Look Me in the Eyes at Least (Part 2)

"Eyes" by a homeless man from Chicago

Look me in the eyes at least,
When you pass me by on the street,
Whether or not you answer my plea for money:
My eyes are the poorest of me -
Require only your two cents when we meet -
And are more in dire need of these than your feet.
My poor eyes! How they have spent the rent
Trying to buy a pleasant remembrance
To throw up on my mind's screen when I finally tire
Of going ungreeted, unseen.
I tell you what I want - what I feel
When you shuffle by behind your paper
Trying to be discreet, sweating slightly
Under your suit collar and looking down,
Always down, as if I were your sin...
Be absolved of the guilt trip! Look at me!
Made me a mint! Shower me with riches!
Give me a long look, and drown me in it!
Dignity outlasts dollars.

Last night we went on a prayer tour of San Francisco and it was a lot to take in. First, I have to say that San Fran is not a pretty place at all. The archtect is lacking to what I'm compared to in Charlotte, Chicago and even NYC and the parks are scarce to non-existant. Not to say that there are not places in S.F that have a pretty view, but I only really saw one that I was even slightly impressed by, so I was a little shocked because all the pictures I've ever seen make it look so nice. This was something else that surprised me, though we went through "nice" parts of town, even those did not seem all that nice and maybe we stuck more to the lower income parts and I've just yet to see the really nice parts of S.F. But as we were driving along, our guide informed us that part of what we were driving through was once the "red light district" of S.F, which 1) I didn't know anywhere but Amsterdam had those, and 2)it broke my heart to see what was still there as part of it. We drove by one street that had HUGE light up signs, similar to what you might see in Vegas, for strip clubs. It tore my heart apart, if there is anything that breaks me, it is a woman not realizing that she is worth more than the value a man gives her.
We also drove through Chinatown, where I learned that there are actually sweat factories going on within there. The Chinese people there will hire imigrants for cheap labor and long hours. Ironic I think.
We passes a school with a park right beside it and were informed that often the students of the school had to walk 5 blocks for recess because the park beside them was often locked up due to needles being scattered about.
We saw so many people hanging out on the streets because the streets are basically their living rooms. They live in Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing, which is a 10 X 10 room and therefore don't generally want to spend much time there.

Even through all this, God is working. There were several ministries that we passed that had buildings in the roughest neighborhoods. They are serving on the frontlines, unafraid of the dangers around them. They are reaching out and giving people a place to turn instead of to drinking and drugs, they are providing clothing, places to eat, even housing. The darkness can keep the light away.

As you pray for me, here are also some of the things we were asked to pray for on this tour:
-Those seeking comfort in drugs, alcohol, sex and illegal activities
-The families of teen runaways and the teens sleeping on the street tonight
-The safety of the prostitutes who will be working on these streets tonight
-Those seeking to fill their lives with wealth and material things, rather than letting God fill their hearts
-The men who frequent adult theatres - most of them have wives and children at home, and many of them are held captive by sexual addictions - pray that they will be released from this bondage.
-The women who work in these establishments - that they would realize that they are precious in the eyes of their Creator, and that they are worth more than this
-For the ministries working alongside each other in this city.


Well that's all from day one and there is a lot more for me to write, but I'm exhausted and I think this is a lot to take in, so I'll try and write more sometime tomorrow! Love you all and thank you for your prayers!!!!!!!