“Thank You. No one else would stop and talk to me.” Mark had been sitting on the sidewalk next to his walker for four hours. His foot was bandaged, and he was unable to walk. He had third degree burns from trying to keep him and his wife warm with a candle. I asked if he wanted me to call 911 and he did. I called, and the operator connected me with the EMT. I explained that I worked for Operation Nightwatch, I was doing outreach, and that a gentleman that couldn’t walk asked me to call. The voice on the other end of the phone, sighed with exasperation and condescendingly asked me, “Let me ask you this outreach, is it an emergency?” I responded with a balance of measured calm and sarcasm. “Well, I am not a medical professional. That’s why I am calling you. I know that if I were unable to walk or stand, I would consider that to be an emergency.” The dispatcher then angrily asked if I was going to wait with him and I said yes. I got off the phone knowing that they were never going to come and care for a homeless man that couldn’t get to the hospital. Me and my fellow chaplain sat with Mark and prayed with him. He thanked us for calling and stopping to talk with him. He let me know in no uncertain terms that we were an answer to prayer.

As we waited for the ambulance that was never going to come, a van from the city’s human service department pulled up. I asked if they would come and take a look at Mark and his situation. They explained to Mark that he could wait for two hours for an ambulance, or they could take him to the hospital. We helped Mark up and steadied him on his walker. He gingerly hobbled to the van as we held his arms, back, and shoulders. Mark was able to crawl through the pain of his burned foot into the van on his hands and knees, finally lying on the floor. As we said our goodbye’s, Mark humbly and gently exclaimed, “God bless you, thank you for stopping to talk and listen to me.” Lord free us from indifference and apathy. Help us to be hearers and doers of your word. “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness (James 1:19-20 NRSV).”

Michael Cox