thanks, i needed that!

Yesterday was our routine Monday to visit the youth and children on the streets near an area called Praca 15 (a plaza area named after November 15, a national independence holiday in Brasil which happens to be tomorrow). Typically, we find our friends under a spacious highway underpass that sits between two busy streets. On Mondays we take sandwiches, fruit, and hot or cold chocolate milk (depending on the weather).

On our way to visit our friends, we were stopped briefly by a young man in his early 20’s named Guilherme. He was sitting on the side of the road, surrounded by three or four of his friends, with a cast covering his right leg. I have seen them and walked past them often. He called us over to him as we were walking by. He asked us what we were doing down there, and when Ben answered, Guilherme responded….

"That's good. You know, I live on the streets too, and it means a lot when you stop and talk with people like us - not even to give us food or money, but just to talk and be our friend. And hopefully people (other Brazilians) will see this and realize that we aren't animals. We are people too. And maybe they will start to think about it, and will change the way they treat us. So thank you for coming and spending time with us. That's all I have to say."

WOW! When I later found out this morning what Guilherme told us in Portuguese, I was immediately convicted by my first reaction when he was making eye contact with me and motioning us over to talk to them. I thought to myself…”We don’t have enough lunch to share with these kids, too. We don’t have time to stop. Maybe we can just keep walking?” Thankfully, the others who were with me thought and acted better!!!! God seems to hit me with lessons like this right when I need them most! Prayerfully, the faces and smiles of these 4-5 youth on the streets and the words of Guilherme will stay planted in my heart and slap me around when I most need it! As I wind down my final couple of weeks here in Rio, I pray that I don’t neglect to smile, acknowledge, and respond to others living on the streets here in Rio. Actually, I need to remember these words back at home and in the South Africa too!!

Please pray for Guilherme, his friends, and the many others like them who do not have friends who visit them regularly on the streets!