Life.In.Between

-- Tuesday & Friday nights --

It's boiling hot and it wreaks of either sewage or sweat (or sometimes both). We're surrounded by the sounds of hip music, people laughing, pool balls hitting the gutters at the carpet ball tables & little tiny men playing soccer (otherwise known as Foosball). It's a regular Tuesday or Friday night, where we spend five hours hanging out with kids anywhere from age 7 to 20 in one of the poorest areas in town.

It's the youth center. A place of refuge for some & just another hangout for others. It's part of our normal routine & sometimes I feel that my "shock factor" has been muted. I'm used to it. I'm used to playing with kids who are too old for their age. I'm used to watching the raging hormones race around the room over & over...

But last night, I felt God knudging me to let go of the feeling of routine & look for something new...sort of remember where I am, & find that "shock factor" once again. Well, it worked!

The sisters - there are 3 of them. I'm not sure how old they are, but probably between 11 & 15. The three were kicked out of their parents house & were forced to live on the streets. Except they were able to "make a deal" with a bus driver, & as long as they do what he asks, they can live in his bus during the night. Well, you can imagine what sort of requests he asks of them. For awhile, I would get mostly irritated when they would decide to show up for the evening. With the sisters come lots of drama...drama with some of the other guys who come, drama with the random boys they bring with them...just drama. Though they weren't there last night, I was reminded (through other circumstances) that they can't help the trouble they cause because they don't know any better. These girls are forced to act like women though they are still girls.

And the shock factor that came last night: well, first there was Fernando. He's about 13 or 14 years old, has already been kicked out of school, has a fulltime job, & is addicted to marijuana (& who knows what else). He's one of those special kids that you can't help but loving even though he can be obnoxious and annoying. Last night, in an attempt to make a cultural greeting (a small kiss on the cheek) decided it would be funny to plant his big ol' lips right onto mine. I've gotta say, that was definitely not one of the finer moments of being here! I was shocked & angry & and even more upset that no one saw it! Needless to say, Fernando was forced to leave for the rest of the night.

Then there was the incident between the 2 brothers at the carpet ball tables. Alejandro and Edgar are usually wrapped up in the drama that comes with the 3 sisters. But I've gotta say, that Alejandro seems to really be seeking Christ in ways that Edgar is not. While playing at separate tables last night, Edgar, in a flash of some serious anger, threw a pool ball right at Alejandro, across 2 carpet ball tables. Thankfully it didn't hit him, but if it had, it would have seriously injured him or someone else. And then Edgar had to leave as well.

And to top it all off, we later got word that some "friends" were on there way down the street to beat up Alejandro. These friends are some boys who also come to the youth center & are only about 10 to 14 years of age. The fight was prevented due to the braveness of the men in our group, but was another disturbing force for me. These boys who wanted to fight were on drugs &/or alcohol, & was again a great reminder of where I am.

All of this to say, what happens to them in the Life.In.Between? We get to hang out with them and generally just have fun (while loving on them & teaching them about Jesus). But what do their home lives look like? Are there parents abusive? Are they enrolled in school? Will they ever beat the cycle of life in the poorness of El Colli?

So today, I have asked myself all day long, what happens during the Life.In.Between & what can I do about it? And I've decided that there's really not much I can do but pray...and that's what Jesus wants us to do anyway.