Gina is pregnant with her 3rd child by a 3rd guy. Her first 2 kids were taken away by social services. She is worried and scared because she has a minimum wage job at a fastfood restaurant, and this child's father is in jail for over a year. She is struggling because she has gotten off the streets and feels like she's making progress. "You take one step forward and the Sh*t starts happening to you! I can't take it." Desperate words from a girl in desperate need of a father.

Tracy, a single mom with a 5 year old son needs money so she can divorce her son's father. She wants to divorce her first husband so she can marry Dale who is in jail for a year. She thinks he will take care of her and her son. She thinks he'll treat her like a queen or at least like a friend. Why is he in jail? Because he beat Tracy! She desperately wants to marry him even though he is a felon, drug user, and abusive man. During our conversation I found out Dale is bipolar and ADD.

It's hard for me to tell you about this next friend. His name is James. He is a meth user and is being devoured by this demon. James is a Christian. Yes, I believe that you can be a Christian and addicted to meth. I truly believe that a big reason James is using meth is because he has the potential to be dangerous to satan, and the longer satan can keep James tangled in this sin the more chance satan has of killing this kid. James is smart. He has a generous heart and a willingness to help others. He also has a really good knowledge of the Bible. Those are the facts. Bottom line...James' troubles are spiritual in nature. The battle is so thick and obvious that it scares me when I'm near him. James is not possessed, but satan is warring for his heart. I feel completely ill-equipped to seriously battle for him. I pray for him, but my little prayers feel like I'm bringing a slingshot to the battle in Iraq. James is on the edge and satan is pulling him over and only a few are trying to hold him up. This young man is in need of protection.

Then there is Diesel. Diesel hung himself last week in jail because he couldn't stand the thought of being there again. He was in jail for beating his wife who is in a wheel chair. She turned him in. Not only has he ended his life, a fact that makes us all sad, but he has left his wife with the guilt of knowing that she put him in jail. I don't know for sure, but it seems like he got the last blow in the consistent abuse of his wife. Diesel was a huge meth dealer and a regular among our friends on the street. He was a young man in need of peace and healing.

I can tell you about dozens of kids and their lives, even in the short time I've been on the streets. Their stories are of abuse, anger, addiction, mental illness, arrests, harassment, drug induced paranoia, hopelessness, and despair. I won't share them all in this post, because we might become depressed.

http://www.drybonesdenver.org/