Burning Furnace of Charity

We just had a great couple of days here with Roger Nix, Pete Greig, and the infamous Carlos Sanchez. We spent an amazing day in Boys Town on Tuesday. While it would be way too long of a post to tell all that happened, I'll tell you that the day wrapped up beautifully: Tuesday night found all of us in my friend Nora's bar. (Nora, in a strange way, has been teaching me a bit about hospitality - she consistently opens her "home" to any of my friends. "Your friends are my friends, Kelly.")

We all sat around as our slightly-sloshed-friend, Martin, played some great Mexican music and serenaded us for a while. While Martin sang of beautiful women who had stolen his heart and how he has forgotten them, I looked around at everyone...Jo Wells who has selflessly come to a place she had never been to serve people she had never met, all so I wouldn't be here on my own...Erin Knobloch, another roommate who is constantly coming up with schemes for finding and serving the poor and the oppressed here in Reynosa...Carlos Sanchez, our new friend who traveled on planes, trains, and automobiles just to spend a couple of days sharing in what Jesus is doing here...Pete Greig, "Mr. Red Moon Rising" himself, who has been tirelessly sharing the stories of Boys Town to recruit people to pray, was clapping and enjoying the impromptu mini-party...Roger Nix, my pastor who is recognized by several of the women and a few known criminals in Boys Town, sat next to Pete while Nora rested her arm on Roger's shoulder. We all knew it was only a matter of moments before Roger, um, I mean "Pastor Roger" would hop out of his seat to dance the two-step with Nora. (Roger is just a Texan at heart.)

I kept thinking about how much Jesus clearly enjoys a good party (just read the gospels - he kicks off his ministry by turning water into wine to keep the party going!); Jesus was already there in Nora's little bar when we arrived. His love for Boys Town was so obvious to me in that cantina on Tuesday night.

It was the most beautiful and unexpected party I've attended in a while. Lots of hugs and muchas gracias were handed out as we left that night. Nora asked me more than once if I thought it was a good night. I could tell from the smile on her face that she certainly thought it had been a great night.

Keep praying for the land deal - it looks like we're getting a little closer! We have a really important meeting tomorrow (Friday) at 2:30...I'll be sure to post any developments here. Thanks for all of your prayers!

People often ask me, "what's a typical day like for you in boys town?" I generally don't have an answer for that because life is slightly unpredictable here. So, I thought I'd post what happened today...

Poor Jo Wells was sick today...apparently some bad orange juice has taken its toll on her stomach. So I went it alone today, which is something (thankfully!) I haven't had to do in a long time. Jo and I had spent some time with our friend Angeles last night in BT, who informed us she was very sick. She certainly had a fever and severe cough, so we prayed for her and told her we'd bring her some soup and medicine today. So, the first thing I did when I got up today was make chicken soup for Angeles. I took it with her medicine to her little room at around noon today. We prayed again and I left her to rest. She's already so thin from smoking crack...I hate to see her sick and even more gaunt than normal.

As I left Angeles' room, I saw my old friend Marisol. I met Marisol the very first time I went to BT three years ago; she always seems to emerge from a little corner behind an old run-down bar. She had a pretty high fever and told me she needed to go get some medicine as well. I asked her if it was okay to wait a little while until after I talked with Lucia, and she agreed.

As I walked down to Nora's place to look for Lucia, I strangely found two different girls knitting in their doorways. (One of them even asked me to try on a sweater she was working on. I'm pretty sure this will be my Christmas present this year, and I will wear it proudly!) One of my friends (though I can't write who it is b/c she asked me to keep it a secret) is moving home in December/January! She told me she was ready to leave this kind of work, and she is making plans to do other things at home. This girl doesn't do any drugs, and tends to do exactly what she says she's going to do - so this is GREAT news!

I continued on to Nora's place to look for Lucia. Lucia wasn't there, though Nora and I had a great talk. Actually, most of our conversation was me convincing Nora that Jo isn't pregnant, even though she threw up this morning. Nora and I walked down to Lucia's room to find our little friend waiting for us. Lucia pretended to be mad at me because...well, actually for no reason at all. (Okay, so this is one predictable thing that happens in BT.) I bought them sodas (which we all found very humurous because they normally drink whiskey) and chatted for a little while. I saw another friend, Cristina, who I hadn't seen in a while. We walked together to her room where she cried and told me how sad she is because she's "old, friendless, toothless - and now what am I going to do?" Cristina then proceeded to talk about my "boyfriend" Kilo before he died. I couldn't concentrate on anything she said as my mind was swimming with all the rumors that must go around about me in that place...how Kilo was my "boyfriend," how I "bought Cristal's baby", and who knows what else. I began to feel like my life is sort of weird, abnormal.

From there, I went to find Marisol so we could go for her medicine. A guy I hadn't met before told me that Marisol wanted me to come to her room because she couldn't walk. So, alone, I followed a strange guy through what seemed like a labyrinth behind an old bar in the corner. Probably no one would come looking for me wherever we were going; I should have been afraid. For some odd reason, I wasn't afraid. I was aware, but not afraid. When we finally arrived at Marisol's room, I found her lying on her bed in quite a state. When I touched her face, it felt like fire. She told me she felt too sick to even walk, and asked if we could go another day for her medicine. She told me her mother's house was just outside the walls, and could I go there to get some corn flakes cereal for her. Knowing I would never find her mother's house, I decided to go buy the food she asked for. When I returned via the labyrinth with her food, I was overcome by the smells and the sights...I've seen a lot of things in BT, but this was different. I asked Marisol if I could pray for her before I left. She took my hand and I prayed in Spanish everything I could think of to ask Jesus for her. When I said, "amen," I opened my eyes to see Marisol fixed on my face, with tears pouring down her cheeks. I doubt it was my broken Spanish that moved her to tears; I believe Jesus met her in that tiny little room. I know He was there, because I saw Him in Marisol. I can't explain that at all, but I know it's true. I don't often cry in BT, but to see Jesus longing for friendship like that broke my heart.

God bless Jo Wells who has been faithfully praying for these girls in between vomitting today. Talk about die-hard commitment.

This has only been the story of the first half of my day today. To tell it all would require more time than anybody has. :) I will tell you that the rest of the day involved, among other things, meeting an American woman who just made her way to BT. She is a severe drug addict who honestly can't remember how she made it from Indiana to Mexico, or even how long she has been here. Her name is Kerry, and your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking time to read and share in a "typical day" here in Boys Town!