That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow.’ Matthew 13:1-3

We just moved to a new place. We rented an apartment a little smaller than our previous one. As a result, not everything was coming with us. We had to give up some things and surprisingly it wasn’t too difficult a process. It was about time we freed ourselves of certain things in order to embrace new and possibly better ones. I suppose this is going to happen more and more in the future. As we grow older, we won’t be able to carry so much as when we were young. Many things will have to be given up and eventually they will all be gone. However, this is not the present concern, for now, we have some rearranging. The old things are going to find a new places to occupy in our new apartment.

We couldn’t find a proper place for our full length mirror. We decided to hang in the same place as in our previous apartment: in the hallway. This way we can take one last look at ourselves before we leave for the streets. After all who wants to go out of their house looking like a slob. However, there is something strangely symbolic too. It is there to remind us to look at ourselves first before we start looking at others. One thing is obvious though. When I look at myself in the mirror, I realize that I have changed a lot. I have more gray hairs and look much older than I feel. I don’t mind it and it wouldn’t matter if I did. I have no control over it. There has been some major changes in me spiritually, too. Our ministry has transformed us. I am happy to say this. After all, any spiritual endeavor is a venture to meet God and every encounter with God is transformative. I think I am beginning to have a better grasp of reality. This is important. We can only bear good fruits when we are grounded in reality.

Just as we were about to leave for the streets, we received a call from Daniel. For those who have accompanied us through the years, his name will be not unfamiliar. It will also not be a surprise when we say that he is definitely our favorite among the homeless youth. We have known him since he was ten. He just turned 20 a few weeks ago. We always had a strong connection with him. I would say that he is one of the sweetest homeless youth but not necessarily the wisest. He is an intelligent young man. However, intelligence and wisdom are not the same thing. In his teens, he spent some time in the juvenile detention but only on one occasion. This is quite rare for most of the children and teens. He did not commit any crime. He went into the public bathroom and two other teens went in after him with stolen items. Daniel came out and was arrested. Much later the victim said that he wasn’t the perpetrator and he was released after six months without any charges. Recently, he was arrested again. Unfortunately, this time he went to regular jail. His crime was his poor choice of companions. He spent three months in prison awaiting trial. Eventually he was absolved from all charges and released a week ago. We haven’t seen him for months. He told us that he was living with his twin sister and was going to figure out what do with his life. He wants to do something better with his life. It is a noble attempt and one in which we encouraged. The reality is that it is not going to be an easy task. In all likelihood, he will not to be able to do this on the first try even though he has good intentions. It will be a long journey. This is fine. Everything good takes time and patience. It is important he reached out to us. However, we did not say all this to him. He had something to say to us. He wanted us to know that he always treasured and loved us. It was completely unexpected. Nevertheless, it was something that we really needed to hear. We were worried that being in prison might have had a negative effect on Daniel. We have seen this happen many times among the other youth. They usually come out worse than when they entered. However, Daniel is a different kind of soil. He has shown over the years that there is much love in his heart. There are always good fruits flowing out of this young man despite the unfavorable situations.

Before we left the house, I took a good look at the mirror and asked myself, “what kind of soil am I?” Unlike Daniel, I have always been in a good and favorable environment for most parts of my life. Most of the time, I have been concerned about creating favorable situations rather than bearing good fruits. Of course, there has always been some confusion about the fruits. I was taught in my early years in the church that fruits were winning souls for Christ. Now, there is an older person in the mirror. I am mature enough to know that no one wins anyone over to Christ. Jesus calls them through the Spirit. The Only Person who is able to conquer the hearts and minds of people is the Holy Spirit. Therefore, what are the fruits which we are supposed to bear? There are tons of pat answers for this inquiry but the man in the mirror is old enough to know that there are no easy answers. However, the solution will not come if I keep staring at the mirror. It is time to leave the building.

We still can walk to where we meet the children and teens. The only difference is that now it is a forty minute walk. The exercise will be beneficial for us. Besides, it is an interesting walk but not necessarily a pleasant one. We have to pass some areas which remind us why we are here. There are crack addicts scattered around. Tons of homeless people and lots of unpleasant stenches. The addicts don’t bother anyone but they are still a disturbing and tragic sight. Usually it is hard to walk by the homeless adults without someone begging for money. It gets a little difficult because we feel like callous and hard hearted people when we refuse to give anything. However, on an average we pass about twenty people or more begging for money. It is enough to make anyone go broke. Besides some people just think of us as a bank machine. They forget that we are also human beings. The process of dehumanization is a two way street.

The homeless children and youth are not very different. I mentioned that there are about hundred to two hundred children and teens sleeping in the streets where we minister. However, most of them don’t treat people outside their own circles like human beings. Consequently, people who walk past the area treat the children like dangerous wild animals. There is a lot of dehumanizing going around. Perhaps, in this environment, it becomes clearer and more obvious what it means to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. We have to figure out the kind of fruits which best reflect the true meaning of the Kingdom in the environment we find ourselves. It is quite pointless to listen to the preacher or theologian living thousands of miles away from our reality giving us their opinions on spiritual fruits. We have to figure it out in the reality we find ourselves. Maybe bearing fruits has to do with listening intently to the voice of the Holy Spirit. We can not afford to outsource this essential part of our spirituality. This is my opinion. Everyone has to figure it out for themselves.

We are still not accustomed to walking forty minutes to work. I mean it is not terrible but we do get a little tired when we get to our destination. We found a old familiar face which we haven’t seen for a long time where the kids hangout. His name is Wagner. He is an eccentric fellow. It is worth telling his story for another time. He is part of triplets and all of them have lived in the streets since their early childhood. Wagner is about 25 now. He stays more with the homeless adults than the teens. When he saw us, he shouted out aloud as if to announce to everyone; “After all these years they are still at it doing the same thing. What patience!!!” I will take it as a compliment. It could go the other way. Maybe he thinks that we are wasting our time. The other homeless adults smiled and gave us their nods of approval. However, I disagree with Wagner. It is not the same things exactly. The same people or group, perhaps, but it is always different. There is always something new to learn.