Hola Hola! It has been a few interesting days since my last post… mostly because of a particular boy I have been focusing on this month.
This whackadoodle child is named Josue (pronounced ho-sway). He is a 13 year old kid with a ton of potential, but he has the unfortunate habit of getting lost in the hustle. He constantly acts out due to a lack of supervision (his mother does not reside with the family and his dad abandoned his family for new kids) and a lack of zest for life. He lives in some pretty destitute surroundings. The conditions in Los Pinos are that of which you would see on those really depressing infomercials. Josue acts like a typical 13 year old kid… but he secretly has a sweet heart inside. He could be living God’s way, but he chooses to turn to paint thinner (the popular drug in Tegucigalpa) and finding himself in constant trouble due to his sassy and feisty mouth.
Why am I so moved to love this kid? Because he reminds me so much of myself at his age. Not to say I was a boy or something, but I acted out a lot. I enjoyed running my mouth, messing with people’s heads and doing anything to get attention. I had a sweet kid inside but I lead everyone to believe I was fearless, loud and crazy. Josue makes a nuisance at any given opportunity and gets high when he’s bored. I would do anything to pull the spotlight on myself at 13 and so does Josue. Almost everyone has given up on him, even people who say they will do anything to love as Jesus loved. Josue is slowly starting to change but he is not fully aware of the consequences of his actions. He was recently kicked out of a church based school because the administration chose him to be a completely hopeless case. I was basically asked to leave the youth program at my church at his age for a lot of similar reasons… and I didn’t really understand why at the time. It is absolutely bizarre to me when so-called Christians choose to drop someone who is deemed as “too hard” or “not worth it”. Not to say these people didn’t love Christ but He never gave up when the going got tough. The toughest and best part, however, is trying to figure out how to deal with 13 year old you all over again.
As I often do, I sat down, stared into space and started to think. I asked God what exactly I was going to do, especially because I am leaving Honduras in 2 days. I got a clear and world rocking message: You are not done here. You will return… and you will be the one who truly leads Josue to Christ. With my love in you, you will never give up on him. He needs you because so many ignore his needs. You know his potential and you know I will empower you through every step you will take with Josue.
Wow oh wow. I know I have never felt quite so bewildered yet confident at the same time. When God hands me something like this I can’t help but get ready to obey. It is time for me to move on another conviction, even if I can’t act for 9 months. God is a little nutty, but He knows I am the one to change Josue forever. I am ready… just wait and see.
