Love in the Underbelly

The Underbelly is the rough part of town. But it is the place where the people I have come to love are living. A place where 20 people sleeping in front of a building is a daily sight. A place where prostitutes outnumber cars. A place where the people who need the most help roam the streets at night. A few nights a week David and I have begun checking in on our friends at the homeless ministry. We go later at night after our feedings at a time where they are all "supposed" to be in the building with the door locked. We expanded this adventure to drivng around the neighborhood that surrounds the building in search of people who needed help. Whether it was a person who needed a baleada or someone who needed a fresh wound to be tended to or one of our friends on the street who just needed a hug and some kind words we decided that someone needed to check up on these people. Everyone in this world deserves to know that they are loved and that someone out there cares for them. Our last few trips have seen the number of people accompanying us grow. Last night Amber and Courtney joined us for Courtney's first trip to the "Underbelly". All was quiet until we reached the building. As we pulled up Jose De La Cruz came running down the street. He informed us that a few of the teens from the building were being beat up a few blocks away. We jumped in the car a sped to the location that DLC had told us to go. When we finally arrived it was a very sad scene. The altercation had ended but the teens looked crushed. I couldn't even begin to put myself in the mindset of these kids. They have been through so much and to continue to have these awful things happen to them is just plain heartbreaking. We began talking to the teens and giving them some much needed hugs and attention before loading those willing to come back to the building in the car. Hugo a.k.a. "The Mexican" did not want to join us but he reached out his hand to me for a much needed handshake before we headed back to the building. When we returned Amber spoke with the teens for a few moments before we prayed for them. Seeing someone at their lowest gives you an idea just how much the kids want to change their lives. I can only give credit to God for making sure that David, Amber, Courtney, and I were there last night to give these sweet kids from the street exactly what they needed at their time of greatest need, love.