This article was first written in the Quora website which contain pictures.
I live and minister here as a pastor. It is not safe . Gun shots are heard at night. You can see people with there faces smashed. Drug dealers at the corners. Mayor Jim Kenney is possibly one of the worse mayor in the Philadelphia history and does nothing to stop it. Probably for personal gain. In front of my house last year there was 15 gun shots . And two people died in more than one occasion. I seen the drug dealers even set a man on fire last year with fireworks. Cops cannot do much for Jimmy have taken any Authority they have . I forgotten to say I had to invite the drug dealers inside my house to see my wife dieing of cancer so they could stop selling drugs in front of my house beginning of this year . Because the cops couldn't do nothing due to our dear mayor taking the cops authority to frisk away as they should. It is sad that many of these people down in Kensington who are addicts can't go to a rehab because if they are not from Pennsylvania they are rejected by the rehabs do to the mayor. The majority of those in Kensington who are on drugs are not from Philadelphia but from other states.
The following is a Poem I wrote which words came to me as i walked Kensington and wrote what I saw.
As I walk through the streets of Kensington where I live, I saw a young lady in her teens holding in Her arms a teddy bear and crying for her life which is fading away due to a drug which she could not see herself depart from. If one would look at her arms one would see the marks of a needle just recently poked. And if one would look at her face one would ask where the days of her youth has gone? And if one would go further and stare in her eyes for a minute , one would see a soul moments before it departs. As I continue in my walk one would see a other person who has a diploma but was given to a moment of pleasure, which did not know what it would bring . Loosing all because of that moment of Sin. Sin never shows itself for what it is , if it did few would travel on that road. But being blinded by this world and a fallen nature which it brings we many times fall into a ditch. These people in Kensington could be our Fathers , Mother's , aunts , uncles, sons or daughters . Who blindly took hold of a venomous snake thinking it was just a string.
The following happened after my wife passed away I wrote about it in a book that I put in public domain named Seeking God Inspirational Christian Short Stories this is a fuller version of what happened.
Searching and Finding
Three weeks following my wife’s death, She died March 2, 2021 I took a volunteer job as a community chaplain at Rock Ministry which church I also attended for a while in Kensington — the worse part of Philadelphia, PA. On the job, I prayed for addicts and spoke to them a little about Jesus. I also fed them and waited for the AR2 unit to take them to detox.
One day, a mother came to me. She had travelled from Pittsburgh, which is about four and half hours from Philadelphia, and she carried with her a photograph of her son who was missing. He was around nineteen or perhaps twenty years old, and she said that he’d been missing for a month and had last been seen in the Kensington area. I told her that I would help and go out looking for him after work, which I did.
A couple of nights previously, a body had been found outside a nearby pharmacy parking lot, cut into pieces. The night before that, a woman had been strangled to death in the same area. I was keen to finding the missing man before anything bad happened to him, so, feeling like a detective, I searched for him during my lunch breaks too. I asked known addicts and dealers if they’d seen him; none had.
The first place I went was McPherson Park which the drug addicts call it needle Park but us pastors calls it Prayer Park.
The Mayor of Philadelphia does not care for the Kensington part of Philadelphia. A couple of women said he looked cute. Someone did say that he might have been at AA, so I went there, but no one had seen him.
I spoke to poor souls with the needle in the vein and others who said they’d tie him up if they found him and then let me know.
Someone else said they thought they’d seen him, but his face was torn up, and he had red marks across his body like he was in bad shape.
I couldn’t give up, but I was tired and needed a rest. I called his mother, and I told her I was going to take an hour’s break or two.
It was the time of Covid, but in Kensington, nobody, including me, really wore a mask. So as I went home and was about to open the door, I saw a guy walking in front of my house.
I decided to take a chance and show him the photograph, although I felt it was a long shot. I was probably wasting my time. But the guy also looked busted up with marks on his arms, so I thought he might be an addict and just might have seen our missing man. So I said, “Hey buddy, have you seen this guy?” “He said, ‘that’s me.” So I called his mother, and she was so happy, she fell into tears. If I only knew the Lord was going to bring him in front of my house, I would not have walked for about three or four hours looking for him. But the Lord has his ways that are far beyond our understanding.
After this event I cought Covid and was sick for 10 days , getting a fever of 104 to 105 the first day but it was wroth it. After my recovery I went looking for a other missing person this time hiting the streets at 5 am , interviewing many addicts but couldn't find the missing man.
Little journal on some of the events in my house church of last year and the beginning of this year with dates.
Second house which is 3004 Ruth St Philadelphia PA 19134 was were I lived and pastored. Took a picture from the web couldn't see myself going down there , I might cry due to old memories.
10–20–21
Addict call me as I was walking from a distance, thought he was going to ask me for money so I pretended I didn't hear him. Then he said pastor, my heart broke and couldn't avoid him so I went to him, I knew who he was, his face was smashed, couple of his teeth was missing, had no shoes and was shaking. I gave him my hoodie, he told me he was mugged and was hungry. So I took him somewhere to eat for we was at a distance from my house church.
12–15–21
This I had totally forgotten but I remember just now, found a elderly man around 90 years old, on the floor couldn't move, shirt was stains of blood. Called ambulance and stood with him till they came and got him. In Kensington and Indiana, across the street from McPherson Park.
12–21–21
A couple churches and I was kicked out from McPherson Park when we was feeding the addicts. Sad when churches kicked out for feeding the addicts but drug dealers are not for selling drugs. We went to Kensington and Allegheny and we was told we only had 10 minutes to feed them. We stood an hour and a half praise the Lord. One of the addicts told me that if he stood on drugs he could get housing faster than him not being on drugs because of the application he had to sign in the shelter.
1–6–22
Three Drug dealers got shot down just steps way from my rented house and house church. A month ago had to give chest compression to a lady who was at the point of dieing of a overdose in front of my house. Where is the Mayor? But doing nothing about Kensington .
1–15–22
Addict came to the house church knocking at the door 10 pm , when I open he had 2 broken fingers and a busted rib , he was mugged during the day fell unconscious, as he was hit by a stick , then when he awoke knew where to go, my house church for help. He got fed and the ambulance took him to the hospital.
3–1–22
Had to move due to landlord scamming me so I stop pastoring but I took teaching position in Kensington at a spanish Pentecostal church named Iglesia Pentecoste Cristo es la Salvacion, where I be teaching the Bible class on Tuesday. They first had me as a Teacher then the pastor told me I would be his co-pastor a week or two later.
3–27–22
Taken out of my position of co-pastor due to disagreement with the pastor of the spanish church. I follow the Bible, he doesn't. But still he wants me to be a Bible Teacher in his church. I am leaving that church. Renting a bedroom apartment and saving for a house if God wills to start a other house church where I can preach the gospel and help those in need. Help me Lord. Please keep me in your prayers. 🙏🙏🙏
My journal portion of the article is finished. Lord bless everyone who read it and keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
Took the pictures from the web, many of the addicts do not like it when people take thier pictures. Due to respect I didn't took any of thier pictures.
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