I had fun tonight with the youth in Ciudad. And also almost got into trouble with the cops because they thought I was trying to incite something the night before the Presidential Elections. I went alone tonight because both Carolina and Milagros were unable to go and I went earlier than we usually do and it was actually a better time as almost all of them were there. The first person I saw was Andrea and she looked haggard for all of her 14 or 15 years. She had told me a few weeks back that she was smoking terokal again and wanted to be rehabilitated. I asked her about that today and she denied it and yet while we were talking she kept asking me when we were going to start the refuge and I asked her why and she said, "no reason". I wish her mother would take the responsibility and get her into a rehab centre. I walked around after talking to her and when I came back to the corner, almost all the guys and some girls were there and Luis Enrique waved me over.
I crossed the street and went to greet them and they me and Marco Antonio actually laid a cardboard sheet on the sidewalk for me to sit on and aside from that it was on a dirty street corner and it was a sidewalk that they were inviting me to sit on, and they're all street youth, it might as well have been us all in someone's house and they were inviting me to sit on the couch. Carla was there today with the baby and it was good to see her again and we hugged. So while we were all chatting, there was about 12 or so of them around me and I was handing out sandwiches, cops suddenly showed up with their batons and encircled us. Everyone tensed up and I was going, "uh oh" in my head. The cops asked what we were doing there and that we had to disperse because people on the street didn't like seeing the guys together like that, thinking that they were going to steal from people. One of the guys explained that they were there to talk with me and also because I was handing out food. So then I explained that I was there to converse with them and to share food and that we weren't doing anything illegal. The same cop then said he thought we were up to something as well because tonight is the eve of the Presidential Elections. And one of the street vendors vouched for me and the guys to the cops and they left us alone but maintained vigil across the street and for good reason as that corner is the worst corner for robbery. Every week, except for the last week and today, every time we have been there, a robbery occured at least every 10 minutes. So, it was good the cops heightened their presence there.
It was difficult talking to the guys personally today as there were so many of them around and every one wanted to say something, but I got to pray with Carla and tell her that God accepts her the way she is and loves her no matter what she has done. Roberth, her boyfriend and father of her children was working in the buses tonight, playing for tips. It's good to know he is completely healed from the gunshot wounds in his abdomen. Carla was closed off today, she was happy to see me, wanted to sit by me but as soon as I said God accepts her as she is, she closed up. Oh well, He will pursue her for Himself. He has up till now and He won't stop. It was good to see Luis Enrique too. I hate what they do, in his case, rob people, but I don't want to see them go to jail and I am always afraid that when I go there, I would find out that one of them had been taken to jail. Luis Erique had a fat lip because he was with his girlfriend and 4 guys whistled at her and he went after them to beat them up and he got beaten up. I was like, "Couldn't you have just walked away?" and he was like, "They disrespected my woman, I could not let that go". Ok. Funny how if he had whistled at some girl, it would have been alright and would not have been disrespectful. Just as it is ok that guys cheat on their wives and girlfriends but heaven forbid if their girlfriends did that to them. There are at least 2 jealous-rage-murder stories that make it to the news everyday in this city alone, all perpetrated by men against their girlfriends or wives or ex-girlfriends because she was talking to some guy. Go figure.
I then asked if I could take photos of them some day and they all basically laughed in my face. None of them want to be recognized and I guess I have to figure out a way to get some pictures so I can do up a website. Sigh. On my way to the bus stop, I went to let the cop who had asked me all those questions know who I am and how many of us there are who go down to Ciudad and why we go there. And he was like, "So you're a missionary then." I nodded and he asked where I go to church and I told him. And then he was like, "Oh, I'd like to go to your church, what's the address?" Yeesh. Whatever his motive, he will hear the Word of God and that will never return void. So it's all good.
As I got into the bus to go home, a guy in the back yelled, "Chorro!" and every one in the bus sprang into action and pulled shut the windows. A thief had tried to steal that guy's MP3 through the open window but he managed to pull it back. My heart sank because I knew there was a good chance I would know who the thief was. I craned my neck to look and sure enough I did know who it was; Oscar. And there he was, after his failed attempt, scouting for other opportunities through other open windows. Yet in all of this, there is hope. It won't happen over night but we need to keep sowing God's Word and we need to love them but also in a tough way and change will happen. Also, God needs to bring more men and women to do this work because the 3 of us is not enough to reach out to so many of them. And there is a definite need out there in Ciudad de Dios.
By the way, just as a side note: They all like my Chicken Salad sandwiches. They think it's good and also "elegant". That warms the cockles of my heart (whatever that means) as I love making sandwiches for them. :-)
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