Home Brew

Yesterday when Jose came home from school nobody was there to open the door. He banged liked LAPD, yelled into the air in vain, gradually becoming more and more angry. Joseph was probably home, but sleeping or playing a prank on his brother, he didn't open the door.

So I went outside to invite Jose up to our place for a bit. I was concerned that he'd get angry and that his anger would boil over into violence as it has several times this year. It happened in a youth group meeting once and during the retreat human foosball game as well.

Violence is a serious stronghold here in the city and something that our church is preaching and praying through this month. The streets teach retaliation and reputation above reconciliation. Forgiveness? Forget about it. Adult ears and healthy anger outlets are as rare as green grass.

But yesterday, the Lord restrained our neighborhood's predilection towards violence. Jose came up to our place and checked out the YG retreat slideshow on our computer. He was particularly pleased with the picture of him engaged in an intense tetherball match.

Sarah and I offered him a drink and he opted for iced tea over milk and water, even after I warned him that it was homemade and thus not as tooth-erodingly sweet as Nestea or like beverages. He took a sip and noted regretfully that "it tastes weird."

Soon after he needed to use the bathroom as if the iced tea instantaneously overwhelmed his bladder. Weird thing was he took his glass in with him. Realizing the inconvenience of peeing while holding a glass I offered to hold it for him or something really inconceivable like place the glass on our dining table.

Jose hesitated ever so slightly in his response and I quickly realized what was happening: he was taking the glass with him to covertly dump out the iced tea, so as not to offend his youth pastor host. I corrected myself mid-sentence affirming that "maybe it's better if you take the cup in with you."

Miraculously, not a drip remained when he emerged. Soon after he went home and I had a little laugh about the interaction. What a considerate young youth, fully aware of my shame-based Chinese culture, taking great pains to reject an effort of hospitality indirection, subtlty and graciousness. Ah, the little joys of urban youth ministry!