Freedom.... in the sky?!?

It's June.... the beginning of kite season in Brazil. The sky of Belo Horizonte is full of kites. Every where you go you will see little groups of kids, teenagers and adults together, they could be on the street, in a park, on top of roofs, I even see them in the graveyard in front of my house, all of them studying the sky. As you look up, and follow their gaze you will see that each one is watching a kite. What I find interesting is that there could be 5 boys together but just one kite, the thrill is not just in flying the kite but also watching it fly in the sky. They will have competitions to see if they can cut the line of another kite. If the line is cut, there is shouts and confusion, the sounds of feet in flipflops running down the street, as each boy runs in the direction of where the kite will land. First one there, wins the kite!!

It is a wonderful sensation..... watching a kite in the sky flying to and fro.... the freedom the kite has as it floats in the wind, as it rises higher and higher.

The Irony is that at this moment there is not much freedom here on the streets of the Brazil with the kids that I work with on a daily basis. The world cup will be here next year and next week will start the Confederation Cup. The government is using this time as a practise for next year on 'how to clean up the streets of Belo Horizonte.' When I say clean up, I am not talking about the rubbish you find, I am talking about the people living and running wild on the streets and in the favelas. 

Three weeks ago (middle of May) Belo Horizonte hit a record of how many teenagers got put in prison, reaching 171 in the detention Centre (the average is 40). Many of the boys that we work with were within this number. The police have also banned the kids from staying in their usual spot near the hospitals. The kids that are still on the streets have scattered and divided up into a few small groups. We went out on a search last night and were able to track them down. 

Now with so many in prison, our work has had to take a shift in what we do - prison visits! God has been opening many doors for us as a team and we are now visiting the boys on a weekly basis. The boys stay up to 45 days in the detention centre waiting for a court decision - this could be - set free, semi-freedom house (can leave on weekends to visit family) or prison (for teenagers this can be up to 3 years). We already know a number who have been given this sentence.

It's a sad situation, when you look to the kites in the sky flying with as much freedom as they desire but yet there are so many we know that are behind bars with no freedom at all and with a future unclear. Please pray for us as we enter this new time in our work, pray that doors continue to open and that as we visit these individuals that God will give us guidance on how to handle each situation. Pray that we will be light in the dark places.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me." Matthew 25:35-36