My King has given me a compassion for the homeless people. I always try to make sure that they have water in the park in the summer time. Lots of times, I’ll bring a case of cold water and set it on a table for them to drink. There is one special homeless guy, whose name is Tony, that I want to talk to you about. I first met Tony two years ago. We were at a park where I was witnessing to a gang. That gang beat me up bad. It was so bad that blood was coming out of my mouth. While the rest of the homeless people stayed away, he came up and tried to comfort me. I was laying on the ground and I could not get up. Tony tried to lift my head and support it with his hand. He grabbed one of the bottles of water that I brought with his other hand. He asked me to take a drink of some water so I would feel better. The minute I started drinking the water, the blood stopped coming out of my mouth. Suddenly, it all changed. It then became water flowing out of my mouth when my King started healing me. Tony was totally amazed at what he saw and when I got up like nothing happened. Tony knew that I was a witness to the gangs. He said, “I want to know the God that you know.” I prayed for Tony as he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Tony’s street life came early in his life. His dad was an alcoholic and Tony became an alcoholic at an early age because he role modeled his dad. When he was in high school, all he wanted to do is party and get drunk. He would never do any work or get a job. His parents kicked him out on the street because he refused to work and was very disrespectful to them. After five years on the street, Tony became sober because he was too poor to buy liquor. We continue to see each other most every weekend.
Tony loves subway sandwiches. When I am in the area, I try to bring him one with something to drink. I would pray for him asking God to use him for his Kingdom. When the Covid shut down the churches, my King said, “Sonny, I want you to take church to the park. People have to be told about me.” At every Sunday service, he was usually there with the other homeless people. As I was sharing incredible things Jesus Christ does for us, Tony would confirm what I said to everyone, “God is real.” We have become good friends but he was still homeless. This was about to change.
Just last Saturday, Tony came up to me and said, “I really like your haircut. I would like one for myself.” Tony’s hair, if you could have seen it, was long and all matted and messed up and he had a long beard. I said, “I know where we can go to get you a haircut.” Tony did smell bad. It did not matter to me or my King who deodorizes my pickup. But I did have a clean shirt and deodorant to clean up for the barber. After changing his shirt, we headed off to my barber that gives me my haircut. When we got there, the owner who loves Jesus, asked, “Sonny, why are you here? Your hair still looks great.”
I said, ” I am here for my friend. I want to give my friend here a haircut like mine.”
The owner said, “Anybody who is friend to you is a friend of mine.” He’s motioned for Tony to sit down on the empty chair by the sink. He started washing his hair and began the process of getting Tony all cleaned up. It felt so good that Tony fell asleep in the chair. After he finished blow drying his long hair asked, “Are you sure you want me to cut this much hair off?”
Tony said, “Yes, I want my hair to look just like Sonny’s.” So he begin cutting all the excess hair off to make it look like my haircut. Next, he gave him a shave to finish cleaning him up. The owner handed Tony a mirror to get a close look of himself. Tony couldn’t believe what he saw. I haven’t seen myself in 10 years. That’s how long that Tony has been on the street. I asked the owner how much was going to cost but the owner said, “Anybody that comes in with you Sonny, there is no charge. You’re out there on the street witnessing to the gangs and bringing them to Jesus Christ. This is my way of saying how much I appreciate what you’re doing.” I appreciated that but was not expecting what happened next, the owner turns his head towards Tony and asked, “Tony do you wanted a job.” The Holy Spirit must have convinced the owner to give Tony a chance with a job.
Tony said, “Yes, it would be great to have work.”
The owner said, “I will pay you $695 a month to clean up the shop and the bathrooms. I also expect you to clean up around the shop’s yard and parking lot. You can have this job as long as you need it; but if you don’t show up, I will have to let you go.” Tony agreed to those conditions but the owner had more to offer Tony. He then said, “I have a place where you can stay. I’ll only charge you $100 a month. You need to be taking good care of the home and the yard around it as a condition for staying there ” We went about eight blocks away where are the small building next to the owners home we went inside and it was beautiful. The home had a washing machine, dryer, bed and everything that Tony would need.
I decided that Tony was ready for the next step. I took him to Walmart to get new clothes. He is now ready to face the world. I noticed that something was still bothering him. He looked at me and asked, “I wonder if it is a good idea to try to call my parents?”
I said, “You should call them.” I handed my phone to him and he called them. His Dad answered the phone. His Dad started to cry when he said who he was. His Mom came over to find out what was going on. She to started to cry also. Tony’s mother kept the landline just for Tony because that was the only phone number he knew. Tony then said, “Dad I have totally given my life to Jesus Christ. I would love to come home but I will only do so if you give up drinking.”
The Dad said, “Son, I gave up drinking soon after you left home. It tore my heart up the day I realized you may be gone forever.”
Tony said, “Let’s serve God’s Kingdom together as one.” His Dad thought that was a great idea. I then drove Tony back to his home. There was a big moment of hugging and crying as their family became united again. I prayed for everybody in their family that God would bless them. My King gets the Glory and the Victory. I just get to witness his greatness.