Vagrant's Waltz

Buenas tardes again amigos,    

     There is an image here in Nicaragua that is hard to avoid, especially as a foreigner: the hungry face of a begging child. At many stop lights, street corners, gas stations, markets, and anywhere where they will not be run off by security guards you will find these marginalized children. Some are sent by their family, others have no family, and some have a drunk old man collecting their earnings. As they grow older, begging no longer sustains them, or some become jaded, and they turn to robbery. Perhaps it is because they are terrorized by the older kids who have already turned to thievery. A year ago almost to the day I was robbed by two of these beggars turned thieves. Upon finding out who they were and where one lived, I found him at his house. Not to beat him up of course, but I was seeking to change his life. We have become pretty good friends, and we spend about an hour a week talking and studying the Bible. He has not yet turned his life over to Christ, but he has found a job and quit robbing people. Oddly enough he was checking to make sure that I didn't my stuff out where we were last time because he didn't want anyone to steal it. Not bad considering this time last year he almost cut my throat.
     Every week I invite him to the youth service which is 500 feet from his house. He never makes the trip because the other vagos(delinquents) will hurt him. I learn from some other young men a little up the street that he was held down a month ago by a group of them while they cut a hole in his calf muscle. Recently an old drunk was macheted in the neck and he is still in the hospital. Last night, not long after I went home from the youth service, two rival gangs started shooting at each other. They were supposed to meet in front of the school to settle things out at noon(They must have been watching old Western movies). At that time we had a whole team of missionaries from the States working on the security wall for the cafeteria, so it was fortunate that nothing transpired.
     Now what I have also noticed is an increasing number of these vagos calling me gringo burro while raising there hands up like a late nineteenth century British boxer fighting fisticuffs. Almost everyone in the barrio knows me as the martial arts teacher. I am increasingly suspicious that I will become a target, but like the case of Rubel who last year threatened to kill me, I am seeking these youth out. They need God and His love most of all, not just for their own sake, but also for their community. The cycles of violence are perpetuated by the intimidated, weak kids who grow into the fearless, strong men. A begging child holds out an empty hand today that years from now may hold a gun. Kids with no home, no hope, and no future know only survival. So they continue  in step to the dance of the street that keeps them spiritually impoverished without a thought of what will come tomorrow.
     That is the urgency of this situation as organized gangs are now in their infancy in this neighborhood. Delinquency is still marked by petty thievery through most of Managua, but in 31 de diciembre something else is happening. We are working to organize the community so that they will begin to look out for one another to stop this early. Please pray for the families of this barrio.

Gd bless you,
Seth