The Preacher's Son - Juliette Duncan Page 0,23

“I hope so. This is a wonderful opportunity for us. I only wish all my people could have the same chance. But change takes time, yes?”

“Yes, it does.”

He turned away and I watched him as he continued to work, sensing that there was more. After a few moments, he straightened and turned round. “Hayden, I would like to ask you something.”

My forehead creased. “Of course. What is it?”

Angling his head, he shoved his hands in his pockets, a shy expression on his face. “They have been so good to us here and both Maria and I have been inspired. We are Catholic, or at least our families are, but I haven’t been to church in a long time. Since I was a boy, in fact.”

I nodded, unsure where this was going.

“I wanted to ask if you could help me read the Bible.”

I hadn’t been expecting that. My first thought was to tell him to speak to David, who could surely advise him better than I could. But then I remembered my prayer the night before and wondered if this was the nudge I was looking for. Not to mention the fact that Felipe had specifically asked me, not David, or anyone else from the church here. He trusted me, and that was an honour.

“I’d love to.” When I smiled, relief spread over his face. “We can start with half an hour today, after you finish here, if you’d like.”

As he thanked me and bent back down to continue his work, I took a slow breath, looked up at the sky, and grinned. God sure had a way about Him.

Penny

The workshop for the staff and volunteers went well but I breathed a sigh of relief when it was over. I didn’t know why I’d been so nervous—I was used to speaking in public and in front of far more intimidating characters than the lovely folk at Safe Hands. I guess I just didn’t like being out of my comfort zone. I was still struggling with feeling out of my depth, and after a week of getting next to nowhere with the local police, I felt even more overwhelmed, although David repeatedly assured me that I was doing great.

As I stuffed my papers back into my bag, Julia came over and laid a hand on my arm. “That was amazing, Penny,” she said, her eyes sincere. “You’re a real asset to us here.”

I smiled gratefully. “Thank you.” Not sure what else to say, I carried on putting the papers into my bag.

“Would you like to come to the canteen for a drink? It would be nice to take a short break together.”

“I’d love to,” I replied. “Thanks for asking.” I felt flattered that she wanted my company.

We walked outside together and strolled to the canteen. “How’s Leon getting on?” I asked. I’d noticed him at mealtimes and he appeared to be thriving. More than once he’d come up to say ‘thank you’ and tell me he liked it here.

“Great. He’s very attentive at school and great with the younger boys,” Julia replied, but I sensed there was a ‘but’.

“Go on,” I prompted.

Julia sighed. “It’s just...there’s that hardness in him. That place we can’t seem to reach. We see it with most of the kids who’ve spent time on the streets, of course. It’s how they survive. Often at this stage they can go either way. Marly seems to think that Leon hasn’t completely broken ties with the gang we were worried about. One of his friends has gotten involved with them.”

I thought about that. Although Leon’s situation had shocked me in many ways, I knew enough about troubled teen boys and gangs. The dynamics were the same whatever part of the world you came from. “If he’s left a friend behind, it will be hard for him,” I said quietly. “He’ll probably be feeling disloyal and guilty for having chances the others don’t have. Are you able to reach out to the friend?”

“We have in the past, but he didn’t want anything to do with us. He mocked Leon before for accepting help from Safe Hands, which I suspect is why Leon didn’t immediately ask for us when he was arrested again.”

“But he won’t have contact with his friend now, will he?”

Julia sighed again. “We can’t police his every move. We’re not his captors. He can’t go into Curitiba proper, but there’s nothing stopping him from returning to the favela, and the only place he would have to stay there is with