It is the New Year! Some would say that it is just a date. Nothing has really changed. Everything remains the same except the number of the year. Regardless of what we think or feel about the new year, there is a tendency to be reflective at the end and beginning of a year. We ponder about what we have done, what we are doing and, of course, where we are going. We have been here for more than five years. Most of the children whom we met when they were 13 are legally adults (18) now. Most of them still look like kids. They haven’t grown much physically and emotionally. The lack of good nutrition and the frequent abuse of illicit drugs doesn’t help. We ended last year very concerned about their drug usage. The whole of December we found our children sniffing cocaine most days. It is a recent development. They were so drugged out that they were unable to sustain a decent conversation. Maybe they found the end of the year to be overwhelming. Everyone is in a reflective mood and that includes the homeless. It must be painful and difficult for them. They might not have the means or words to express their past, present or future. They rather find ways to escape this tedious task. It was not a good way to end the year. We were hoping the new year might begin different.

It is summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The heat is unbearable. Our children are in the streets. We have to go where they are. There isn’t much choice for us. We have to confront the energy sapping heat to meet our children. There is a place with some shade in the streets. It is on the steps of the cathedral. When they built the Cathedral of Sé at this location, the old center, as it is commonly known here, was the heart of the city’s commerce. The square where the church sits used to be a place where the wealthy used to transit to and fro but today it is where all the homeless people hangout during the day. The old center is abandoned and there are hundreds of vacant buildings to prove its utter neglect. Many families from the marginalized sector of society are squatters in these places. The church remains here even though the prestige of its location is gone and never to be recovered. It has served for us for the past years as our meeting place. This is where the children hang out. There is a fountain nearby where the water should have been drained and cleaned several years ago. It is a cesspool of bacterial activity. On hot days like today, it serves as the private swimming pool for the homeless including our children. The water looks inviting for those who are not aware of the countless ailments that await those who plunge in it. The homeless, they just don’t care. It gives them a reprieve from the unpleasant heat.

No one we knew was around the steps. However, there were teens and children hanging out. They are new. This has been a growing trend. More and more children and teens are making the streets their home. We used to say that there were hundred homeless children in the old center but now the number has increased. The children and teens come from orphanages and some ran away from traumatic environments. They don’t know us personally but they know of us. They are just not sure how to approach us. We sit and wait. They will eventually come when they are ready. Jean walked by and saw us. He is a 13 year old boy who looks like he is 8. It doesn’t help that he acts and talks like an 8 year old too. He wanted to color with us. Slowly a group of teens gathered around us. Then we heard a commotion. A man grabbed hold of a teen by the collar and started punching him furiously. In between the punches he asked for his cell phone. Then he took out a jackknife. We grabbed Jean and moved him away from the scene. Thankfully, the teen broke free and ran away. The man yelled out at the boy and said that he was going to return and kill him.

Jean didn’t seem too disturbed by the incident. He wanted to continue with his coloring. We sat down and talked with him. Then others came up and talked with us. This was our first complete day of the year. This is the environment where we interact with the children and this is where they eat and sleep. This is where God has placed us to testify His presence. Thankfully, scenes as the one I just described are not frequent. It doesn’t make it less unsettling. For children and teens, it is a regular occurrence. Even though we are with them during the day from Monday to Friday, we don’t see things like these very often. Even though, we have been seeing brutal fights breaking almost everywhere even in the neighborhood where we live. We were disturbed by the scene but Jean wants to color. He wants to be a child. God wants us to be his parents for this short moment. We stayed. Soon the other teens whom we knew started appearing.

Wallace asked if we could bring a needle and thread the next day. He ripped his trousers and he wanted to mend them. Then he took out two foreign coins and showed them to us. Some tourist must have given it to him. He asked if we thought they were beautiful. They were. We could figure out that one was from Switzerland. He said that he wanted to give it to us as gift. We accepted it and he put on a wide smile that changed his whole demeanor. He was happy that he could give us something. It made him feel like he was in a genuine relationship with us. Perhaps, this is one of our roles. We are here to receive from the children and teens. It might be something little or simple but it comes with profound spiritual wealth, just like the widow in the story from the gospels.

Wanderson showed up next. He was swimming in the “pool”. It is amazing that he looked all clean despite washing himself in the filthy water. The last time we saw him was on his birthday. He disappeared for a while. He said that he was taking advantage of Christmas activities in different social agencies and churches. “Less time in the streets means less drugs I use.” he said. On his birthday, we took him a restaurant for lunch. It was his request. He wanted to have lunch with us. We did not see him several days prior to his special day. Someone had given him an old worn-out cell phone. He discovered facebook. He was able to access the internet and send me a message. He wanted to confirm our meeting time and place for his special lunch. I told him that we were looking forward to it. Before we said good bye, he said, “I love you guys a lot.” This is the first time we heard any of the teens using this kind of language even between themselves. It is a vocabulary that is not common in the streets. I took it as a Christmas gift from God. Perhaps, this is why we are here; we can help them discover words that they haven’t had the chance to use for a long time.

Suddenly, everything becomes clear. This is a New Year but nothing has changed. We were just needed to remind ourselves who we are and why we are here. There might be many disturbing things that happen this year. It doesn’t change our role here. The children and teens might be using a lot of drugs but our place is still here with them. Jean, Wanderson, and Wallace reminded us why God has placed us here.