I Had No Hope

Here at YWAM San Francisco, there's a wonderful lady by the name of Janet Long who is one of our staffers working in many different titles.  She comprises part of our ministry backbone, involved with Hospitality, managing our Food Pantry, and co-leading our intercession times on Thursdays.  Another act of ministry that Jan exercises, is the very basic necessity of going out on the streets, and ministering to people.  Called by her times of 'Street Walking', Jan intentionally seeks to be an influence of hope, and spread the Gospel of Christ in a sometimes dark neighborhood.  This is one of her stories.


From our September 2011 Newsletter:

I Had No Hope
Bringing Hope to the Streets of the Tenderloin by Janet Long

As I was walking the streets of the Tenderloin talking about Jesus and praying with people the Thursday before Easter, I was asked by a man sitting on the side walk with his hand out if I had any money to spare.  I shook my head and passed by.  As I walked by the Lord reminded me of the passage in the Bible about Peter and John going to the temple at the beautiful gate when a  lame beggar asked them for money.  This was the Bible passage that I had read only that morning in my quiet time before going to work. It is found in Acts  three.  Peter and John went to the beggar and said, "We have not got any money but what we have, we give to you in the name of Jesus," they then healed the man. The man gets up healed and goes into the temple jumping and praising God.  I felt the Lord tell me to go back to the man on the sidewalk.

As I approached him I told him,  "I have no money, but would you mind if I sit down on the sidewalk and talk to you?"  He smiled and said, "Yes."  I sat down and introduced myself, asking his name.  He told me his name was Will and soon began to tell me his story. He was filled with sadness and my heart went out to him.  I gave him The Father's Love letter, a letter with scriptures that tell just how much God loves us.  I noticed that when I gave him the letter that he put it into his pocket and very quietly I heard him mutter, "I’ll get someone to read that to me later." Realizing that he couldn't read, I asked, "Can I read it to you?"  After I had read the letter To him, I asked him, "What line spoke to you the most?"  He replied the line that said "Loved with a ever lasting love."  As I was telling him about Jesus & how much He loved him the Holy Spirit prompted me to tell him about Easter.  I continued to tell Will, "Tomorrow is Good Friday, that is a special day when Christians all around the world remember that Jesus died on the cross in our place, so that when God looked at Jesus, He accepted His life in exchange for ours."

We talked about Easter for a while and both enjoyed the conversation.  I said to him, "Will, you may not be able to read, but you now know what it says and every time you look at it, you will remember just how much Jesus loves you."  He told me that he would keep it and never let it go.  As I got up, Will said to me, “You are an angel."  I smiled and said, "No, I am not."  "Yes you are; before you sat down and talked with me, I had no hope, but today you have given me hope."