This from our man Sundoulos on the ground in Chi Town…

There were at least three police cars parked, lights flashing, and yellow “do not cross” tape cordoning off the corner where the Ethiopian restaurant is situated. That sight greeted me yesterday evening, as I drove north on Orleans street to my apartment, just a few blocks away.

What happened was that two teens had assaulted, robbed–and shot–an immigrant cab driver. Was it teens from our Cabrini-Green neighborhood? I don’t know. Most of me doesn’t want to know.

Two weeks ago, just outside my apartment complex, at around 11 P.M. some eleven police cars were parked, lights flashing, etc. This time it was a gang-fight. A gang-fight next to my apartment complex. Some fifty kids from our neighborhood, and at least sixty from a rival neighborhood just north of ours were “socializing.” By God’s Grace, no one was killed, like 16-year old, Derrion Albert was last year on the south side. But at least one kid was hospitalized, knocked unconscious by a golf club, or so I heard.

Spring is here in Chicago. It’s getting warmer. Summer is on it’s way. And the block is hot.

While there’s not much left of the sprawling Cabrini-Green housing projects, and it’s no longer the 1990′s when things were really poppin’, it never ceases to amaze me just how crazy things can still get here, at the drop of a fitted.

I talk regularly with our kids (trying not to preach or nag) about avoiding the violence, not retailiating, being peacemakers when and where appropriate, etc. Many of our neighborhood kids participate in the weekly Bible-based SLAM* program (and have for years) so it’s not like they haven’t heard Scriptures like “Vengeance is mine, says the LORD.” or “Blessed are the peacemakers…” Yet, I’d be kidding myself if I believed that there were none of our kids involved in the gang fight outside my apartment complex.

“What’s the use?” I’m tempted to feel at times. “Why bother?” at other times. “Who listens or even cares?”

This past Saturday driving past the Cabrini row houses I saw a crowd of people on the street, with the customary police car, etc. One of the teens riding with me said there was an altercation and something was on the verge of “going down.” “Here we go again.” I felt to myself.

But, I also saw there, one of our older, more mature teens–a graduating senior headed for the military and afterward to college–going back and forth between knots of people trying to calm things down and bring the peace. “Praise the LORD!” I said to myself. Instead of feeling to more common frustration and disappointment, I felt real joy and pride for the peacemaker who was demonstrating his Jesus discipleship.

That peacemaker is one of our veteran SLAM kids. God says His Word does not return to Him void, but accomplishes all He intends it to(Isa. 55:11). I guess it does. And that was madd encouraging to see in action, on the block.

*SLAM = Saving Lives through Athletic Ministry

Much luv in Jesus.

~1~

sundoulos
a. k. a. sundoulos
John 3:30

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Sundoulos Blog #1 July 4, 2009, Atrium Village near Cabrini-Green, Chicago IL

Sonny1 searched the Illinois Department of Corrections inmate database on my laptop with his homie Jonny1, after our Sat. afternoon Bible study. Searching the inmate database is a common past-time for many of our youth from the neighborhood. Many of the men they grew up with, and sadly some of their peers, are incarcerated. Sonny found four inmates with his last name: his father, his uncle, and two cousins. In fact, all the males in Sonny’s immediate family, which could serve as a role model, are presently incarcerated. Woah.

This is Sundoulos writing this blog. Bor D asked me to begin writing a regular blog for Gangstyle. Some of you may remember my posts and articles for Gangstyle back in 2003 and 2004 when I did gang outreach from behind a computer monitor and keyboard, living in western Upper Michigan. This evening, I’m writing this blog from my crib at Atrium Village, just a 10 min. walk from Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing projects (or what’s left of them). I retired from my day job in Feb. 2008 and later, on May 30, I moved to Chicago to share Jesus Christ with street gang members and disciple them, and become more like Jesus in the process. I currently volunteer with three Christian street gang outreaches and two Christian at-risk youth ministries. I finally feel like I’m doing what God has called me to do to serve Him. But, urban Chicago is a universe away from Upper Michigan’s northwoods. lol

Now, I can take a five minute walk from my crib to a beautiful city park—Seward Park—and see gang graffiti on the benches there: “Norman a.k.a. Nemo G.” Nemo probably is (or was…) a Gangster Disciple. The GD’s are still one of Chicago’s largest street gangs, and Cabrini-Green was once GD “headquarters” when one of the founders Larry Hoover was still in the Illinois correctional system. While much of Cabrini has been torn down, and is nowhere as crazy as it was ten years ago, it’s still amazing how much craziness there still is. Just last week, one of the teens in one of our youth ministries was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the leg. He was with the wrong crew, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, probably doing the wrong thing—a scenario all to common for some of our neighborhood youth.

Just a ten minute walk from Seward Park, going north across Division St, up Sedgwick St. one can peep more gang graffiti in the concrete: “CVL”—Conservative Vice Lords and “MC Nation”—Mickey Cobras. According to some of our Cabrini kids, the Mickey Cobras roll especially deep in that neighborhood. This means our kids don’t cross Division Street going north–unless they absolutely have to.

To get back to the topic I started with, most of the male teens that we reach out to are fatherless—either they don’t know their father, or if they do, he’s not in the picture. Earlier this year, one of our older teens shared that he saw is father on the street and was shocked to see him. He hadn’t seen his dad in so long, he thought he was dead! The disasterous consequences of fatherlessness among urban youth are well documented, so I don’t need go into detail here. But, having to regularly deal with the effects of fatherlessness in our kids, consumes considerable quantities of love, patience, time and prayer.

Speaking of that, I’m going to close this blog now, because tomorrow is a full day. I have prayer at 9 AM at my church—Living Faith Community Church in the Lower North Center in Cabrini-Green, followed by ushering at the worship service at 10 AM. After church, three of our teens and I are rolling over to Chipotle’s on north State Street to get our grub on and talk about Pastor Will’s2 sermon. Later, at 4 PM, those teens–and three more–are coming over to the crib for Bible study, to watch the Gangland episode “Gangster City” (about Cabrini-Green in the GD heyday) and then watch something a bit more positive, “The Fellowship of the Ring.” That’s a different sort of Sunday than ones I used to have living in Michigan’s northwoods.

Peace and God madd bless until next blog.

~1~

sundoulos
John 3:30

1.Names are changed to protect the innocent. Lol
2.“Pastor Will” is Pastor William Gates. He is the Will Gates profiled as a teen basketball sensation in the landmark 1994 documentary “Hoop Dreams.”

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