Mercy, mercy, mercy

Well, L has had quite the day, and it is not over. The good news? He is out of jail. The bad news? Still homeless. My congregant picked him up this morning as arranged and they got on the road. The bad road. Icy, blowy, slick....And they made an unscheduled stop at his mom's, somehow. He can be very persuasive. My congrgant called me from outside the house. "They are fighting in there," she said, "I don't think it's good." Clearly not. But while we were trying to figure out what next, out L came from the fray, bearing his winter coat and some other things. The next call was a few minutes later. The younger brother had told him D was not being true. He "had proof" and L was prepared to believe him and pitch the whole plan. "No, I told him....plans are made, plans are set....and it's not that simple. You must go. R has given her day to take you on these awful roads, she needs to get you there and get back....pull yourself together here." (or something to that effect). "Ok, Rev Kate," he sniffs, "I'll go."

Hours pass with no word. No news, I think, is good news. Mid afternoon, I get the bad news....the Salvation Army has closed early..."bad weather." He has nowhere to go. D is, for some reason in the hospital for two days. R is done like an overcooked steak after driving 30 mph for 150 miles, and she hasn't been able to find a replacement to take her shift at work. "What do we do now?" The local PD are not happy with this development, a homeless guy on their doorstep...or helpful. "Go back where you came from," they tell him. "You should have made your housing arrangements before you got here," they say. (Umm, never mind that he couldn't make any calls from the jail because it was long distance!) "So" she says, "having no real choice here, we are hitting the road for home." After I mutter some unkind words about the Christian charity level of these PD folks, I tell her, Ok then, do be careful," and sign off. But then, at the last minute, L remembered his PO to whom he had already been transferred in the new town. They were able to contact him and have some reason prevail. For one thing, he agreed that it wasn't safe for either of them to go driving back across those roads tonight. She was able to find someone to work for her, and the last I heard, the two of them were staying the night in one of the local motels and trying the Salvation Army again in the morning. To be continued....