Our big iron door shuts loudly. I am on the streets now. Gotta watch over my shoulder. I take two blocks and turn into the construction, a ripped up one way. I walk through a curtained alley and duck down another street. Two homeless men are burning a fire to cook something. Many of the homeless here are different from the ones back home. They are stolen men. It seems they have been taken away and their skin filled with vacancy. On up the way, two more dig through spilled garbage. As I pass, they do not look up. They never look up. The sun is going down. The fire is flickering off the buildings. Soon, the streets will be full. This is a night town.
This particular night is Halloween. The kids are all dressed up, walking around with moms, aunts and uncles. There's SpiderMan. Batman. Little Bo Peep and Snow White. A rabbit and a frog. A Jedi and a pop star. A ninja turtle and a cowboy. The streets are choppy, chunks of them taken out by weather and time. The kids are laughing. I am surprised this night by the joy. They say it is supposed to be the darkest night of the year, but I am taken aback by the laughter. In a moment's glance, it seems so nice, like problems do not exist. I know my mind glance is a farce. Years ago, a study came out of abducted girls. After countless investigations of missing females, the data showed that the trail of their whereabouts, for most of them, ended in Santa Fe, the barrio I am now standing in. Girls' traces followed from one barrio to another, offering hope of recovery, but when led to Santa Fe, they just dropped off the face of the earth. There is a night club here that was caught years back sacrificing young kids in their basement ritualistically. The owner of the place was dragged out into the streets and shot Wild West style while the police looked the other way. There is no doubt this place is sexy dark. But I cannot see it tonight. I jut see children laughing in outfits asking for a bag full of candy. As I walk further, I get to the sex district, near that night club. Women are lined up, beckoning for the men walking by to abuse them and pay a little for it. To my astonishment, I find them smiling. Laughing. The children are there, in their outfits. Little Snow White holds her bag open. A topless woman with two inch eyelashes bends down and drops a candy bar treat in and kisses the little girl on the cheek. Ninja Turtle gets the same. I watch in wonder, it doesn't even bother me. I look down the row, children everywhere getting the best candy in the neighborhood from the whorehouses. The very best. It is a ruse. Behind the walls, little girls are being raped for the price of a Snickers.
I walk further on my way to the Jungle. We have assembled a team of people to beckon the kids to another alternative. We promise them candy and safety. Stretchy hammocks, slides, a ball pit, a hanging bridge, a fireman's pole, fusbol, putt putt and a puppet show. We want to get these kids off the streets, just for a bit, to see them smile and drop their guard. One of my little buddies, Boy S, comes every Jungle. His demeanor in and out of the building tells his story. When I pick him up at his family's place, he is guarded and careful, rigid and strict with his emotions. The moment he walks through the doors of the Jungle, he transforms. His arms flail. He runs and laughs. He crawls all over my back and wants to play chase and wrestle. He is brand new, for a time. Perhaps he is just able to be a kid. I love seeing him here. It gives my soul tears. When he walks back out, he sets his shoulders back into place, and he won't hold my hand.
Tonight's Jungle is filled. Packed with teddy bears and Princesses. Knights, dragons, karate experts and tigers. It's awesome. The Jungle is a jungle. We sing worship together. The kids are dancing, shouting praises to a God that knows them. Who cries for them. Who calls for the same in us.
"Do you love me?"
"Then feed my sheep..."
If you want to help us continue to build this place, visit Formando Vidas and donate.
This particular night is Halloween. The kids are all dressed up, walking around with moms, aunts and uncles. There's SpiderMan. Batman. Little Bo Peep and Snow White. A rabbit and a frog. A Jedi and a pop star. A ninja turtle and a cowboy. The streets are choppy, chunks of them taken out by weather and time. The kids are laughing. I am surprised this night by the joy. They say it is supposed to be the darkest night of the year, but I am taken aback by the laughter. In a moment's glance, it seems so nice, like problems do not exist. I know my mind glance is a farce. Years ago, a study came out of abducted girls. After countless investigations of missing females, the data showed that the trail of their whereabouts, for most of them, ended in Santa Fe, the barrio I am now standing in. Girls' traces followed from one barrio to another, offering hope of recovery, but when led to Santa Fe, they just dropped off the face of the earth. There is a night club here that was caught years back sacrificing young kids in their basement ritualistically. The owner of the place was dragged out into the streets and shot Wild West style while the police looked the other way. There is no doubt this place is sexy dark. But I cannot see it tonight. I jut see children laughing in outfits asking for a bag full of candy. As I walk further, I get to the sex district, near that night club. Women are lined up, beckoning for the men walking by to abuse them and pay a little for it. To my astonishment, I find them smiling. Laughing. The children are there, in their outfits. Little Snow White holds her bag open. A topless woman with two inch eyelashes bends down and drops a candy bar treat in and kisses the little girl on the cheek. Ninja Turtle gets the same. I watch in wonder, it doesn't even bother me. I look down the row, children everywhere getting the best candy in the neighborhood from the whorehouses. The very best. It is a ruse. Behind the walls, little girls are being raped for the price of a Snickers.
I walk further on my way to the Jungle. We have assembled a team of people to beckon the kids to another alternative. We promise them candy and safety. Stretchy hammocks, slides, a ball pit, a hanging bridge, a fireman's pole, fusbol, putt putt and a puppet show. We want to get these kids off the streets, just for a bit, to see them smile and drop their guard. One of my little buddies, Boy S, comes every Jungle. His demeanor in and out of the building tells his story. When I pick him up at his family's place, he is guarded and careful, rigid and strict with his emotions. The moment he walks through the doors of the Jungle, he transforms. His arms flail. He runs and laughs. He crawls all over my back and wants to play chase and wrestle. He is brand new, for a time. Perhaps he is just able to be a kid. I love seeing him here. It gives my soul tears. When he walks back out, he sets his shoulders back into place, and he won't hold my hand.
Tonight's Jungle is filled. Packed with teddy bears and Princesses. Knights, dragons, karate experts and tigers. It's awesome. The Jungle is a jungle. We sing worship together. The kids are dancing, shouting praises to a God that knows them. Who cries for them. Who calls for the same in us.
"Do you love me?"
"Then feed my sheep..."
If you want to help us continue to build this place, visit Formando Vidas and donate.
1 comments:
Your words are filled with such compassion and love. You operate with God's wisdom and understanding and because you do, you also share in His sufferings. Well said, well done! You are going to be such a wonderful father to your little one because you are already being a father image to many children that really need to know this pure love. You and Sara are in my prayers always.
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