An investment of time finally pays off for a broken old man.

there is no greater investment a person can make than that of ones

personal time. Think back on your fondest memo-ries and you’ll come to the quick conclusion that they usually involved people, friendship and love. Mark Engler, the Atlantic City Rescue Mission’s Outreach Chaplain demonstrated that this past week.

For the past nine months while combing the streets, Chaplain Mark made one of his regular stops to vis-it Richie, “Pops” to his friends, and “Santa Clause” to some of the patrons of Atlantic City Boardwalk.

Pops, who is well known for his distinguished white beard and an ironic smile, is a 62-year-old homeless man who has lived under the Boardwalk for a long time. Weathered by years, that ironic little smile seemed to become more sincere when-

ever Chaplain Mark came to greet him with an occasion-al coffee, hat, gloves and other assistance.

While always grateful for the help, Pops was never re-ally interested in coming to the Mission or altering his routine on the Boardwalk, and the spot underneath it he called home. That was all about to change.

Two weeks ago, Chaplain Mark received a call on his emergency mobile from the homeless man, who had contracted a severe skin disorder. As the Mission Out-reach Chaplain approached the homeless man this cold January morning, he discovered Pops had seriously in-jured his foot and was also experiencing one of the worst cases of skin disorder that the Outreach Minister had ever seen.

Covered from chest to toe, the affected skin seemed to peel away like the outer layer of a dried onion; the home-less man was in extreme discomfort. Chaplain Mark was able to convince this homeless veteran to come back to the clinic and the Mission to receive much-needed

antibiotics and medicated topical creams as well as immediate attention for his foot injury. What appeared to be a medical setback for Pops became the door opener for the homeless man to discover the Mission firsthand. This experience convinced Pops to continue to come back to the Mission after his medical discharge.

As Pops approached Chaplain Mark to offer a hand of thanks and ask the Outreach Minister for a cup of coffee there was now only a slight hesitation. “Only if you come inside and drink it with me,” the Chaplain replied. It just so happened that on this particular Saturday, The Profits and the East Coast Watchmen, two Christian motorcycle groups, were leading that morning’s chapel service. The words seemed especially powerful on this specific morning from both motorcycle groups who offered per-sonal testimonies and praise — even for a man like Pops who had seen it all… and then some. Then, at the end of the service, there was the typical altar call but this time Chaplain Mark felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. He looked down at the weathered homeless man, who sim-ply asked, “Could you help me up to that altar?”“Be glad to, brother,” the Chaplain replied.

“The Mission has always been about helping people tem-porally and spiritually,” says Mission CEO Bill Southrey, “but you have to save the body before you can ever hope to save a soul.” Chaplain Mark is a great witness to that.

We hope this is only the first step for Pops to find a better life than he could have imagined. And hopefully, he will continue to find some of that special morning here with people who truly love and care about him. Maybe if we all invested a little time in another person, even a stranger, the world would be a happier place. Imagine that!

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Weathered by years, that ironic little smile seemed to become more sincere when-ever Chaplain Mark came to greet him

Writer: Tom Davidson

Pops Story:

It’s true;

Mark Engler has served as the Outreach Chaplin on the Atlantic City Rescue Mission Street Outreach team for the past 9 months, and he is a 5-year veteran with the Mission.