I know it has been a little too long since my last post. A lot has been going on: Jon shadowed me in work for about a week in Croc, then most of the YouthFront Mexico staff (including myself) went back to KC for meetings at our main office and then to Cincinnati for this year’s CCDA (Christian Community Development Association) conference, and now I am spending a few days with my family in Blue Springs. I will be heading back to Croc with the rest of the staff on Halloween.

I can’t cover all of even the big details of the past two or three weeks, but I do want to share a couple of stories:

First Jon, Peluchi, and I went to visit Julio and Idolina’s house a couple of nights before I left Croc. Idolina cooked eggs and chicaron (a spicy sausage which was one of Jon’s favorite new foods in Mexico) with flour tortillas. It was delicious. I made some chocolate chip and also some chocolate-chocolate chip cookies (I was finishing up the dough of the latter) for desert. All that great food helped set the stage for great conversation (this might be a maxim to live by). In previous conversations we had talked, particularly with Idolina, about spiritual things, but this night we got into deep discussions that included Julio. I think the connection with and opening up of Julio started when I shared that Peluchi and I understood we couldn’t change anyone (Peluchi had been talking about how we are open to having spiritual conversations but don’t want to force that to be the only topic). I went on to say that we didn’t need to force conversation because God had given each person a free will to decide what they thought about God and that only Christ and the individual had the power to change that individual. I could see in Juilo’s eyes he really bought into that idea. As the night went on we talked about all sorts of things, from sports to movies to thoughts on praying to saints. Typically towards the end of a visit Peluchi and I pray for the family, but Nathan’s cancer (which I mentioned a post or two ago) was on my mind and so I asked if we could all pray together for Nathan and for their requests. Both Idolina and Julio didn’t want to pray, but I think that I had asked for their help praying for Nathan was impactful and Idolina soon agreed to pray (before we left Peluchi made Julio promise to pray next time we came; Peluchi is definately more forward than I would be, but perhaps God has us together for our tandem of approaches). As we were about to go both of the couple excitedly wanted to know when we could come back, I told them we could come in a couple of weeks, as soon as I got back from the States.

Second, while at CCDA in Cincinnati a couple of the YouthFront Kansas City staff and I were sitting at a table near an open square downtown. An African-American man in his fifties named Jerry asked us for a light and then accepted an invitation to join us. We talked for a couple of hours with him. We asked a lot of questions and got to hear a little of his story: his apartment had been foreclosed last Wednesday and he had chosen to live on the street rather than move in with his sister (her talking was worse than the cold according to Jerry, though he remarked that if the current cold streak continued he might not still be saying that the following night). He had lived on the streets before–six months being the longest single stent. Jerry currently had a job at a Catholic ministry to the homeless. He grew up in Cincinnati, then moved to Atlanta for a while but hadn’t liked it so he moved back. He had been in jail once. He wants to get married and recently met a lady he likes. He grew up in the 60’s and said he was pretty radical. He regrets that in his youth he hated white people. He has since changed, but he thinks there are a lot of powerful forces working in society to hurt the black community. He was very passionate about the Willy Lynch letters ( http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/Perspectives_1/Willie_Lynch_letter_The_Making_of_a_Slave.shtml )and how insane the systematic evil found in them was (they cover a speech during the early American colonies about how to control slaves by breaking down family structure, breeding mistrust/division amongst blacks, and viewing them like horses to be broken). Jerry convinced us to go and read them and they were disturbing. We also talked about drugs and he shared how problems had improved in Cincinnati over the last 20-30 years. He believes this is the case all over the country because drugs have become more scarce and thus prices have gone up and quality has gone down. In response, according to Jerry, many people have gotten off drugs. And he attributes all this to the war on drugs. I was surprised to be hearing all these positive views on the war on drugs–because typically all I hear is that drug problems are awful and getting worse and the war on drugs isn’t working. I’m not saying Jerry single-handedly convinced me that all my previous notions on drugs in the States are wrong, but it got me thinking about a similar scenario I have experienced in the past several years: with the war in Iraq I also have no first-hand experience and I hear a lot of negative reports in the media. And a few times I have had the chance to hear firsthand reports on Iraq from returning soldiers. On a couple of occasions these reports were by far more positive than any media report I had heard and covered details I had not considered. Again, it didn’t totally change my idea of what was happening in Iraq, but I began to realize the need to add to my knowledge all firsthand reports I could because they were very valid and a critical piece of the truth. Talking to Jerry I realized that I need to seek out hearing people’s personal stories and experiences in regards to race with just as much fervor. Because just like Iraq, I have read a lot about race struggles in the States, but I haven’t heard many nonwhite firsthand accounts–and they are powerful, critical pieces of the truth.

There was more at CCDA that helped open my eyes to my need to hear and listen to different peoples’ experiences, but I can’t go into it all here. But Jerry, more than anyone else, helped me learn this lesson.

Please be in prayer for Jerry and that he will be able to get off the cold streets, for our staff’s trip back to Mexico this weekend, and for Peluchi and I’s visit with Idolina and Julio this week. Thanks.