For those of you who've been following, you know I've made friends with a fellow named Booker.
Booker was recently able to get out of the streets and into a rented place with a little bit of my help. Last I met him, Jacob and I prayed for his job situation and reached out to those who read the entry to pray for him and his job situation.
Good news! Booker got an offer to work as a security guard through a good friend of his! Wow God sure does provide.
The bad news? Booker needs to come up with $80 bucks to pay for his uniform, guard license card, and cover his training expenses.
Booker's got my phone number so we've been conversing over the phone here and there over the past few days. He's been reaching out to me for help landing enough money to secure a job.
To be honest, I've felt a little bit used and taken-advantage of by Booker. I feel like he sort of just uses me for the charity I show him.
Today I was able to meet up with him for about half an hour. With $20 ($10 from me and $10 from my roommate Eric!) in hand to help him get to his goal, I spent time conversing with him and getting to know him more. We talked a lot about his past and I learned a great deal about his history.
Interesting fact: Booker had been writing a book called "My Crazy Life" that chronicled all of the things he had seen and been through while on the streets. Unfortunately, the briefcase containing his manuscript was stolen.
Anyway, the more I talked with Booker today, the more I felt I could trust him and the information that he was close to a job. We talked a good deal about various things, including my stresses over my coming math midterm. He said he'd pray for me tonight, but I asked him to pray for me right then and there because I really needed it. And he did - it was nice :]
Afterwards, I prayed for him and his job situation.
I think I saw tears in his eyes today, though I couldn't really tell because he kinda looked away. I hope he feels the love of Jesus through me. I wish he would praise God though, not me. It seems that he doesn't interpret my charity as the Lord's provision for him.
Soon after more small talk, we parted ways, agreeing to keep in touch.
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PRAYER REQUEST!
Please pray for Booker the following things:
1) That he will be able to get the job as a security guard (and come up with the necessary funds to secure it)
2) That the Lord will provide for him all his basic needs
3) That he will come to know the Lord better and live in Christ! (I gave him a Bible so pray he'll read it and that it will be life-giving to him)
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Thoughts after today:
Loving is not the same thing as donating money. Sometimes, truly loving someone means you don't give them money. I think it largely depends on their need, their situation, and what they're going to use it for. While I think you should give simply out of love and good will, I think it's really important to get to know them and know what things they may REALLY need.
For Booker, I think that real need is for a friend who will pray for him, love him, be trustworthy, and lead him continually to the Lord. Though Booker fears the Lord, I wonder how deep his relationship with Jesus really is. I hope to find out more about Booker in the times to come and I pray that he will come to truly live in Christ.
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