The Street Ministry team always prays before we do outreach. Tonight, I prayed that God would free people from bondage. That he would, “Be good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, and set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18-19).” Gabby is either quiet and sweet or agitated and screaming. Tonight, Gabby is yelling the N word. She stops yelling for a moment and seems to remember us. We talk to her every week. She takes some survival supplies and continues yelling. We meet Jeff who is also screaming. With his shirt off and yelling at the sky, Jeff tells me that he respects me and wants to be like me. We talk about how God has created us all as individuals and that we can pray and ask God for direction and wisdom. John enthusiastically agrees to pray and gets on his hands and knees. We pray for him and then he prays for us. After he says in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, his voice changes and he begins to bark other names that feel dark and demonic. When were done praying we hug, and John looks relieved, thanking us for helping him. Doctor Alice is with me, and she is able to put a fresh dressing on Rudy’s leg. Rudy is happy to get medical care at his home, the park bench and begins to yell. HELL NO, HEAVEN YES! While Rudy is yelling his appreciation, I meet Gustavo. Gustavo lost his son to a Fentanyl overdose and his daughter won’t let him stay at her house anymore. “It’s my own fault because of the choices I make.” We have an honest and real conversation about his family and his history of homelessness. We pray and the downtown street corner is transformed into a mini memorial service as we grieve the loss of his son. A man named Chris rolls up on his bike, bows his head, and joins in the prayer circle. Chris is intoxicated and wants me to get him a ferry ticket home. I listen to his story which seems extra convoluted and feel that he needs to figure this one out for himself. We shake hands and I tell him that I am unable to get him a ferry ticket. He smiles, knowing that I know his story has some holes in it! Ernie is getting ready for bedtime in his favorite doorway and shares about his ear injury and his belief that the political climate of the world is a sign that we are ruled by the powers and principalities. Naming greed as evil, Ernie the prophet begins to speak deep truth about the power of Jesus and his kingdom of radical forgiveness and economic justice. We meet a woman wearing no pants or underwear, lying on the sidewalk under a blanket. She takes some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and doesn’t want us to call 911. She gets agitated and throws an empty soda bottle across the street. It’s not her fault, I know that she is frustrated because we weren’t invited and have overstayed our welcome. “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12 NRSV).”

Michael Cox