Go Kings!

So,
My Monday started with me sitting at the hospital with my best friend as he was waiting for his wife to go through cancer surgery.
I got to work around 10:30 and a girl, let's call her M, was waiting to talk to me. Her boyfriend, let's call him R, left her. She slept on the street the night before. They had both had been shooting heroin for a few days, and they started fighting. So I tried to find a shelter that would take a 21 year old pregnant girl hooked on heroin. Before I knew it, Edgar came to get me because a guy, R, was yelling at a girl, M, outside. I went out and found R stalking, like a caged animal. After talking to him I realized what was going on with him. Heroin. Well, to be honest he told me, he said he wanted to get into a program to get clean. I called James from Come To Him Ministries and he agreed to come talk to him. James said he would be there in an hour. For the next hour R and M argued and then they talked, argued, talked, argued and talked.
After an hour James showed up and talked to R. He informed R that no place would take him unless he tested clean. As James talked, I was amazed how compassionate and loving he was. R seemed to understand. R and M packed up everything they had into a couple of backpacks and left with their arms around each other.
1:15 I went to lunch. 1:30 I get a call from the office that they are back yelling at each other. Pastor Rick told R that he would have to leave because he was yelling, screaming actually, at M.
When I got back to the office R was yelling at everyone, M, me, James, Amy and some poor woman who was looking for rental assistance. I asked Amy to take the woman, who looked like she was shell shocked, into the office. R screamed "I can't get any food or a bus pass?" "F- you, F-your god" to M, "F-your god" to me and "F-your god" to James. "He never did anything for me". He picked up his backpack that had everything he owned in his whole life and left.
M started praying and crying. She asked God to help her to get clean. I talked to her for another 1/2 hour. I gave her a bus pass so she could go to a facility in Long Beach. I don't know if she went or what will happen to her and her baby.
I walked into the office to find a woman, let's call her S, sitting in the hallway, in a chair crying. She still looked frightened. She told me her story. She owed the bank $300 because of overdraft fees. They would take it out in installments if she would use direct deposit for her SSI check. She said they charge her $48 a month for fees along with the money she owes. That leaves her $50 short for rent this week. This Friday is her daughters birthday and she was afraid she would have to use any money she received as a birthday present. She knows she needs to be in church but her daughter was sick during spring break so she couldn't come.
A couple of months ago this same woman came to talk to me about needing help. She had the same story, right down to the next Friday being her daughters birthday. I told her we couldn't help her. I walked into my office to find my phone ringing. Oh, by the way my computer has a virus. It hijacked everything. I can't even use it as a nightlight. Back to the phone. R was on the phone to apologize. I told him he had crossed the line and he couldn't come back for a while. He said OK and started to cry then immediately said he didn't care. That he was going to have to steal to eat and if he went back to prison he didn't care. He hung up.
A little while later I looked at the clock and it was 4:30, time to go home. As I was leaving the parking lot R was pacing back and forth in front of the Church looking at every car that was driving by because he had called M's father on the phone and threatened him. Her dad said he would come down there and kick his rear end. R was waiting for him to show up. I told him he had to move on. He said OK and picked up his whole life in that little backpack and walked off.
What's for dinner? Tears.

Don't worry, I'll be OK.
The Kings are up 2-1.

Robert

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