Thursday, October 04, 2012


1921 CRAIG

I posted some pictures the other day- of Craig- a homeless guy I ran into while going to Wal Mart.

As soon as I saw Craig I knew he was homeless.


He was sitting by the side of Wal Mart- with a couple of well kept carrying bags- and he was organized- as much as someone can be while homeless.


So before going into the store I walked over to him and became friends.

I talked to Craig for about 30 minutes before going into the store.

I told him when I get out of the store I will take him to breakfast- my treat of course.


Craig turned the breakfast down- but he asked instead if I could by him a can of BeefAroni.

So I picked him up 3 cans- no big deal.

When I got out of the store we took a ride to the park and hung out by the lake for a while.

Of course I told Craig that this is ministry stuff to me- I didn’t ‘preach’ to him- but I told him ‘my story’ as he told me his.


He knew that I was reaching out to the street guys because I believe Christ called us as believers to do so.


I later took him about 30 miles south/west.

I asked him if he needed a ride somewhere- being I had the day and van.

He told me he was heading to Lyndhurst the next day- but if I wanted I could start him going that way.

He just needed for me to take him to a small town around here called Secaucus.


We took the ride- and I parked in a store parking area.

Craig has these walking routes all down pat.

I told him that I would walk with him some before heading out.


As we started the trek, when we got to the end of the parking lot- he put his bags down [they looked to be well over 50 pounds].

And he back tracked about 50 feet- picking something up.

At first I thought he saw some change- the street guys are good at spotting change on the ground.

But as he got back- he had about 10 cigarette butts- he rolled the little tobacco that was left into a small cigarette- it looked perfect- and the task was finished in a few minutes.


Its stuff like this that will let you know that the person is a ‘true’ street guy [plus turning down the fast food offer- and opting for food that you can take with you].

We walked a good few miles- crossed over a bridge and I told Craig I would start heading back to the van.


Craig looked at me- we shook hands- and he  said ‘peace’.


I could tell he was grateful- for real.


Sure- I gave him 5 bucks for the journey- we spent some time hanging out- but he was grateful to have someone to give him a hand.


I could tell from the start that he was not a beggar.


He was not looking for a ride [his plans were to walk the whole trip- till he got to the major highway- where I dropped him off].

No- he was just a nice brother- a new friend- you know- like you used to make friends as kids.

You saw some kid on the block- never met him before- and within minutes your playing some street ball or something.


I gave Craig the blog site card/paper.

He doesn’t know how to get on line- but I told him if he wound up at a friend’s house who has a computer- he can look us up- and see his picture and story on the site.



Craig was the first ‘real’ homeless guy I have met since being here.

I can tell from my excursions that this area is not suitable for homeless guys- they know that and that’s why they don’t come here.


I talked to Craig for about 3-4 hours in total.


I always try and find out their stories- and I tell them that I share their stories on the site.

Craig is 49 years old- my age less a year.


He was originally from Modesto Cali.

He has been in Jersey for many years- usually lives in Atlantic City.

That’s the spot where many of the homeless go- Craig gave me the scoop.


Craig has had various jobs over the years- some good ones.


But as I first talked to him- it’s obvious he has some real mental problems [yet very smart!]

It takes about 3 hours for Craig to communicate 2 hours of stuff you can understand.

I’m sure most people would get scared the first few minutes- seeing he has some type of problem- and he rarely makes it to the 3 hour ‘made a new friend’ point.


Yeah- Craig is a new friend I made on the trip.

He did indeed hear the gospel- as a friend- and to be honest- I had a good time hanging out with Craig.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.







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