Another one comes Home

It is always an exciting thing to bring a new boy home. It is becoming more special for me personally as I am getting to know the boys on the street more deeply. When one of them comes home it is a new page in their story, one of hope and restoration. It is a chance at a new future, a new family, a new opportunity to be a child again.

This week David and Abby brought a new boy into their homes. It was really special to see him there when I was at the land this weekend. When I first arrived in Uganda and began going to street programs he had caught my eye. You see all the boys, but sometimes you 'notice' certain ones. I am not sure why I noticed him. Maybe because he was shy, but keen to learn. Sometimes I notice the quiet ones, the ones that aren't clambering for you attention and even avoid you. Maybe it was because he had a funny way of singing and moving to his own music (the stuff that obviously is often playing in his head) without giving a care as to who was looking at him.  Sometimes that is rather funny. Whatever it was I was secretly hoping he could come into the homes.

Bringing a boy into the homes is a process that needs to be done with a lot of wisdom and prayer. A boy needs to want to work within a family structure, one that has rules and responsibilities, in order to do well in the home. They have to be willing to come under the authority of the Uncles and Aunties in the home. If they are aggressive or abusive they could easily hurt the other boys in the home. If they aren't serious about being in a home and going back to school they could quickly run back to the streets and convince other boys to go with them. Any of these things would be harmful to the other boys and the home. For this reason knowing the right boy to bring home is not simple. We want all boys off the streets. That is our dream, but there is only so much you can do now. Issues are complex. The boys are complex. And there is a great responsibility to protect the boys that are in the current homes.  I am glad that I do not decide who comes home. But I do get to celebrate when they do!

When boys come home they take a while to settle in. As they become more and more at ease with their new home they begin to let their guard down and show who they truly are. It usually takes a few weeks to start seeing this.

Once a boy relaxes into the safely of a place to call 'home' he comes alive. I love being there for the process. It is a beautiful thing.