Last night, after shooting some basketball with my friends, I was walking to my truck excited about attending Wednesday Night Worship at St. Andrew's, when all of the sudden this man called out and asked me if I knew where the Russell House was. He then went on to explain that he was late for his A.A. Meeting, and that he really needed to find that house. I told him that I had no idea where the house was, but he was more than welcome to join me at Worship. Besides the church was literally two blocks down the street. Immediately he agreed, jumped in my truck and we were on our way. In our short trip we shared as much as you possibly can when meeting a person for the first time. It is here where I learned his name was Albert Ray Howington. That he was from Greenwood, South Carolina, that this was his first day in Charleston, that this was the first day he had been sober in a long time, and that he was homeless. We pulled into the parking spot and I asked Albert if I could pray for him before we went into the church. He said most certainly and uttered maybe this is just what I needed. I prayed a simple prayer which more or less went like this:
Lord, I thank you for my new friend Albert. I pray that you meet him tonight in service, so that his life would be different from this day forward. I pray that you help him find a place to sleep tonight and that your peace rest alongside him. In Jesus Name, Amen.
We walked in and I introduced Albert to my best friend Diane whom, I mentioned to him earlier that she would be meeting us there. He said, Wow! She really is beautiful. (Way to go Al!) We then proceeded to take our seats. To say that we attended a worship service would be giving the worship team and St. Andrew's Church a major disservice. We took part in a Worship Experience! It was a true Love Encounter. It was as if God's own hand was resting on people's hearts. We literally soaked in His Peace. It was Simply Surreal.
As the service ended, I went and got Albert and noticed something about him had changed. Nonetheless, I said lets find you a place to sleep tonight. As we walked to the truck, Albert told me that He gave His life to Christ while sitting in the church. He said he never felt anything like that before. I knew exactly what he meant and said there is nothing like it. Nothing Greater than it, Nothing Stronger than it. We jumped in the truck and I grabbed the Bible I always keep with me. I opened it and wrote:
To Albert Ray Howington. From: Michael Paul Steele. For your new found life and new found joy! 1/18.12.
Albert said that was the first Bible he had ever owned in 51 years of his life. I told Albert that he was no longer 51 years old, that he was born again and that he was now "one day" old. Albert loved that and we both laughed. We then took off to find Albert a room for the night. The first place we stopped was $74 a night. I said Albert let's try somewhere else. The second place we tried was $65 a night. Getting a bit discouraged I said Albert let's try one more place. We then pulled into the "Master's Inn" walked in only to find the employee literally sleeping on the couch in the lobby. (It's okay to laugh, we did too) After two attempts, the lady finally woke up and said I'm so sorry, how can I help you? I told the lady I needed a room for my friend Albert, and proceeded to ask her how much a room would be for one night? She said $42! I said Albert we found you a room! As the nice lady did our paperwork to secure the room, I asked her what her name was... She looks up at me and says, "Faith." I immediately look over at Albert and he began crying, which then caused me to begin to cry as well. The same Love Encounter we experienced earlier at church literally manifested itself right inside the lobby at the Master's Inn. Faith looked at us both kind of funny, and I smiled and told her it's impossible to please God without Faith. :)
Albert and I grabbed his belongings along with an extra pair of socks, and a fleece I so happened to have in my truck and we went to his room. Albert couldn't stop thanking me and His Savior for the Grace that was displayed in his life that night. I told Albert I loved him and that's what we are called to do... Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.
I prayed with Albert and he too added into the prayer this time saying, Thank you God for my new friend, for my new life and for a warm place to lay my head, In Jesus Name, Amen.
I smiled. Got in my truck waved to my new friend Albert Ray Howington, and drove home. On my way home Albert called me to thank me once again and to tell me that as soon as he turned on the television they were talking about Jesus!
... how Amazing God is...
Thanks for reading!
Blessings,
Michael Paul
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