Mancho

It was dump day. Lisa and I were going into town to run some errands and visit the dump. The first thing that we did when we got into town was to pick up Mancho. He is a 14 year old boy who lives in the dump and is part of a gang. There are different levels of gangs here. Some are bad, others worse and others horrible. Thankfully the one he  is in only qualifies as bad, but none the less its a gang. He is a really good kid, but has been hanging around the wrong people. 

Today Mancho was going to have a change of scenery by hanging out with us :) He went where we went and helped us with our errands. We didn’t do anything special, but we got to show him love by just hanging with him. The thing I remember the most about that day is going to the grocery store with him. He helped me push the cart around and showed me which rice was the best and I showed him which toothpaste I liked. I was impressed by his gentle spirit and curiosity to learn. Something that I have noticed about the culture here, especially in poverty stricken areas, is that people don’t speak with kindness when asking for something. At the dump people say “Give me this, or that”. There usually is no please or thank you. Mancho never once asked me to buy him anything at the grocery store and when I offered to get him a few things he was genuinely thankful. 

Because of Mancho's life circumstances, he doesn't have much of an opportunity to succeed. But, with his big heart there is hope that he can not only survive but thrive. It will not be an easy journey as he has put himself in some bad situations. But, you can tell there is something in his heart that is rare and bold that he himself has not yet fully discovered.  If his character is nurtured into the man God has created him to be, he will be unstoppable.