fever dream

well i was going to take a nap. that's what sunday afternoons are for, right? in between church services, before football comes on the television, prime napping real estate.

no such luck. i'm like a little kid who isn't sleepy and can't lay still. hooray for being a grown up and getting to decide for myself when my nap is over :)

i've been meaning to do this for a while actually. and lest i begin each update with apologies for my tardiness, i'll save it and tell you like it is. these past few weeks have been some of the hardest in my life. and some of the best as well. by far. with all that i have had to do, at times just trying to stay alive, i really didn't put the update at the top of the "to do" list.

that being said, i will do my best to help you rejoin the loop.

in addition to my normal research projects and relationship building within the business community, i have been helping with the street kids a lot. with the girls, this has been monumental. i've been working with our hospital to help provide care for pregnant girls living on the street, and discounts for their births and such. this has often included running up to the bridge where our specific group lives, and reading zulma and gary (couple who just had a baby yesterday) the riot act for being there with their other 18 mo old boy, when they're mandated to stay in the room we provided for them near the job we helped gary get. bridge = glue sniffing and violence among the kids. not good for small children and pregnant girls.

with the boys it's been significantly harder. one was murdered in june just before i got here. another was stabbed not long ago, and as he was recovering in a hospital, was persuaded to commit suicide and jump from the window. not a week later, another boy hung himself at the bridge where all the other kids were sleeping. traumatic all around. we decided not to sit idly by and wait for the next kid to fall victim to hopelessness, and called an emergency prayer meeting. we brought down the house, praying and singing, pacing and raising our hands for hours. a few of the kids came, and we got a chance to bless them with prayer, rest, and pizza. it was so good to be able to show them how hard we are literally fighting for their very lives every moment.

the best parts of working with them, by far, have been the small things. when zulma came out to our hospital to get checked by our doctors, i got to care for little miguelito (18 mo old kiddo mentioned above). he calls all of us gringas "niorita" because he can't quite get the word "seniorita" out. we played on the slide and the swings for a long time while amy and zulma waited for the doctors. and every time i would catch him at the bottom of the slide, he'd grab my face with both hands, give me a gooey kiss on the nose, and coo, "niorita...." what a precious baby. born of a union formed on the streets of the city...with parents that sniffed glue constantly as he was growing inside....and here he is. perfectly normal, well adjusted, and very smart. after all that he has endured in his tiny little life, i can't wait to see what his future holds.

the boys also work on the corners, washing windows and juggling fire for the cars to make a little money. the other night i was on my way in to amy's house, sitting on the left side of the bus, closest to the median. my window was open, and as we pulled up to the stoplight, i heard yelling through my earphones. i took them out and looked around as 5 boys came running over to the side of the bus calling, "seniorita, seniorita! como estas? te extranamos!!!" (even though they saw me the day before :) ). i am sure the other people on the bus thought i was crazy as we chatted, gave each other kisses and high fives through the window. they were just jabbering on about how glad they were to see me, and asking if i would come see them at the bridge soon. these kids are anywhere from 11 to 15...maybe 17 years. sweet, sweet boys (except when they're high, of course).

i know this. i don't care what the world thinks. i'll reach out my hands to them from bus windows any time. every time.

all this being said, aside from having typhoid fever (not a lot of fun, just so you know) and being given death threats by the ring leader of the more dangerous street boys, these past few weeks have been an exhilirating experience to be sure. even these bad things just prove to me that god has me in his hands. if that weren't so, i would not still be here, living or otherwise.

and i have finally (AL FIN) found a church home here. this was my second sunday to attend, my first sunday to play and sing with the worship team. and we met such opposition...bloody noses, spilled coffee, weird sound systems, awkward keyboards, everything seemed to go wrong. but we stuck it to the man and pushed through to worship. in the end, our community was stronger and more blessed in our perseverance together than we would have been had it gone smoother.

and the overwhelming theme of all of this? you just never know where you'll find yourself or what god might ask of you.

i hope you have gotten a sufficient glimpse of life around here recently. i'll try to write again as soon as i can, and remember, i'll see many of you in just a few weeks!

chau chau!