1-18-10

My bare feet are covered in dirt. A drop of sweat slides down the side of my face. Twenty feet away Donald, a fifth grader from Waianae Elementary, is staring me down like a gunslinger from an old western film. I bounce the kickball on the dirt.

“Roll the damn ball a’ready!” Donald shouts above the sounds of the other kids.

The temptation to yell at him to watch his language is easy to fight back. That would only be encouragement for the whole pack to swear more. Instead I pass him a knowing glance before I send the ball tearing through the patchy grass between the pitcher’s mound and homebase. WHAM! Donald crushes the ball and a red lightening bolt passes directly over my head too fast for me to react. The ball passes between the legs of my second base man but my outfielder, Tay, is in hot pursuit and recovers the ball as soon as Donald reaches second base. With no thought of the consequences or probability of success, Don zooms on towards third base. Tay is following only a few feet away. I watch him draw his arm back and we all cheer as he lets the ball fly. We’re sure that he’d hit his target and it would be our turn to kick.

But he misses.

I can see the shock and disappointment on Tay’s face but as fast as it appeared, it was gone again. Without losing speed and with a newly acquired determination he remains true to his course and both he and Don sprint recklessly round third. By this point, I know what’s going to happen and I know I should stop it but the excited smiles on both Tay and Donald’s faces tell me that what’s about to happen is good.

And I was right. It was good.

Halfway between home plate and third Tay catches up to Donald and makes a desperate lunge like a starving lion pouncing on a terrified gazelle. He wraps his arms around Donald’s shoulders and both skinny fifth graders tumble to the ground together. But instead of the crying and cussing and screaming that could have followed such an event, there was only laughter. Pure, amazing, joyful laughter. From both boys. From both teams. From myself and the other volunteers.

And I stood there with my dirty feet and my sweat soaked t-shirt and absorbed the moment when everything was good. And in that moment, I felt like I was in the presence of God. And I thanked God for giving me the opportunity to work with these kids. And I thanked him for letting me witness this instance when kids who are living on the roughest part of the island can just be kids and have fun without worrying about the drugs or alcohol that are so rampant all around them.

Thank you, God.
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Life in the Revolution Hawaii program is made up of many types of moments. Some are amazing like the one above: moments when we see our friends get off the street, moments when our friends graduate from a recovery program, and moments when kids are allowed to be kids. But there are sad moments as well: moments when we find our friends drunk and stoned in a doorway, moments when our friends leave the program because the calling of drugs and alcohol are too strong for them to ignore, and moments when you can see that the light that resides in every child has grown dim because of the overwhelming darkness at home.

Five months into the Revolution Hawaii program and I’ve seen my share of the highs and lows that come along with front line urban ministry. Myself and two of my teammates, (Tasha and Joe), volunteer at the Waianae Boys and Girls Club. We also spend a lot of time at Keaau’s Beach Park hanging out with a handful of the families who call that park their home. And on Sunday nights the whole team goes out to Chinatown in Honolulu and we pass out sandwiches and water. The motivation behind these activities is love. We can’t fix all the family problems for the kids we tutor, but we can be positive role models who help them realize their potential and reach for their dreams. We can’t get any of the families off the beach or any of the addicts off the streets, but we can show them that there are people in the world who genuinely care about them and encourage them to take steps towards finding a home or getting in to a program.

In the gospel of John, Jesus says that by the way we love one another people will know that we are his disciples (John 13:34-35). Revolution Hawaii has so far been an amazing journey filled with opportunities to love people and I suspect this upcoming semester will be just as fulfilling with many more chances to show God’s love.

Thank you for your continual support in my ministry here in Hawaii!

Mahalo!