So. How do I start? I can laugh like Sarah did, just a little more hysterically than she did, or I can just go, wow, God, you rock big time. I could do both but I think laughing hysterically at this point might scare my neighbours since it is almost midnight. Wow, God, you are amazingly amazing.
So, last Saturday, three of us went out to Ciudad de Dios at night as we had said we would to Hans. We brought bread (which I should've buttered but forgot to as we were running around like crazy that day before heading out) and we went looking for Hans. Well, it was not surprising that he did not show. But we met one of the street youth who was utterly stoned out of his mind and we said hi to him. Then I felt to ask him if we could pray for him and he freaked, backed up and kept syaing no, no, no and all of a sudden started accusing my friend of reading his mind and then he ran away....that was the closest we came to ever being in danger.
We then met others who treated us really well and respected us which surprised me seeing it was our first time meeting them. One of them was a 13 year old who had spent 7 years of his life living on the streets and doing drugs. (yes, if you do the math, it means he was living on the streets and doing drugs since he was 6 years old) At 13, he was already a veteran on the streets. He sniffs terokal which is carpenter's glue and does about 8 cans of it a day. He was smoking it in his plastic bag while I was talking to him and I asked him to stop smoking it cos it was seriously giving me a headache. He didn't say a word, just put it all aside and continued talking to me. I thought that he would be totally rude and tell me off since he didn't know me but he didn't. His name is Anderson and he has a dog called Calambre which means "muscle pull" in Spanish. Anderson led us to 2 others who were a little older, Oscar who is 16 if I remember right, and Carlos who is 18. I spoke to Carlos mostly that night while the rest of the team talked to the other guys. Carlos has no dad but has a mom and sisters whom he hasn't seen for the time he has spent on the street. At first I thought he just didn't want to see them but then I realized it was because he was ashamed of his condition and didn't want his mom to see him like that. He knows he needs to change but doesn't think he can. (And this is where the power of Jesus will come in, to completely transform the lives who want to be transformed!) Both Oscar and Carlos wanted us to return soon and to meet the others so we said we would meet them again today.
My team member was late this afternoon so I ended up being there by myself today. And there were about 10 of them, none of whom I had met before, all ready with their bags to sniff. From across the road I was praying and wondering if I should head over to where they were on my own or wait. I hadn't heard from my team mate all day so presumed that he could not make it so the other option if I didn't head over to talk to them was to leave to go home. After praying and just watching them, I decided that this was where God had called me to and if Jackie Pullinger could do it alone, well so can I. I headed over and said hello to them and they were like, whoa, a female approaching us to talk to us? I asked if they knew where Oscar and Carlos or Anderson were and none had a clue. I ended up talking to them (thank God for a gift of the gab) and then joking with them, and ended up prophesying over one of them who had gone to church and all before and then promised to return on Saturday with sandwiches and the rest of the team. They treated me with a lot of respect and I asserted my boundaries as well and they did not cross them. Luis Enrique asked me if I was afraid of them. I asked him if there was something I should fear about them? He was like, well most people are afraid of us. I said, well, I see beyond the appearances and see the goodness in their hearts so no, I am not afraid of them and also God has called me to do this and He has gone before me already. To which they agreed saying that God is protecting me. I just love them already! And they told me that they won't steal from me or any of the team as they don't steal from friends. I laughed and retorted that if they did, I would just go looking for them until they gave me back my stuff. They laughed. They even accompanied me to my stop to get my bus.
My team mate showed up after I left and they realized he is part of the team and treated him really well too. I feel really blessed tonight, knowing that God just keeps making a way where there is no way. Only He could have orchestrated this all and paved the way for them to receive us and respect us the way they did. Their names are: Christian, Jose Luis, Cesar, Javier, Luis Enrique (he's the one who used to attend church and has heard the Word), Oscar, Carlos, Anderson and a few others whose names I can't remember. Please pray for them and for us as well, in being sensitive to how God wants us to proceed.
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