2037
AMERICAS HILLIEST CITY [ or-
don’t die in this mountain]
The chapter for the week is
Exodus 32.
But first;
As I wrap up this tour of North
Bergen [3 months- will try and do this every year].
I feel like my documenting the
way I met some of the street guys-and the interaction [how over time you build
trust] was part of what I was supposed to do.
To give an example [another- I
have done this a few times already- started blogging about a new area- meeting
new street guys- and what developed as ministry] of how we- as believers- can-
are commissioned- to go out ‘into the highways and hedges and compel them to
come in’.
Ok- that last part ‘come in’.
These are the words of Jesus- and
he is saying we need to tell them the gospel- make it clear that this is about
the kingdom of God [‘this’ being why I’m around- interacting].
So- the last few days I have
indeed stepped up the ‘witnessing’ part of this project.
And yes- the guys have done some
soul searching during my time with them.
But- there have been some funny
incidents as well.
Yesterday I did my park walk- and
on the way back I usually sit on a bus bench right off Bergenline ave.
Its just cool to sit- see the old
town- and this time to see some of my buddies doing their daily routine.
So- I see [I will keep this name
anonymous for this story] ‘so and so’ across the street.
I usually go and hang with him
for a while.
But my dad was at the house- he
heard I was wrapping up this visit- and he wanted to come by and see me.
He lives in Nutley- I’m staying
in North Bergen.
So- I figure I’ll just go home
and see dad- and talk to my buddy later.
But he sees me and waves for me
to come over.
What the heck- sure.
He asks- with anxiety in his
voice ‘did you see so and so’ [I better keep this name anonymous too].
I say ‘no’.
‘Did you talk to him on the phone
earlier’?
No.
‘O that son of a .. lied to me
again- this is the 13th time he’s burned me- I’m done dealing with
him’.
Now- this is not the first time I
heard this saga from this friend- and it’s sad that this keeps happening.
But- the ‘funny’ part was- this
was the first time I was the decoy.
Huh?
Yeah- I told my friend ‘well-
maybe I missed the call’- though I knew more than likely the other friend was
faking it [the guy who said he talked to me].
But I did say ‘maybe he did call-
and I missed the call’.
NO!!
‘He was with me at White Castle
[my friend tells me] and he was pretending he was on the phone with you- and
you were going to lend him 20 dollars- so I gave him th…’
Now- let’s be clear- I don’t buy-
use- or have used at all this year.
I am clean- for good.
But- it was funny to see that my
name was considered a ‘trusted source’ to use as a decoy.
Get it?
Okay- This past week a few of the
other guys have had some serious talks with me- about making a change- quitting
the stuff their doing- and have talked about anger issues.
One of the guys- who has asked me
about the Jehovah Witnesses- finally told me he hates his dad- when he was
young his dad converted from Catholic to Jehovah Witness.
He went into about an hour [or
more] discussion about all the resentments- not celebrating Christmas- or being
the only kid in class not doing the Pledge of Allegiance.
He talked about how his dad was
an abusive drunk while he was growing up- beat the hell out of him.
Yeah- he told me he was glad to finally
get this off his chest- years of resentment.
Now- this friend tares up the
literature in their faces when they give it to him.
He sees them all the time- this
area of the country is close to the main headquarters in NYC.
So- I explained the main difference
between Historic Christianity and the JW’s.
I told him I do try and avoid the
use of the term Cult [though I do realize why this label is on them].
And yeah- we talked about the
bible- and had a long conversation about Christ and salvation.
Now- this talk was natural- friends
among friends.
But yet- all the years of the well-meaning
Christian groups who simply pass out literature- he simply does not hear or
have time.
So- you build trust over time-
and you gain influence.
This same thing happened with one
of the other guys the next day- a long discussion about life-and how God fits into
the picture.
So- it took time- made some
friends- and in the process have had some influence on them- and they really do
not ‘tempt me’.
Huh?
Over all the years of doing this
[25] I have never used with any of the guys.
I simply have no urge- or desire
to drink or use drugs when I’m in these situations.
Now- does that mean I am immune
to this stuff?
No-
But I do realize that this style of ministry
does indeed violate many of the classic standards of AA and other groups.
But this is not AA- this is a
mandate- requirement- from Jesus himself- to
‘Go out into all the world- and
preach the gospel to every creature’.
So- that’s what I feel I need to
do.
Okay- Exodus chapter 32.
Moses goes up to the mountain to
get the 10 commandments.
As he is gone- the people in the
camp get inpatient.
‘Where is Moses’?
So- they go to his brother Arron
and he says ‘give me your gold jewelry
and we will make a golden calf’.
So they make this idol- and have
a big orgy [yes- that’s the deal].
On his way down from the
mountain- with the 2 plates of the 10 commandments in his hand- he hears a
noise in the camp.
It is the noise of this big
party.
He sees how quickly they turned
from God- and in anger he takes the commandments- breaks them.
Melts the calf- puts it in water
and makes them drink it.
He executes judgment on the
people.
But- before this- God had told
Moses ‘I will destroy them and make you into this great nation’.
And Moses made a plea for the
people ‘no- don’t kill them- they are your people- remember the promise you
made to them. Plus- if you kill them the the Egyptians will say ‘see- he
brought them into this hill country to destroy them’.
God listens to Moses prayer- and
spares the people.
The other day I was reading the
book of Psalms and I came across a passage- I think it’s in Psalms 72.
It says ‘Ephraim- being fully
armed- turned back in the day of battle’.
It’s talking about one of the
tribes of the nation of Israel- when they ran from the battle- even though they
did indeed have the equipment to finish the job.
Yesterday I spent the day helping
some of the guys.
Rick has a storage unit in Union
City- and he sells garments- perfumes- lots of stuff- legal stuff- to other
retail shops.
As I have gotten to know Rick- I
see he is a good man- who- like many of my other friends thru the years- has
tried to fulfill some type of hope/dream- as they struggle with addiction.
Things did not go well.
Now- I have had people tell me
‘John- you need to be careful with these types of guys’.
To be honest- I have been doing
this a long time- and yes- part of the ability to gain trust with these guys
[these guys- in general- Texas- N.J.- etc.]
Is when things ‘go bad’- or you
get into it- a little- then they see that the next day [or that day] that I
don’t ‘run in the day of battle’- then yeah- that opens a door to be in the
group.
So- we went to this retail shop-
a sort of little used sales store in the heart of the Cuban area of Union city
[right around the corner where I used to hang out with one of my best friends
as a kid- A Cuban buddy].
Now- I’m also careful that the
stuff the guy’s sell- is legal [at least when they are in the car with me].
And yeah- Rick just had all sorts
of perfumes and vitamins and stuff in his bag.
How do I know?
He passed out [he had a beer in a
bag by his seat].
He snuck it in the car.
I told him I can’t have an open
beer in the car- I have too many past arrests- DWI things- and that’s a no no.
So- he downed the beer- and in a
few minutes passed out.
And yeah- I checked his bag- just
legal stuff.
I had his wife Stacey in the car-
nice girl- just met her this day.
She grew up in the same area
where I live- and after I mentioned a few names- we realized we did know some
of the same people as kids.
So- Rick passed out- the deal was
off- and I drove them both back to town.
I dropped Stacey off- and I
dropped Rick off at White Castle- where I picked him up earlier.
Billy was outside- he saw me pull
up with Rick- passed out.
I finally woke him up- and he
made it into the place.
I figured something else was up-
and sure enough it was.
Billy told me some of the guys do
pills when they drink- and that’s probably the story.
Okay- This isn’t the first time
this has happened- over many years.
And I do have a rule- I will help
with a ride- but the guys can’t be carrying anything [drugs- booze- etc.]
And I of course won’t help with
any type of illegal deal- if they do that- there on their own.
In all honesty- I do believe the deal
was legal- because I have seen Rick carrying these types of things in his bag-
perfumes- vitamins- etc.
And to him- this is a way he
feels like he has a little business.
I’m familiar with this- many of
my homeless buddies in Texas do the same exact thing.
I used to tell them ‘geez- your homeless-
and yet you’re paying rent on 2- or 3 storage units- that doesn’t make sense’.
But after a while- I realized they
see this- maybe unrealistically- as a ‘business’- and that makes them feel like
they are accomplishing something.
So I stopped saying ‘you’re
wasting your time- and money- with these storage units’.
So-because of past experience- I
really didn’t doubt Rick’s story- the storage units and all.
And yes indeed- it was true.
But the substance abuse- yeah-
that interferes with any hope of making a better life- and Rick- and his sweet
wife- who drove back with us- saw that.
She was slapping him in the face-
pretty hard- ‘wake the fu.. up’.
He was passed out- I told her
don’t worry- this is not new to me.
Okay- I share this part of the
story to let you see the real stuff.
Yeah- I know this stuff [and
other worse stuff] can- and does happen.
Now- being ‘fully armed’ turned
back- in the day of battle.
Moses convinced God not to wipe
out the people- and part of the argument was ‘the Egyptians will say- ‘see- God
took them out of Egypt- and brought them to the mountains- and there they
died’.
Right now- and for the last 3 months-
I have been living- praying- doing outreach- in Americas ‘Hilliest City’.
Yeah- North Bergen- N.J. - is the
hilliest city in the U.S.
Some say ‘what about San Fran’?
Nope- North Bergen.
The reason is the entire city is
built on this hill/ridge that the area is known for.
One of the Psalms I like is Psalms
72- it also says at the time of fulfilment [of promises] that the Lords house
will be on the ‘top of the mountains’.
These are all images- I don’t
take them as actual prophecies about North Bergen.
But I apply them- in a spiritual
way- to my time here.
Over the past 30 years I have
prayed for this area- every week.
‘No- You must be making that up’.
Nope.
One of the pics I posted last night
might look strange.
It’s a ‘hole in the yard’.
I killed the grass in the spot I
pray in every morning.
The walking in that spot for 3 months
has killed the grass.
So yeah- I do pray- and for this
area.
So- in a way- in the middle of
many of my own battles in life- transition- making major life changes.
I see my journey like the tribe
of Ephraim ‘fully armed- don’t turn back’.
In a small way- I have made some inroads-
had some experiences- good- and bad.
But over the past 3 months there
were times when I wanted to pack up and take off- but I felt I needed to stay
longer.
Now- I see it was for these 3 months.
I in a way I am asking God to
‘spare these guys- do something- don’t let them die in this mountain- this hilliest
city in the country’.
Rick- whose story I will tell in
a future post- grew up here.
His mom was from Peru- his dad
was an Italian business man from Brooklyn.
They met here in New York City
and married many years ago.
So Rick- whose last name is very
Italian- looks Mexican/Hispanic.
He often gets confused with the
many south/central American illegal immigrants who now populate this region.
So- I see how this in itself adds
to the frustration of living in addiction- in your hometown- and feeling like
there’s no way out.
But these last few days I have
had some good talks with the guys- they know about the AA- NA meetings in the
area.
And I have planted some seeds-
that maybe in Gods time will bear fruit.
Some times in life you have no
control over all the other things around you.
But- if you’re at a place- like
the tribe of Ephraim- and you have the opportunity to shoot the bow- being
fully armed.
For heaven’s sake- shoot the
thing.
Give it your best shot- because
if you don’t go for it now- and yor turn back in the day of battle.
You will regret it in the end.
‘NO MAN- HAVING PUT HIS HAND TO
THE PLOW- AND TURNING BACK- IS FIT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD’- Jesus Christ.
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 [FaceBoook]
- I have posted lots.
No comments:
Post a Comment