Street Kids... and Not of the Sesame Kind.

Well, it's that time again. Who wants to hear about my week? Sooo this week our speaker was the one and only Steve Bartel...... of Colombia! He was AWESOME. The topic was street kids and if anyone knows their stuff, it's Steve. To describe Steve in one word I'd say comPASSION. Notice the obvious highlight on passion. He has been working in Columbia with street kids for more than twenty-five years. To be honest, I can't even imagine doing the same thing for twenty-five years! Can you? Talk about commitment and fulfilling God's calling on your life. One of the major things I learned was that sometimes in order to do something, and do it well, it may take twenty-five years or more. Steve spoke a lot about his personal ministry and the steps it took to get to such a successful place. It took a lot of work. He first began reaching out to children by going out and visiting them on the streets. He told a story that really touched me. Steve was once playing with a six year old street boy who kept asking if he could be lifted up to a chin up bar so he could try to do a pull up like the big boys. He was small and could only do one at a time. He would then tumble to the ground, run around a bit, regain his strength, and ask if he could be lifted up to the bar again. The little boy would do this over and over and over again. It took a few times before Steve realized what the boy was doing. He was taking advantage of the little physical touch he was getting. It may have been  the closest thing he had ever received to a hug. He was probably too ashamed to ask for a real hug in front of the older boys. So he was taking advantage of the closest thing available by getting a lift up to the chin up bar. The next thing that Steve's ministry did was open up a drop-in center and later a half way house. Eventually they established a system similar to a form of fostering, where Christian families "re-parent" the children. The goal of the whole program is to try to reunite the kids with their biological families if possible, and if it is not they find them permanent Christian adoptive or long term foster homes. What an amazing ministry right? I was so impressed. And the best part is that in order to be a part of the program, children have to want to be there. They are not forced into it. They can leave at anytime. They are there voluntarily because they recognize their need for love and help. Steve also discussed the different kinds of street kids. Children of the streets are kids who live on the streets twenty-four seven. They have no where else to go. The live, breathe, and die street life. Children on the streets have somewhere to go when the day is done. The usually spend most of their time on the street, working or causing a ruckus. Last, pre-street children are younger children at sever risk of becoming street kids. It is important to know the difference between the categories because it will change how the child behaves and how you can most effectively minister to them. I think the most challenging concept Steve presented was fatherless-ness. Those children whose parents are alive but not actively present in their lives. He said that it is is worse to be fatherless than an orphan (where the parents are deceased.) I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. I'm not sure if I agree or disagree yet.