A Call to Prayer

A few years ago Paul Clark, Scripture Union Peru's director, shared with me that the two most difficult times of the year for the children in our homes are Mother's Day and Christmas. Tonight I was reminded of this fact by one of the older, tougher looking boys here in Ica as I sat with him and watched him cry in the arms of Augusto, the house father. Respecting his privacy, I will call him Jose.

Jose is one of of the oldest boys at our home in Ica--16 years old. He first arrived at the home close to a year ago. His mother had abandoned him as a child, and he had never met his father. For the years leading up to his entrance into our girasoles program he lived with a few of his relatives in the area, but spent more time out in the streets. He was quite involved with some local gangs, and he has the tough appearance of someone who is in a gang. He is probably the tallest, strongest kid here at the home, and he has a number of scars on his body. He showed me a scar on his leg from an instance where he was stabbed with a metal fingernail file. Jose was also involved with drugs, sex, and many other bad things that come with a life on the streets.

Augusto tells me that when Jose first arrived at the home, he was very hard to work with. He didn't want to listen to anybody, and he was disruptive around the other boys. Little by little he began to change, and eventually he built a fairly good relationship with Augusto. But one day Jose received a visit from his grandma, and she told him that his father was now living in Arequipa (a city about 10 hours south of Ica) wanted to meet him. Jose talked with Augusto, thanked him for his help, and said goodbye. He had to take this opportunity to meet his dad.

Well, he traveled alone to the city of Arequipa and made his way to the address that his grandma had given to him. Before he quite arrived at the address, he walked by a dirty, drunk man who was laying practically in his own vomit. He walked past the man and knocked on the door. His grandmother answered the door and told him that his father was outside just around the corner. He followed her, and she led him right to the drunk man laying in the streets. When Jose's grandma presented the father to his son who he had never met, the father stood up and sobered up a little bit. He said hello, they talked for a few minutes, and then the father left and walked away.

Jose was crushed. Everything that he had hoped to find in his father wasn't there. He came back to Ica angry. He left school and began to work in a local mine. He did not come back to our girasoles home, and he began to fall back in to a life on the streets. When Augusto learned that he was back in Ica, he went out, found Jose, and brought him back to the home. He was sad and hardened, but in the weeks just before I arrived in November, he began to change. He has made a commitment to follow Christ, and he is one of the best behaved kids in the entire home--not to mention, he has some of the highest grades in his classes.

Today was one of the other boy's birthdays. This particular boy does have a father who lives locally in Ica, but he is unfit to take care of his son. The father did decide to come an visit his son on his birthday, and he even brought him a birthday cake. Seeing all of this really struck a chord in Jose's heart tonight. As he watched it all happen, he was reminded that he will never have a mom or a dad to celebrate with on his birthday, on Christmas, or on any other day of the year. I watched this tough 16 year-old kid hardened by the streets break down into tears and bury himself into Augusto's arms tonight.

So I ask you to pray. Pray for Jose, and all of the other kids at our homes who miss their families. Pray that they would come to a relationship with our Father in heaven who can satisfy all of our needs. Pray for Augusto and all of our other house parents--that they would be able to share fatherly love to the kids in these homes. Pray that the kids would find comfort and stability at our homes, and pray that they will have a great Christmas here at the home with their new family. Thanks for remembering these kids as Christmas approaches.