Summer 2008 @ the Square.. ..From the Living Room..
Dearly Beloved of Our Lord:
We send you greetings of our Lord’s wonderful grace and love and want to share a few more stories from our open-air ministry in Pioneer Courthouse Square, also known as “Portland’s Living Room.” We pray that you are enjoying a very blessed and fruitful summer in the Lord.
It is a great privilege and a challenge to bring the gospel of the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to such a diverse group of people – young children and their parents; professional people working in the offices and courtrooms; college, high school, middle school, and elementary school students; drug users and drug dealers; police and security officers; street musicians; vendors of various merchandise; drifters and beggars of many kinds; mentally ill on and off their medications; and many, many brothers and sisters of several races, nationalities, and language groups. And there are those who are homeless, those who are hurting, and those who are broken in their hearts and lives.
In short, we need to be ready for anything and anyone the Holy Spirit should bring along. There is Michael who came by thanking god for a new chance at life after he failed a suicide attempt he had made while off his medications. He is now so thankful for his life and for Jesus who was there for him. And Becky who has had numerous physical and emotional illnesses and who gives God thanks for her life. There is Earl, a kind and gentle soul, who is out everyday with his cardboard sign and is also thankful to the Lord for each day he wakes up. Also Bob who is quite elderly but manages to come out to bus stops with his “God Loves You” sign and pass out tracts. There is also the “Street Roots” newspaper vendor who is now clean of drugs and is able to smile and be thankful for all that the Lord has done for him. One day his life was crashing so he cried out to the Lord in desperation and he is now clean and free. And there is Paul whom we have known for years who was diagnosed with a very aggressive brain cancer two years ago. He attributes his life to all those who have prayed for him.
Gutter Punks ~ Street Kids Who are Not Kids
The Gutter Punks who keep increasing in number each year dwell on most street corners with cardboard signs asking for money for various reasons. Most of them are polite to us and many take our tracts, preferring the Chick Tracts with the comic stories. We wrote about “Jasmine” last month who is thirty-one, pregnant, still begging, and still on heroin. In July we met “Victoria” who is twenty-six and stands along the sidewalks with her eyes half closed as people pass her by. When Jean, who is visiting Portland from England, talked about her she started to weep over her hurting and broken soul. These young women are someone’s daughter, sister, or grandchild.
A group of six or seven gutter punks and their dogs stopped by Morris, 73, where he was handing out calendar cards. He tried to share the Lord with them. When he called Ron over they were friendly enough but wanted to know where they could “cop some heroin.” It seems that heroin is becoming more and more popular among them. They live as homeless people wandering here and there and seem to be from cities all over the country. They appear to be hurting inside as they wander the streets with cardboard signs, dogs, and in groups looking alike in their dirty clothes and unwashed bodies. And some are broken and express a lack of hope for their own lives and will often say so with a burst of foul-mouthed anger coupled with fear. But we have met some among them who say they are followers of Jesus, who carry Bibles, and share their faith as they travel with them. Our Lord has many assignments in His harvest for each of His children who follow Him.
We get along fairly well with the younger crowd but some of those in their forties and fifties can be quite abusive. They often oppose the Gospel with vulgarity and hostile words and gestures. Many seem to be haters of God and angry at God and anyone who dares to mention His existence and the wonderful things He has done for us, particularly the resurrection. There are those who walk by and roll their eyes, grimace, cover their ears, stick out their tongue, curse, etc. Some will even become physically abusive and walk into us purposely trying to knock the tracts out of our hands.
One day a woman came by and stood in front of Ron and gave him the one fingered salute while spouting off a series of foul and vulgar suggestions. She seemed a bit intoxicated and quite hostile to God in her language. But Jean just happened to be standing there watching. Jean engaged this hurting and angry woman in a short and purposeful dialogue. The woman angrily challenged Jean and then left. Surprisingly the woman came by a couple more times but Jean was already engaged talking with someone else. At least this woman was not lukewarm. So there is hope, right?
The Youth ~ Late Teens and Early Twenties
Karen’s Testimony ~ I sometimes use a sign saying: “Jesus Forgives and Heals: Ask for Healing Prayer.” A young man read the sign and came up to me. He asked for a tract and took one. I asked him if he had a prayer request. He said, “Pray for my family.” I asked, “For salvation?” He told me no, but that his wife and son had just been raped. My spirit bore witness that he was telling me the truth. I was hit with grief and brokenness. He left and I called Ron over and we prayed together for this family. Later Jean, the intercessor from England came by. I shared my prayer requests with her. She told me that her church fellowship near Birmingham is buying T-shirts saying “Jesus Heals” and that they are going to send out teams throughout her area in England to witness and pray for people. They will be doing this during this month of August. So pray for them as they “take it to the streets.”
After Jean left, a large group of young people came with signs saying they would give you a free bottle of water if you answered their question. I asked what their question was. They asked me where I would go after I died. I said, “Heaven!” So I got a free bottle of water. One young man read my sign and with a big smile asked his friend over. We were all excited, and joyful. They had come all the way from Las Vegas, Nevada. They were full of great zeal. They were so refreshing to be around. I shared with them our newsletter, encouraged them to check out our “street corner on the web” at “awakening1s.net” and to email us if they had any questions or plans of coming back to Portland. Two of them, Michael & Cassie came by to grill Ron on living in the power of the Holy Spirit and walking a walk of holiness with a life separated unto God. What a joy to meet younger brethren filled with His joy, fire and love. May we meet many more coming through the “living room.”
But not all are that way. There was the young man who reacted to Marty’s sign board – especially the part about “Jesus Died for Our Sins.” He was so infuriated that he threw an empty drink bottle at Marty speaking against Jesus and the work of the cross. Fortunately Marty was not hit even though the bottle hit someone else’s foot. Again, the response was not lukewarm so there’s hope, right? Please keep us in your prayers. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement.
~ Ron & Karen
E-mail: awakening1s@comcast.net
Home Page: awakening1s.net
church @ 24/7
Ron & Karen Rohman
PO Box 14292
PORTLAND OR 97293