abandonment

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Our Eternal Address

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” -John 1:47-51

We saw an older man talking to Dreyson as we approached the steps of the cathedral. We were naturally curious. The children are diehard gossips and we knew someone would eventually let us know what was happening. Sure enough, one of them blurted out that the man was Dreyson’s father before we could even sit down on the steps. It was then that we were formally introduced. The father must have been in his late forties but his hard life made him look older. The father was visibly upset. He had come to convince Dreyson to go home today but it was obvious that it wasn’t going to happen.

We met Dreyson about two years ago. I remember the day clearly. On his first day in the streets, he came up to me and told me his name. Then he asked me not to forget it. I made it a point to write it down. The next day he came up and asked if I remembered his name which I did. He smiled and then went away. He has been streets ever since and for two years no one has come looking for him. Today was the first time we saw anyone from his household here. Dreyson made up his mind that he wasn’t going home today. His father could not understand why his son would prefer to sleep in the streets. He kept telling us that in his house he has internet and video games and even cable TV. He saw no reason why Dreyson would not want to go home. I told the father that the only person who knows the answer is his son. The father thought that it was drug addiction. His son sniffs paint thinner in the streets. This was something he started using in the streets. It did not him bring here. His father kept insisting that Dreyson return to his home but his son started closing up and finally he just walked away.

I took the father aside and suggested that he try a different approach. I suggested that he come once a week to the streets and just take his son out for a snack and just spend time with him. He could talk about what is going on at home and his brothers and sisters. Perhaps bit by bit his son would open up to him. I was little taken aback when his father said that he wasn’t going to do this. He wanted his son to just return home today. Unfortunately, things do not work this way. He could force Dreyson to go with him but he knows that his son will just turn and around and return to the street. I was a little disappointed that his father did not want to take the time to rebuild his son’s confidence.

His father eventually gave up and left. The other children and teens were upset with Dreyson that he did not return home as well. They said that if any of their parents came looking for them they would go home. It was actually quite a sad revelation. None of the parents have come looking for their sons and daughters. Many have spent many Christmases in the streets. No one has ever come to see them during this time. I think this must be the biggest blow to them. They are forgotten even by their families. Dreyson was thirteen when he came to the streets. It took two years for his father to come to the streets. Apparently, it was a bit too late.

We were reading the above biblical text for our team’s meditation. We usually read a passage from the gospel of John before going out into the streets. It is part of our work ritual. I have heard preachers put a mystical spin about Jesus seeing Nathaniel sitting under the tree. The text itself does not say that Jesus had a vision of Nathaniel but it implies that Jesus literally saw the young man and noticed him. Jesus was able to see something in this young man that perhaps others had just ignored. Jesus saw a young person who was honest and sincere. The whole incident had an tremendous effect on Nathanael. He immediately recognized something divine about Jesus. It did not take much to impress this young man. Even Jesus was surprised by Nathanael’s reaction. His reaction reveals something about the culture of the period. It is not much different from today. Most people, then and now, go through life without ever being noticed. In the land of Jesus, it wouldn’t be unusual to sit under a fig tree. In fact, it seems like a most rational thing to do in a hot climate. Nathanael was one of the many but Jesus noticed him and now he is remembered after two thousand years.

Dreyson can appreciate what Nathanael felt. He wants to be noticed. He does not want to be lost in the crowd. All the children know his name. He is one of the few children without a nickname. Nicknames are common in Brazilian culture. I am known as the longed haired guy among the homeless adults. It is not usually offensive. It is something cultural. However, Dreyson wants everyone to know his actual name. It is not just Dreyson. All the children and teens want us to address them by their given names. They feel special when we remember their names. It means that they are somebody to us. They will respond positively to anyone who recognizes their personhood. As good and special as this seems, we cannot stop here. This is not why we are here.

The gospel is more than this. If we stop at just recognizing the personhood of Dreyson or any of the children, then we are doing a great disservice to them. There is something greater. Jesus thought that Nathanael was setting his standards too low. He did not just come here to notice forgotten people. He came to connect us to another reality, a reality that is going to give us a firm footing in this transitory world.

The image of angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man is a reference to an Old Testament story of Jacob. Jacob lost his home and family and was forced into exile. It was at this moment when he was completely lost and alone that he saw this vision. This vision was a message of hope for a man who thought that his situation was hopeless. Jacob was disconnected from the world but God connected him to a reality that is permanent and non-transitory. Our children in the streets live a transitory life. Everything changes on a daily basis. Their friends come and go. Their families don’t seem to be able to provide the sense of belonging that they desire. They want to belong to someone or something. They want to be part of something special. They are vulnerable. They are willing to give themselves away to anything that would guarantee some sort of permanence. This is why we have to be clear in our purpose. We are not here to just give a sense of personhood. There is something greater and deeper than our self-esteem. It is a new identity in the eternal reality and Jesus is the One who is going to connect us. The children need to discover through faith. It is faith that will help them see this new reality. The first step is recognizing that they are individuals. They have to know that they are not mistakes. Their names mean something special to God. The next step is help them draw closer to discovering this eternal ladder that connects them to an eternal address. Our children and teens, just like us, are looking for a place where their souls will feel at peace. This is the promise of the gospel. Jesus wants to connect them to a reality where they can feel secure and grow into the person God has created them to become. Our task is to help them move in this direction. This is why we are here.

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Giving Evil Spirits Some Space

And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.- Mark 5:2-5

Every Friday we set aside a period in the afternoon to study the gospel of Mark together and its application to our ministry in the streets. Our last reading was on the above text. The story is a strange and detailed event of a demon possession and exorcism. Modern Christians have differing views on evil spirits and demonic possessions. Some might believe that the demon-possessed people in the gospel narratives were actually mentally-ill people and others might believe that there are real evil spirits who possess people. The differences of opinion are on how evil manifests itself but we all agree that the forces that isolate and destroy an individual are evil and must be removed. In other words, all forces that contribute to the self-destruction of any human being can be considered as evil spirits. In our work, we encounter evil spirits on a daily basis.

The possessed individual in the gospel was marginalized emotionally and spiritually from his community. His isolation was imposed by the community, as well as by his personal actions of violence. In isolation, he was destroying the only thing left for him to destroy, which was his own body. The gospel tells us that he cut himself with rocks. He was on the path to death. Henceforth, the cemetery was the only suitable place to keep him; away from society and abandoned to his own self-destructive habits. No one cared, perhaps no one knew how to care for him, except for Jesus. He went looking for this man. Jesus did not need to be there. There were no Jewish people there because they kept swine in this place. The only reason Jesus was there was because of this abandoned demon possessed maniac.

This story resonated with us. Our children and teens are like the demon possessed man. Society sees them as lost causes and they don’t see any hope in them. People are generally afraid of them and the children don’t make it any easier. They further contribute to their personal isolation and marginalization by their aggressive attitudes. They react against the rejection they sense. The old center of São Paulo is the metaphorical cemetery of this city. We are surrounded by old abandoned buildings left to decay. No important businesses are found here. Money is invested elsewhere in the city while the old center is left to die a slow death. However, this is the place where the children and teens find solace and refuge in drugs and other self-destructive habits…

The thing that stood out for us in this gospel narrative was the idea of space. The evil spirits needed available space to strive. They pleaded with Jesus not to send them away from the region because there was still space for them there. They asked to be sent to the herd of swine. Initially, I always found this part a little confusing and disturbing. Why did the poor pigs have to suffer? They were innocent animals. However, I believe that there is deeper significance to this story. In the Bible, pigs are unclean, ritually unclean. When we take into consideration this symbolic meaning of the pigs, then we are able to see that this story was a criticism of the society as well. There was an unclean presence in the society which still provided room for the evil spirits to strive. This unclean presence is not a mystery as it was clearly revealed in the general attitude of the people. They were more concerned about their financial loss than about the person of Jesus. They did not care if Jesus overcame an apparently violent and dangerous man. They did not care if this man was cured. They just cared about their financial loss. They valued things over people. In doing so, they created room for evil and destructive spirits to dwell in their city.

Destructive evil spirits need space to function.

We just experienced a sad incident a couple days ago. One of the boys with whom we have had a longstanding relationship suddenly turned aggressive and violent towards us. His name is João. He has been in the streets since he was ten years old. He was one of the first boys whom we met when we returned to this work. He was always a docile boy and never without a smile. However, last week, while we were helping a older teen get some legal help, João started attacking us for no apparent reason. We were a little taken aback at first and thought that he was joking. Unfortunately it was not a joke. We think that it was due to jealousy. João did not want this other teenager to receive any help. The situation got out of hand and caused a small crowd of onlookers to gather. We managed to get away from João’s aggressive behavior. Unfortunately, his attitude did not change the next day. He continued to fluctuate from the old João to this new raging maniac. Finally, we had to take a stand and cut all ties with João until he learns to respect us once again. It was particularly hard for our team leader who has worked with João for almost five years.

What made João change? Well, it wasn’t just the case of the “the devil made me do it”. Even though he never engaged in any criminal activities, he constantly sniffed paint thinner. His self destructive behavior provided the space for further isolation and destructive behavior. There was room for evil spirits to dwell in him and he couldn’t handle the fact that someone else in his situation was getting help. Evil spirits or destructive behaviors don’t just happen. We give them space to strive. One self destructive behavior opens the door to another and it becomes a downward spiral to complete isolation and despair.

Where is the gospel in this situation? We hope that it lies in the discipline that we have imposed on João. He needs a wake up call. He needs to see that he needs help to evacuate these evil spirits in his life. We have not rejected João. We have rejected the spirit which is destroying his soul. How do we proceed from here? Well, when the people in the gospel narrative rejected Jesus, Jesus left the man whom He healed to be His witness. We are the witnesses in this situation. Jesus redeemed us from our self destructiveness and now we can testify that His grace is able to do the same for João. We will patiently wait for João just like Jesus patiently waited for us to receive His healing.

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Cooking with Yuri: Suelen’s Story

But when I looked for good, evil came to me; And when I waited for light, then came darkness.-Job 30:26

Many things have happened since we last cooked with Yuri. However, I cannot give a proper update without telling the story of Yuri’s courageous sister, Suelen. In my previous post about Yuri, I mentioned that Yuri’s father abandoned the family when the children were very young. Then something tragic happened to one of the boys in the family which changed their lives forever. It was something that hit the national news but I don’t think that it is appropriate for me to go into the details here. It was the final straw for their mother and she lost all grasp of reality. She started using crack and eventually ended up living in the streets in Cracolândia. The children were left to themselves with no adult presence. The three boys accepted their so-called fate and became homeless in the streets where they engaged in crime and drug abuse. Sueli was left alone with her youngest sister who was barely nine years old. Suelen herself was only about fifteen. She refused to allow circumstance to determine her life. She refused to consider homelessness as an option. She wanted to take care of her little sister. In this vulnerable state, she got involved with young man who initially appeared to be a godsend but then out to be a nightmare.  He was physically abusive and got involved with drug trafficking. She had a son with him. When she turned 18, she decided to leave him. She packed her bags and left her boyfriend with her child and youngest sister but they had no place to go.

This was about the time the team met Suelen. Yuri was incarcerated and he wanted to get in touch with his sister whom he considered as his only chance for a better life. The team took all the information we had regarding Suelen and searched for her. It took a while but we finally found her taking shelter in single room which was actually rented by another friend. This friend was a physically handicapped man who lived on his disability check which was hardly anything.  However, with the little he had, he opened up his home which was a tiny room for Suelen and her family. This man did this without any hidden intentions. It was out of pure generosity. The team managed to find ways to get Suelen the help she needed and she eventually rented a small apartment in the outskirts of São Paulo. Suelen never asked for a single cent. She worked for everything. Our mission managed to raise some funds to pay for the youngest sister’s school uniform and other educational expenses. Suelen eventually met a younger man whom she married and now they can support the household with two incomes. They earn enough to survive and provide a safe environment for the children but it is still quite financially fragile. Suelen unexpectedly became pregnant and this happened at the same time as Yuri got out of the Juvenile Detention Center. Sueli and her husband opened their tiny apartment up for him.

Everything seem to be going well for Suelen and her family then all of a sudden her long-lost mother showed up at her doorstep looking very pregnant. Suelen was expecting to deliver her child in two months time and her mother was due at the same time. Her mother was still a crack addict and has no intentions of giving up the habit. However, she wants Suelen to take care of her child. She made it clear that she was going to leave her child with Suelen and return to the streets. Sueli and her husband do not know what to do at this moment. However, Suelen knows that she cannot feed another mouth in her household. Yuri needs to return to school and complete his probation before he can get a job. Sueli’s mother is not mentally stable and does not think rationally.

I cited the verse from Job because I have been meeting a lot of Jobs recently. Suelen is a Job. She did not ask or deserve these troubles and sufferings. They just happened. There is no magic wand to wave and change this situation. Suelen and her husband want to get ahead in life but they have to consider what that means. Many of us limit the idea of getting ahead to finances. However, this is not going to happen for them. They are earning too low to even imagine a moment in their lives where they will be financially secure. If Suelen and her husband want to become financially stable they would have to kick Yuri out of the house and refuse to take care of the mother’s new child (her sibling). Only then, they might be able to get somewhere financially but they would lose their souls.

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?-Matthew 16:26

Tough decisions await Suelen and her family and she called and talked to us about this. She does not expect us to have the answer. We are grateful for this because we have no answer. However, she wants to know where God is in the midst of it. She is not angry with God. Suelen has gone through enough in this life to know that God is present in the midst of all this. Sueli is a living testimony of God’s gracious presence in her life. She survived the odds to get where she is right now. She has actually ahead of us spiritually. She has experienced God’s goodness in ways which we cannot imagine. Through her troubles, she did not say “no” to Life even when everything around was teeming with negativity. Suelen is a Job and we called to be her friends in this difficult time. However, we don’t want to repeat the mistake of Job’s friends. She asks us to walk with her to discover the courage to say “Yes” to Life. We are going to wait with her to discover God as the foundation of our strength.

We are going to cook with Yuri this week again.

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