I had lunch yesterday, with an old friend. He was one of the first guys I became friends with back in 2001. My friend Corina had taken me out to Miguel’s (the boy’s home) to visit. The staff lady who was running the home in Miguel’s absence (he was in the States for three weeks) was completely overwhelmed by the task of running the home singlehandedly, and asked if I would be willing to sleep in the dorm with the boys that night. Some of the older boys were bringing drugs into the dorm, and she needed someone to make sure everything was okay.

Not knowing what I was getting into (as I sit here writing this seven years later…still in Bolivia…still working with those same guys…), I said sure, no problem. But I needed a few things from the city, so Carlos was given permission to go back into Santa Cruz with Corina and I. Then he could bring me back out to the home afterwards.

After picking up a few items from my room, Carlos and I were on our way. We stopped downtown by the bus terminal for what was probably my first of hundreds of chicken dinners. The conversation was…sparse. There’s only so much you can say with five words of Spanish. But we still had fun. I probably made a fairly pathetic figure, I imagine. I’d only been in the country for a few days…I couldn’t speak the language…I never really knew what was going on. But in the end, that worked in my favour. Years later, Carlos told me that he’d been planning to ditch me and go back to the streets that night. But then he looked at me and thought that if he left me, I’d never find my way home…so he stayed. =)

Carlos and I built a strong friendship from that first night on. He became one of my closest friends at the home. Sadly his life caught up to him eventually. He always seemed to be one of the stronger boys at the home. He’s a gifted musician, and often he led the boys in worship. Many times you could find him off by himself playing and singing. When I did the missions trip to Cochabamba with the guys, he was one of the leaders.

But like so many of the guys, under that seemingly strong exterior was a life of hidden sin and spiritual battles. Some of that sin came to the surface about a year after I moved back to Bolivia, and Carlos had to suffer the consequences. Not long after that, he left the home.

He managed to rent a room for a little while, and stay off the streets. But then a series of difficult events took place…his father died, which Carlos took very hard…and then his younger brother moved back to the streets. Eventually Carlos joined him.

Carlos and I try to get together for lunch or coffee every few weeks or so. Over Christmas he had tuberculosis, so he and I ended up spending lots of time together at the hospital as we got him the medication he needed. Usually when I see him, he makes the effort to clean up and look presentable.

Maybe that’s why yesterday hit me so hard. He looked terrible. His clothes were dirty and he obviously hadn’t showered or cleaned up in a while. That’s not the Carlos I know. He was still funny and entertaining. He always makes me laugh.

But as I drove home I realized that his life is just passing him by. All the guys in the new home are guys he used to hang out with. They were his group. Now they’re working and preparing to study in university. They’re moving on in their lives, to the things God has for them. And Carlos is still where he was ten years ago. Sleeping on a park bench. Likely stealing to survive from day to day. He’s twenty two years old. When does this change? When does he realize what’s happening? Or is this his future?

Of course it’s not easy and the story is more complicated than what I can write here. We’ve talked many times about what’s happening with him and he understands. But there are reasons he doesn’t want to leave the streets…or feels that he can’t, at any rate. It’s only through prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit that his life and circumstances will ever change.

So please pray for Carlos. He’s an amazing kid who deserves better than this. He’s a son of God and needs to understand that. I still believe and pray that someday he’ll be able to experience the life and future that God has for him…that he’ll be able to use his gifts and abilities for God’s glory. And that he’ll receive the healing that he desperately needs and, I think, wants.