Bill

Friday I changed my plans. I had not officially been scheduled to work at the Mission. I woke up with the sense that I needed to just walk the street, allowing myself to be guided. I wanted to go to the Mission to say my goodbyes. By the time I got there, I had already had at least 6 encounters. Everyone at the Mission, as usual, was gracious and had kind words. At the desk I asked two questions, “How do you get to Staten Island Ferry, and how do you get to where the battleships are?” It was the beginning of Fleet week. Both places were what seemed to be at opposite ends of the city. They were in opposite directions. I was closest to Staten Island Ferry so I went there first. I had one encounter on the way. Both times that I have been to NY, I have not done too much touristy stuff. I am not called there to do that. It kind of felt good not to be on an agenda or someone else’s clock. After I did the ferry, I made my way to 42nd street via the subway. The subway follows 8th Avenue. I got off at 34th street instead of 42nd street, because the train I was on was going to 50th street. I had begun to get hungry. You know when you get so hungry you don’t know what you want? That’s how I felt. I wasn’t sure what I wanted, so I just kept walking. I saw a couple places that I might like to try. One of those places was White Castle. I had never been. I had heard about it on t.v.. I kept that in mind as a possibility. Despite my hunger, I would on to where the battleships were. The only ship I saw was the Intrepid, which is in dry dock. (It is quite a massive ship.) I had a few encounters on the way. (I know this is long, but hang in there. There is a reason.) My feet were getting tired, my stomach was in need of food, but God was pushing me on. I came across 45th street to get back to 8th Avenue. I was again looking for a place. I was interested in the Shake Shack, but it was too busy. It was so busy there was no place to sit. Again White Castle came to mind. Then I couldn’t remember exactly where I saw it. “Was it between 34th & 42nd?, or was it after?” I continued to walk toward 34th. By this time I was so tired and weary, but in that stretch I had encounter after encounter. It was like 5 or 6 in a row. Bam, Bam, Bam! Finally I saw WHITE CASTLE. There was hardly anyone there. I just wanted to rest my feet and eat. I ordered, and then chose my seat. I took the seat all the way on the end, closest the door so I could look out the window. When I opened the two burgers I had ordered, I wanted to shout, “Where’s the beef!” I ate one of the teeny tiny burgers, checked the other burger before taking a bite. I discovered that it had onions on it. I hate onions! So I picked them off. I made a total mess of my hands, got up to get a napkin, sat back down, two bites the burger is gone. I wiped my hands again, and suddenly standing before is a man in a hooded sweatshirt. He said, “Excuse me Ma’am, but can you spare a quarter?” At that point my Knee-jerk reaction is to invite him to sit down, and share my fries with him. I introduced myself and asked what his name was. He said, “Bill.” I asked him how long it had been since he ate. “I don’t know. I think it’s been three days.” I asked if he would like some burgers, fries and a coke.” He said, “Yes.” I came back to the table with his food. We talked. I began with the questions I had asked all the others. He’s been homeless 3 years, because his friend had talked him into coming here. His friend had said there was plenty of work. I asked him about faith. He said he was Catholic, and his faith was in God. “I pray every day that things will change. I pray for Him to show me where to go to get help. I’m stuck.” He ate every bit of the food that was in front of him. As we continued to talk tears flooded his eyes. “I just don’t know what to do. I pray and nothing happens. People don’t care.” I reminded him that I was sitting in front of him. He smiled a bit. His face showed desperation, as if he would do anything to get out of the situation he was in. I encouraged him to keep trusting in God, and not to give up. I gave him a D&D card and a card with directions to the Mission. I told him he could get a hot meal every night. “I have no way to get there.” I gave him $3 for the subway. It was enough to get him there. He thanked me over and over, took my hand and kissed it. His tears were still flowing. I encouraged him to hang in there. Don’t give up. Keep the faith. God hears and is working, even when it seems like He isn’t. I got up and told him I needed to go. He thanked me again. We shook hands and I left. I was shaking my head all the way back to the subway. Wow! It was that perfect timing God is so good at. Amazing!