August 2023

Forget the “summer of love”; for our kids, it has been the “summer of violence”. Violence has been the backdrop of our summer. While our kids have an earnest desire for peace, they are surrounded by violence. There have been multiple shootings in our community just this month. Funerals have become a summer mainstay.  We schedule our activities to accommodate kids with friends or family members who have gotten killed. One boy’s cousin this summer was shot and killed right before we went to camp.  To make matters worse (if that is possible), fear and distrust of authority and police became more entrenched after another needless killing of a black man at a traffic stop weeks ago. It never ends. There is no place to go to escape the reality of life here.

The writer of Ecclesiastes, upon making an exhaustive study on the meaning of life, came to this conclusion: “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live… To eat and drink and find satisfaction in life. This is the gift of God.” Eccl 3.12-13.  The admonition to be happy and do good falls on deaf ears when every day is filled with strife and struggle. This seemingly simple precept eludes most of human society. We all strive for peace and satisfaction, but it is hard to gain in life.  It is particularly difficult for our boys here to have a moment of peace, free from anxiety.  The circumstances of their reality restrict their access to the gift of God.

This summer we’ve been able to engage our boys with regular, positive pursuits… running track, going swimming, playing basketball, going fishing, going to camp, etc. We’ve been particularly busy this summer making sure we have regular contact with our kids and that they have opportunities to “be happy, and do good”.  It has made a significant impact. Young men have bonded with one another, crafting relationships and connections like family. Lives have changed. Boys who seemed to live for the thrill of criminal or self-destructive behavior have become more grounded, more stable, more thoughtful of their actions and choices. More than one mother has commented to me that their sons have come back from camp with subtly different attitudes, asking that whatever I’m doing with their children to keep it up. It’s been a fruitful summer.

But they always have to go home. Back to the neighborhood. Back to reality. Back to stress and strife. Back to survival strategies and situational ethics. Back where you have to be hard, tough and intractable to survive. But they go back with changes, sometimes incremental, in their outlook. Maybe this doesn’t have to be their reality, maybe there is Someone who cares and is always there with them, who can make a difference. Maybe they don’t have to coast along an inexhorable current of dysfunction that empties into a sea of despair. Maybe my life can be different. These small changes add up over time to result in changed lives.

One teenage boy who is in the streets came to me this summer and said excitedly, “Chris, I know you’ve been telling me this for a long time but I finally know God is real!” I’ve known him since he was a young boy and have spent a lot of time with him. In his adolescence he has become caught up in street life and self-destructive pursuits, but our relationship remains strong. I wondered what great event had happened to spark this spiritual awakening.  “Ok, what happened?” I reply. He tells me of a situation where he potentially could’ve been in a lot of trouble, and he prayed and asked God for help and the situation was averted. He was convinced God had interceded on his behalf. “God showed me He is real!” I can’t deny it. I’ve seen a marked change in his attitude and behavior, along with repentance, ever since. He has been an example to the other kids in our group. You just never know how God is going to touch somebody.

The gift of God may be elusive, but it is there for the asking. Thank you for enabling us to give our boys a summer where they can have a moment of peace, to ask.