Sitting on a bench, one hour a week...

One of my favorite times of the week is when I go to a neighborhood center a few blocks away. I go there to watch the teen boys who live in John Shields play basketball. A few months ago one of the guys gave me some advice that I can't forget. He grew up in this neighborhood and had been in prison for 10 years. He said, "You have to go where they are. Get in their world" At first this confused me because I thought living here in their neighborhood was getting "in their world." But he explained to me that for the majority of them to come to my apartment would be like entering another world for them, so I need to go where they are. It made sense. I started seeking out ways that I could do this. I began going to the neighborhood center a few months ago. It was very simple and took little energy. I simply sat on the bench. I watched the boys play basketball, cheered if they made a shot and smiled at them if they happened to make eye contact with me. Each time I went I would say hi to boys, some didn't say hi back or if they said hi, it was a disconnected hello. These boys had been ones who used to regularly come to our Friday Night Teen Ministry, but over the past year stopped coming. I believe it was a combination of reasons, we have had to move many times for a place to meet, they are getting older and want to look cool to their friends, and they're giving in to peer pressure more. So, I felt that I was on a mission to win their hearts back! It happened slowly. Some began to come back to Teen Ministry right away. Others came later on. But the thing that excites me the most was seeing their attitudes towards me change. Now, when I walk into the neighborhood center, they approach me first, they say hi to me first and have even walked up to me to give me a hug. One boy who has been so cold in the past saw me walk into the gym and waved hi to me from the court as he was playing basketball. I am amazed at how God is slowly melting down those walls. Tonight God gave me a divine conversation with one of the boys, who I will call John right there on that bench I have been sitting on for months. At first it was just small talk. How is school? Are you playing any sports? Were you able to find a job? The turning point was when I opened up and said to him, "Some day I want to have a center like this one." He turned and looked at me when I said this. I asked him how his best friend was doing. He began to share that they don't really talk anymore. And it's because his friend was doing something that he didn't agree with. John confronted his friend about it, but he wouldn't listen. They haven't talked for months now. John began to open up about how this hurt him and his feelings about the situation. He said he knows the reason why his friend is going down the wrong path. John said it's because he has no guidance in his life. His Dad has been in and out of jail. His Mom is there, but she is so disengaged that it's almost as if she is not there. John said that over the years he has been that guidance in his friends life. Many mornings he would even wake his friend up and make sure he went to school. But now that the friendship has been severed John has seen his friend go down hill. I'm glad that John was in his friends life to guide him, but a peer should not be the only positive role model in this kids life. An 18 year old should not feel responsible for the life and future of a 17 year old. His parents should be doing this. But they're not. This conversation with John opened my eyes to what many children and teens face. With all of my heart I believe there is hope. God is such a good Father. I believe if one adult would show genuine interest in this boy's life on a consistent basis, his life will begin to turn. I know someone who I am going to ask to begin writing this young boy. I was able to encourage John, give him some advice and speak life into him. He listened. Wow, he listened. He even looked me in the eyes while I was talking. I could tell he was taking it all in. And so was I. All of this happened just from sitting on a bench, one hour a week. Thank you FATHER!