The drive to DC on was pleasant that seasonably cold December night. I didn’t have to fight traffic, and the Christmas lights were a joy to see. I went there to take some winter clothes to the guys who stayed around New York Avenue Presbyterian Church.
Five men were sitting in a small plaza beside the church when I arrived. They were grateful for the coats, gloves, and wool hats I brought. I planned to drop the stuff off and go straight home but ended up staying for a while to chat. Everybody was in a good mood despite their living conditions.
My friend, Bob, had set up a cardboard wall in front of an alcove on the side of the building. It gave him some privacy and protected him from the wind. As he showed me how he built his “room” a HUGE rat ran out from a gap under the cardboard. I must have jumped back five feet and screamed, “Did you see the size of that thing?!” Everybody laughed, and Bob said, “Oh, that’s just Fred. I have to evict him almost every night before I turn in.”
Bob was one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet, but he had battled an alcohol addiction for nearly 30 years. He lost count of how many times he quit only to succumb to the temptation and end up on the street. But, despite the setbacks, he never gave up hope. When a giant rat is your roommate, it could be easy to give in to despair. And yet Bob held onto the belief that, eventually, he would prevail. Little did he know that night that a miracle awaited him in the spring.
Fast forward to May. Bob and seven of his friends could only afford a six pack of beer between them. To solve the problem, one of them would open a beer, take a sip, and pass it to the next guy. When the first beer got to Bob, he got his miracle. He looked at it and passed it to the next guy without taking a sip. On that day, Bob was delivered from his addiction. By December, he had a good job and a place to live. He is still sober and has been off the streets for 18 years.
One of the things Bob attributed his miracle to was his friendship with Esther, one of our youth volunteers. She gave him friendship, encouragement, and prayers for over five years. I have shared their story more times than I can count, because it is one of the best examples of those times God has used TOP to change lives.
Perhaps the biggest lesson I’ve learned over the last 37+ years with TOP is that despair easily overtakes people trapped in poverty. And yet even a glimmer of hope gives them the power to try again until they find their miracles.