musings on streetwise and all that entails.

What is Streetwise? 

Streetwise was birthed in 2012 out of a need we saw to build a relationship with the kids that was built out of mutual trust and respect that works both ways.  

 Let me put it to you this way....they KNOW when people are treating them like a project and when people are sincere.  I have to say that these boys know how to read people!  I respect them so much for their sincerity and their transparency.  When you gain their loyalty and trust you have a friend for life!

We saw that in the process of getting the kids off the streets there needs to be a middle ground.  A transition so to speak.  It is jarring to grab someone out of their “home culture” and with no warning or preparations plop them into a new culture. The majority of the boys we encounter have never had ANY parenting to speak of.  They sleep in the drainage system.  Basically they live like puppies in the wild.  That is their culture.   They know nothing of how to sleep in a safe home in a comfy bed.  Might as well ship them all off to China.  That is how much of a shock to their systems it is.  Many times after two weeks or so they take off back to the streets.  BUMMER! 

This picture was taken by Luis and one of our team members Clive.  It shows where the boys sleep.  If you look you will find where the kids have made a "bed" for themselves.  

This picture shows where the boys enter into the drainage to go to sleep.  

So our goal is to help prepare them, to ease them into life in a home.  We are also working to build relationships with the various homes around the city so that we can target kids that need a home and then help bridge the gap for them.  As of now we work closely with a Teen Challenge facility 45 minutes outside of Lusaka.  We have sent two kids there with the hopes of a third sometime soon.   

Wafuka, the director of Teen Challenge Zambia, put it this way... “The Morales’ catch em and we fry em up”.  

Something that Luis and I both feel very strongly about is that there isn’t a blanket approach that will work with all the boys.  Their needs are so varied that what works for Chembe might not work with Bwalya.  One thing that has been made clear to me is the issue of trust......All the adults in their lives have abused their trust.  Those whose job it has been to look after them and love them have abused that, so therefore what reason do they have to trust anyone?  Why would a kid whose mother tried to poison him ever have any reason to trust an adult?  

The fact that we simply show up every Wednesday night means the world to these guys.  The fact that no matter what they throw at us, we are there to love them.  Believe me when I tell you they have tried every way to test our sincerity.  But we keep showing up!

Just a few weeks ago I shared that the outreach was NUTSO and we had to cut it short.  We showed up the following week and I was amazed!  They were so humble and sorry for their behavior the week before and they all apologized!  WHAT!?  They knew and understood that their behavior was what caused us to leave early.  They didn’t make excuses. They didn’t blame shift.  They accepted responsibility for their actions!  AND they were honestly shocked when we did come back!  Bless their hearts!  They thought we weren’t going to ever show up again!  How healing must that have been for them when they saw us pull up with smiles, hugs and hot tea!?  And I was boosted because I knew God had been working on their hearts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  BABY STEPS!!! 

What can you do to help? 

The major need we have at the moment is an outreach center.  We need to be able to control the environment.  Right now on the streets it is a game of ANYTHING GOES!  Spin the wheel, you never know what you will get..

In the center we will be able to...

1. feed the boys a hot healthy meal

2. offer medical care

3. a safe place to get away from the insanity they live in 

4. we will be able to control what happens and gage the boys progress in a more systematic fashion.  

We need finances to do this.  We are looking at a place right now that will cost about 1,000 usd a month to operate.  That covers rent, food for the boys, security and electricity and water. 

Would you pray about how God would have you to help?  

If you feel led to be a part of Streetwise financially you can make a one time or monthly donation (tax deductible)
 to Times Square Church.......go to tscnyc.org and click "GIVE" and follow the instructions to donate to "MISSIONS SUPPORT" and select our name MORALES FAMILY / ZAMBA.   Easy Breasy! 

titles fail me

I woke up this morning to the disturbing news that is happening in Iraq and Syria.  Innocent people are suffering horrifically for their choice to follow Jesus.  Not only that, innocent CHILDREN are suffering in ways that make my heart cringe and my soul sick.  You have all read the reports and seen CNN.

For a few days I have been pondering over this new trend that seems to be permeating the western church culture (and in light of what I read this morning it seems appropriate now to write what has been on my heart).  We have to multiply....we have to disciple.....we have to be good soldiers for Jesus so that we get gold stars next to our names in heaven.

Please please don't misunderstand me, those are good and right things.  We have to be out sharing our faith with any one and everyone who will listen!  People are dying for their faith as I write this, and most of us are to scared to open our bibles in public for fear of offending.  So, yes all of us need to be challenged and need to be taught scriptures so that we don't stumble over our own tongues and passion.

But here is my dilemma.....are we relying to much on trends and the books of the day to dictate our stance for Jesus?  Are we being swayed by popular "cool" Christianity in our need to look relevant and appropriate?  Is our desire to create a cool vibe out weighing the need for our hearts to be  challenged and our sins being dealt with in light of the cross?

I have always believed that true revival starts with a cry of repentance in the hearts of the church.  That when I am living in a right, transparent relationship with Jesus, when I am constantly examining my life in the light of God's word and allowing the Lord to delve, probe and do surgery on the areas that hurt, that my passion for the lost and my desire to share the freedom I have in Jesus with grow and expand.  That when the moment arises God will fill my heart and my mouth with the words that are needed in the moment.

Again, please don't misunderstand.......I truly believe in good godly teaching that inspires and challenges my heart.  But I think that now is the time for the church to put the "how to" books down and to get on our faces and seek God's will for our lives and for the lives of the lost around us.  

Our "brothers and sisters" are suffering in ways that world hasn't seen since the days of the Roman Empire and the colosseum.  Let us hold high the banner of Jesus Christ and not be afraid!

The scriptures say "He will keep you strong until the end!"

outreaches be CRAY CRAY!!!

We just hosted our first Streetwise guests!  That was fun!  Hannah Ellis and Kasey Givens were a treat to have in our home and we were blessed to have them!  I wonder if they will ever know what a breath of fresh air they brought to our little corner of insanity?  God brought them at the right moment!  We needed them and I love that God knew that!  

So, they went on the outreach this past Wednesday night with myself and Clive.   Needless to say it was CRAZY with a capitol CRAY CRAY!!  Started out with poor Gift getting tapped with a car.  (I say tapped because he didn’t move out of the parking spot in time and the guy was trying to nudge him out of the way and it knocked him down...because of the drugs he takes his response time is pretty slow).  So, that set off the boys.  Daniel kept shouting “ON FRIDAY I AM GOING TO TAKE A KNIFE AND KILL YOU ALL!”  Remember that this happened on Wednesday, so I don’t know why Friday was so important.......So, the four of us got things relatively calm and I decided to serve the tea and bread so that the boys could get distracted from wanting to knife people on Friday.  That didn’t go well.  Usually they are pretty good about standing in line and waiting patiently.  I have been known to kick boys out of the line in the past if they are disrespectful.  None of that worked and it went from crazy to CRAY CRAY in a matter of minutes.  At one point Daniel started picking up rocks and throwing them at the guys who hit Gift with the car.  (The lot where we do outreach just happens to be a popular hang out spot for people who want to drink and pick up prostitutes...yeah like I said CRAY CRAY!)   It ended with Clive, my co-leader, making an executive decision to stop the outreach midway and leave.  He felt it was beginning to get dangerous and I didn’t want to argue with him.  Nothing we were doing was calming them down.  Usually singing or handing out bread gets them focused, but NADA!  His primary concern was the safety of me and the girls.  He got us in the car and away we went.  

I wont go into detail about all that was going through my mind at that point, I will leave that up to your imagination.  But as I was sitting there in stunned silence Kasey told a story of an outreach they were involved with that went horribly wrong.  They are involved with a ministry in Austin called Young Life.  It reaches out to teens from all walks of life.  They were hosting a pancake dinner for the kids. 

 Long story short, Kasey started a food fight when she threw a pancake to one of the kids hoping for it to land on her plate and it hit her in the face.  The leader was yelling at kids on the microphone while packs of teenagers were forming armies and lobbing syrup grenades at their friends.  YUP, that made me feel better!  LOL!!!!!!!

I don’t know what God did on Wednesday night if anything.....Maybe we stopped a riot when Gift was hit?   Not a clue, but we showed up!  And maybe that is all it takes?  

weary travelers need rest!

I have been sitting here for about 30 minutes trying to find the right words to open up this entry.  

Then I found this picture and its true what they say.....it does say 1,000 words. It is called WEARY TRAVELLER.  See what I mean!?

May I take a moment of transparent honesty?  This has been a challenging year for me personally, yet incredibly rewarding.  

Luis and I are working on a dream God has given us a long time ago to reach the street children of Lusaka.  We get to work together on a vision that we both feel incredibly passionate about and know it is directly from the heart of God.   I have discovered in myself a level of creative ability I never knew I had. We sell these to raise money for our ministry and living expenses.  

It is something that we enjoy doing and for the first time since coming to Zambia the reasons why are clear and understandable.   God has given us a mandate, clear as a bell.   

YET, there are days when I feel like this.....

More than this....

I think the challenging part for me has been to learn that when I am out of emotion and passion, and when all I have left is obedience, God is there!  God WILL see the work through....not only the one in my heart, but the one he has put before us to do.  It isn't our work!  It is God's and we are just the vessels that He has chosen.  Not because we are special and unique....NO WAY!  But because God decided that Streetwise not only benefit the children of Lusaka, but also it benefits our hearts!  Through the process of working in this direction I have learned more of the faithfulness of God than at any other time in my life! 

Just the other day Luis and I were feeling overwhelmed with the task at hand and our inability to do it.  We prayed and then went about the day.  Not feeling any better mind you, but knowing that God heard and that is that.  

The next day I had a wonderful conversations with some young ladies who are here visiting.  They came on the outreach with us and were SO encouraging about what we are doing.  They said "KEEP MOVING FORWARD!  THERE WILL BE FRUIT!"  

God sends along what we need when it is needed!!!!  Be it physical, emotional or spiritual needs that need filling, GOD WILL MEET THEM!!!!!  That is a fact!  Take it to the bank and cash it in!  GOD WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS!!!  This week my need was "GOD, I am a weary traveller and I need to be strengthened!  HELP!"  

HE WILL KEEP YOU STRONG TO THE END!  I CORINTHIANS 1:8

If you think of us please pray for us?    The kids that we encounter on a weekly basis are so wounded and bruised!  Pray that God provides the money for us to get a store front to work out of.  We need to move out of our living room.  Also, but having a store front we will have the ability to hold outreaches, the training school AND have team meeting and a store to sell STREETWISE CRAFT CO products.  

I pray that this entry encouraged you heart the way it encouraged mine!  Don't give up on what God has placed on your heart!  Stay the course and keep hidden behind the cross of Jesus!  

   

Prayer Changes Things!!!

If anyone asked me seven years ago where I would see my life today.....I definitely wouldn’t say “teaching street kids how to make antique wooden signs in my dining room”.  Did we see ourselves STARTING A NEW MINISTRY!?  That is a definite NO WAY JOSE’! 

God’s ways are NOT OUR OWN!  That is FO-SHIZZLE!!!  Take it to the bank and cash it in baby!  

There isn’t a week that goes by when Luis and I don’t stand in our dining room strewn about with spray cans and stencils and saw dust and think “What on earth happened to our lives!?”  

Don’t get me wrong...........

We LOVE the direction that Streetwise is taking. 

 Luis and I are working together on a project that we both have tons of passion for and that we do well together.  I never thought of myself as creative, but God has orchestrated our lives in a way that a hidden talent in my heart has been brought to the surface in a pretty cool way.   

We love that Streetwise is out of the box.  We have quickly learned that there is no one size fits all approach to the needs of the kids we work with.  It is a one on one slow and steady wins the race type of approach.  What works with Joe will not work with Nicholas.  It keeps us humble....It keeps us on our knees.  

The Streetwise name is starting to take off.  People in Lusaka are beginning to recognize the name and purpose.  AWESOME!  In September there will be the second annual STREETWISE FUN RUN fundraiser.  AWESOME!  There are two amazing ladies in our church here who felt called to help us out by planning fundraisers.  They can’t go on outreaches, but they sure can get a crowd together!  They are planning on 500 participants!  Last year there were 150.  

We need prayer you guys!!!!  We need LOTS OF PRAYER!!!!!  In the near future I will be setting up a facebook page dedicated to the prayer needs of Streetwise.   Let me know if you want participate!  Prayer changes things!  GOD HEARS OUR CRIES!!!!  As I always say.....A missionary is only as effective as those who are praying for them!  Do you wanna join the Streetwise team?  You may not be able to get on a plane and fly over but you can pray!  And that makes you part of the team!  

Pray for the safety of my family.........Just this past Sunday my girls were feet away from being ran over by a drunk driver.  The devil isn’t happy with what we are doing! 

Pray for the unity of our marriage.....If Luis and I are fighting then we loose our testimony. 

Pray for provision......We NEED a work space!  

Pray for workers.......Working with these guys, especially on a day to day basis in the Streetwise craft co is going to take MANY HANDS!  Each kid has his own unique issues. 

Basically.....PLEASE PRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Thank you everyone for all your love and support over the years!  It means SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I don’t think we could do what we do if we didn’t have such a solid support structure from home.    

YOU GUYS ROCK MY FACE OFF!!!! 

discipleship is NOT easy!

Nicholas is a street kid that has been in our lives for 7 years.  We met him when we first arrived in Zambia.  He is a good guy!  Funny, athletic, has a generous open heart and is easy to be around.  

Luis and I both felt a leading from God to bring him to work with us three days a week in Streetwise.   So, while our girls are in school Nicholas comes and we sand, nail, paint and generally work him HARD!  

It hasn’t been an easy process AT ALL!  He comes with a magnitude of issues and pain.  Some days he comes and all he can do is sleep, other days he comes and wants to work.  One day in particular he came in with boils and malaria.  So, I told him to lay on the couch so I could dress the boils and he feel asleep HARD and snored HARD for 6 hours.  He probably would have slept longer but my kids needed to do their homework.  Bless him!!!!  (remember the Streetwise Global headquarters is our dining room)

His life is bouncing from place to place, living from moment to moment, hoping to find a safe place to be himself.  How can a body find true rest living that way?  When he comes to us, we believe that this is the only place where he doesn’t feel threatened or scared so he lets his guard down and he rests.  

Last week it was just Nick and myself working, Luis had to be somewhere else.  He came in EXHAUSTED and smelling like the raw end of a distillers back side.  Not only that, his face looked war weary and simply tired of life.  As I sat and prayed while he was eating God told me to tell him this “If you don’t get off the streets you will be dead with in two years”.    That simple statement, potent though it was, was like opening up a damn inside of him.  He began to talk.....he talked about his fears, he talked about his past pain and he talked about what he wants to do with his future.  I got the sense that he shared things with me that he has never shared with any one before.  It was a holy precious moment. 

I won’t go into details about what he shared because I don’t want to abuse his trust that way, but I would like to make this point.....When God brings people into our lives who are living in such pain and dire need it is important that we remain prayerful and available.  We don’t always have to have the answers or the solutions, but we do have to have a listening ear and a prayerful heart.   Sometime there are no words and we just need to listen and let the hurt unburden the pain they have been carrying for so long.  Sometimes we have to say hard things laced with the grace and love of Jesus.  Sometimes we have to take action.  All that is required of us is that we stay in tuned to the voice of God for what He wants us to do or say.  SIMPLE!  

I will tell you this....I got him to promise me that he would commit to one month at the Teen Challenge facility.  My argument being this “Nick!  You will be shocked at how good you feel when you get to sleep in the SAME bed every night and get to eat regularly!”  It wasn’t “You suck and are broken and we need to fix you”  

Will you pray for Nicholas?  There is a war going on for his soul right now.   Pray that he has the courage to step out in faith and let God heal his broken battered soul and restore him to the beautiful person God has created him to be!  Pray that he has the faith for one moment at a time......Cause sometimes when we are scared that is all we can handle!  AMEN!?  Pray that after one month he will want to stay and finish the program.  

Would you also pray for us?  It isn’t easy going into the trenches the way we do to work with these guys.  We are often on the Devils target list.  We need wisdom!  We need understanding!  We need to stay hidden behind the cross of Jesus at ALL time!  

fishbowl dayz

Somedays I feel like I am living in a fish bowl and everyone is walking by closely examining me and tapping obnoxiously on the bowl.   There are days when that doesn’t bother me so much and days when it gets under my skin and chafes like sand in a bathing suit.  For our purposes we will refer to this as having “fish bowl” days. 

Yesterday I was having a “fishbowl” day.  

Those days when you say “God would it be possible to hit the rewind button and start this day all over again!?”

With out going into all the gory details I got into a “discussion” with a lady in the parking lot of the grocery store who had parked her car badly next to mine and as a result I couldn’t move my car.  She refused to move her car and threatened me if I hit her car.  SERIOUSLY!?  

While the woman was in the wrong to begin with I could have put on my sweet face and gone about my day, but my dang pride go in the way!  UGH!  I hate that dang pride!  

Should I stick my head in the proverbial sand when days like this happen?  While that might be cozy for a bit, after a while don’t you think my head would smell musty? 

Should I tuck myself into bed with a chocolate bar and wait out life until the rapture watching Downton Abbey reruns?  While that sounds lovely I do have three kids to feed.  

The Bible is pretty clear on this point.  

Roman 8:1 says this...

“There is therefore now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

  PHEW!   God’s view of who I am doesn’t change because I had a bad day!  

HALLELUJAH!  

Romans 8:31

 “What then shall we say to these things, If God is for us who can be against us!!!!”

  

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!  God is for us you guys!  Even when our humanity gets in the way GOD IS FOR US!!!!!!!!!  

Romans 8:35, 37-39

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation or distress or persecution, or famine or nakedness, or danger, or sword?.....IN all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us!  For I am SURE than neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present no things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us form the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!”

I don't know about you but these words give my heart such peace!  I am rest secure at night knowing that God loves me!  That God is for me and that the morning brings a fresh page.  

If you don't know Christ...........I leave you with this thought.  NOTHING can fill the emptiness!  NO ONE can take the pain away!  NOBODY can give you purpose, value and meaning but Jesus!  He is the answer!  He is what you are searching for!  Give up the fight and let Jesus love you the way you need to be loved!