Day Five of "31 Days of Love": Providing Food, Company, and Conversation to a Homeless Man

I can't believe it's already day five.

Today, I decided to make it out to the same spot I had met Booker at the other day. I was hoping to become his friend and brother in Christ, rather than just a one time charitable Christian.

When I got there, Booker wasn't around, but a different homeless man was.

I walked towards him and gave him a nod when he looked in my direction. He asked me for some spare change, and I asked if he was hungry. He said he was, so I asked him what he wanted to eat. He pointed at the Yoshinoya behind us and we went in.

We exchanged names. His name was Sydney Moore.

I've heard of some underprivileged people "taking advantage" of nice people by buying a LOT of groceries/food/etc. Sydney ordered one Beef Bowl. I thought he felt bad about me buying him food, so I encouraged him to get something else too.

He got a cheesecake and then I got a Beef Bowl of my own.

I think at this point he said thanks at least 2-3 times. He was a very kind and grateful man and we have some good conversation over our meal. It was his first meal of the day :(

I prayed over our meal and we got right into it.

He told me he'd been on the streets for about 8 years now, shortly after his wife left him after inheriting a large sum of money. He's been in and out of shelters and has been with and without work over the years.

He's a skilled mechanic but his wife sold away all his tools (they were worth thousands of dollars), so it's been difficult for him to find work. I found out he's also a diabetic, and has been so for 10 years. He said he feels a lot of pain in his legs from his disease, which causes him to walk slowly and painfully.

We talked about some other stuff. He then took interest in me, asking me what I studied and such. After some more small talk and general conversation, I asked if he knew Jesus.

This got us talking about his spiritual life. He said he'd grown up going to church with his mother, but fell away in his teen years. He said he came back to the Lord when his wife left him, because the Lord was the only person to talk to.

He said he prayed morning and night for his kids (he's got six of em with two wives), for his health, for his wellbeing, and some other things.

I was very moved and encouraged by Sydney. He told me about how he stays away from the bad things on the streets, walks by faith and not by sight (Amen!), and stays positive. His righteousness really stuck out to me and when I prayed for him, I made sure to make mention of that to the Lord.

When I asked him how he stays so positive after being homeless for 8 years, he simply said "Because I believe in God. He's taking care of me."

I believe when the Lord provides for Sydney's immediate needs, he can be a very good witness to those around him. He's very wise, righteous, kind-hearted, and has a lot of faith in God.

I ended up giving him a small Bible I had, which was good for him since he's moving around a lot. I wrote my name and number in it and told him to let me know whenever he was hungry, needed a friend/company, for prayer, or anything else.

We talked for quite some time and I think I was blessed as much as I blessed him. He was very talkative so I think he enjoyed my company.

He thanked me many times, promised me he would read the Bible, and that he would give me a call often.


















I promised Sydney I would tell my friends to pray for him, so please pray for Sydney!

Pray that God will give him work (he really wants to be able to stand on his own feet and make money in an honest and good way), for his health, and obviously for a place to call home. And if you happen to see Sydney by any chance, help him out! Get him a meal, pray for him, and give him your time and company!