Is Love Enough?

Last month we were  in a town called kitalie in Western Kenya. We would travel in a van to our ministry site and on the way we would stop in town for something or another. The site of a white person would attract the street kids to our van.

They would try to open the windows to beg for money but sometimes they just wanted to talk to us. Money was never given because that just encourages more begging but we loved to talk to them. Many of the children, some of them looked as young a eight years old, carried glue bottles around with them and were high on the fumes while talking to us. We would take the bottles from them and say ‘no glue’ to them ‘bad for you’, but by the next day they would have a new one.

They never gave up on asking us for money though. One day a boy about twelve can up to me asking for money, I said ‘no I don’t have any’ but he would n’t leave me alone. I was eating M&Ms I had just bought and he gestured towards them so I gave him one and he smiled popped it in his mouth and left. ‘Wow’ I thought to myself that’s all it took to make him happy. Then a hold bunch more kids came up to me, so I gave them all an M&M until they were gone. Now you see why we don’t give out money. I was still surprised at how happy it made them to get a piece of candy, when they need so much more.

Most of these kids play and sleep on the streets. They beg for money to survive and put their hope in a bottle of glue. My heart sank every time I see them come up to the van eyes glazed over, strung out and high off the glue they held under their noses. I thought to my self why can’t the government help these kids? It seemed like know one cared. The contact from another team in the same town told them not to talk to the street kids as to not encourage them. 

Encourage them to what? Survive! What else are they to do? They are children. Most of them where abandoned when there parents died or left and some are run aways from alcoholic, abusive or mentally ill parents. They just hang out on the streets hoping that someone will take notice of them, at least long enough to give them some money or food.

One day we went to a cyber cafe and as I was settling in. The boy who I gave the M&M to the other day came in and sat at my table. I was annoyed at first, I had things to do, but I took the opportunity to talk to him and find out his story. He told me that his parents died of AID’s when he was very young and that he had been living on the streets since then. He told me some other stories of what it was like to live on the streets. He said that he didn’t use glue, which I believed because he didn’t have the strong glue smell that the other kids have. He asked me for my camera and money. I said ‘no’ and he just sat there and stared at the floor. Even though I knew I couldn’t give him money I still cared for him and wanted to show my love for him. 

So we talked for a bit more. I asked him if he went to church and told him about Jesus. Then said “goodbye I have to go now” as we left. He said goodbye with a huge smile and left. I have seen him several times after that. Every time he would flash a smile and come over to say hi. He rarely asked for anything, so about a week before we left, he was following me around, so I took him into the store and bought a few things for him. He was so polite and only took what I offered and thanked me after I payed. It felt so good to show him I cared by buying a few things for him but it was defiantly not enough. He needs a home and people who love him, who can be there for him everyday.

All the street kids have touched  my heart. It was so hard to leave them all there, on the streets, to defend on they own. I feel God calling me to help but I just don’t know how to yet. I know that it breaks God’s heart even more that this is happening and that God’s people are just sitting back and letting it happen. I believe that we can all do something, if we come together with God’s calling and the strength that he gives us. We can end this need less suffering of our dear children. 

God please give us the will and show us the way to help your dear children. Amen.