Wednesday, August 29, 2018

The “pastor”the Wounded, and the Shofar…A typical day


The pastor stories are based on real life events experienced by me pastor Dan, these are welled liked. I found it an easier way to express myself, let me know if you enjoy them pastor@messiahsbranch.org

The “pastor” the Wounded, and the Shofar…A typical day

The pastor was enjoying working in the kitchen of the Mission church with his wife when he noticed when a young lady in her 20’s in the kitchen door talking to his wife, the pastor, who is very hard of hearing, did hear the words bandage and released from the hospital, so he moved closer to hear…
At this point his wife is saying “well my husband takes care of those things so you will have to ask him”

The young lady looked mournfully at the pastor and said “My boyfriend was knifed last night twice, in his back and his arm was sliced, do you have any large bandages as the hospital did not send him out with any?”

In return the pastor says “wait till I finish serving food and I will have a look at him” Thoughts about the night before when he and his was were being interviewed on a supporters radio program as he had talked about how he does first aid for most anything, bringing up the example of butterfly stitching a knife wound in a fellow’s belly on the picnic table, that one was a real miracle as the fellow should have went to the emergency room but for whatever reason he would not go, “figures” he thought “I have not did knife wounds in while, bring it up and here’s one”

About that time he looked again over at the door as a fellow who volunteers to do work around the place a lot is talking with his wife, he heard hit in the head and needing fixed as it is gapping open…his wife curious as most women “let me see” she then recoils as the pastor once again says “let me get done”…
Wow and the day was almost over, wait it’s never over is it…his thoughts and prayers are “ok have I got what it takes to help them and surely they are walking so it cannot be that bad”
After serving plates he goes over to the young couple and sees that the other fellow is with them…Ok people know people..

At this point he gets the first look at the head wounds, a large bump with a short cut in swelling on one side of his head, “ok” he thinks and prays “that’s easy an ice pack” someone had donated one of those you break and it is instantly cool…

Then the fellow turns his head revealing a two or 2 ½ inch cut seeping blood on the other side of his head, one that a person should go to the emergency room to get staples…“great” the pastor thinks “this fellow never wants to go there”

Taking the younger man first into the office the other fellow tells him “I will see you in an hour” like it was going to take awhile… “really” the pastor thinks as he has not seen the wounds yet…

“Ok” says the pastor “what happened?” the young man explains, “ things happened so I lost my apartment, I thought it could not happen to me twice but it did, the last time I got hurt while on the street but it did the first day back. I asked a young lady out in front of the drop in center (an agency that is a day shelter 5 days a week, very dangerous place very) for a smoke she gave me one and another man saw it, so he asked her for one, she said no last time I gave you money to get me smokes you only brought me back a half pack. The man then got very rude and started cussing the lady so I told him he should not talk to her that way, when I did he pulled a knife and sliced my arm and stabbed me in the back” Clearly by now the pastor knows this man is no drug addict or has an alcohol  problem.

“the emergency room stitched me up but last night after I was released, I saw____(the other fellow) in trouble so when I went to help him the knife wound in the back came open”  the pastor thinks “ok that explains why they are together”

Looking the sliced arm with stitches is ok but the deeper wound about 2 inches is oozing blood and wide open….looking around he had spotted some butterfly stitches but eth box looked  real old..Sure enough he puts them off and they of course will not hold. “Ok great, I need supplies” he thinks as he uses two band-aids to do the job of pulling eth wound together using the band-aids…
“This one” the pastor tells the young man “I do not think will hold as my butterfly stitches are old you really need to go back to the emergency room and have them fix or you can get into real trouble” to the pastors surprise he and his girlfriend agree, so he will take them on the mission bus a little later..relief the pastor feels as his spirit thanks HIS FATHER…

Now on to the other fellow First he Gives him the ice pack, then turns to the wound,  “stitches I would think” the pastor says “no they would be staples and I do not think so” “I know, I know, so let me see” the pastor sighs..Once again using band-Aids he closes the gaping wound..again thinking and praying “I need medical supplies”

After everyone has been fed and some driven back to the north end of the city, the pastor finds that he is alone with his wife to clean the Mission church by themselves, “wow 19 years of this and we are still doing much of the work ourselves” Of course the children now grownups help when they can come or sometimes volunteers….but no one has even did it very long other than the children, in fact people will come to the mission church wanting to help, so the pastor tells them “we have clean-up and serving starting at 4PM till a round 6:30PM” many are never seen again, I guess they must have wanted to walk around and preach at people….

While mopping the floor thinking, praying, he hears what sounds like a shofar, first he figures it is an Elder coming back for service but wait it’s not Friday? Over and over he hears it wondering who would be blowing a Shofar in this part of town…

Dropping the mop he goes to the front door and sees a young man sitting on eth bike holding a Shofar…

The young man says “I hope you do not mind me blowing this” No of course not I just could not figure out who was doing it, I have one I made myself” says the pastor..

The young man replies “I am doing it because America is Babylon and you know when it says the believers are called out Wichita, is a special place as it is in the center of the USA”
Starting to give some answers the pastor stopped what then started to say then out came “Just whatever you are being led to say just say it” the young man said that he has been ministering in the homeless community for a couple of years and that he has been going all over the city as he is now led to blow the shofar ..

That was a blessing the pastor thought heading back in to mop, realizing he had never saw the young man before…going to the kitchen  he tells his wife asking if she heard it and she said no she had not…so a wonderful way to end a typical day…

Lift us in prayer, help if you can,
In His Perfect Peace, Pastor Dan