Meet Calvin.

Last night we went to Bridgetown again with our care group from church. I have to say I wasn't excited about going. Either was Jesse.

We met the Bridgetown team at their church where we sorted clothes and prepared the meal. After all our tasks were done we were assigned our "job" for the evening. I really wanted to serve food! They called off all the jobs and I raised my hand for serving food and handing out clothing and he didn't pick me for any of them!! So, that left me with hosting a table. This was way out of my comfort zone!!! As a host you were suppose to sit down and eat with the folks at your table, get them more food/drinks, and talk with them. Oh boy!! I was not excited. I pouted to Jesse and he gave me a few tips - ask them how their week has been. You won't have to ask them anything else, they will carry the conversation from there. Easier said then done if you ask me.

We set up all the stations and I stood by a table and waited for people to come and sit at my table. No one came to my table so I decided to walk around and my find someone who looked nice and friendly!! I seen this guy who had a sandwich in front of him and he was wearing a hockey jersey with a stocking hat on. I felt like I could talk to this guy. I asked him if I could get him some coffee because he was rubbing his hands together trying to stay warm. (It was a cold night.) And he told me no - he already had some. I asked if I could go find him a pair of gloves from the clothing station and he said no. It was like pulling teeth to get this guy to talk to me. Well, I wasn't leaving! This was the first person I had enough guts to make the first contact, he was going to have to deal with me the rest of the night!!!

I stayed and talked with him the rest of the night!!! I didn't move!! He eventually warmed up to me and told me a lot about himself. His name is Calvin and he is 27. He has 4 children, 3 sons and a daughter who is the apple of his eye!! Daddy's little girl he said. He had pictures of his kids and he showed them to me, and I said there are only 3 here where is the 4th. He had a hard time telling me the story. One of his sons past away at 5 months old, he had a heart condition and didn't make it. The heart condition runs in his family.

Calvin dropped out of high school after his freshman year. He was very into track and cross country, but got into a lot trouble and didn't want to be there anymore. He still enjoys running. He also enjoys hunting and fishing. I of course told him my only hunting story and he had a good laugh. (Where the deer practically ran me over!! If you ask my Dad about it he has a different story, but I swear that I could of jumped on that deer's back and went for a ride. It was so close to getting me!!)

I asked him if he had any family and he said that his Dad lived in Vancouver, WA but they didn't get along all the time. They were too much alike and would butt heads. He had seen his Dad on Friday and would be seeing him again today. He was helping him paint a house. He had a brother that lived in New York and a sister that lived in the Midwest (I can't remember where). His kids lived in Portland with their mom's uncle. The kids were taken away from the Mother because she was into drugs. Calvin said he is trying to clean up his life and get off of drugs so that he can get his kids back. I asked him how he was going to get the kids and he said he would have to go talk to the Uncle. Calvin and the Uncle do not get along. He said he would have to apologize for things he never did. Breaks my heart - he seemed like such a good guy.

Calvin has been on the streets off and on for 16 years. He just got a place he can call home on Thursday. He doesn't have anything to put in it but his sleeping bag. His first night there he put that sleeping bag in the middle of the floor and stretched out!!! What a great feeling that had to be!!

While Calvin and I were chatting there were 2 other guys sitting by us. One of the guys was going to be turning 40 and he was dressed in very nice clothes and had a very nice looking sleeping bag. He was carrying around this very nice blue button down shirt and I asked him what he was doing with that shirt (stupid question I am sure, oh well) and he said it was for interviews. He had an interview at a restaurant in Sherwood. He had hitch-hiked/walked to Portland from Newport, OR (which is on the coast). 400 some miles! He was so excited to go and get his feet washed! I told him my husband is over there he should go to him!! As soon as I said that Jesse showed up at our table and told us that they were running out of water. I watched his sleeping bag and shirt while he went to check out the water situation. He came back a bit later and said that he was able to get them washed!! He was pretty excited!! He thanked me for sitting down and talking to him and thanked us for everything that we did with this organization. He really appreciated it! I think his name was Dell.

The 2nd guy that was sitting at my table was a bit strange. While I would be talking to Calvin he would look at me and raise his eyebrows and either shake his head or smile. I couldn't figure out what was going on. I ignored it for a while but he kept doing it. He said something about not having sugar in his coffee so I asked him if I could go get him sugar and he looked at me weird again and said no. Then he says, "Do you have a younger sister with brown hair?" I told him yes, but she doesn't live in Oregon. He tells me that he knows this girl named Chelsey and she works at a bar that he went to. Apparently this girl looked exactly like me! He said we had the same eyebrows, eyes and smile. I asked him if that is why he kept looking at me funny. I can't remember his answer. He made those faces and shook his head and smiled the rest of the time he was at my table. Finally I said, "She looks that much like me, that it is that hard to look at me?" He said yes. He finally walked away and I was relieved - the guys was starting to freak me out! And then I couldn't figure out if he was one of the Bridgetown helpers because he was sitting in a circle with some of the other helpers that were singing songs and playing the guitar. I'll never know.

In the end I had a great time and so did Jesse. It is just getting me there that is the hard part! It is so interesting hearing their stories and learning how they ended up on the streets. Before we went down to the bridge last night one of the leaders said something very true and very intersting:

The only difference, if there is a difference, between you and them is that their sin is on the outside. Our sin is on the inside covered and protected by our nice clothes, our nice house, and our stuff.