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I'd like to begin this entry with a caveat. I do not recommend reading this entry first without reading the previous entries. This blog is best read from start to finish, at least reading the first two posts in their entirety prior to any others. Due to the great divergence from mainline American culture expressed in these writings, understanding of how anyone could rationally think in such a fashion as I do is best acquired by starting from the beginning where I detail various matters including worldview shifting inclusions in my life (particularly in the first blog).
After breakfast at the shelter, an intellectual black homeless man of about 50 by the name of Art asked if I’d like to accompany him to the next town along my way to Wheaton. He is a believer, & it was wonderful to speak with Him about what was going on in his life & mine as we enjoyed the beauty of creation along an extensive nature trail that I’ve too seldom frequented.
Soon after we parted ways, God blessed me through my phone (the most valuable possession on me amidst homelessness) breaking! I was using a Blackberry Tour, the nicest phone I've ever owned, a gift from my parents. It had GPS which I used quite a bit to navigate from the airport yesterday; I was also using it for email & other internet yesterday. It was my first global phone. I had previously wondered whether or not I should take it in my time of homelessness, as it looks and is very nice. I had prayed for this, but had not heard an answer. I hadn't prayed about it much! The Lord answered my prayer today! I was depending on it so much, but my Savior wanted me to depend more on Him. I went to the Wheaton College morning chapel once more. It had been so long. The message was on none other than "Obedience through Suffering!" I was surprised to find that Christ Himself was taught obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8)!
It was wonderful to be further encouraged by the chapel message and by the experience of chapel itself, then more so by encounters with students and staff in and around the chapel. During lunch, I felt God calling me to something that I initially didn't want to do. I had many wonderful provisions. Included in my provisions were the following: my fully waterproof main bag, my sleeping bag, my maps, my negative 50 degrees rated boots, drumliner trash bags for extra waterproofing, extra thermal socks, waterproof pants, a raincoat, insulated underwear, pocket knife, rope, etc. I considered a number of things in seeking to determine if God really wanted me to do this. Jesus had called people in the scriptures on multiple occasions to go without practically anything but the clothes on their backs (Luke 9:3, 10:4, Matthew 10:10, Mark 6:8,9). I considered how I would depend on the Lord more, and how I would carry less of a burden in my journeys. I've got a bad back, and it was already not feeling so hot! Ultimately, it came down to this question: "How will the Name of the Lord be most glorified?"
Along with calling me to ditch my bag, I thought that God wanted me to ditch my wallet (Luke and Mark references above), which I put in the bag. The first person that I saw & asked, Josh Cohen, had extra space in his storage, so the bag was barely a burden! The ditching of my wallet wasn't a big deal, and had been a consideration from the beginning. After this, I went upstairs to Dan Parvin's room, who had been shipped an extra duffle bag with sleeping bag etc. by my mom. I had packed it prior to going to Honduras. He wasn't there, however the first verse that I saw while I was up there was posted on the elevator. It was John 6:35-37. Jesus said that "I am the bread of life."
John 6:35-37
35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
Once there, I headed to the Libby’s, a family of 8 that I stayed with for my last year at Wheaton. Dave Libby, the man of the house there, lives a life of ministry and founded the Jerusalem Project, one of Muslim, Christian, Jewish reconciliation. The JP is one of the matters that God used to bring me to Chicago to be homeless, as I’m playing the role of a homeless man in the film the JP is doing this year. This is just one of the things the Lord used to point me to homelessness while here.
Once at Dave Libby’s home, I wanted to go straight in, but felt led to go over and say hi to the neighbor outside who I know. I do so, and he and I are both encouraged in the conversation about the Lord’s grace in both of our lives recently. The Lord further blesses me when he said that he was about to clean up the dog manure from his backyard as the snow had recently thawed from the winter. By the grace of God, he allowed me to clean it up for him! It was wonderful to have the opportunity for lowly service, a privilege that many are unwilling to grant. It was beautiful to spend time with the Lord as I scooped up quite a bit of winterized droppings. I thought of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, another extremely low service in the Ancient Near Eastern context, and remembered how blessed it is to do that of eternal significance, whether something as low as scooping poop, or preaching before thousands.
I am aware of the fact that many may have difficulty understanding the blessed nature of scooping poop, and if you have such difficulty, I invite you to read Ecclesiastes 2 and Revelation 3:15-18. It is also advisable to remember that the saved will have all of eternity to experience a painless existence in Heaven, so "light and momentary afflictions" (2 Corinthians 4:17) with eternal positive consequence are a blessing. Many spend their lives chasing after dust in the wind, momentary gratification that will never satisfy. Pleasures acquired while chasing after meaning are of far more lasting sweetness than those acquired for their own sake, the latter of which in the end merely whet one's appetite for more.
His wife & her mother got home, and his wife couldn't stand the prospect of my voluntary activity for much duration as it got darker. She invited me in for dinner, and I was blessed in a fashion that I had desired for a long time. I had lived next door for a year, yet had never had a meal with that family.
After an excellent meal, I went to what I thought was the PADS sight for the night, only to find that I was 1 day off! I went to the Library, and had just enough time (to the second!) to send out an email to my father and post a blog on Facebook. My blog was listed as “publishing” as the computer forcibly logged me out as my time had expired! It was only until maybe a day later before I knew for sure it had published! As the little library closed, I met a volunteer from last night’s PADS, even though we were a few towns away from there. Conversation was a blessing. He gave me a ride to the train depot, where I found another homeless man sleeping. I set a bag of fruit I had received after dinner by him with the exception of an orange I take, and head to the Libby’s.
At the Libby’s, conversation with one of Dave’s daughters is a blessing. Afterwards I’m further blessed through conversation with Dave, the man of the house. He blesses me with some peanuts we share, gives me a few vitamins for tonight and the next few days, and gives me matches for the heater in his garage “just in case”. Like his neighbors who invited me in tonight, he’d be more than willing to have me stay more, but knew that the Lord’s called me to not stay in homes of those I already knew prior to homelessness here. I go back to the train depot, find the homeless man gone and my bag of fruit still there, and rest on the bench where I laid til morning.
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