Summer programs are officially in full swing. Moline Senior High left for camp tonight. God Bless the camp counselors!
After our program Saturday, my intern (Christina) and I hit the streets again pushing camp sign-ups. It was late afternoon by the time we entered Century Woods...and it was busy. The Saturday night hustle and bustle beginning...the cops making their rounds...and us. As we left the security of the Sunshine van...we shared nervous glances...and I'm sure both thought "Here we go". But we didn't get only a few steps away before we had our own little entourage of kids..."Come sign me up, I live over here". We followed one kid after another into their homes...each one a different experience. It is flooded down there with kids and innocence...equally with crime and cruelty. We pulled away...happy...ecstatic even...but with the heartbreak settling in our bones...of the reality of their oppression. So much oppression.
The Moline Teen Director told me very early on that I will gain a whole different perspective on life while ministering to the least of these. Opinions...judgments and criticisms are easy from the outside...but things look so drastically different on their streets...in their homes. I don't agree with the way some of them live their life...but it is different...in their shoes.
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