In Children’s Garden there is a wall of framed pictures of the boys and information about them. It shares the likes, dislikes, birthdays, etc. of each boy individually. Many of the boys under “dislikes” wrote “rugby” amongst a list that included gambling, stealing, and things of that nature. I could not figure out why the boys where so opposed to a sport that I have grown particularly fond of coming out of New Zealand and Australia. (Confession: I have actually been sleeping with a stuffed All-Blacks Rugby ball). Phil (our missionary contact for Children’s Garden) explained to me that rugby is actually a solvent, or glue used to bond metal together. Boys on the street can’t afford real drugs or even alcohol, but it is very easy for them to get their hands on rugby and sniff it as a drug. The boys can also buy cigarettes individually for one peso and so they are addicted to nicotine as well. Friday we returned to the overpass to visit the boys and families that lived in the garbage. I was helping a man scrape caked dirt off of c.ds that he was planning to sell to the junk yard.
All of a sudden the man stands up and starts arguing and fighting with a boy next to him over a clear liquid in a small bottle. My first introduction to rugby. I realized quickly that many of the boys had rags held to their noses and they were obviously feeling the effects of the drug and were fighting over it like it was a meal. What is interesting about rugby is that somehow the drug makes the pain of hunger subside. Unfortunately the boys had no idea that a truck was on its way to feed them a real meal. Drug use on the streets here is not merely a high; it is a way to cope with hunger.
[Boys with rugby]
It’s tough to be in this environment and often feel helpless. The first time I was out on the streets I was so overwhelmed with “what can I do?” I came to the quick realization that I am bringing Life. Hope. Love. I may not be able to offer food for the rest of these boys’ and families’ lives, but I can introduce them to the Bread of Life. I can pray that the Lord brings healing. I have seen a difference in those who are impoverished and following after the Lord and those who do not know Him and are in the same situation. Those who are in Christ are living with joy and purpose. Pray that these boys would throw away the rugby and run into the arms of the only One who satisfies.
