A Note from Van:

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.
Open the eyes of my heart.
I want to see You.
I want to see You.

Over the past couple of months, the eyes of my heart have been opened, and I feel that I've seen Jesus. I saw him last Thursday night in the eyes of a homeless little Jewish man with a scraggly beard and missing teeth. My partner and I from Boulder County Cares had just given him a sleeping bag and a cup of soup. He pulled me aside, gave me a beautiful Hebrew blessing, translated it for me, and said, "Now go in peace."

I've been told this man has a law degree from a university back East.
I saw Jesus again last Sunday when another homeless man who sat next to me in worship reached into the pocket of his worn pants, pulled out all his change, and put it in the collection plate. I had given him a cup of soup on Thursday night.

God makes the choice. I had been trying to I get up the courage to ask one the homeless people I work with to attend worship with me at Boulder Valley, and I finally picked out a man I often see holding up a sign on a street corner. I've gotten to know him on the streets and at the Monday-night food table at the Christian Church and have visited him at the car in a parking lot where he sleeps.

Last Friday afternoon I went looking for this man, determined to invite him to worship. I kept silently praying that God would let me find him and was disappointed when he wasn't in his usual spot. When I turned the corner to head home, there he was, walking in the direction I was headed. I passed him before I recognized him, then turned around, picked him up, and asked him to come to worship with me on Sunday. He said he would be glad to, and we made arrangements to meet. I heaved a sigh of relief and was glad I had gotten up the courage to ask him.

The night before, the same time I received the Hebrew blessing, I was handing out supplies to some homeless friends who live in a small tent back in a wooded area that they call the Hole In The Wall. Without really thinking about it, I called one of the men aside and asked if he would like to attend worship with me. He thought only a moment and said, "That would be great." I told him that I would pick him up Sunday morning at 8:30.

Friday and Saturday nights I prayed that one or both of these men would come with me. The friend that I had picked out to be the most likely person to come with me didn't show up, but Charles, the spur-of-the-moment friend from the Hole in the Wall, was waiting. He is the one who sat by me in worship and gave all his change. He sang all the songs in a beautiful bass voice,listened intently in class, and kept all the class notes.

Charles went to lunch with my wife and me and another lady from church, along with John Meadows, who also works with the homeless at BCC, and two of his sons. Then he helped me fill the BCC closet with coats, socks and food that members of our congregation had donated for the homeless. On Monday morning, Charles helped me take these supplies to the homeless shelter.
I'll ask my other friend again to come to worship, but God may have someone else in mind. I'll try to keep the eyes of my heart open to all I see, not just to the ones I think may be most likely to heed the invitation.

I thank God for these life-changing experiences. Please open your eyes to the needs of the homeless. They can easily become invisible, Not everyone needs to go out on the streets, and some should not. But we all can offer up our prayers for those who do and for those that are being ministered to. Open your eyes to those who are visitors in our
midst. Who knows, you may receive a Hebrew blessing. I guarantee it
will warm your heart.

Van Alessandro