"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ahmad Tutio started attending Streets Ministries several years ago when a staff member invited him to join the Thursday night get-togethers.
Since then he's been coming almost every day.
He likes to hang-out, shoot hoops, play ping-pong and video games in the facilities at Streets. It's also a place where he can experience new cultures and faiths. Ahmad is Muslim, and knows that Streets is a Christian organization – they regularly share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the students. But he doesn't feel like they are trying to convert him. He says they love and accept him just as he is.
Ahmad is a sixteen-year-old junior at Kingsbury High. He's a good-student, well-spoken, and mature for his age. He plays piano and wants to become a professional musician when he graduates.
What impresses him the most about Streets is the example set by the staff. He says it's the leaders who are often the ones doing the grunt-work, like Executive Director Reggie Davis. “He’s like the big guy at Streets,” says Ahmad, “and one day you see him outside picking up the trash.” Somedays Reggie will pick him up at his house and they'll go clean up trash in the neighborhood. It's this servant-leadership exemplified by the staff that inspires kids like Ahmad and encourages them to be role-models for the younger students.
Ahmad is just one example of the many kids who are being served by Streets. His portrait is one of ten I'm doing for the Faces of Streets Project to honor the lives of underprivileged kids in our community and raise awareness for Streets Ministries. You can read more about the Faces of Streets Project and see the other portraits here.