A visit to the streets

A scrap of land, surrounded by traffic, with the tell tale signs of rubbish strewn around and some tarpaulins hanging. That's when you know there are street kids around. We went as a family today to one of the most well known and trusted groups and were reunited with some faces that we met in 2001 when we first visited Mexico to help someone working with street kids.

Oscar brought one of his footballs that he has bought here, knowing that he'd need to leave it behind, so we got to kick the ball around with some of the group first, then we had a time to share some hope and challenge from the Bible. The group here is varied, from some who live here, to some to used to live here but now have left the streets, to some who are good friends and will come hang out from time to time. Some have been on the streets since their teenage days, and although some are in their 20s and even 30s, they are still classed as street kids. The group here are older than the kids who come to the drop in centre.

After sharing from the Bible, it's time to eat. Our kids had no fear of being part of the team, giving out food. They love to help, and with their little Spanish, 'gracias' and 'de nada' go a long way. Here in the photo you can see Pati in the purple, Julio in the Yellow and Alex with the white striped polo shirt alongside team Agnew. They visit the streets to continue the work of sharing their lives and the hope of Jesus with groups in the city as well as run the drop in centre.

This was again a day of mixed emotions, for although it is good to see some of the kids we knew still alive, it hurts to see some of them continuing to harm themselves with drug use.

It was also a reminder of the sadness that hangs over groups of street kids. Oscar Suarez Islas was one of the most amazing street kids we knew, and they have this cross as a memory of his death in 2013. He inspired the naming of our own Oscar. The streets claim the lives of too many of the kids that MEFI work with. Asking some of the guys about other kids that we would have known from this group, we found that some have died since we were last here.

We have 2 weeks left here now before we return to Scotland. Please pray for us as we continue to encourage the MEFI team in their work, and come alongside some of the kids whose lives are touched by their compassion and dedication.