Our ministry here is one mixed with tragedy and joy. Unfortunately, you can not have one without the other. Very often, we find moments of joy in the midst of a tragic situation.

A 17 year old boy died. His name was Henrique. We have known him since he was just seven years old. He came to the streets together his brother, Eric, who was just a year older. They were just two tiny kids back then but they made up for it by being terrors. It is normal for newcomers to act out. They were trying to establish their ground. The problem is that they were too young and they did not know when to stop. Initially most of the children avoided them. They were convinced that these brothers were aggressive lunatics. In reality, they were merely acting act what they learned in their home. Their mother clearly suffered from mental illness. She was very unpredictable and even violent at times. The other adult in their lives was their step father who was violent, too. The boys used to tremble when they saw him. This was the sad reality of young Henrique and Eric. They had to escape to homelessness to find some peace in their lives. However, they did not always sleep in the streets. There were periods when they were interned in a state orphanage but they always kept coming back to the streets. When they turned thirteen, they remained in the streets for good.

We have a stronger bond with Eric than Henrique. The latter is more of an introvert. Eric tends to interact more with us and he will call us collectively as “Uncle Mary” even though he knows our names individually. Henrique used to be one of the kids who ignored us. When he was younger, he played games with us, However, after he turned thirteen, he thought it wasn’t cool to hang out with us. He was trying to integrate into a group of teens who frequently robbed. Then he was caught and spent a few months in the juvenile detention center. Upon his release, he saw me in the streets and gave me a hug which surprised me. I guess that we were a familiar face that he missed while he was locked up. Ever since then, he always made an effort to say something to us. It was obvious he had affection for us. One time in his feeble attempt to connect with us, he sang the words of the Yellow Submarine, the song almost all non Beatle fans know. His efforts were much appreciated.

Once, he came up to us and asked if we could buy some lunch for him. He had been trying to get food all day to no avail. Henrique was growing teenager and he had a healthy appetite. Among our homeless teens, there is an unspoken rule that we are the last resort when it comes to food. Even one of the older youth told us that they did not want to abuse our goodwill by asking for something which they can get themselves. We bought Henrique lunch at an all-you-can-eat restaurant and in the process, I got into a little argument with the restaurant staff. He thought Henrique got too much food which was not true. The staff was being prejudiced. I guess it made an impression on him and afterwards he kept thanking us and offered to share his lunch with us. On another occasion, he asked us if we could buy a pair of flip-flops. He had lost his shoes and his foot was hurt from walking barefoot. We got him a pair and then months later he called out to us to show us that he still had them. It is strange that when we did these things for him we never thought anything of it. Now, they are the strongest memories I have of him. I am glad we were given the opportunity to show him that we liked and cared for him. I am glad that he sensed it too.

He died a tragic and violent death. The details leading to it are unnecessary. He was gravely hurt and suffered internal bleeding. He agonized for hours before his death and thankfully, his girlfriend was by his side. She called for the ambulance and it only arrived hours later when it was too late even though the hospital is only a couple blocks away. This is the sad reality. The poorest of the poor are the last of everyone’s priority list. Throughout the time, he was crying out for his mother: the very woman who made his early childhood a living hell. He still hoped that she would comfort him in his most painful moment. Unfortunately, she was coherent in her response. She did not even show up at his funeral after all the effort his girlfriend made to get in touch with her. In the process, they found out that Henrique and Eric have a brother and sister whom they never knew existed. Both are much older than them and were adopted at a very young age. Their sister lives in France. Coincidently, she was in Brazil searching for them at this time. Through her, they found out that their older brother lives in another state in Brazil and now is a lawyer. Only their sister reached out to Eric. However, he is not sure about living with a complete stranger. Eric does suffer from mental illness. However, for the most part, he is a lovely person.

Kawanna called us immediately when she found out about Henrique. As she was no longer sleeping in the streets, she only found out about his passing much later. She is trying her best to leave everything behind to find a way forward. However, it has not been easy for her. We have been helping them in the process especially with food and emotional support. She has a strong emotional connection with her still homeless friends. They are the only family she knows and Henrique was one of them. She wanted to process his death with us. She remembered that there was a family who wanted to adopt him when he was in the orphanage. In Brazil a child of a certain age can choose to accept or reject adoption. Henrique was older then, maybe about 12 or 13. He chose to reject the adoption even though he liked the family. In his heart, he was afraid that they might reject him. Besides, he still hoped that he would be reunited with his mother. Kawanna encouraged him to return to the orphanage and accept the adoption. She thought that it was a good chance for him to escape this cycle of misery and poverty and maybe one day he could come back and help others in the same situation. As much as I liked Henrique, he was not that kind of person. It is not saying that he was self-centered or ungrateful. He just was not that kind of person but Kawanna thinks about these things. She is always concerned about the well-being of those around her. She says that she wants to get herself established so that she can help others. Maybe this sound like wishful thinking, like those who claim they would help people when they strike the lottery, then when it finally happens they forget all their promises. Kawanna together with Erica left the streets to become squatters in an abandoned building. They frequently go to the streets and share whatever food and clothing they gather with the other children. On one occasion, I saw them buying bread with the little money they had to feed the others. Many times, I saw them even take some of the younger ones back to their place so that they do not have to spend the night in the cold streets. Some days both these girls will leave a message for us at night just to say, “Good night”. They know that they can not give anything materially to us but they can share their love. Something we accept with gratitude. Listening to Kawanna share what she said to Henrique brought comfort to our souls. Maybe one day she will be there with the children and teens doing what we do and maybe even more. For the time being, we can encourage her to pursue her goals and help in whatever ways necessary for her to achieve them.