I titled this blog Read This, because that is exactly what you should do. So far, you are, so great job.
Today God smacked me in the face and said “child, this is what I have
sent you here for. These kids need you. They need to know love, not
just any love, but my love.”
Since we went to Lake Victoria yesterday, on our rest day, we were
offered a chance to rest today and to put off meeting the street kids
until tomorrow. Luckily we didn’t.
Actually, let me back this up a minute. Last night God laid on Pastor
Gideon’s heart to reach out to the street kids, in which there are tons
in Busia. The church has never reached out to these kids before, but
Gideon decided to change our entire plan for the rest of the time we are
here, so that we can.
Ruth, Peggy, Fidel, Eugene, Florence and myself went out to the
supermarket where they gather to beg for money and food. They do small
jobs here and there to get money too, but mostly beg. They steal shoe
glue from street venders to sniff to get high and carry them around in
bottles. These kids are out on the streets for different reasons. Some
have no family and have been orphaned to the streets, some chose to
leave their homes because they are too strict and some have families so
poor that they can’t afford to feed/house them anymore and kick them
out.
We found a few kids right away, they were so excited to see Mzungus!
Flo asked them about their leader and they took us to where they live
right away. They live on the steps of a closed down supermarket, all of
them. They were wearing oversized rags of sweatshirts, pants and suit
coats, falling off of them with holes everywhere. They had dirt caked
on to them, their eyes glazed over and they were hungry.
5 turned into 25, quickly, and then into 40. 3 girls and about 37 boys.
A few of them were adults, ages 18-24 and the rest were between 5 and
14.
Florence was trying to quiet them down, talk to them and get information
about them, but things got crazy. We called in Pastor Gideon and the
rest of the team. Today was the day we were just going to find their
leaders and where they slept, but it turned into so much more.
You can read all about orphans and see a million pictures, but you will
never really know until you are right there looking into their eyes. I
have been on and off again crying all day, we all have. I honestly
don’t think I have ever been so sad about something in my life.
We had bought some biscuits for them that we past out. We took a few
empty vodka bottles filled with cloth, soaked in the shoe glue that a
few 5 year olds were huffing and Ruth was able to get the jar of glue
from the leader, in exchange for some cookies. We smiled with these
kids, learned their names, promised them breakfast in the morning and
prayed with them. We are giving them temporary housing at the church,
until the next team comes in to do more and we cancelled our trip to
Kisumu so we can feed them every meal, every day, until we leave. There
were 40 today, but we are making 100 chapati and chai for tomorrow,
expecting more. We are getting clothing donations from church to
clothes these kids and we will be sharing the gospel with them, giving
them Bibles.
We asked them what they needed and they said food, clothes and
educational they want nothing more but to go to school. Since we are
finishing the house for the next team to have a place to stay for free,
we are hoping they will be able to afford school fees and uniforms for
these kids.
There was one dire need for these kids though, one thing that HAD to be taken care of and it was a little girl.
Adhiambo was run over by a trailer 10 months ago. The man who ran her
over payed off the cops to not be charged and the hospitals didn’t want
anything to do with a street kid and kicked her out. She has messed up
bones on her left food and a huge gash on the back of it. Her foot was
about twice the size, the wound was white with puss and she was sweating
bullets from a fever. We took her with us home, washed her up, gave
her a dress and sweater, fed her and took her to the hospital. We were
able to go to the hospital mama used to be in charge of before she
retired and because we had connections we were able to get her a
hospital bed. She is there now and I will keep you updated on her
status.
Her father died when she was born and her mother died when she was a
toddler. She has brothers and sisters that live and home and tend the
family house, but one of her brothers is married to a horrible woman
that hates her and has kicked her out of the home. When she head about
her getting run over she was happy about it. She has been on the
streets since she was 9, she is 14. This hospital bed is the first bed
she has laid on in 5 years and as soon as her head hit the pillow she
was past out asleep. We have to buy all the antiseptics at markets and
bring them for the nurses to use. Mama got her some sugar as well,
which apparently helps the skin grow faster? My heart just brakes for
this girl. The hospital had no wheelchair for her, so she had to walk
across the yard to the ward she was sent to, hobble actually.
I guess this is it for right now, but please be praying for these
children. God has sent us to them and I know He has a plan for all of
this. I thank Him that we were able to take this girl to the hospital
and had the means to do so, she might even be able to save the limb!
Tomorrow we will be at the closed supermarket steps at 7am to bring
them breakfast and hopefully I will be able to get online again to tell
you where I am at. We keep losing power here though and that might not
be possible. My camera memory card had a virus on it, but the guy at
the internet cafe has gotten my pictures off it and is trying to
reformat it, I think I lost my videos though.
SUPPORT UPDATE: I have about $7,100 in my account right now, but with
the amount of people giving monthly and other promised donations, I have
about $10,600. I need $14,800 to stay on the trip. If you feel led,
please donate on the left, a tax deductible donation. Thank you very
much!
