The smell of urine and uncleanness lingers in the air. Hopelessness hangs like a picture on the wall and worthlessness like a tattoo on every arm.
Thursday we went to a center for street children called INFA. The majority of children are teenagers and mostly female. Brokenness and abandonment reign heavy in that place. Many have no concept of love because the majority of their lives has been spent escaping the pressures of this world and violence that taints their hearts.
Within the first hour of being there, a fight broke out amongst the girls. I noticed a ruckus was forming when one girl pushed another into a chair. It was then that a staff woman intervened, but her efforts were in vain. Within 15 minutes, a mob of girls filed into the room and began beating another girl to the ground. Hair was being pulled, punches were thrown, and brokenness reeked throughout the room.
Throughout all of this, I had been sitting across the room with two other girls making bracelets. Instantly, our eyes were drawn to the scene. Tears filled many girls eyes as they watched. Many members from our squad intervened to break up the fight. Yelling continued as many held the girls in a restraint position in their arms to avoid more fighting. Once the girls involved in the fight were taken outside, the atmosphere remained silent for a few minutes. Stares floated from person to person as we all stood shocked about what had just transpired.
Tears marked the once dry and innocent cheeks of broken souls. I exchanged a few words with the girls that I was making bracelets with about the incident, but they didn’t have much to say. From across the room, I saw another girl posted up against the wall, shielding her face as tears fell down her soft face. I got up from my seat and went to her. And through my mangled Spanish and simply, loss for words, I asked her if she was ok. She explained her sadness for her friend that would be taken away to jail for her actions. My heart broke as I held her in my arms, kissed her head and prayed over her as her tears stained my shirt. A new type of brokenness came over me.
The verse I couldn’t get out of my mind was Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”. Poppa, thisis what they need to know, you are their strength even through their most broken moments.
We continued with our agenda. One of my squad mates stood up and shared her testimony of God’s sweet redemption over her own once broken life that used to be full of drinking, sex, cutting and men. The variety in her worldly life in which she once thought was satisfying and fulfilling was and never has been as fulfilling as her relationship with the Lord. She shared the sweet truth and precious words that God poured over the depths of her soul when she made a covenant with Poppa to have Him romance her until He called her elsewhere, “I love you”. She repeated over and over, “God loves you, He’s waiting for you to fall into His arms. He lovesyou”. I fought back tears because of the power in the truth she was sharing. After she finished, me and two other squad mates led worship in Spanish. After our first song, we presented a time for prayer and a time of response if the girls wanted to know more about this guy Jesus.
As I stood in front of the girls, with a broken heart myself, I couldn’t deny the joy that Poppa was showering over my heart. Even if the world looks at these girls and sees them as worthless and a waste, I can stand confident that God looks at them and sees beautiful masterpieces of His craftsmanship. He sees them as chosen and redeemed with purpose for every day of their lives.
I stand in agreement declaring that despite the devil’s attempts to break that home apart and continue to invite sin into that place, our presence yesterday brought in a radiant light. And through the mighty works of God, darkness was dispelled out of that place. Yes, it wasn’t perfectly redeemed and restored the moment we left, but it’s a work in progress.
A new type of brokenness – it’s not bad, it’s freeing, He’s working and moving and transforming lives. The presence of the Lord now reigns in that home. I’m trusting God to continue His powerful and redemptive work throughout our next 3 weeks there. Pray for these girls!
