My friend, ChiChi

*photo by Nick Wisda

A year ago this week we met Chichi...

The first time he came over with a couple other friends and we ended up playing Monopoly. What an experience! Playing Monopoly in Spanish while trying to keep everyone from stealing from the bank, and they were constantly lending money to each other! The game seemed to go on forever. Needless to say my first impression was that he was quite a little punk!

Shortly after, we were sitting playing another game and Christopher came down to tell me goodnight. I tell him 'love you'. Chichi asks, what is that? So I translated what I had said to Christopher. His puzzled look led to talk of his relationship with his mom. And I realized that this was such a foreign concept, that someone would say 'I love you' before you go to sleep at night.

There were many troubles during his childhood. One of the two guys that might be his father is a drug addict who lives in a box, the other is dead. Then when he became a rebellious teen his mom said she didn't want him anymore. He was able to move in with his abuela, who is a wonderful woman who loves the Lord, but as they basically share a house with his mom and 7 siblings, he is constantly faced with the rejection of his mother.

Over the course of the year the Holy Spirit has been working on his heart. He is eager to learn and thrilled to have a relationship with Jesus. He was disappointed, though, because he said he would fall asleep sometimes when he prayed at night. I told him it was ok. The Lord knows his heart and understands how tired he is. I just hope that right before Chichi drifts off to sleep, he can hear the Holy Spirit whisper 'I love you' in his ear.