Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple– truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” Matthew 10:40-42

It wasn’t what I expected but I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

We have been in quarantine for more than two months. It seems like ages. We knew that there were going to be some changes in the streets and our ministry. We have had contacts regularly with some of the teens during this period but this week it was time to venture back to the streets. I decided to try it on my own first. The opportunity came when Wallace called and said that he lost his documents. We had copies of some of them in our home. We arranged to meet in one of our regular spots. I was curious to see how things were in the streets.

Normally, two months of absence is not really anything to write home about. We have been away from the streets before for this time frame before. Mostly, life goes on as usual in our absence and then when we return we try to slip back into the routine. However, nothing is normal or regular with this pandemic. It appears like the whole world is on transition. Everything came to a pause of time standing still. Now, everyone is trying to scramble around to regain normalcy even though we are not sure if the time is right to do this. It appears that we are rushing to rescue something that may not be there anymore. We will never know unless we take the time to reflect before we act. Nevertheless, everything did appear to be like before. Stores were crowded. The streets were busy as usual. Everything looked exactly the same except that people were wearing masks. Yet, there was a subtle difference. Something has changed. As I was walking along a pedestrian strip, a delivery person on bicycle cycled swiftly past me and yelled, “Get out of the way, you imbecile!” Not quite the welcoming words that I was expecting. His harsh words penetrated my soul. He was a young man very much like our homeless teens. However, he was in the world and working. He needed to get somewhere fast. I was an obstacle in his path even though it was not a place for him to be riding a bicycle at such high speed. It did not matter to him. Only what he desired mattered and he wanted me to out of his way. Anyone in his way was an imbecile according to him. I just happened one of the many.

I waited for Wallace in the square where we used to work. Things have changed drastically here. Before the Pandemic, our teens were a small percentage of the homeless population; there were about hundred of them and the adults were at least five times more. Now, there were an overwhelming number of families with young children sleeping in tents in the streets. It was quite disturbing even though I should be more accustomed to these things by now. Unfortunately, this was beyond the norm. I am afraid that this is perhaps what is the new reality now.

There were tons of children under the age of five running around without any masks and their parents interacting with them in the same manner. None of these faces were familiar. These people are new arrivals to the streets. I imagine that the loss of employment and income coupled with the lack of support from the authorities has brought many of these families to the streets. I saw a father playing soccer with his young son. It would have been a pleasant scene in another time. However, you can see that he would rather be doing something else for his family. His face revealed signs of resignation. Nonetheless, he is holding on to his fatherhood. He gently kicked the ball to his son.

Everything looked chaotic and I felt a little uncomfortable. Not that I feared some kind of violence or anything of that sort. I just did not expect things to fall apart so quickly. Wallace did not show up. I found out later that he got confused with the time and had come earlier than the time we arranged. I wasn’t disappointed. It got me back to the streets. On my way there, I saw Bruno begging outside a fast-food restaurant. I went to see him instead.

I was planning to sneak up on him and surprise him. Unfortunately he spotted me first. He immediately stood and yelled out my name with a welcoming smile. He knew that we shouldn’t hug so he extended his elbow to me. This is our new “hug”. It was quite different welcome than the one I received from the cursing cyclist. Bruno’s reaction touched my soul in a different way. It gave me the feeling like I was at home again. He immediately asked, “Where’s Mary?” All the teens consider us as a family package. They feel something essential is missing when they just see one of us. I explained that everyone needs time to come to terms with the pandemic and Mary will be back when she is ready. Bruno understood without any hesitation. “These are strange times.” As usual, he bombarded me with questions. He wanted to know about the previous pandemics that the world has experienced. There was something going on in his mind. He was silent for a brief moment. I asked him what was his opinion about the present state. “It seems every period has to go through something disastrous as such.” This was his answer. It was a good one. He wanted to talk more. He said that he missed our times together. I made plans to meet with him again. He wanted me to assure Mary that when she comes to visit, he will wear a mask and practice social distancing. Then the police started showing up all geared up as for a war, The stores began their process of closing. No businesses are allowed to be open after 3 pm. It was strictly enforced.

On my way home, I ran into Aline and her new boyfriend. We have known her for a few years. She always has been a very open and sweet girl but we never really had any in-depth conversations. Nevertheless, it is always pleasant to see her. Her boyfriend, unfortunately, is part of the one of the dangerous gangs in the São Paulo. He smiled and was genuinely happy to see me even though we hardly know him. I don’t even know his name. He asked about Mary. I told them what I said to Bruno. Her boyfriend nodded and said, “Everyone needs time to feel safe.” It was quite amazing to see such a sincere and loving gesture from a young man who has been exposed to violence most of his life. It was quite different from the reaction I got from the cyclist. This young man will never shout at me, “Get out of the way, imbecile.” I hardly know him and yet he made my soul feel at home with him.

My walk back home was much more peaceful because the children and teens are always there ready to hand us a cup of water to refresh our souls. We are not obstacles in their way. We are people to them. I suppose this is what Jesus meant about being welcomed. In this sometimes hostile city, I always have been welcomed by these children and teens. In this time of isolation and quarantine, it is good to know that whenever we return to this place where homelessness and desperation seems to abound, there is also a place for us to call home in the hearts of these precious people. They are our reward in life and hopefully in some way, we are their reward too in this strange world.