“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. – Rev. 22:12-14

Last year we hardly spent any time with Felipe. It is strange when you consider the fact that we were with him almost everyday for more than three years. It goes without saying, life was the primary cause of this disruption. A young woman threw his life into a disarray. She was his very first girlfriend. We can understand why he was completely enthralled. He hardly had any time for anyone except her. For a moment, we thought perhaps our time with Felipe had come to an end. It was quite sad for us. We had become rather fond of him. He was a positive presence among the teens. He was their conscience and moral compass. Nevertheless, like the rest of us, he deserves to be loved romantically. For this reason, we were happy for him, though, not completely. There is a selfish part in us that wanted to see him more often. Occasionally, he would look for us just to give us a hug. It was his way of letting us know that he missed us just as much as we missed him. Still and all, things have changed for him. Life has beckoned him to move in a different direction and it was a path away from us. It is a positive change for him and we have to admit this. It was time for us to allow him to find walk away from us.

Over the pass six years, we have been building close and intimate relationships with children and teens and then learning to let them go in the direction they choose. In Felipe’s case, it was something hopeful. Unfortunately, there were many relationships that slowly withered away because of drugs and crime. Young people we wrote and spoke about affectionately are now absent in our narratives. Hopefully, it is not permanent. They still linger strongly in our hearts and minds. There was Igor, Ruan, Gabriel, Bruno, Danyel, Dreyson and the list goes on. Some of them are incarcerated. Some have given themselves over to drugs. Some have become hardened criminals. Some have just disappeared. There are those who are still around but they are completely lost in their own world. They wander aimlessly not realizing that life is just slipping by. In spite of all these changes, our vocation remains the same. We wait for them in a place where they can find us. This is where Felipe came looking for us in the beginning of this year. There were some radical changes in his life. He is a father now of an infant child. He has spent most of life sniffing paint thinner and begging because he had no one but himself. Sometimes, he would deliberately contort his body to look like a little child to gain the sympathy of his donors. It was quite a fit because he is 6 feet tall. Now, he has a woman and her children and his infant child under his wing. He wants to be a good and responsible father to all the children. Unfortunately, he never had a father in his life. He doesn’t even know where to start. Everything was strange and new to him. He came to us and asked us for help.

It wasn’t for parenting skills that he need our help. He was intimidated by the common everyday things in life. These were things and requirements that he never knew existed. On the other hand, we just assumed that everyone knew how to deal with these things. I can’t remember anyone teaching us how to do these things. This is because we don’t remember. It was our parents who taught us how to do these simple and mundane things.

He found a job but he needed help to open a bank account. He did not even know where to start. His job hardly pays for a few week’s grocery. Nonetheless, Felipe wants to save something for his infant son even if it is a small amount. The bank officer asked him for his marital status, Felipe responded, “São Paulo” because in Portuguese, the term used is “civil status”. Even though he is ignorant of the term, his reasoning makes sense. Naturally he thought that he was being asked about the city of his residence. Felipe then laughed about it when we explained it. He is not embarrassed about his mistakes. He knows that we don’t judge him by his lack of understanding of bureaucratic jargon.

He doesn’t make enough to survive. His wife still needs to go out and beg for money to supplement their income. They make it with the little they have. All the children are fed. They keep their house organized and livable. Felipe teaches the other children everything he learned like drawing and even an interest in the Japanese language. They learn to have fun and laugh. The other teens from the streets occasionally come by his house to visit him. They see that Felipe has a sense of direction now in his life. He hasn’t changed. He is still the same kind hearted young man that used to be homeless like them. The major difference is that now he has to think about the little infant he holds him arms. He named him David, after his favorite personality from the Bible. Felipe used to read the Psalms together with another young man before they went to sleep in the streets. Today he holds David and kisses him each time he leaves for work.

Opening a bank account is not easy in Brazil. It takes several attempts and lots of patience. Thankfully, the endless time spent waiting gave us an opportunity to reignite our friendship with Felipe. The old friendship in the streets has died. Now God has resurrected new relationship that still bears the marks of the old. Nevertheless, it is completely new. Now, we have a different role to play in his life. He is no longer a homeless young man even though he still doesn’t have a home yet. His family are squatters in an abandoned and squalid building. It looks like a nightmare for us but it is home for him. Felipe has a different way of looking at things. His tiny room is a spark of hope. He is moving forward. He is right whereas we are just too used to luxury to see beyond precarious conditions.

Felipe looks at life from a different perspective. He once had nothing and now he has a family and meaning in his life. He wants us to be part of this new beginning in his life. We are the one of the few things he wants to take with him from the streets. He wants our friendship to accompany him as he walks into this new world that awaits him.

On Monday, we met Felipe in front of the public library to pass some documents to him. We asked him if he wanted to enter the library. He told us that he was walked pass this place all these years and never had the courage to enter. We walked in and Felipe was amazed at the number of books. He started looking at all the titles and found the Reference section. He asked if he could borrow any of these books. We told him that he could take out anything except for the books from the Reference section. “But those are the best books!” I was quite surprised to hear this. Usually, people would hardly look at this part of the library unless they are required to do so. Felipe spent most of his flipping through pages of books on languages, biology and everything that caught his attention. Afterwards, he told us that he would never entered this place in the past but now it was clear to see that he has discovered something new and special. He is not alone. We discovered something new and special this week too. It gives us hope that there are many more special things awaiting for us as we sit and fulfill our vocation that God has given us.