“Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”
—Bob Pierce, World Vision founder
Many of us have heard this quote as a phrase or as a lyric to a song. I recently read the quote in a book by Rich Stearns who is the current President of World Vision and author of the book, The Hole In Our Gospel.
My heart is currently broken and I am asking everyone who reads this to pray. A few months ago as I was leaving the bank I saw a man standing on the side of the road who to me looked homeless. I had never seen him before and this is the same bank I have used for the 8 years we have lived here. I stopped and gave him a few dollars and drove on home. The next time I saw him I stopped again. As I stopped more and more I began to ask him questions and he slowly began to open up to me. It turns out he has lived here and been standing around on the street corners in Inman for as long as I have lived up here. AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN HIM! (God has forgiven me for that because trust me I cried after he told me that one.)
So anyway…I have stopped more and more over the summer and as a family we have bought him some food and clothing. I have taken my kids by there to meet him as they have helped us over this past year when we have worked with various homeless populations in the Greenville/Spartanburg area. When he showed me his “home” I was devastated. He lives in an alley behind an abandoned building and he slept on a cot with an old rotting sleeping bag as his only cover.
We decided we had to help him out of the elements the best we could so we purchased a tent and some supplies and our church group set it all up for him. Everyone in our group pitched in (and even some others who aren’t a part of our specific church group but who are a part of THE church have helped.) We set up a tent with a tarp over it to shed the rain off, we got him a new bed with sheets and a pillow, we got a rubbermaid tote to keep his new “supplies” in, a beard trimmer, etc… We didn’t get him off the streets but we tried to make his current life and situation as comfortable as it could be. He said he was a veteran so we’re working with a veteran’s group to get together his papers in an attempt to get him into a vets home in Greenville but the paperwork is slow and daunting when dealing with the government.
He suffers from a bad foot infection that has sent him to the hospital twice (in addition to the time he had a heat stroke in the summer and went in). He won’t finish taking his medication because it upsets his stomach really bad and he has no where to “run” to the bathroom when he gets an upset stomach. So we have a Catch 22 there.
Now this brings us to the point of my request for prayer. I talked with Wayne last Wednesday morning on my way into work but then I didn’t see him anymore for the rest of the week. I checked both hospitals and the jail but he wasn’t there. We planned to stop by the Inman police station today and see if they knew anything but when we went out this morning we saw him back on the sidewalk where he stands and panhandles. Excited I stopped to talk with him. Then crushed I found out he had been “evicted” from his alley. If anyone wants to see his “home” then go to my photo album on Facebook titled “Homeless Ministry” and scroll down to the last two pictures. This is a before and after of his alley home.
After finding out he couldn’t stay there anymore we called the realtor trying to sell the building he stays behind to ask if they knew why. The realtor didn’t know anything but appreciated what we were doing for him and said he would talk to the owner for us. Then we went to the police station to find out any details from them and to ask what to do. Basically he’s a nuisance to people because he’s dirty and stands around hoping for a handout from people. The police confirmed that he couldn’t go back to the tent and they told us we could pick up the tent and the supplies. The problem is – now he has nowhere to go. He needs prayer and he needs help.
I don’t know what else to do for him. In scriptures (Zechariah 7:9,10) we get a glimpse of the heart of God. The thread in scripture is clear throughout the OT/NT about the heart of God for the poor and the oppressed. My heart is broken for Wayne and I can’t do anything right now but pray. If that’s all you can do as well then will you please pray with me? If you know of any resources or solutions then please message me.
- Michael
