We are out on the night in the streets of Manila, roaming the bars and streets in the red light district to talk with the girls working here.
But this blog is not about them.
At this first bar, there are close to ten girls here waiting for their "customers." The past couple hours, I have been talking to Justine about her life, her four kids – Harold, Jerald, Jessica, and Renex, and about Wipe Every Tear and what we do. But when we initially got here, before I got talking with the girls, the cutest little girl, maybe 4 or 5 years old, came up to me holding up a little necklace made of white flowers. I had seen these before and I knew she was trying to sell them.
"Oh my goodness, are these for me??"
I joked, holding her close and petting her hair. Oh you're selling them? How much are they? They're beautiful! I told her again how cute she was and gave her some change, letting her keep her necklace to run along with.
As I sat down next to a few girls to talk with them, another small boy approached me asking for money. I kindly told him I had no money to give away, but held his hand and asked him what his name was. I said sorry and sent him on his way so I could talk to the girls.
A couple hours later, my squadmate Em points out he's still here. I don't think much of it. But I turn and find him sleeping in a chair, curled into a ball, with his arms and head pulled into his shirt to keep warm.
Blessing, one of the girls we are working with, notices me looking at the boy.
"He is always here. He has no family. No mom. No dad. No brothers or sisters. No friends. No One. He is all alone."
He is all alone.
These words struck me in the heart.
I pull my chair out and come sit by him. I pet his hair with my hand, it was coarse and thick from weeks of dried sweat and dirt. I talked to him softly and rubbed his back to warm him up. I was in shorts and a t-shirt, but when you haven't eaten all day, your body has no fuel to keep warm. Who knows when the last time he ate was? I rubbed his legs and his arms. All through this, he is fast asleep. I imagine he must've slept only a few hours last night. I mean how could you sleep when you're out in the cold, your bed is the sidewalk pavement, and just in case that isnt enough to keep you awake, there's drunk men and honking traffic to top it off.
This should not happen. No child should have to endure pain and sorrow like this. No child should have to go hungry, be without warmth, be without a home. No child should have to be alone. But no one was there to even give this poor child a second look. For the locals, this is normal. Even I have gotten used to it over the years of exposure to poverty. We live in depraved indifference.
Before we went out, I asked God to break our hearts for what breaks His. I had these girls in mind when I said that prayer. Little did I know, in the red light district of Manila, my heart would break for a little boy name Kenneth.
I've always had a heart for children. I've always had a heart for orphans. Since college, I knew I would want to adopt someday. The past few months I've wondered about maybe starting a home for orphaned children one day. Who knows what may happen, where God may lead. But I'm beginning to understand.. It's not about asking God what His will is. It's about being willing, then God will reveal His will to you.
