As I was walking to my car after work, I saw a man in the distance behind it who looked like he waved. I got a closer look and realized it was my friend, David. Or, as he likes to say “king David.”
I met David and Z a couple of months ago on the side of the road and we ate some dinner together. I heard their stories, asked questions to figure out why these two people from similar backgrounds ended up with no place to sleep at night. Ever since then, David and I always try to say hello when we see each other.
Tonight though, I was meeting with one of my other friends I’ve met on the street. Carissa. She needed some cold water. So I got some cold water bottles and was planning to meet her at my car. She never showed up so I gave the water to David, who was very thankful for some refreshment from the hot Texas sun.
As David and I were talking, a small Asian girl, not even mid-twenties, came up to me and asked for help. She asked if I had any cash on me because she had a homeless friend in the homeless shelter that she was trying to get a bus ticket for.
This girl was in a very nice dress, a smartphone in hand, and a car next to her. She was clearly not homeless.
She followed up with her statement by saying she’d Venmo me the money, she just needs the cash to help her friend.
I told her I would absolutely help her if I could, but I had no cash on me. I pointed over at an ATM and told her I could go get some from there. She said she already tried the ATM and it didn’t work, but I decided to go over and try anyway.
I go over, withdraw the $40 she needed and then worked to get connected on Venmo so that she could transfer the money back.
As we are figuring out Venmo, I notice we have a mutual friend on Venmo. Neither of us were sure who it was and we couldn’t find the page again to see. On our walk back to our cars, David following me, she asked if I went to church somewhere in the area. I told her that I went to the Austin Stone. “No way,” she said. That’s where I go! We discovered we went to different campuses of the church, but it was still cool to meet someone I have commonality within such a big city.
I assumed this was the end of it and said goodbye to Karen as I left the parking lot. She absent-mindedly waved and looked a little confused.
About 30 minutes later I get a message from Karen via Facebook Messenger. She says “thank you so much!” She says that she was at the end of her rope and wasn’t in a particularly safe situation. She couldn’t believe God brought another Christian to be able to help her and couldn’t thank me enough.
She then started asking about what I was doing near there at the homeless shelter and I explained where my work was and such and that I’m in that parking lot every day. I asked her how she got to know this homeless man she mentioned.
She sends me her number and asks if it would be easier to just call.
For the next hour, Karen and I talked and talked. Her full story and mine. Her story from today: picking up this homeless man from a Mcdonalds in Waco. WHAT A STORY.
I was able to encourage her I hope, and I know she encouraged me. We talked about real spiritual issues and ideas for how to help the homeless. She was audibly shaken up by the experience she just had with this man who she gave a ride to and I was happy to be there.
We ended our conversation with her asking how she could pray for me and I did the same. How cool it is to have a family in Christ.
Who knows if our paths will cross again. We mentioned going out with one of her other friends because she thinks he and I would have a lot of the same passions, but we’ll see what happens.
It was an exciting night to an otherwise medium level day. God is good!