We teamed up with the experts in the homeless population in our area and went to hang out with some of their friends that live on the street. We brought a garbage bag filled with individual sized bags of a variety of chips, a box filled with packaged snacks, and hot coffee with the fixins...
Our frist friend was sitting on his neatly laid out sleeping bag. This former Marine from many wars back was sitting cross-legged with his legs covered by the entrance of his unzipped sleeping bag reading a book about horses in pre-historic times. He was positioned just off the side walk far enough against the fence to be considered on the property of the restaurant that he 'worked' for because he knew the police couldn't run him off from private property that gave him permission to perch.
Dale (not his real name) worked in exchange for coffee, a meal, bathroom and his little sleepig-bag-sized chunk of land that allowed him to sleep overnight. He was always there and almost always with Ben (again, name changed). Ben's stuff was there but Ben was out when we arrived. We offered Dale, chips, snacks and coffee. He only wanted coffee for himself but took some snacks and chips for Ben that would be returning soon.Dale was glad to see us. He has been on the streets for a long time and in this spot for several years. He was glad to field our questions and he was real good at at conversing...

Dale had been a career jockey and loved it. In fact his son in West Virginia was jockeying for a living as we spoke. He told us all about the profession, how bets were place and how jockeys were paid. He loved the job but with age came weight and with weight came the need for another job which he found on the pipe line in Louisiana.
That shifted our conversation to the intricacies of Oil Platforms and that whole industry. He held 5 of us spell bound with his stories, close calls, storms and just the way life was on an oil platform off the coast of Louisiana.
Hanging over the sea on this man made barrier reef for all those years also made him an expert on sea life. He knew all the latest research on whales and, yes, sharks including the statistics of shark attacks on humans (Im not taking up surfing anytime soon).
Again we marveled and hung on his words...and then all of time froze for a split second while I remember that Dale was a poor, crazy, ignorant homeless man....The thought struck me like a bolt of lightening: he is homeless but he is not ignorant. He is out of a paying job but he is working. He has reason to despair but he is enjoying us instead. He is suppose to be either crazy or strung out on some chemical or something and he is about as clear thinking as anyone I have ever met.
He is hopeful that he will get paying work soon. Dale should have been miserable but he was quite content. We were suppose to be 'ministering' to him but...well, you get the picture. This was a Kingdom moment.

I may have put all homeless into one sad box. My bad.

But later that night we met James...but that is another update on another day...

(Not Dale)

Shaun and Maria Sheahan

     I think when it gets right down to it we really enjoy working with high school and college students. We recently started a “Life Study” using the Bible as our reference. These young ones are nearly desperate for guidance, validation and significance…the world certainly doesn’t supply what they need but God speaks pretty clearly through His Word.

      A few of them have been challenged for the first time with this wild concept that they can actually accept Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. Following Him can lead to other wild concepts like being loved to the point of death…Jesus death on the cross. That Jesus is preparing us to be His bride…wow, that’s pretty relational and nearly divinely romantic.

     They entering a real life call to walk with the real loving Jesus. I’m amazed at the hunger and growth that is occurring as the Holy Spirit takes hold of their lives in these little weekly meeting times in our home. Please pray for these times together: These young ones. These future Kingdom leaders.

     Maria spent time in the Mexican camp I help establish when I first went to Mexico in my younger days. She spent time with a gathering of Latino leaders from all over Central and South America and Mexico. They gathered to share inspiring stories and to be inspired by like Maria… Lots of tanks were filled with encouragement. Great weekend was had by all.

     While she was there, I was giving an educational Historical tour of California to 4^th graders. They learned HIS-story as I taught history. Sharing my faith and God’s stories are my priority. Some parents and a few of the kids had never really heard how much God loved them until this tour. It was really worth it.

     Last week Josh was driving our mini-van on his way to his school internship when the brakes went out…BAM…he rear-ended another car on the freeway. We are praising God that there were no injuries at all…the other car was hardly damaged…but our car was a total loss. This is our second mini-van in a year to die. Needless to say, we are in a bit of challenged place with the loss of the car that had liability only insurance. Our financial scene is a little scary right now between low support, health bills and now the loss of another car. We gladly accept your prayers.

     Next week we hit the streets seeking to feed the homeless, yes, but more so to befriend them as much as they will let us. We are teaming up with a well-established ministry called City of Refuge that knows the streets inhabitants well. They feed them out of their own homes daily then they spend time with them on the streets too. We hope to encourage them as they encourage us.

Never a dull moment…Thanks so much for supporting us through our Kingdom journey of service to the King.

Shaun, Maria, Jeremy, Kaory and Josh Sheahan

It doesn't take much to total cars these days.