A CHINESE HOMELESS MAN

       There was a Chinese whose surname was Mao, a graduate of a well-known Ching-Hwa University in China. For some reasons he became a homeless man wandering around the streets of Los Angeles. One day in 1998, I saw him lying on the street dying from serious injuries as a result of being beaten up

       I was wondering how come a Chinese would become a homeless man, for I had never met a Chinese being homeless before. Without second thought, I brought him home with me, and then I asked him a lot of questions, because he was my own countryman, I felt connected with him and was really concerned about him. He told me he was all alone without any family members, besides, he had diabetes, heart problem and other illnesses, which rendered him physically weak and unfit for work, because he was out of work and unable to pay the rent, therefore he became homeless.

       When the hoodlums saw that he was an Asian, easy to be bullied, they punched him, hit him and beat him up. They took away his wallet, ID and other personal belongings, stripped him of his clothing and left him to die on the street. I gave him Gabriel’s clothing, went to Chinatown to buy some Chinese ointment and applied it on his wounds. He stayed with us for over a year and gradually was able to recuperate.

        Knowing that this is not a place where he could stay permanently, he moved to downtown House of the Homeless, and do some volunteer works there. At least he had a place to stay, so as not to drift aimlessly from place to place.

        When we set up our new center, he also came to our church to serve in some ways. Later he accepted Jesus as his personal Savior, and I taught him that as a Christian, we should serve others, for we are saved to serve. He learned many things in our place, hopefully someday he would be able to witness for God. The Lord had healed all his sicknesses; he is now fully recovered and come to our church to attend regularly our Bible Study.