesMission #PeaceLoveandHygiene
