"In the Shadow of The Cross" . . .
March 03/10/2011
March 2011 ~ Disabled Viet Nam Vet. Anything Helps. God Bless ~ Like clockwork, Tony is at out foodline every morning. He is in his late 50's and has seen his share of war. He spent three tours in Viet Nam. He says he isn't a fan of war but when his country called, he went. I asked how he ended up homeless. He lifted his shirt to reveal more than one massive scars. Then he says he is the lucky one. The guy next to him stepped on a land mine and took the brunt of the hit. He said the Veterans Administration took care of him for a while but "Eventually we all get told there is nothing else they can do". So his days are spent looking for a meal and "flying a sign". His nights are spent trying to find a place where the people won't run him off. Although Tony has been spending his mornings with us for over a year, last Thursday was really the first time I sat and listened to his story. We sat for well over an hour as he shared about his kids and the wife that left him just after he turned forty. He wiped a tear as he described a daughter he hasn't seen since 03'. As Tony left we started our usual routine of cleaning up and putting away the supplies. Twenty minutes later we were out the door. Then I saw a site that made my blood boil. Tony was standing on the corner of Colfax and Vine, sign in hand, but trying to dodge the shower of insults and water from a garden hose sticking out of a second story window. I wanted to intervene, but Tony asked that I don't. "He'll stop in a minute. He's just angry. He says I destroy his view." We have an immediate need for Coffee. We have been blessed over the past couple of years to share a stockpile with Church in the City but last month that cache ran out. If you know of a store, coffee shop or roaster who could donate we would appreciate it. We could also give them a tax receipt. Or, if you could purchase some for us we would appreciate it. We typically use about 20 lbs a month. Thank you all so much for all you do to keep wheels on this ministry. The homeless send their appreciations also. God Bless. John and Raylene Swanger Add Comment February 02/13/2011
In Search of... February 2011 This has been a busy month. It has been a cold month. We have spent several nights going around the streets and alleys of downtown Denver handing out sleeping bags, socks, sandwiches and bottles of water. Often it is hard to find them because so many are afraid of the vans that drive around to gather them up and take them to the shelters. They can't force them to go, but they pressure them into going and many just avoid the hassle. They see the shelters as violent places where you either get beat up or robbed. So they dig in. Under loading docks and behind dumpsters. Sometimes they sleep under the bumpers of parked cars so the snow doesn't pile up on them. While the tuberculosis scares from years past in shelters is no longer a threat, the fears still lingers. So many see the shelters as places to avoid as long as possible. The snow is bad but what is worse is when the snow melts and refreezes. Then the bitter cold sets in. Many times I have seen frostbite take toes and fingers. One man I knew lost a toe to frostbite and then gangrene sat in and he lost two more. Within a couple of years he was legless in a wheel chair. Another friend, Kickback lost all his fingers one bitter night. Sometimes a fresh pair of socks can mean a world of difference. If your socks get wet and dirty, then the cold weather sets in, nothing will save your feet. I thank God for the donations we are able to hand out and the donated vehicle so we can drive around and look for those in need. Last week Jo Ann, a lady who eats at our foodline asked if I knew Gus. He was a homeless man in his forty's from North Dakota. He slept downtown. He froze to death the last week in January. God, why didn't we find him? Why could we not have crossed his path? Often what we do is too little, too late. My heart is broken. We need to always press on. God help us all if we ever decide we have done enough. If we ever get to the point where we step back and say we have cared enough, given enough, served enough or loved enough. If we ever stop, what good are we? There was a memorial service last week for Gus. Please pray for his family. We are entering into the snowiest months in Denver. We are also entering into the time of year when donations tend to drop off. I don't know if it is for tax time or saving for vacations, but March and April are always tough times for us. Please consider stretching yourself a bit this month. I know times are hard on us all, but I also know we serve a big God who cares about you and cares about those who are without. God bless you all as you bless those around you. God Bless. John and Raylene Swanger January 01/10/2011
Happy New Year ! January 2011 What an awesome time we had at the Christmas Breakfast! We fed about 350 men, women and children. We had about 125 volunteers and were blessed to be able to hand out about 50 sleeping bags. We also had another 38 sleeping bags which we handed out on the streets through Denver over the past couple of weeks. It is such a blessing to drive around at night and find people sleeping on the streets & alleys and surprise them with a gift of a little warmth to help sustain them through the night. We have seen both tears and joy cover their faces as we drive up and give them something they weren't expecting. I can't help but think that sometimes they are laying there praying that God would help them get warm and we drive up at just the right time. Sometimes I get all goose bumpy thinking about it. Thank you all so much for being a part of what God is doing in downtown Denver. And a big thank you also to all who pitched in for the Christmas outreach. “I have a legacy that has Gods finger prints all over it.” Joshua could fit in with pretty much any crowd. He was comfortable sitting on a curb and sharing a hotdog, coffee or just a few words with a homeless man. He could also kick back on a porch and love on a bunch of college kids. He never pushed the Gospel on anyone, he lived it. He would give anything he had if he saw a need and often did. He walked in the spirit and he obeyed God. If God said go, he went. Nothing was more important than loving the people that God placed in his path. “I have a legacy that has Gods finger prints all over it.” Joshua had this written on his bible, as well as written on his heart. Six years ago Joshua died in a car accident. People from all walks of life attended his services. He touched many. Last week, just as we were running out of sleeping bags to hand out, I was contacted by Joshua's mother. She said she had 39 new sub zero mummy bags and wanted us to have them to hand out. I see where Joshua gets his ability to hear God. Raylene and I, are still out on the streets at night sharing Joshua's love and spreading his legacy. Thanks Robin. I want to thank all of you for believing in the call that God has placed on our lives. People are being fed both physically and spiritually. Lives are being changed and the Gospel is spreading. You have touched more than you will ever know. You have enabled the Word of God to transform many and we appreciate you. We look forward to working with you throughout the coming year and we are excited to watch as the Love of God continues to flow. God Bless. John and Raylene Swanger October 2010 09/19/2010
 John and Puck Puck..... Dennis came to our food line behind the Cathedral back sometime before the 9/11 attacks. I never really knew his name because, as he walked up for the first time his big smile revealed he was missing all his front teeth. Before he could speak I jokingly asked "Do you happen to play Hockey"? He looked a bit confused so I pointed to his mouth. He began to laugh and I stuck out my hand and said "Nice to meet you Puck". He shook my hand and answered "I've been looking for an appropriate nickname. I like that one." From then on, Puck was his street name. He would often help sweep up the alley after we finished handing out food. Sometimes working on the streets you wonder if you have an impact on those you befriend. Or if they simply move on and you disappear from their memory. Last week while feeding our Wednesday evening crowd, I heard a somewhat familiar voice call out "Swanger, you old fart!" I looked around and heard "It's me! Dennis"! Then he opened his mouth to reveal a mouth full of perfectly straight teeth and said "You probably don't recognize me with teeth.... It's Puck!" I said "More so I didn't recognize the name . . . Dennis." He said he let the nickname go away in 2008 when he got the new teeth. Then the conversation took off like we had never parted. He found a dentist who fixed his teeth for free then found a job and got off the streets about a year ago. He said he still doesn't make enough to make ends meet but he's thankful anyway. I love my job. We are adding Wednesday morning to our sack lunch program. If you are looking for an opportunity to volunteer please let us know. We will be needing about 3 volunteers from 8:30am - 10:00am every Wednesday. We are also looking for four families/home churches/youth groups. . . etc to volunteer to make about 60-80 sack lunches once a month on Tuesday nights and bring them the following morning. We will need 4 such groups. Again if interested, let us know. Thank you all for your prayers. Your compassion is changing lives. You are bringing hope to a lost and lonely world. Please remember, you're not just feeding people, you're giving them Jesus. John & Raylene 303- 594-7729 Post Office Box 40247 Denver Colorado 80204-0247 E-Mail john@tollgate.org Cross & Clef is a 501(c)3) organization & a Colorado Nonprofit Corporation. All donations are tax deducible January 2010 01/27/2010
 Indiana John John...... . . came from Indiana. Mistakes have littered his path since he was seventeen. He's now fifty-three. He spent a little over three years in the Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet Illinois back in the late seventy's. One night after a few too many drinks he made a bad decision to drive home. He didn't make it. He said he woke up in jail to learn he had T-boned the car of a young man who had just asked his date to marry him. Neither made it. He said he had never been in trouble but that mattered little because what he had done was bad enough that he felt he deserved to spend the rest of his life in jail. The shame he carried has kept him from holding a job and has made it impossible to develop any kind of lasting relationship. That night was the last time he drove a car. Even though he was a few years younger than me he looked tired, as if he had traveled more miles than you could count. His leathery face told stories of sadness and shame. As he talked I was mesmerized by his hands. They were scarred and chapped. He was missing his ring finger at the first knuckle. I couldn't help but think each scar, each blemish had a story to go with it. Perhaps it was nothing more than sharing a name, but for some reason he was comfortable talking to me. For well over an hour he talked... and I listened. Then as tears welled up in his eyes he asked "Do you think anyone could ever forgive me?" I thought how shallow it would sound if I simply said "God would forgive you", I'd guessed it had been said often in his life without ringing true. So for the next hour I told him my story. How I grew up a thief stealing cars and anything else I could get my hands on. I told him that by seventeen I was robbing banks and grocery stores throughout the Western states. I told him I spent four years in the Federal Penitentiary and how I became a Cocaine dealer after my release. Then I told him that God forgave me. If God can forgive someone who had spent his life intentionally doing wrong, He certainly can forgive someone who simply made a wrong decision. I told him "You are a good man John. You have wasted way too much of your life hating yourself. It's time to ask His forgiveness and it's time to forgive yourself." We sat there a while longer and cried. Somehow spending time with John made me rehash the wrongs in my life. I was thankful I served a God who looked past my wrongs and used me in spite of who I was. I am thankful God has forgiven me... and John. He gathered his bags and walked away. I asked where he was going. He just said "Indiana". Often, the people God brings into my life to minister to, minister to me. "I write to you, dear children, because your sins are forgiven through Christ". 1 John 2:12 (New Century Version) Thank you all for your prayers. Your compassion is changing lives. You are bringing hope to a lost and lonely world. Please remember, you're not just feeding people, you're giving them Jesus. John & Raylene Newsletter Post 01/15/2010
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