Sunday Dinner

[Kengi]

Sunday dinner was always a special time for me growing up as kid. It was a time to not just be with my family, but with close friends of the family as well. Sunday mornings were spent in church and then after morning service we'd gather and have a great meal that was prepared by either Ma. It was a great time and we were didnt have Sunday dinner at home, we had it at my Grandma's and Grandpa's house and again it was filled with family and friends.

Sunday dinners weren't and never are so special when your homeless. To be very honest the only decent meal you're luck to get is around Thanksgiving and Christmas and that's only if you venture into Downtown Los Angeles and I never did this.

Since I started my outreach to homeless people it has been my goal to restore dignity and respect in all the services that I try very hard to offer. Meals have been something I have fussed over each and every time I have made plans to serve and in times past it was always met with people telling me to do things a “cheaper” way to “feed more people” but my goal has never been to feed in large volumes, but to simply provide a quality meal to as many as I could. I had always hope that this would inspire others to do what they could to do the same.

Sunday, June 28, 2009 I set out to create a Sunday dinner that was very much like the one I grew up with. I wanted it to be a home cooked meal and I wanted people to feel like they had someone that cared for them and someone who would listen to them. I wanted to try to create a since of family and belonging for homeless people. I wanted to do this in love and with respect.

This outreach was not going to be like others I had planned, it wasn't going to include many people cooking and buying things for the meal like outreaches in the past such as the Easter Feast or others. This time the food had to be made by someone who understands and does not question, someone who wasn't going to try to cut corners in order to feed more people, it needed to make with love and not out of wanting to be patted on the back or recognized.

Ma never made excuses, she never wanted to be recognized or placed on some pedestal far out of reach from the people she loved, she did what she did every Sunday without fail, without excuse, without complaint and she did it when she was sick and not feeling her best and each time it was done in love and a great respect for all who would later eat it.

I recall the time she spent the day before baking breads, making cakes and pies and then Sunday morning, very early she was up making things like cornbread dressing and then the smells of roasts would fill the air and like magic I knew it was Sunday and later there would be a feast and it would be shared with my family and friends.

So I prayed and asked for guidance and favor and just like he always does God heard my prayer and supplied what I had asked.

I went shopping the day before and started cooking early Sunday just like Ma use to. Since I know I would not be attending morning service at any church like I use to when I Ma use to cook, I made certain I had gospel music on to help me do the very best I could to recreate something that was so very special to me as a kid.

Unlike Ma, my funds were low, so I had to pray very hard because what I was trying to do was something like the sermon on the mount and I truly needed God to bless it to feed as many people God would have me to feed and do so with respect and love.

My menu was simple, but is one that I love so much, as former private chef and caterer I have had the pleasure of cooking for many people and cooking all sorts of awesome meals for some pretty awesome events, but this time was by far the most special to me, because it was the very first time that I would try to do something Ma did so well without fail and I would be doing for people who truly needed something like this. A home cooked meal, made with love and respect.

The menu was Garlic Roasted Chicken, Mixed Vegetables, Red Mashed Potatoes with Garlic with bread, bottle water and a pair of socks.

The day before I spent the day down at Chess Park down at Santa Monica State Beach where I was able to feed over 25 people a meal of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Biscuits, Potato Salad, Rice Pudding and water. I also passed out two cell phones as part of my Stay-n-Touch program that provides free cell phones to homeless people with 30 minutes already loaded on them in an effort to allow homeless people to remain in control of there own destiny.

I was blessed to spend the day with my homeless family listening to their stories of hardships and great victories, like those of Jerry who is now off the streets and staying at PATH for 90 days. Jerry is also working on his art and doing all he can to make the most of the 90 days he has at PATH so that he is better able to get a job and make some money that will allow him to care and take care of himself. He is also working on getting some of his artwork made into copies. It was so nice to see such a huge smile on his face while I was there.

Sunday was spent with people I really don't know all that well and with some I don't know at all, but I am so glad I took time out to check in on them and as it turned out I was able to meet some other cool people are well. The cool thing was that I was able to visit with each stop I made and take my time. The people I visited with were so happy that I would even think of them at all and were blown away that I wasn't a church. One guy was pretty funny when he said “I could tell you wasn't no damn church bye the meal you are giving us and how you ain't making us hear no story about how God loves us.” He went on to say that he knows God loves him and didn't need some stranger “with a bag of soggy sandwiches to me that”

It's funny to me how I recently saw the Dream Center down on the beach rounding up people and speaking with them, but before they fed them the meal with pasta and day old pizza homeless people are forced to listen to the message that Christ has from them. When I told the guy that this doesnt lead people to Christ, but make them resentful toward him and the real message that is love, he just smiled at me and asked what I knew about the Dream Center.

I told him what I knew from having been a guest of the Dream Center and what I saw and how I was treated wasnt anything like any dream I ever wanted to have ever again. It should be called the nightmare center or you will take Christ the way we jam him down your throat or u can get ur sorry ass out center. When I told him that forcing people to pray and forcing them to read bibles and accept things that are forced upon them in the name of Christ is wrong and is not the message of Christ and certainly does not represent any of the message of Love and Peace that Christ stands for he simply replied. “It isnt for everyone”

“It isnt for everyone? I am sorry but isnt the love of God and message of his son Jesus for everyone?” again he looked at me and said “Yes it is and I never said that it wasnt. You are twisting my words.”

“No I am not twisting anything. I am simply asking you to examine what you are saying and doing in the name of Christ. You said yourself that the message and Love of God and Christ is for everyone. Did you not just say that?”

“Yes, I did, but.....”

“Excuse me, it is a yes or no answer and there is no but, when it comes to God and Christ. Man created the but and all the rules, regulations, persecution, red tape and hold ups. Man did this, not God. Man created the program over at the Dream Center that isnt for everyone, not God, because the message of God and his love is for all walks of life equally so when you create things that doesnt include evertone then you create something that is not of God. You say your program in not for everyone, but the love of God is for everyone, so how in Gods name can you say that you are doing the work of God when you say it isnt for everyone? Did God tell you do create this program?”

“Excuse me sir, but the message of God is for everyone, but our program isnt. Everyone is not going to want to do what they are required to do in Christ in order to get better. Do you understand?”

“Oh I clearly understand that you have created something that is not of God, but you call it God loves and it isnt for everyone. You see the Bible says that nothing can separate us from the love of God, but you have created a program that does just that when you say things like it isnt for everyone. This is why God is who he is and you are not him, because you would only allow the love of God to fall down on those who think and accept what you put out, even though it is wrong. See the God I love lets his light shine on all and his love is for all people. Do you understand?”

“Well we have to go feed people now and do the work of the Lord.” he said as you looked me up and down like I was some peasant that had just touched his royal robe. As he walked away calling for the homeless people to go with him not many of them did go with him and I asked why. The answer they had was the same, but one guy said it best. “with all the money that church takes in, you mean to tell me that they cant afford to buy a decent loaf of bread or a pizza that isnt made to be in the garbage and I am supposed to believe that this is what God has for me? This is his love for me? Spoiled food that will make me sick? Just because I am homeless doesnt mean I dont know the word of God od what his love is all about.”

I sat with the guys for a bit before heading off to my next location where I bumped into Irving who I had met a few days before near the 7-11 on Santa Monica Boulevard, today he was sitting with JG listening to music in a small concrete park. I offered them meals and they were happy to accept them. We talked for a bit and the guys even let me shot a video of them.

Irving has been homeless for over 9 years now while JG has been homeless about 3 years. They both seem like good guys and I am sure there are plenty of reasons why they are homeless. Some good and some bad, some their fault and some the fault of a system that is designed to fail, but whenever the case is my mission and call was to feed them and visit with them and this is what I did.

JG and Irving are very different from one another. JG tried hard to find the good in his situation so that it is easy for him to deal with it. He talked about how he tries to always stay and remain positive even though he is dealing with some rather grim things. On camera he was funny and kept things light, but off camera he talked about how hard things are and how hard it is to sometimes find a place to sleep where his things wont be stolen or he wont have to fight.

Irving is in a wheel chair which makes him a very easy target, he spoke to me a few days earlier how he is always being picked on and how his things get taken from him. While he really didn't want to talk on camera on this day once I stopped filming and he and JG told me what was going on with him my heart sank. They told me stories of how some homeless people have beaten Irving up and even tipped him over in his wheel chair. How they take his toiletry items and his sleeping items from him. As I sat and listened to these two men talk about how Irving is treated I thought to the times when I had to fight for my things and how I was told that I should pawn my laptop and camera. How people acted like since I was homeless I had no right to have such things.

I sat with the men for a while before a few more people came up, one of them a older woman that did not look at me at first, but when she did she had a black eye and what appeared to be a lip that had been busted. It was still rather big. I asked her if she was hungry and when she said yes, but asked for two bottles of water I was more then happy to give them to her. The guys even offered up their water to her and began to ask her if she was ok and how she was feeling.

I stood back and did not ask questions and I wasnt about to ask if I could take her picture, nor was I about to get into something she may not have been ready to talk about with a complete strager and from what I could tell the guys were taking very good care of her and making sure she was ok. JG quickly took her meal and began to cut it up for her and the others told her that she needed to try to eat something. When she began to cry out loud I had to turn and walk away because my tears began to fall. I looked at Irving as I did and asked him to watch my bike and trailer for me and I walked over to the courts and cried with my head in my hands. This woman could have easily been my Grandmother and there sat with fat lip and a black eye crying and hurting from whatever happened to her.

It wasnt long before one of the guys who walked up with her came over and asked if he could have another plate of food and I said yes. He bent down and asked why I was crying. He told me not to worry about her, that he would make sure she was safe from now on. I asked what happened and he said some girls from University High had beaten her up. When I asked why he looked at me and said “cause they didnt have nothing else better to do and she is homeless”

“Look hear son, you dont know just how much this meal helps us, these socks and thangs may seem like nothing to you, but they the world to us and we are so thankful for it. You stop that crying and keep doing what you do. You hear me boy?”

I looked up and said “Yes sir” As I did he put his hand on my back and said, “she gonna be alright.”

He walked away and I sat there for a minute and then dried my face and walked back over. I sat with them for a bit longer and each of them shared a part of them with me. We also laughed and told jokes and they told me stories about what is was like growing up when they were kids. In that moment my eyes filled with tears once again, because I was thinking of the times I would spend Sundays with my family, my Aunts and Uncles and even Great Aunts and Uncles and I would hear their stories about growing up in Santa Monica and how great that sleepy little town use to be. A far cry from what it is now. Even though my eyes were filling up with tears again, my soul was very happy.

I said my goodbyes and we all exchanged hugs and laughs and I jumped back on my bike and headed over to the park to see if I could find my friend Gary. Gary and some friends sleep at a park near my friends Tina and Andy's place and the last few times I was there he wasnt around but I was able to leave meals and things with people in his camp. However today I had the awesome pleasure of talking with Gary, but before I did while I was filming a guy walked up and asked if I had any extra food.

His mane was John and while I didnt remember him he remembered me from the two outreaches I did to the cold weather shelter in West LA. He even remembered my name. After giving him some food and talking with him for a bit he told me that he too had found a place and would be moving into a garage later that week of a woman he was doing some yard work for. He said her son was so happy with the work he had done around the yard that he offered to covert the space for him so he didnt have to sleep on the streets at night. He only asked that John not have company of the space and not make too much noise. John told me he quickly agreed and even offered to continue to do the yard work for free in exchange for the mans offer. He said them son told him no, that he would pay for for his work and the place to stay was for free as long as he wanted it and as long as he didnt cause a problem.

The smile on Johns face was awesome and he even gave me some news on the lady who had helped in the kitchen the second time we did the outreach at the shelter. He told me she and her husband were making plans to open a place that would offer daily meals and clothes to homeless people in need. I was so happy to hear this and I asked him to tell her hello from me.

“I stood by and heard what you told that one drunk the second time you can with that pretty girl (Niambi) how you told him to hang on and that whatever he was going through he needed to do all he could to stay in control and change it. You said we each play a role in our situations and that only we can work to change them. You were talking to him, but what you said reached me, so thank you for being there and saying what you said. It really helped.”

After speaking with John and hearing his awesome news I moved forward to visit with Gary who is a homeless vet and an all around awesome guy. Today he was there so I was able to visit with him for a while and offer meals the to the people around him. The last time I had seen Gary I knew he was going to court for “camping tickets” he got from all shirts in one day. I was so happy when he told me the judge dismissed all the tickets and gave him 30 days in country jail, but with 30 days credit, meaning time served. Gary had this huge smile on his face and was so happy that he he got a judge that understood. He talked about how God allowed that to happen for him and how thankful he was to God for allowing him not be serve one day in fail and not have to pay one cent for any of those tickets.

I sat with Gary for a while and the only bad news he had to report was that the police told him he had to move on because someone had complained about homeless people being in the park where children play. The sad thing is that where Gary and his friends are located in the small park is against the 405 freeway and this isnt your typical park, it is a park with two baseball diamonds and there are no play areas for kids. The only time the parks are in use is when the little league is there for practice or games. In fact while I was talking with Gary two of the coaches and four parents came over to check on him and the rest of the camp. When Gary told them he had to move, they were all outraged and upset that someone had said anything. One of the coaches told me that he was never and neither were any of the other people ever a problem and many of the kids and families looked forward to seeing Gary and the others on Saturday.

As Gary was telling me how one lady even offers to keep their clothes clean for them, she walks up with her sons, one with a USC football jersey on carrying four large bags of clean clothes that belong to the people in the camp. She gave Gary and hug and a kiss and asked how he was doing and her sons hugged him as well. They too were sad to hear that they had to leave and upset that someone had said anything about them being there.

I had a chance to speak with the woman and her sons, very sexy sons I might add and why they started helping Gary and the people of the camp. Turns out that when her husband left her after the birth of their third son for a younger woman right as she was about to deal with breast cancer, she found herself with no income and no way of caring for herself or her sons. She told me how her friends turned on her and were not help at all and how she and her three sons slept in their mini-van for over three years Kentucky before she simply got the car fixed and drove to LA.

“We slept in the car for almost four months while I worked part time and saved my money. It wasnt easy because the boys needed things and it was very hard for them to do go school and have a normal life while we lived in the damn car. But some stranger saw us sleeping in the car one night and the next day she offered to get us a motel room.”

The stranger put them up at the Huntly Hotel in Santa Monica for three months and then helped them move into a house in Santa Monica and helped her get a better job. She told me the woman has since passed away, but they will never forget what she done for them and she felt like she needed to pay it forward and this is how she does it. Her boys are 16, 19 and 21 and so well adjusted with huge hearts and these smiles that are just blinding.

Gary told them how he met me and how nice I was to him and the people who camp there. When they asked why I did what I do I told them and they each embraced me. The older son Seth who is 21 found out he was HIV positive just 6 months ago. As I spoke about being HIV positive myself and how hard it has been for me to just get a doctor I feel I can trust and feel safe with and how it is so important that I remain vocal and very proactive not just for my own health care, but for others as well, is when Seth told me he was HIV positive and I was stopped dead in my tracks.

Shortly after coming to LA and wanting to help his Mom and brothers, Seth learned that his beautiful body could make lots of money to help and he began tricking to help his family. I wasnt long before this lead to drugs and this is when his mother found out that him not coming back tot he van at night wasnt because he had football practice or was hanging out with his “girl friend”

Seth is currently not on HIV meds and doing very well, but the grace of God. He is also very open and honest about his HIV and speaks about it as often as he can. I was so touched and moved by the strength and courage of this young man and touched even deeper by the love and faith this family has in God and for each other. Looking at how the looked at Seth while he spoke and how I saw the care and concern and heartfelt love they have for him and each other was just so inspiring and so uplifting for me. Seth asked if he could remain in contact with me and I said yes and he family offered to help me with what I was doing as well. Before I left they gave me hugs and his other kissed my forehead and said “your parents are looking down on you and they are so proud.” I was floored by this and began crying because I never told them a thing about my parents.

As I walked over to my bike Seth called out to me and he called me by my name “hey Louis.” I turned around smiling and said “What's up big daddy” and he laughed and gave me a hug and said “thanks so much for sharing yourself with us today. It really helped me see tat I need to remain strong.”

“No worries dude. You are on the right track. Just stay on it and know that all this, (pointing to his body) in nothing without this. (pointing to his heart) Your life is far from over Seth and you know this. You stay strong and be the good man that your Mother raised you to be. Know that you can reach out to me anytime you need to man, no matter how late or early. If you need someone to talk to then you reach out. Understood?”

“Understood big daddy” he said laughing.

I jumped on my bike and headed out to pass out the last of the meals I had and it wasnt long before I found the last two people to give them to. They were in Westwood Park along side the fence near a family that was having a birthday party. The two homeless people we tucked away on the hill side doing their best not to be a bother to the family. I rode up along side next to them and asked if they were hungry and they looked at me like many homeless people do, in shock that I would even think to ask them if they were hungry. They said yes and I gave them the last meals I had. Since I had packed extra water with me I was able to give them extra water as well. I didnt want to draw any further attention then I already had by coming over to them and giving them food, so I smiled and told them to have a good night. “Thank you and God bless you” they both called out as I walked back to my bike. “You're very welcome and God bless you. Be safe.”

Back on my bike and pulling off on of the men from the birthday party stopped me asking me why I had done that for them. He asked if I knew them. I told him that I didnt know them and I did it because it is the right thing to do and that I had the food to do it. He then asked what church I was from and I told him I wasnt from any church, that it was my own grass roots organization that I created when I was homeless. He then asked if I had a website and if I was a non-profit. I gave him the website and I told him I was not a non-profit and if he was thinking about donating that I would not be able to offer him a tax write off or anything like this. He smiled and said what I was doing was great and he would be in touch soon.

I biked out of the park and headed back to Tina and Andy's and as I did the sun was setting and my back tire was in need of repair. I had broke the back spoke the day before while pulling the trailer back from Chess Park after my outreach there. I should have taken the bike to fix the repair myself but the main concern for me a the time was to feed people and this is what I did.

My first Sunday dinner for homeless people turned out to be great. What Ma had created and instilled in me is awesome and the feeling of cooking for people and doing it in love and not wanting anything in return was such an awesome feeling, because what God supplied through me for homeless people he also supplied the clear message of his love, grace, mercy and favor not just for homeless people, but for me as well.

I set out to create a meal made with love and respect for people and what God showed me is that it was so much more then that and that the work he has called me to do is awesome and he is pleased with it. The people spent the day with were awesome and so full of life in spite of their situations, they know what the love of God is and how the message of Christ applies to them, not matter what some doctrine or man tells them. The sun was setting and I had a smile on my face because I just spent Sunday helping people feel just a bit better about life and their situations.

I will now do Sunday dinner as often as I can and will do it in the same manner and with the same amount of love and respect and a heap of dignity the way they were prepared for me.

Dab and I had a great Sunday, this was now day 16 of my back to back outreaches to people living with HIV and AIDS and people who are homeless and man was I feeling very good about the work I had done and how I was able and blessed to do it and the love respect in dignity is which I set out to do it. As I thought about what the man from the Dream Center told me "It isnt for everyone" I laughed and said out loud. "You're so right, the work that God called me to do isnt for everyone, but the love of God is for all."

The socks for this outreach were provided by my friend Tina and the food was provided by me through the check I finally received from speaking for AIDS Project Los Angeles. I serve an on time God.

[Kengi]

your welcome

[Kengi]

The best thing to do is just pick a date, come up with a menu and then carry it out. Get some friends to join you. Sunday dinners will be something that I think I will always do alone because of what they mean to me. I also dont go into any of my meals with a set number of how many I am going to feed. I just let that happen as I shop for the food. I hope this helps