Dec 06 I Knew Him When

This is Mike.  Eight years ago… we used to hang out with him a few times a week, at a place in town called “the tables”. He was living on the streets- not because he was an orphan- but because he could meet his basic needs better on his own, through begging.

Fast forward to last summer.  Dave had returned to South Africa for 8 weeks of research- and he tracked down Mike to see how he was doing.  Mike was now the man of the house. His mother had died, leaving several younger siblings without parents.  So Mike stepped up.  He returned to the two-room, cement-block house and took on the responsibilities of a man, of a father- while still being just a boy himself.

Fast forward again… to last weekend.  Mike and his girlfriend, Lizzy, were our lunch guests.  I found myself impressed by the maturity that Mike radiated.  He runs his home, cares for his siblings, and has maintained the same job for three years.  And I knew him when…

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 6th, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Live Loud, Random Happenings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.