It’s funny how sometimes you pray things…and you’re sincere in your prayers…but somehow you don’t really expect God to answer or for things to change.

All I can say is that I’m thankful for God’s graciousness and faithfulness…

Jose Miguel came back yesterday. Of course that’s what I was praying for, but I have to admit that I kind of thought it was a longshot. But the great thing is…God’s pretty good with the longshots. =) He came back and returned all the things he’d stolen when he left. He still had to shave his head (the required punishment for leaving) and he’s going to lose this semester of school…which is sad because this is his last year. But if a boy leaves…they’re not allowed to go back to school for up to a year. Another day I’ll talk about how I feel about this…all I’ll say now is that it’s complicated, but it’s not a rule I’m very fond of.

Anyhow…when I got to the home yesterday, there he was. We talked and prayed together, and I tried to encourage him while still addressing the fact that what he did was pretty dumb. I think he gets that part. I think I mentioned that Reuben came back this week too, as did Yedi (or Jedi as I like to call him). Jedi was at the home on Tuesday to get the rest of his clothes, so I took him aside and talked to him. I asked him if things were good at his house and he said no. So I told him that I thought maybe he needed to suck it up and even though it would be hard, he needed to ask for forgiveness from the staff at the home and come back (some of the guys can get a bit prideful and don’t like admitting what they did was wrong). He didn’t say much…but I guess he was listening (it’s hard to tell with him sometimes…he’s young and easily distracted). It was good to see him back last night though. I always make sure to tell the guys how happy I am that they’re back (no matter what they did when they left)…and then I mock their shaved heads and tell them how guapo (handsome) their bald heads are. =) It usually makes them laugh. Which helps I think…

And the story doesn’t end there. There was one last guy that left, Pablo (we call him Chino). He’s one of my favourites too. He was at the home for well over a year and seemed pretty stable. But then last week he was gone. Anyhow, I was having lunch with another of the guys, Edwardo, and we were heading for the restaurant. We were talking about Chino and how sad it was that he left. All of a sudden Edwardo points and says, “Hey…there he is!” Sure enough, there was Chino with another kid standing on the corner. You have to realize…Santa Cruz is a big place (well over a million people), so the chances of randomly seeing Chino were small. But God has a plan and there’s not much you can do about it! =)

So we stopped and Edwardo went and got him. He came over to the truck and we chatted for a bit. I told him that we were all sad that he left and that I was praying for him. I gave him my cell number, so hopefully he’ll call. Please pray for him though. He’s another really good kid who shouldn’t be back on the streets…not that any of them should be of course.

One other piece of cool news. My Bible College (Briercrest) has a contest, I guess you could say, as a part of their big youth conference the end of February. Youth groups can present projects and then receive up to $8000 to help fund their idea. My friend Cheryl and her youth put in an application for me…to furnish the new home. I found out today that we’re one of the 10 finalists. Now on the weekend of YQ the kids at the conference will vote on who should get the money. Last year four different groups won. So….pray about that too! Let’s just say that I could probably use $8000! =)

Thanks again for taking the time to read this and to pray. I appreciate it! Sorry that the blog takes so much time to load some days. I’m working on fixing that….