I finally sat down with Jose to chat, after trying to find time for a couple of days. With the team visiting, there just weren’t a lot of free moments. I looked at him, grinned and said, “Wow it’s been awhile eh?!” Jose looked back at me, hesitated, and then burst into tears. I swallowed, started praying like a crazy man, and asked him what was wrong…

Jose was the first kid I ever got to know at the home. For those of you who know the story, that was back in 2001. I was helping out and staying in the dorms at night because there weren’t any other male staff members. Miguel was in the States, and Edly (they were still single then) was running the place alone. There were 55 boys and just her. Some of the boys were bringing drugs into the dorm at night, and she was getting overwhelmed with the situation. She thought that because I was a pastor, I wouldn’t mind staying with the guys. Did I mention that I spoke maybe five words of Spanish? And that’s being generous…

But I stayed with the guys for five days…and that’s how all this started. But back to Jose. He was the first kid I ever really tried to communicate with…such as it was. I remember him sitting along a wall reading something. I sat down beside him and he showed it to me. I had no idea what it was, so he started singing. I recognized the tune immediately…he’d been reading the words to “Amazing Grace”. After he finished singing, he looked over and said, “Posey, si?” Posey is street slang for something that’s really good. So I agreed and said that yea…it really was.

When I came back to Bolivia the following year, Jose was gone and I didn’t see him again for seven years. Until last week when he turned up back at the home. The night before the team arrived, I went out to make sure things were ready for them. I came around a corner and there he was. He started laughing and asked me if I remembered him. That’s a bit of a loaded question…I’ve met hundreds of kids in the years since I started helping at the home. For sure he looked familiar, but I wasn’t entirely sure from where. Then one of the kids called to him, and I made the connection. It was Jose…or Capauedo as we call him. It wasn’t entirely my fault that I didn’t recognize him…the last time I’d seen him he was 13. Now he was 21…a lot taller and broader and with a lot more tattoos.

As we sat there that afternoon, Jose shared his story with me. After leaving the home, he went back to the streets and drugs. When he was 16 he was busted by the police with a bag of marijuana he was planning to sell. He ended up going to prison for the next three years. We’re not talking about a youth detention centre or anything like that. As he explained it, he was there with thieves, murders, narcotics dealers…you name it. And he had to fend for himself.

While we were talking, he mentioned my friend Corina. Later I asked her what her connection with him was. If he’d been studying with her at El Jordan when he got out of jail or what exactly. She told me that Jose’s girlfriend had been studying with them and that she’d helped them when their little baby died. She’d arranged for a coffin and burial. I don’t know much more than that…Jose never mentioned this to me…but it saddened me all over again. So much pain in such a young life.

As we sat there talking that afternoon (and a couple of more times later in the week), I was able to share with Jose a bit of God’s plan and purpose for him. Jose is so wracked with guilt for what he did and how it affected his family. He thinks that this drove his dad to become an alcoholic and become abusive to his mom. I’m not sure that’s very accurate, though. We’re all responsible for our own actions…including his father. He also doesn’t understand at all God’s grace and forgiveness. He made a commitment to Christ back in his days at the home, but I’m not sure how much he really understood. We talked about the story of the Prodigal and how the father welcomed his son back with love and forgiveness…even before the son had a chance to say anything. I really do love that story. We talked about the power of Christ to free us from sin and bondages. Jose has a serious drug problem and he’s really afraid that he’s going to turn back to drugs. He’s been clean (more or less) from serious drugs for about a month. But he says that the temptation is always with him. And he struggles so much with anger. He has moments of not being able to control it. I imagine some of that comes from his experiences in his past…but I’m convinced that much of it is spiritual as well.

We talked and prayed together, and I think he felt encouraged. But please pray for Jose…he’s got a long road ahead of him. He left the home the same day the team did. Not to go back to the streets I don’t think. But there’s no doubt that he faces a lot of challenges and temptations in the coming days. I have his cell number (I wasn’t there when he left, but he gave it to one of the guys to give to me), and I hope to continue to be able to meet with him and hopefully take him to church with us. Please pray for me as well…I have no doubt that God can set Jose free, but I also know that it might be a difficult road with lots of tough moments. I need a lot of wisdom and patience.

I’ve said this many times over the years, both in Canada and here in Bolivia…that with God it’s never the end of the story. Just because someone is making bad decisions in the moment and is hurting or in pain…it doesn’t mean that’s where they’re going to stay. God finishes the work that He starts. I’ve often wondered what happened to Jose and where he was. Seven years after meeting him and getting to know him…God’s given me another opportunity to come alongside of him and be his friend. That’s a cool thing…