I got home the other night at around 10 PM, to find one of the guys waiting and upset. He’d gotten a call from a family member that his older brother, who still lives on the streets, had been in a fight and was hurt. He wanted to know if we could go look for him to see if he needed help. For sure I said yes…so off we went.

As we drove to where he thought his brother was, I called my parents to ask them to pray for us, (I think they’re getting used to these phone calls). I was feeling a little skittish after my last experience a couple of weeks ago. I had gotten a phone call from one of the guys I’m good friends with who still lives on the streets. He was upset and asked that I come down to the main plaza right away. I had plans in less than an hour, and I tried to explain that to him, but he was too worked up to listen. I was pretty sure he was high as well, so that didn’t exactly help.

Eventually I agreed to go see him. His brother, also on the streets, had been beat up and had was hurt. It was hard to figure out from the conversation how bad it was, but I figured it’d be best to go and see if he needed to go to the hospital. I met my friend and we went to an area where the street kids hang out. He needed to ask around to figure out exactly where his brother was. He’d only heard through the grape vine about what had happened.

While he was talking to some of the other kids, I saw another fellow start to walk towards my truck. I did a quick scan of my truck to make sure there was nothing laying around that easily stealable. It’s not that I want to think badly about every street kid I meet. But the truth is…when someone is using drugs, you really can’t trust them. I’ve learned to be careful. My truck was mostly empty (it’s been ready to be sold for the past two months…as I wait for the new truck…), so I figured everything was fine.

I really, REALLY wish I’d thought about the faceplate on my stereo….

The first kid who walked up to the truck was a kid I knew from the home I volunteer at. I hadn’t realized he’d gone back to the streets. I chatted with him for a couple of minutes, and then another kid walked up. He said he knew me, but I didn’t recognize him. The truth is, he made me a bit suspicious. He walked around to the passenger side of my truck, acting like he was planning to get in. That idea didn’t sit so well, so I hit the door locks. But the window was open and so he stood there and talked with me. Then my friend came back and for just a moment I was distracted and looked the other way. In that split second, the other kid reached in, hit the release on my stereo, grabbed the faceplate and took off. My buddy took off after him, but he had too much of a head start. He busted the stereo too, since he didn’t wait for it to completely open before he pulled the faceplate off.

That was a bit of a disappointing moment. I had plans for that stereo. The truck isn’t running that great…so I was hoping the stereo (which was a nice one) would distract any potential buyer away from some of the…less stellar aspects of the truck. =)

In the end though, God used the situation. My friend was pretty upset and started to cry. He kept asking why these things always happen to him. I explained (as compassionately, but firmly as I could) that many of the difficult things that happen to him are a direct result of his own decisions. In the past he’s blamed God for all the trials and tribulations that have come his way. But the reality is, he experiences many of these things (not all) because of the lifestyle he’s chosen. I explained to him that God has something much better for him, but he has to make a choice.

We ended up talking for nearly an hour. We never did find his brother. He made some decisions (one was to leave the streets and seek help), but sadly, I’m not holding my breath. I went to see him a couple of days later, and he was his old self again…making jokes and still living on the streets.

Anyhow, back to the other night. We ended up finding this fellow, and talking to him for a long time. This is the oldest brother in the family (there’s another younger brother, who I know actually, still on the streets as well). This guys’s probably around thirty. For sure there’s a profound sadness when you see a child or teenager on the streets. But somehow you still have the hope that there’s time for the direction of their lives to change. Seeing an adult still trapped in all the same bondages and addictions is really heartbreaking. This fellow has a daughter who is living in a children’s home. I talked to him about what a blessing it was to have a daughter, and how sad it was that she was growing up without a father. That he was missing the joy of raising her.

In the end, we prayed for him, and then I bought him some food and we gave him a few Bolivianos. His cut wasn’t too bad, although no doubt it’ll leave another scar. We told him that we would continue to pray for him. Both the fellow from my place and this older brother had tears in their eyes when we left. No one wants this, least of all this older brother. But I think he’s convinced that there aren’t any other options anymore.

So please pray for this fellow and for the guys in our house who still have family members living on the streets. I can’t imagine what it must be like to watch someone you love choose to live such a destructive lifestyle. I took a couple of the guys aside later and told them how happy I was that they were living here. There wasn’t any of our usual joking around. These guys know exactly what they’ve been saved from.