In about an hour or so, we’re off to David’s high school graduation.  He’s our last guy to graduate, and it’s been a little while coming.  But no matter…we’re planning to celebrate in style.  It’s been a crazy couple of days, getting everything ready…but it’s worth it.  Yesterday after picking up his cap and gown for the ceremony, David was wearing his cap as we drove around in my truck, and he turned to me and said, “One dream is about to become a reality!”  =)

It’s kind of exciting for me too…I get to be his “father” and walk him up to the front to receive his diploma.  That’s a pretty cool honor.  Of course he told me Thursday night.  Then Friday afternoon I suddenly realized that I probably needed some dress-up clothes.  So yesterday Isabel and I scrambled to find me a suit (most stores are only open until noon on Saturday) and then today I was running around the market trying to find a shirt, tie, shoes, socks and a belt.  It’s not like at home…all the stores are kind of mixed together, so you just have to keep looking until you find the right stores.  I managed it, but it wasn’t my happiest moment…

Anyhow, I’ll post pictures from the grad and supper this week sometime.  I just wanted to ask you to pray for us tonight.  That Ken doesn’t fall flat on his face, and that David has a good time.  He doesn’t have much in the way of family, so I’ve been inviting everyone who even sort of knows him.  It’ll be fine, but I don’t want him to feel bad or anything…

So anyhow…my first boy’s graduating tonight…  I feel so proud.  =)

You may have noticed that, as of late, I’ve been posting here more often. The reason is simple. It’s been ridiculously hot here and the little coffee place where I go to use the internet has air conditioning…

I should have a tag for my posts called “Worst Missionary Ever”…

Yes, my guys are suffering from the heat back at the house. Yes, I should be there suffering with them. Yes, I’m here eating nachos and drinking a Diet Coke. Yes, I understand that the nachos pretty much negate any weight-losing value of the Diet Coke.

Are we done?

Good, then on to other news….

I fixed the problem of getting my mirrors stolen off of my new truck. After paying nearly $100 US for new (to me but not new in general) mirrors, I decided I didn’t want to go down that road again. So I got a guy to install these little metal clips that are rivetted to the mirror housing and fit over the glass. It sounds more confusing than it is. It’s pretty common here. And it’s worked well so far…

As a side note, the buying of the mirrors was a little…sketchy, shall we say. We looked all over the place, but no one had the mirrors I needed (just the glass, not the whole mirror). Finally we found a guy that said he had them. We negotiated on the price a bit (or rather Sandro did…I just sat there looking gringo-ish and stupid) and then pretty much ended up paying what he asked, since no one else had them anyhow. Then the guy said they were at his other store and that his friend could bring them over for us in twenty minutes.

So we sat there and waited. And waited. And waited… Finally at one point Sandro looked over at me and said, “I think he’s stealing them from someone to sell to us.”

Well…that hadn’t occurred to me…

When the other guy eventually showed up, it did feel a bit weird. I don’t actually think this guy stole them for us specifically…but the way he pulled one of the mirrors only partly out of his bag and used his body to shield the transaction from people on the street, seemed to say that perhaps the mirrors were in fact not his property originally. I felt like I was buying drugs…not rearview mirrors for a Toyota Tundra.

In the end I’m not really sure. It could have just been my overactive, watched-too-much-TV-as-a-kid imagination at work. But again…didn’t really want to go down that road again. So off we went to the “automall” to get the clips.

Okay, another side note (although since I’m not really sure what the overall purpose of this post really is…other than to escape the heat…these side notes may actually be the main point…). I love going to the automall. Every time I get suckered into buying things I don’t really need, but I don’t care. It rivals Disneyland for the funnest place on earth! You drive through a gate into a parking lot that’s surrounded by little shops that sell…well, pretty much everything. Tires, rims, stereos, speakers, cool lights, window-tinting, auto parts, car mats, decals, seat-covers…I could go on. If you can imagine it for your car, someone’s got it for sale. It’s like what Canadian Tire would be if the Canadian Tire people were a bit more fun…

While I was getting the clips put on, someone expressed amazement that I didn’t have my licence plates rivetted to my truck. That seemed like a good idea. That led to someone else suggesting I get all the plastic “Toyota” and/or “Tundra” emblems on my truck rivetted as well. That also seemed like a good idea. I also bought floor mats and a cool steering wheel cover thingy.

Before you get too concerned about where your “support the missionary” money is going, the whole shebang cost me just under $20. Tell me where you can get that kind of bang for your buck eh? =) And for sure those plastic Toyota emblems get stolen here all the time. I watched a kid pretend to wash the back window of a Landcruiser once, all the while wrenching the Toyota emblem off the truck. I was two lines over in traffic and couldn’t really do anything. It happened too fast.

Like I said before, everything has a price.

All I can say now to potential thieves is…good luck buddy. Try to rip the “Toyota” off my truck and the fender’s going with you. While I was waiting for the rivetter guy, I noticed that someone else was installing metal bands over their signal lights to stop people from stealing them. That too seemed like a good idea…but unfortunately I’d run out of money. However, the tires on my truck are pretty much on their last lives, so maybe when I go back to buy new ones…

One more day in the life of Missionary Ken…

PS  In case you think too badly of me, I’m only hanging out here in the air conditioning for an hour or so before I’m back to suffering with everyone else…  =)

Yesterday I went out to the boy’s home where I volunteer. I haven’t been out to the home in a couple of months. Call it a combination of being busy with my guys and a bit of tension with the director of the home (it happens sometimes… But it’s getting better, so that’s good). Other than the terrible state of the highway (and I thought it was bad before), everything was pretty much the same.

It was good to see the guys. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy being out there. Besides being a nice break from the heat of the city, it’s just fun to laugh and hang out with everyone. Obviously we had some catching up to do…

It’s nice to be missed.

As a side note, the whole “When are we going to eat cake?” thing makes me laugh. I heard that question about a thousand times the first year I was dating Isabel. I could never figure it out. I was always like, “Well…I don’t really know. I guess I could buy some cake or something…” One of the guys finally explained to me that people were asking when I was going to get married. Well why didn’t someone say so! That makes a lot more sense!

Of course my answer still stands…

Anyhow, I do have a prayer request. I’m pretty close to one guy in particular at the home. I’ve talked about him before. Considering what he’s come through in his life already, it’s always amazing to me how compassionate, quiet-spirited and solid he is. He’s just a really great kid.

We didn’t talk for very long, before he started talking about his desire to leave the home. He misses (and is very worried about) his dad, who he hasn’t seen in over a year. He wants to be with his brothers and other family members as well. I listened to him talk, and for sure my heart went out to him. What he’s feeling is a normal part of human existence. The need to be with family and the desire to feel loved is a part of who we are.

Unfortunately reality is often kind of harsh here. The truth is, both his brothers (who are older than him) have drinking problems. I don’t know much about his father, except that he left for Cochabamba over a year ago and (as far as we know) hasn’t contacted anyone from the family. It wouldn’t be the first time one of the guys has left to go live with a parent, only to find out that the parent has no desire to know them, or have them be a part of their life.

As well (and I think this is the case here), these moments always provide Satan with an opportunity to attack, and twist normal desires and concerns into something unhealthy. Concern for his dad is becoming an out of control fear in this young guy’s mind. He has no idea what he would do if he left, where he would live or how he would actually help his dad, but it’s all he can think about.

So we talked and prayed together. He’s only sixteen, and that’s a tough age at the best of times. I explained to him I feel strongly that God has him at the home for a reason, and that (again) God does have a plan and a purpose for his life. I told him that he wasn’t alone, and that I would be there for him, no matter what happened.

Please pray for this young guy. He’s one of the boys who really stands out in my mind. He has the gifts and abilities to be used by God in powerful ways in the future. But certainly there’s a battle raging in his heart.

God also used last night to reprimand me a little I think. I’ve been letting my own sense of busyness (and tension with a Christian brother), deter me from the ministry that God has called me to. It became obvious very quickly last night, that God desired to continue using me out at the home. I realized that I’ve been letting my own priorities (not God’s) and selfishness dictate too much.

So you can pray for me too. Understanding all of this doesn’t necessarily make all of the struggles go away. I could definitely use extra measures of wisdom and strength. But spending time with the guys last night helped me put a few things into perspective.
 

Here’s a funny thing. I can write at my blog about my life here and ask for prayer about different situations, etc…and my comments counter mostly stays at zero (I know people are reading and praying, so that’s fine. I’m not offended or anything). =) What makes me laugh though, is that when I make a comment on my Facebook status about the weather, I get more responses about that than from the last five of my blog posts put together.

Ah, it’s good to be Canadian…

Although maybe talking about the weather is more a Saskatchewan thing than a Canadian thing…I’m not sure. But it makes me laugh either way. And to continue celebrating my Canadian-ness, let me just say…

It was a ridiculous 45 C here yesterday! I haven’t confirmed that independently (one of the guys told me it was reported on the news), but I don’t doubt it. Last night at 10:30 PM I looked at the little thermometer I have in my room, and it said it was 34 C…in my bedroom!

We woke up to cloudy skies and cooler temperatures this morning, which was a nice respite. But it didn’t last. By lunch time the sun was back and by midafternoon it was hot again. Maybe not surface-of-the-sun hot like yesterday…but hot enough.

I wanted to thank you for your prayers yesterday and over the past few weeks. Last night I had a conversation with one of the guys I was writing about yesterday, and I heard the answer that I’ve been waiting to hear now for a couple of months. I took him out for supper and we were talking over a plate of chicken, when he mentioned something in passing about his future plans. I’ve been trying to make a conscious decision to not push or say things to him that might be manipulative, regarding his future. I’ve given him my opinion of course… =) But since then I’ve tried to back off as much as possible. So when he made the comment last night, I was trying to decide if I should say something or not. In the end, I decided it would probably be best if I just let it slide and not get into it.

Yea, I made it about three minutes past that decision before the words came out of my mouth, “So……have you decided what you want to do yet?”

My friend smirked just a little, and then hesitated. He was obviously drawing this moment out as long as possible. I’ve worked with him for a long time, and he knows me pretty well. As cool as I was trying to be on the outside, he knew this was killing me on the inside. Finally he said that he’d made the choice to study and continue living with us.

I wish I could explain exactly what this means. This is a kid who was abandoned to the streets when he was four or five and didn’t come off until he was nearly fifteen. He told me once that he just imagined he would die there. He’s struggled his entire Christian life with believing that God has a future for him. He does have dreams for his life, but has never really believed that they’re possible. So for him to make this decision, to follow the more difficult path, rather than just go down the road of least resistance, is a huge thing.

So anyhow, I didn’t say anything…I just sat there with a big, stupid smile on my face, until he started laughing.

This Sunday night we’re going to his high school graduation, (another milestone we weren’t quite sure was ever going to come). In four years…well, maybe five…the plan is, we’ll be going to his university graduation.

Thanks for praying and for being a part of this! Please keep praying though. This is a great and encouraging next step…but there are more than a few steps that still need to come….
 

UPDATE: Just wanted to make a quick comment re: my “Back on the bus…” post the other day. On my way to reclaim my truck from my mechanic (and yes, it was finished by day’s end), I broke down and took a taxi instead of another bus. It’s more expensive (a couple of bucks as compared to about 40 cents), but I was tired and didn’t feel like fighting the crowds for a place to stand on the bus.

But no matter, my comment is about my taxi driver. I waved him down, and was pleased to see a rather newer Toyota sedan pull up. That was a nice change from the deathtraps you sometimes end up in. I quickly negotiated a better price than the one quoted and then settled in for the trip. Here’s the thing though…my driver had to have been on the high side of approaching eighty. He was definitely…advanced…in years. He sat straight up and down (his back never actually touched the seat behind him) his hands gripping the steering wheel, and being somewhat shorter in stature, his line of sight could barely clear the dashboard. It was like being in a Mr. Magoo cartoon…

But here’s the thing…you sure wouldn’t have know it from his driving. He wove in and out of traffic like it was the Daytona 500, his hand never a few seconds away from another blast on his horn. He took on other taxis, buses and the occasional big truck, without even blinking or giving an inch.

Of course I’m assuming he actually saw them. I think he did. And as much as I appreciated his “Joie de Vivre” approach to driving, I had to ask myself what kind of reaction time an 80 year old race car driver actually had. In the end though, I figured he’d survived this long, what would be the chances of him going out the moment I was in his taxi? Actually…don’t answer that. I think we all know the answer. But anyhow, even if he did, what a way to go…in a spectacular fireball explosion the result of a head on collision with a city bus in a taxi driven by an eighty year old Mr. Magoo…

Anyhow, in the midst of the silliness, I do actually have a few prayer requests. The guys are all finishing up this school year, and will soon be going into summer holidays. Please pray that they study hard and finish well. The almost all are struggling with one class or another (or more). The truth is, their high school wasn’t a very good one, and didn’t prepare them much for university. But we’re working through that. We’ve got a couple of tutors coming each week, and Isabel continues to work closely with them to monitor how they’re doing.

We also need summer jobs for them. Sitting around the house all summer annoying Ken is not a good option. We started a landscaping business, which has gotten off to a pretty good start, although there probably won’t be enough work to keep them all busy. So some of them will need other work. Pray for decent jobs with good working environments (ie. no temptations).

And finally, a couple of the guys have decisions to make as to wether they’ll continue living with us next year and studying. Sadly, they’re under pressure from outside to leave and find jobs. It’s really not a good idea for a lot of reasons. The hardest part for me is that, one of the reasons they considering this, is because they still don’t believe that God actually has a future for them. They don’t believe they could achieve the goal of finishing their education and finding a good job. They have the dream…but since nothing good has ever happened to them, it mostly stays that…just a dream.

So please pray for the guys, and for me. As I said before, we seem to have come through the worst of an especially bad time, but issues continue to crop up from time to time. But it’s been encouraging to be able to work through these problems with the guys, and hopefully help them to learn that it’s possible to deal with difficult moments and continue on with life.

Thanks for reading and praying everyone!
 

It’s an interesting fact of human nature that we’re rarely satisfied with where we’re at or what we’re experiencing (at least in terms of the weather). So many people write me and tell me how much they hate the Canadian cold and wish they were here with me enjoying the warmth of Bolivia (those e-mails come with more frequency and stronger wording the closer to February we get).

But the problem is, I’m not really enjoying the warmth of Bolivia that much either. Right at this moment it’s probably 35 C outside, and the airconditioner in the coffee place I’m writing this isn’t working. So that makes it about 95 C in here. I’d do anything for a little -40 weather right now. But of course I’d be happy for about 30 seconds and then wish I was back in my 95 degree coffee shop….

See what I mean? Or maybe it’s just me…

Last night the only way I could sleep was putting my big fan about six inches in front of my head. It’s a little hard to catch your breath when you role over in your sleep and the wind catches you square in the face…but after gasping for a moment or two, it’s okay and you go back to sleep…

My truck is at the mechanic’s today. I wrecked….something…when I was doing my rally drive back from the waterfalls the other week. I actually do know what I wrecked, but it would take too long to explain it when I don’t actually know all the names of stuff. I’ve had enough of those conversations with my mechanic father over the years (“I don’t know Dad…it’s the rubber thing that covers the joint thing up near the front tire… Yes, there’s something leaking out… No, I don’t know what it smells like…”).

I don’t feel the need to have that conversation here.

The short of it is, I’m truckless today. Which means I’m taking the micro (bus) everywhere. Which entertains the guys in my house to no end. I think they forget that for the first year and a half I took the bus everywhere I went. I have the stories of ending up in the middle of nowhere to prove it. They were laughing at our German volunteer kid today, ‘cause yesterday he fell asleep on the bus, missed our stop and ended up somewhere way out on the edge of the city. Yea…been there and done that…more than once sad to say.

I’d forgotten what riding the bus here can be like. Sure they’re crowded sometimes. Sure it can be a challenge not to fall over when you have an especially vigorous driver. But that’s not the part that makes me laugh. Everytime, it seems, I look down or close my eyes for a moment (NOT sleeping!) and then look up again and go, “Now where the heck am I?!” I don’t know how it happens. Then as the bus slowly (or insanely fast, depending…there is no happy medium) winds it’s way through another random neighbourhood, you spend the next twenty minutes trying to see something familiar and/or deciding if you should be getting off this bus and taking your chances with another one.

Of course this all used to freak me out a lot more than it does now. Now, I’m mostly pretty apathetic. I figure I’ll end up somewhere eventually. As long as I managed to scam a seat and I’m not standing or hanging out the door…I’m good. I had a funny moment this morning as I was riding the bus and having my ritual trying-to-figure-out-where-I-am moment. I saw a church I recognized. But then I wasn’t sure if I knew where I was or if I’d just been lost in the same area before.

As it turned out…it was the latter…

Well…there’s no real purpose to this post, other than to just share another random day in the life of Missionary Ken and keep myself entertained for the next hour while I wait to see if I can have my truck back or not.

Anyhow, I really hope it rains tonight…and I really, REALLY hope my truck is ready soon…
 

There’s a web page I enjoy a lot. It’s called “Despair, Inc.” and it remakes all those motivational posters (you know…pretty pictures and catchy sayings) into something that’s a lot more entertaining. One of my favourites is…

“It’s always darkest just before it goes pitch black.”

But the thing is, the sappiness of the original poster, “It’s always darkest…just before the sunrise.” (or something along those lines) is actually fairly accurate (my apologies if you have and/or like that poster!).  I’ve learned over the years that much of the time, when I’m going through a difficult time either personally or in ministry, it’s a precursor to something good that God is going to do.

This week was no different. As I said the other day, we’ve been going through a pretty rough patch at the house lately. It got to the point where I had to get out for a few days. I figured, hanging out on my own at a nice little hotel for a bit would do the trick.

Yes, well…I won’t deny that it wasn’t fun. It was. Having my room cleaned and my bed made for me every morning brings out the best in me, as I’m sure you can imagine.

But, I still ended up coming back to the same set of problems and issues. Among other things, the night after getting back, I found myself sitting up until 4:30 in the morning, wondering where one of the guys was. He just didn’t come back after his evening classes. As well, I’ve been feeling a lot of frustration and having more than a few “What am I doing here?” moments. I just don’t always feel as effective as I wish I could be. I watch our pastor (a young guy in his early thirties) or our other volunteers interact with the guys, and as happy as I am that they’re connecting well and building good relationships, there’s a part of me that feels frustrated. It’s so easy for them…you know, being that they speak Spanish and all. =) I can communicate fine, but it’s still not the same as talking to someone in your native tongue. More than a couple of times in the past few weeks I’ve asked the question, “Surely there are easier ministries out there somewhere…and preferably closer to a beach…”

But then in the midst of my despair and grumpiness (I prefer that word to the more accurate “whiney-ness”), as so often is the case, God chose to work. One of the guys came into my room this week and I asked him how things were going. Not so good, he said. So we talked and yea, his life right now is pretty rough…and not because of anything he’s doing. He’s actually trying to make good choices. And that makes it all the more difficult. In the end we prayed together, and he thanked God that he had someone in his life who he could talk with and who could give him good counsel.

The funny thing was, it seriously took me a moment to realize he was talking about me. =) But it was nice to hear that. This isn’t meant to be a let’s-pat-Ken-on-the-back-and-tell-him-how-nice-he-is post. It’s more about understanding how God chooses to work and use us. I come back to II Corinthians a lot, where Paul is talking about his thorn in the flesh. Basically, it’s the idea that God wants to use us in our weaknesses, maybe even more than in our strengths. When things are going well and life is smooth (and yea, there are those moments), it’s so easy to forget who’s actually the power behind what’s happening. When we’re at the end of the rope, so to speak, we’re suddenly forced back into a new understanding of “…His power is made perfect in my weakness…”

In the end, this has been a week of seeing God at work. The situations that I was worried about have all improved. The conversations I needed to have went well, and the guys responded in mature and positive ways. Although, by all means, please keep praying. We’re not free and clear yet.

And the kid that came home at 4:30 in the morning? Well…obviously it was a pretty bad decision on his part. When I got up the next morning and found him home, I dragged him out of bed after four hours of sleep, and put him to work. Our house and lawn have never been cleaner and better manicured (on the upside, these were some jobs that I’d been putting off for awhile…it’s nice to have them done now!). The roar of the lawnmower didn’t help the slight hangover I’m sure he had.

That night I sat down with him and we talked more calmly than we had in the morning (I’m not good in the mornings at the best of times…much less after four hours of sleep). I just talked openly and honestly about the direction his life was going. I had prayed hard all afternoon about that conversation…sometimes when people know they’re in the wrong, they’re not always willing to acknowledge that or receive correction in any kind of positive way. I was really unsure how he was going to respond. He hadn’t exactly been…uh, gracious?…during the day when he was working.

Not only did this guy talk about what had happened the night before, he suddenly opened up about a whole list of things that had been going on in his life in secret over the past year. I’ve always known there were things in his life that he was either not talking about or lying about. More than once I’ve told him that I was waiting for the day when he was honest about the choices he was making. That moment came last night. And trust me when I tell you, that was a huge step for this kid. This is a kid who spent over ten years of his life on the streets. He’s never been able to trust other people much, and for him to say, “This is what’s been going on…”? Well, it’s a big deal…

But, like I said to him last night…it’s the first step (and a huge one) of a lot of steps he needs to take. This is only the beginning. This young guy will definitely need a lot of prayer and support. So please pray for him, and for the other guys. For sure it feels like we’ve come out of an especially dark tunnel, and that’s encouraging. But there will be dark moments still to come, I’m sure. But we can be confident that God is faithful, and His Spirit is working, bringing healing and restoration. Thanks to all of you who’ve been praying this past week. I appreciate it! There’s no question that it’s making a difference for us down here.

Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to read this everyone!  Feel free to go back to scraping the ice off your car windows now…

Oh, and some other favourite posters…

“Hard work often pays off after time,
But laziness always pays off now.”

And finally….


“If you can’t learn to do something well,
Learn to enjoy doing it poorly.”

I’ve alluded to this a couple of times, but I’ll say it outright today….it’s been a rough couple of weeks in the house. Nothing unusual mind you. Typical living-with-eight-teenage-ex-street-kids kind of stuff. Each situation taken individually probably wouldn’t have been much of a problem. It’s just that everything came down at the same time. The funny thing is, I had just commented to one of the guys how much I was appreciating the atmosphere in the house…just very peaceful and fun.

But then imagine a big pallet of bricks crashing down. For two weeks it was one thing after another. Every day was a different crisis. For most of the guys, their problem only lasted a couple of days and then they were back to normal. But for me, it was on to the next issue. It just got to be too much. Plus I live in the house with the guys, so it’s not exactly possible to go home at the end of the day and leave the issues at the office.

Last weekend I decided it was time for a break. I made arrangements for some people from my church to cover me and stay at the house…and I took off for a little hotel I know. That’s one of the nice things here…those sorts of things (hotels, restaurants, etc) are pretty cheap. So I’ve been enjoying cable tv in English and laying around reading by the pool. I also like the fact that when I leave and come back, the room’s clean and my bed is made. I’ve spent more than a little time this week, trying to figure out how I can make that work when I get back to my normal life.

Anyhow, tomorrow it’s back to reality. I’m mostly feeling better. Unfortunately I have a couple of difficult situations that still have to be dealt with. One, especially, is going to be tough. I’m not sure what the outcome will be. But I could use your prayers for wisdom and patience.

I also need to make some other changes in the house too. For sure, this has been a year of learning… figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Some things that aren’t working, now need to be adjusted. You can pray that I have the words to explain these things to the guys, and that they have the wisdom and understanding to work with me, to make these changes.

In the midst of all of this, I still see God at work. I’m not a big advocate of the whole “open your Bible and point to a verse” kind of hearing from God. But sometimes that seems to happen. Last Sunday I was especially feeling the stress, so I slipped out during the service. I just spent a bit of time praying and reading my Bible. I started flipping through different books in the Old Testament, thinking about where I’d start reading, and I basically just opened up to II Chronicles 20. Not sure I remember the last time I was reading in Chronicles, but this is the first thing I saw…

“For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

So I backed up to read the rest of the story. Judah was being attacked by three different armies, and the people knew they couldn’t win on their own. So the King gathered all the people together to pray…

Those words really spoke to me. This is not my battle…it’s God’s. He’s begun a work in these guys, and He will continue that work. Absolutely, a spiritual battle rages here. I wish I could say that I’m always strong and prepared…but I’m not. I do know, however, that God has already given me (and the guys I work with) victory. As I go back tomorrow, I’m mostly feeling God’s peace. I wish I could say completely, but I’m not quite there yet. But certainly things are better and I’m looking forward to seeing the guys and getting back into the thick of it. As I said earlier though, I definitely covet your prayers right now. We need God’s protection and peace in the house…a sense of His presence and joy…and a continuing understanding of His faithfulness.

“Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.”
 

Before I start this story, I want to be clear on something. I’ve gone to a lot of soccer games here. Most of the time we yell and cheer and we go home. No problems. Certainly no getting mashed up against a chainlink fence or getting caught in the middle of a riot.

Having said that…here’s how the night unfolded…

We arrived at the stadium at around 4:30, Sunday afternoon. The game started at six, so of course the place was already pretty packed. There were some dark clouds off to the south, but that’s happened before, and I’ve never been to a game yet that’s been rained out. We bought our customary squares of Styrofoam to sit on (the cement bleachers are a bit tough on the backside after four hours of sitting) for twenty cents, and settled in to wait for the beginning of the game. This being a “Classico” (a game between the two rival teams of Santa Cruz) the fans were already chanting and singing and jumping and generally having a good time. Then the wind started to blow and it started to spit a bit. We all had high hopes that it would blow over quickly…what’s a little rain after all…this was a classico!

Then the heavens opened and a torrent that would have made Noah proud started to fall. We were instantly soaked. The wind blew sheets of rain across us, and every time the crowd would yell…let me just say, that water was cold! Lots of people ran for the gates to try and get under shelter, but the reality was, 35,000 people couldn’t fit under the bleachers. Most people knew that, and didn’t bother trying. Besides, there was honour at stake. We were there to support our respective teams, and a little rain shouldn’t be able to deter us!

And for the most part it didn’t. The 8,000 on my side of the stands (Blooming) just kept jumping and cheering and whistling. So did the 8,000 on Oriente’s side. Flags waved, people sang, shirts came off (kind of a Bolivian guy thing), banners were ripped off the fence by the wind…and the party raged on.

And the lady selling cheap, plastic rain coats for three dollars a pop continued to make a killing.

Twice the officials came out to see if the game could start….and twice the rain decided to start up again and send them scurrying off the field. I can’t even describe to you how wet we were. It was incredible. There were waterfalls off each level of the stands where you normally sit. The drains around the field backed up and started flowing the wrong direction. My shoes blew bubbles every time I wiggled my toes.

Finally the rain seemed about finished (after an hour and a half) and the worst of it seemed over.

Then the riot started…

At first I wasn’t sure what was going on. All I knew was that the crowd suddenly surged away from the centre section of our area and people started running past us. I figured maybe a fight or something had broken out (that happens occasionally…usually some of the hard-core fans are somewhat lubricated before arriving at the stadium). Usually any fights are over quickly and amount to nothing more than a few shoves and yells before the jumping and singing starts up again.

This seemed more serious, however. I could see some sort of confrontation taking place (although it was still kind of tough to figure out exactly what was going on), but the more worrying part were the crowds of people running to get out of the way. Hundreds were climbing over the fences separating us from the next section. Then they continued to run across that section towards the exits. The police once again came barrelling out onto the field, but it took them a while to get the big gate open between the field and the stands.

Jimmy was standing next to me, and I turned to say something to the three other guys who were with us…only to discover that they were long gone.

Cowards.

I’ll be the first to admit that I occasionally have more curiosity than common sense. This would definitely be one of those moments. I kind of wanted to see how the whole thing played out. =) There were other people still standing around (so I wasn’t the only one) and Jimmy seemed calm enough, so…

As it turned out, two different groups of fans started brawling over something or other. The police eventually waded in (they finally got the gate open), and chased everyone out. Jimmy and I just tried to stay out of the way. There were a few dicey moments, but for the most part it was fine.

When we got back to the truck, we had a fun time mocking the other guys for their cowardice.  I told them that real men don’t run when the fighting starts.  We stand our ground!  They laughed and asked me if I was William Wallace (of Braveheart fame).  I replied that, yes…yes I was…nice call. 

All in all it was a pretty fun night. We ended up finding a pretty decent pizza place and introduced a couple of the guys to restaurant pizza (I’ve made my version a few times). Then, still soaking wet, we headed off to the movie theatre for the new James Bond movie. The only bad moment was when the theatre’s air conditioning kicked in and it felt like a Saskatchewan winter in there. Pretty sure I’ve got frostbite now…

One comment on the movie before I go. The last half took place in Bolivia! And they talked about Canada! When was the last time Bolivia and Canada were mentioned in the same movie? The scenes in Bolivia were supposed to be filmed here, but there was some political tension at the time (go figure) and so they filmed in Chile. They did an okay job making it look like Bolivia, although there was one funny moment. James Bond gets pulled over by the police at one point. The cops actually had real Bolivian police uniforms on, but they also had these hilarious white motorcycle helmets and sunglasses on. The whole theatre started laughing. It was pretty entertaining…

Like I said, it was a fun evening. That’s one of the things I like about life here. You never quite know what the day will hold. =)

UPDATE: So the game was held the next night. Out of the five tickets we had, we managed to find three that hadn’t been ruined by the rain. We had to go to the game two and a half hours early and security was crazy. The game was great though. The teams are actually pretty evenly matched. There was some tension and like I said…lots of security. Even the teams were feeling it, and twice fights broke out on the field and the police had to come out to calm things down. I was pretty sure Blooming was going to lose, as it was 3-1 going into the final few minutes. All those goals had been hard fought for, so it seemed like things were over. Then, miracle of miracles, Blooming came back with two more goals in less than five minutes, to tie it up.

Blooming fans went crazy. You’d have thought we’d won some kind of championship game, rather than just tying a not-really-important game. Fans were singing Blooming songs for blocks as they left! All I know is that I didn’t have to…ahem…listen to anyone talk about their team beating my team. That was nice.
 

I had lunch today with a young guy I know from out at the boy’s home. I haven’t seen him for awhile, but he’s a guy I was pretty tight with. I’ve written about him in the past. Before moving to the boy’s home (where I volunteer), he had one of the worst drug/alcohol problems I’ve ever heard of. He told me once, that he was high or drunk pretty much every day. His mom finally called Social Services and asked for help, since she had no idea what to do. They placed in Nacer (the boy’s home) almost exactly two years ago.

Not long after he arrived, I started planning a new Bible study with some of the guys, about experiencing spiritual freedom. Many of the guys are trapped in a never ending cycle of issues and bondages in their lives, as a result of their past experiences. I’ve said this before, but many of them can be off the streets (and drugs and alcohol) for two, three years (or more) and end up going back. Even though they see how destructive it is, that lifestyle still has incredible control over them.

Anyhow, back to this friend of mine. I was thinking about who I was going to ask to be a part of this study with me. I was mostly considering guys who’d been at the home for awhile, and who seemed a bit more stable. But God kept leading me back to my friend. I didn’t even know his name at the time, but I had a strong sense that I should ask him if he was interested. He said that he was, and he joined myself and four other guys in getting together each week.

He was a constant surprise to me. I have never seen someone grow and change so quickly. He ate up everything I threw at him and wanted more. He had questions that made me take a step back and think for a moment. Some days the other guys would be busy, but we’d still get together, just him and I, because he had so many questions.

I knew he was having problems out at the home. He was getting frustrated living there, and at one point left and then came back a couple of days later. He was in his last semester of high school, so I just kept trying to encourage him to stick it out until he finished. But then in August I heard that he’d left. I was pretty sad to hear that. As much as he’d matured over the past year and a half, I wasn’t convinced that he was ready to go back and face the temptations and issues from his past that would no doubt surface once he was home.

I was excited to hear his voice on the phone last week, asking if we could get together. I said for sure we could. So we made plans to get together for lunch. As soon as I saw him, I knew that things weren’t great. I could tell that he wasn’t on the streets or anything (he never had been a street kid), but his “look” said that he was back into the partying and drug scene.

It didn’t take long to jump into a conversation about what was happening in his life. I’m not one to shy away from that, and he seemed to want to talk about what was happening. My first impressions were confirmed, as he talked about returning to drug and alcohol use. Maybe not as deeply as before, but still…obviously not what God wants for this young man’s life.

And that was the interesting thing that came up fairly quickly. It was obvious that this is not the lifestyle that my friend desires either. I asked him, at one point, if he was happy, and his quick and unthinking shake of his head and reply of “No…” spoke volumes. He told me how, when he uses drugs or gets drunk, it’s almost always a negative experience. He feels attacked and depressed. He feels like he’s losing something. His family is again stressed and upset. His mom is getting older (he’s the youngest) and they’re the only two left at home. Him coming back drunk or high is not helping her health. He said that the only time he feels at peace is when he tries to read his Bible or pray. He felt strongly that when he became a Christian, God placed on his heart a desire to go into ministry. He’s wanted to go to seminary for much of the past year and half. That desire is still strong in him, although I think he’d mostly given up on the idea.

So we had the opportunity to talk and pray together. I talked about who he is, as a Son of God, a Child of Light. I assured him that his position with Christ hasn’t changed, and that God’s call and purpose for his life is still there. But he has some choices to make. He has responsibilities as well. He can’t just blame his friends for the temptations they put in front of him, and his inability to stand against that.

And we talked about his future. That there’s hope. That there’s still a place for him with us in the house, if he starts making better decisions. We’d often talked about the future and him living with us and studying at Bible college. But I told him I wasn’t willing to rush into anything. I wanted to see that he was serious about the desire to sort things out in his life. And I told him that for sure, he wasn’t alone anymore. That there were people who were willing to help him.

So next Saturday we’re going to get together again. He’s going to stay overnight with us and then go to church the next morning. He lives a couple of hours outside of the city, so coming in on Sunday morning isn’t really an option. And hopefully it’ll be a good way for him to become more a part of us, and feel comfortable with the guys.

Please pray for this fellow. He has a ways to go. There’s no doubt in my mind that drug and alcohol addictions will always be a temptation for him. But that doesn’t mean he has to live his life in bondage to them.

I really appreciate this guy…he’s a lot of fun and very gifted. The compassion he has for others is very evident in his life. I can see the call that God has placed on him. My prayer is that he’s taken a step back from the edge, and a step towards the abundant life that Christ offers us.