There is something about naming that is powerful. We see it in Scripture when Saul becomes Paul. And although he certainly didn't seem to act like it much, Peter was "the rock."
I couldn't get out of the car in the parking lot our first few months at Willow Pond without hearing another story about the legendary "Psycho." I think the descriptions might have been slightly over-blown, but the picture that was established in my mind was a young man who was apparently on the loose, on the prowl, and wreaking havoc.
We are coming up on 6 months in relationship with him. And boy, have we seen a change.
A few weeks into our time at Willow Pond, I had finally heard enough to go over and find his parent(s). In part to talk to them about their son and in part to learn the "story" behind the door. I found out they were immigrants from Bosnia. 10 kids in the family. About half of them still in the small family apartment at Willow Pond. I talked with the Dad through "Psycho's" older brother - who translated. I told him that we were trying to make peace at Willow Pond and asked if they would help us. After a little conversation, the next thing you know he invited us into the apartment. We met the Mother, who sat on the ground grinding coffee. As we stood in the living room, I noticed that behind two extremely large trophies on the mantle, a picture of Jesus was on the wall. And so I pointed and made a comment about it. The Dad thought I was pointing to the trophies. So, naturally he went and grabbed the trophies off the shelf and gave them to us. And if the Dad excitedly presents you with two trophies from his living room mantle, then you excitedly receive the two trophies! They still reside in the Community Center.
Back to "Psycho." The change we have seen in him over the last few months has been really wonderful. We have heard him say things like "I'm not gonna fight" in a situation when he normally would have. We have seen him serve and communicate respectfully (two of our laws) with greater frequency. We have seen him make friends with kids who the other kids pick on. Now Rome wasn't built in a day. And we still have plenty of, shall we say, "growth opportunities" with him. But it is way different than it used to be.
Recently, Suzanne created the "I've Changed" award at the Kids Club. It is, literally, a sack of change. (We're learning that a little money to take to the convenience store across the street goes a long way with these guys).
When we presented the award to "Psycho" (our first recipient of the award!) a few weeks back, our Community Center Supervisor Rickey Fanning actually re-named him! He announced that "Psycho" would now be called by his real name. Salco. As you can see in the video, Salco looks toward the camera and smiles at the moment of re-naming.
Pretty fun.
-- Dean Wilson and Will Dowell
