Leon and Stan

Last night I needed to get out of the apartment and clear my head. A lot has happened over the last couple weeks that I know could start feeding my doubts, so I knew I had to go and spend some time listening to the Lord.

Normally I would've stopped at my car and grabbed some cash in case I would run into someone that needed some food, but I decided I probably wouldn't need it because of the intentions I had for the evening.

I went down to the dock again and spent some time talking to friends, asking the Lord for open doors, and hanging out with a few friends that stopped by to talk for a little while. After a short rain storm everyone went their separate ways, and I decided I would walk back through the craziness of the downtown Charleston night life to get back home.

I had decided I would walk passed the spot where I met Jimmy to see if I could find him there and spend some time talking to him. Jimmy wasn't on the bench, but a man named Leon stood up and put his hand out to me as I walked by, asking me if I could help him. I immediately told him I didn't have any cash on me, but that I would love to help him in any other way. We started talking both standing up, then Leon sat down and kept talking for a little while. Eventually I felt comfortable sitting down on the bench next to him, and listened for a long time without having very much to say.

The spot where this bench is located is next to one of the most popular post-drinking food spots in the city, so there is a continual flow of traffic that made it hard for Leon to fully concentrate on anything we were talking about. He stopped our conversation every time someone new came in order to ask them if they could spare him some change or give him a cigarette.

He had asked me multiple times as we were talking if I would go buy him a beer or a cigarette. I continued to tell him that I didn't have any money and that I wouldn't want to buy him those things even if I did. As he was telling me his desire to go buy some beer, a young guy that looked like Dawson from Dawson's Creek starts grilling him about the poor decisions that he's been making in life. He told Leon that he was just trying to help him out, but continued to yell at him telling him that he could use the money he gets to buy something that can help him instead of continually buying those things that just hurt him more and more. Everything the guy said was very true, but he failed to talk to Leon in a loving way. Leon was getting very frustrated, and I slowly realized why some of these men are so thankful just to talk to someone who will just sit and listen.

After a little while God showed me why I didn't have any money on me last night. A college student had just bought some food and walked out of the little restaurant. Leon said, "Excuse me, excuse me young sir, do you have a dollar you could spare, I need uh... uh... uh... a water." The guy took a dollar out of his pocket and gave it to Leon. At that point Leon said, "I'm just going to get a water, you can wait and see, I'll just go in right now and get it." The guy replied, "Don't worry about it" and walked away. Leon turned to me and grinned, understanding that I had just witnessed him fake a guy out into giving him a dollar to go buy a beer.

Before all this had happened Leon had mentioned God, Heaven, sins, Hell, and talked about the bigger sins he had committed previously in life, including shooting people, being in charge of a drug run, and setting up a robbery at the store he worked at when he was younger. After he grinned at me, I wanted to take advantage of what I had just seen him do to talk to him more about his actions and how they affect his relationship with God. I said, "Leon, you said a lot of stuff earlier about God and your desire to go to Heaven. Do you think that God would've wanted you to lie to that guy in order to buy something that you must know isn't something God would desire you to be drinking right now?" He got very upset and pretty much told me that he wanted me to be there to listen to him, and if I was going to tell him how to live his life that he didn't want to talk to me.

I decided the rest of the evening would be listening. If that's what he needs, then that's what I can offer right now. As I listened I was very happy to hear that most of the restaurants in the area will bring out sandwiches or food of some sort at the end of the workday and give it to the guys on the street. He said, "Everyone knows Leon. They take care of Leon." I quickly realized that it wasn't food they needed or a place to sleep, but the love that comes from the Lord and a friend to talk to. I knew I could offer him both of those things by just sitting on that bench and listening, which I did for at least two hours.

As I was talking to Leon, his friend Stan came over on his bicycle and started talking to us. They asked me where I lived and I told them on the corner of Spring and Coming. There are a group of homeless men that hang out a couple blocks away from my apartment, and I learned last night that Leon and Stan are two of those men. As we talked they began to vocalize their appreciation for my time. They told me that I lived on "their block". I inquired a little into what they meant, and they proceeded to tell me that I was their brother and that we were family. Then they told me that family looks out for each other. As they continued to talk about their "family" and my place in it, I began to see that they pretty much thought of themselves as a gang.

They were scared. It was as clear to me as anything has ever been that although they were acting so tough, they were very very scared. They told me that they still pack heat just in case anyone starts trouble on the block. They told me they had my back if anyone tried to mess with me. I realized that they don't have any peace at all. They don't know the Lord, and because of it, they think that all they have is themselves.

I continued to listen to what they had to say. I was really surprised at what I had learned through my conversation with them, and definitely felt like the Lord was preparing me to meet a lot more people in the same position as these men.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Pray for Leon and Stan and their hearts. We learned that their physical needs are being met, but that they are in great need of love.

Please also pray for me as I try to understand them as they are talking. There is a very different dialect down here called Gullah. It originated in the rice fields during the era of slaves and plantations so that the slaves could communicate with each other without anyone else being able to understand them. The men I have been talking to clearly have the Gullah tradition and dialect as part of their background. Just like we struggle to understand someone speaking English with an accent from a different country, it is very difficult to understand these men sometimes when they were raised speaking Gullah.

Today is also the first day of a very uncomfortable unknown future for me in South Carolina. I pretty much told a friend I'd be sleeping on his boat tonight, but I don't know what I'll be doing in the days to come. If you want to send some thanks, he's a great guy- Neil Lamm!

Love you all!