Unexpected Friends

Bethany and I were pleased to realize on Friday that we have friends in this city.  We were driving through the neighborhood when we saw some of our friends out and about collecting bottles.  How exciting that Erin had just given us a load and we could stop right then and give these boys a bag of bottles to add to their collection.  We kept on driving and saw our friend Jeffrey with the guys who always go car to car asking for money at the stoplight.  His face lit up when we rolled down the window to say hello and offer him some work this week.  Then yesterday we were driving one of the kids over to show him our new house when we passed two of our favorite little boys who jumped right in the backseat and came with us.

Its not conventional perhaps.  We didn’t see any people we knew inside buildings or meet friends for lunch.  But I think my heart rejoices even more knowing that we can be friends with these sweet kids and show them that somebody loves them enough to learn their names and spend time with them and tell them about Jesus.

Speaking of names, I have to tell you about our little buddy Kevin.  He usually comes around with his brother or his neighbor, but his smile and manners have won our hearts.  He gives us a grin and looks like he wants nothing more than to just run up and wrap his 10-year old arms around us.  I drove them home the other day and he waited by the side of the road for me to go down and turn around so that he could wave to me one more time before I left.  He loves when I read to them, and doesn’t know how to read himself.  Yesterday he learned about Noah for the first time, he’d never heard that story before.  Just this week we let him come inside and he got to meet Gary Hodge and Bethany’s mom via skype.  Its like a whole new world when you’ve maybe never seen a computer before.  He thinks its pretty cool, although he got frazzled when Gary talked to him and told him he was 15 instead of 10 :)  Pray for us to love this little boy well and that he will grow up to love Jesus.