I first came to this city in 1994. Almost thirty years ago; sometimes it’s hard to believe it was that long ago. I travelled 56 hours by interstate bus from the city of Manaus in the Amazons to São Paulo. It was from one extreme to another in many ways. When I got off the bus, I was confronted by this huge and chaotic mega city which seemed strange and familiar to me. I have always been an urbanite. From the bus station, I managed to find my way to the missionary center without the aid of a cell phone nor GPS, all these were non existent at that time, at least, not for the general public. My Portuguese was basic. I had only been living in Brazil only for six months. Upon arrival, I was introduced to the team who worked with the homeless children which then consisted of an American couple, John and Patty, one Brazilian, Marinette, and, a German, Karin. Almost immediately, I was invited to a picnic they organized with some of the older homeless teens the next day. They thought it was a good way to introduce me to the children and teens.

The next day, we went to the streets to pick up the teens for the picnic. The homeless youth then hung out exactly at the same place were we meet them today. There were literally hundreds of children of all ages sleeping in the streets. I remember that the official count was about three to four hundred just in that particular area. They were dressed in clothes that were literally torn and tattered and their faces were covered with specks of dirt. They looked like personalities from a Dickens novel. Almost all of them had with them the same kind of blanket but filthy in varying degrees. Curiously, the same blankets are distributed to the homeless population today. The children were sniffing some pink substance in a plastic bag. I found out later that it was nail polish. It was the cheapest drug available then. Today our children sniff paint thinner which is basically the same stuff. My team mates introduced me to three older teens, Nelson, Pedro and another one whose name I can’t recall. They were the very first homeless youth I met in this city.

We went to a park together and they were curious about me and asked a lot of questions. I understood some things but my Portuguese was not good enough to have any profound conversation. It did not bother me. I was interested in just being with them. Later on I discover that these friendly young teens robbed together. It was hard to believe as well as disturbing to think that they could be dangerous criminals. It contradicted who they were when they were with us. In the park, they just appeared like any teenager who was having a good time with a bunch of older friends.

Karin did not stay long after my arrival. She eventually got married and settled down in Germany. Marinette, unfortunately, died about less than a year later due to allergic reactions to antibiotics. Just after six months in the streets, I became the most senior team member excluding the American couple who stayed until the very end of our time. They took care of the other aspects of the ministry which allowed the rest of us to spend more time in the streets. Mary arrived shortly after and soon we fell in love and got married. Everything happened here in the streets of São Paulo.

Nelson was the only one of the three who we saw most often after my first meeting. He got more and more involved in crime as he grew older. He was stuck in a vicious cycle and could not find a way out. Once he was shot eight times. Miraculously he survived. Then, just like that, he disappeared. In fact, no one even remembered him in the streets after a while. We assumed that he died. Sadly, a large percentage of the three hundred homeless children and teens never made it past the age of 25. It was also during the time of the AIDs pandemic and about 90 percent of the children were HIV positive.

On the second day of this New Year (2023), as we were talking with the children in the streets, a man approached us. He was almost completely bald. He looked like a young man who had aged prematurely. We were too engaged in our conversations to pay attention to him. His face looked friendly and I assumed that he was a curious passerby. He looked at us and said, “I know you!” Then he went on to mention the names of Karin and Marinette. Mary could not remember him and to be frank neither did I. For some reason, almost instinctively, I blurted out, “Nelson!” Then he smiled and said, “You do remember me!!”

He had been in prison for 14 years. It was his personal wilderness. In prison, he was tempted to join the local prison gang which is the largest in Brazil. They wanted him to become part of their brotherhood. This is how they see themselves. In the streets, every addresses them as the “brothers”. Many of his friends did not resist but Nelson decided it was time for a change. He said it was during this time, he felt that the reality of Christ in his life. I am not sure what this really meant for him. Time did not permit us to delve deeper into this. However, it was obvious that it has had a profound impact in his life and a radical change. The amazing thing is that he claims to remember almost every detail of our conversations and things we used to do together. He especially remembered Karin fondly. She was a major influence in his life. This was almost thirty years ago. I hardly recall anything.

Upon his release, he went out to look for jobs and is still seeking employment. He does odd jobs here and there but has not found nothing permanent yet. Since he has been out, he had been robbed twice. He said this in a way that he almost sounded like he was proud of it. He said, “I was an aggressive robber and now I am a victim.” Even though no one wants to be a victim ever, Nelson liked the fact he did not feel the need to be violent when it happened. It was almost as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He emphasized that he is a “softy” and he was fine with it. He is now free to be who he really is without having to prove anything to anyone. He is at peace with himself. It took him a long time to get here.

Nelson is 48 years old. When I first started working with the homeless children and teens, I was only 24. I was old enough to be their older brother then. Today, I am as old as some of the grandparents of our children and teens. Nelson asked what we were doing now. It felt good to say we are doing the same thing as we did thirty years ago.

In reality, it is very difficult to answer what we do exactly. We know why we are here but how we go about our ministry often varies. We do a little bit of everything. When the children are hungry or thirsty, we buy food and drinks for them. When they need a place to live, we try to find a safe place for them. When they are sick, we make sure that they are taken care of. However, these things the children can get without us, or rather, we are not the only ones in the streets able to do this for them. There are many who can perhaps do a better job at these things than us. For some of our kids, we are a permanent presence in the street offering something different than the rest. In the streets, drugs are always present and available. There is the overwhelming presence of violence and oppression. There is much hatred and anger. The worst of all is the constant reminder of their rejection and abandonment. We want our children and teens to know that all these things cannot hinder the power of eternal love which is always present in their lives. Many times, it takes them a while to realize this because of their pain and loneliness. However, it is not just a one way traffic. We also need our children and teens to help us understand the eternal love of God.

If someone asked Nelson what we did for him, he would not be able to give a straightforward answer. Most of our children and teens might feel the same. However, they always introduce us to strangers as people who counsel and teach them. Sometimes they exaggerate and claim that we do things which we have never done like cutting their hair etc. We are something that they did not have in their lives. They also give us something which is lacking in our lives. If someone wants to know the specifics, then there is nothing we can say which would be adequate. All we know is that together we discover something good and beautiful based on the foundation of the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.