the warmth is still spreading

I went down to Skid row again, not this past Sunday, but the last.
It was a completely different experience than the first, but still just as gratifying. As I think about it, even more so than the first. My friend Amy came down this time and we set off together with a boy named Josh for our safety. Neither of us knew Josh, but it seemed as though we've met before by doing this trip together. Walking up to the weathered and worn faces of each person, sharing food and a friendly "Hello, how are you?" filled the hours, among other things.
I received this award worthy word picture of my name from a man who goes by "The Artist". As we stood there at 12:00 in the morning, as he sketched Amy's profile, he handed off pieces of advice because he cared.

"Never shake hands. The way to do it is a fist bump. That's shaking hands
down here."
"Hugs? No way! You want to catch some kind of disease? Fleas? Lice?"
"When you get home, strip off those clothes and wash 'em right
away...bleach 'em!"
"It's dangerous down here, if you get in something, I'm only a call away. I
gave your man my number. I'm just a breath away, always. I care."

I 'learned' at the beginning of the night from a crazy, lost man, I'm young and I don't know much. It's true. I haven't lived much. I haven't experienced much. Upon meeting an amazing man named Philippe, I got something I never thought I'd receive down there. For a good one and a half hours I sat and I listened to what Philippe had to say:

"Don't skip out on life now. Yeah, it seems like
it's gonna last a long time, but listen to me. It's short. It really
is."
"If you come back to me, and I see you've given up,
I won't stand for it. You see where I am right now? I praise God for it everday.
He's been with me through it all. But I don't want to see you here with
me."
"Ya'll are young. If I could go back, I'd be doing
what you're doing right now. It means so much that you young ones actually care
for this world. That's what this world needs. You really are the future of this
world."

Yikes, that was something I'll take away forever. I hope I see this man in heaven. He was something special. I wasn't expecting to be encouraged when I went down there, but to encourage in some way. I don't go down with expectations anymore. I go down with anticipation and excitement to see what's going to happen.
The warmth isn't just spreading anymore; it's been reciprocated.