Open Arms

Idyllwild

Prayer & Financial Support

A huge thank you to David Sandlin for ice and water, baby wipes, and canned food. Also, for people who donated to our open arms funds. This allowed us to buy pizza and Coca-Cola, as there were no lunches available.

Scott, Mark Dean, Tyler, and I drove to Banning yesterday.

We ordered five pizzas, and Little Caesars gave us one for free. While waiting for the pizzas, I noticed a homeless man going through the trash can outside. I went out and talked with him. His name was Leo. I asked him if he knew Jesus, and he said: “he’s my only hope.” He showed me his cross around his neck. Two other homeless men joined him, and I told them we had pizza coming and ice-cold Cokes. I shared a little bit about my faith and encouraged them. We talked about Jesus being inside us and his instruction for us to be “the light of the world.” Leo said he could see God in us. An encouraging way to start a day that ended discouragingly.

We found more homeless people behind the Big Five store. Scott, Mark, and Tyler began handing out Cokes and pizza, and I spoke with a man named Justin. I noticed his hand was severely injured and asked how he did it. He says he did it while using a torch? I decided to go buy some medical supplies for him while the other guys went to the Sunset Street wash to meet with Tony and her nine Chihuahuas.

We met two more men named Michael and Nix, who were dropped off at a bus stop by sheriff deputies as they had just gotten out of jail. Spent some time and shared with them as well.

We had been looking for Chops, and he called me, so we picked him up and took him in for a chest X-ray per the doctor’s orders. Things went downhill when I had to walk back to the doctor’s office to get the order request, and things really didn’t go well. Chops slept in the waiting room and then, after two hours of waiting, became angry and went outside. Long story short, we did not get his chest X-ray and blood work, which was discouraging to me. The Lord has put it in my heart to help him get medical care. He is bipolar and has hepatitis C.

Scott, Mark, and Tyler encouraged me and blessed me. We are thankful for these opportunities to serve. There is both joy and sadness when working with people on the streets.

We thank all of you for your involvement in this ministry.