Continued from Finding Calcutta, Pt. 1: Jesse

His walk had a teeter, which could have been due to some kind of equilibrium malfunction or just plain intoxication. Nonetheless, there was an awkwardness to his character. In contrast to Jesse's coldness, this new face, Steve, was very thankful for the apple we gave him and eager to join in the conversation.

We talked about everything from the Chicago Cubs to Italian beef sandwiches to long underwear. As we dove into these finer aspects of life, Jesse simply closed his eyes and sunk into another level of consciousness. Our new companion was not so difficult to coax into talking and actually seemed to enjoy the conversation.

Steve had a Bachelor's degree, a nice house in Indiana, and an unfortunate drug habit that had brought him to Nashville for rehab. According to the way he tells the story, his luggage, money, and any source of identification were stolen as he was trying to check into the over-occupied clinic.

He resorted to the street, which was the only place that accepted him. He recently shattered his middle finger, and they had to remove it entirely. He has only been on the street eight months and is laying low until his sister wins custody for his two sons over his drug-addict wife. When he spoke of his boys, I saw an earnest desire in this man's eyes to provide for these children and make sure that they had the best life possible. He plans on visiting them for Christmas, if all goes well.

He could tell that we were interested in knowing more about his way of life and told us plenty. "If you do it right," he said, "you can eat a hot meal every night." He told us where to go when, and I realized what needs were already being met. Again, it was humbling to be out there and realize that I was not really needed as another humanitarian. Looking at our bag of apples (we had only fed three people so far), I felt a little insignificant at this point.

Nonetheless, Paul was bold enough to ask what Steve needed the most. He eagerly entertained this request and identified some of his immediate needs, along with those of the people he lived with. Namely, they could use more blankets. We asked where they slept, and as he was describing the location and we tried to follow along, he decided to just take us there, if we were willing.

I think we both weren't, but we nodded in eager agreement, wondering where Jesus was taking us-with Steve as our guide.

Read Finding Calcutta, Pt. 3: The World Beneath