It was our last “official” night of debrief and one of our coaches, Tom, was talking about how he believed God was going to mess up in a special way this year. That God was going to break our hearts for what broke His and that it was going to cause a passion to stir in us. He also told us that we could totally miss God if we aren’t looking for Him this year and that some could possibly walk away from God.
That last sentence alone began messing up my heart. The thought of anyone on my squad missing or walking away from His is absolutely heart-wrenching. My heart felt a heavy weight on it and I began to silently cry, praying in my mind that my whole squad would encounter God in ways that will mess all of us up from even thinking about allowing one toe back in the world.
After the service, three of my squamates and me went to go get a snack at what seemed to be the only bakery left open. After we got our food, we began walking back to our hostel when we noticed a lady on the side of the streets that was obviously in pain. She had bandages wrapped around her feet and she looked wore out. We asked her if we could pray for her and she agreed. Jen, my team mate, went back to the bakery after we prayed to get her something warm to eat and water to drink. I stayed with her, and she just held on to my arm.
Once Jen got back, she began feeding her. It was about 11:00 P.M. and the streets were busy with partiers and police. There was a man that was intoxicated that walked over towards us, and then all of a sudden a little boy, who was maybe ten years old, came over and kicked the man in the shins and basically told him to scram. I don’t know if that little boy was trying to protect us or what he was doing, but that was really brave.
That young boy and another went to talked to our two friends that were still here and Jen and I just stayed with the lady that we had prayed for. Anytime we would try to get up, the lady would hold our arm so Jen kept feeding her and we just tried to comfort her as much as we could.
A few minutes after, more police began gathering on the streets and the atmosphere grew tense. Michele and Lacey, my two other squad mates, rushed over and said that we had to leave “now.” So we told the lady we were with that we had to go, so we said our good-byes. As we were walking back to the hostel, the same little boy that had kicked the intoxicated man, was surrounded by police. He looked petrified. One police man kept threatening to hit him with a stick, and all we could do was just walk back to our hostel.
My heart was so heavy. I wanted to go and pull the boy out of the circle, but that would have done no good. The other little boy that was talking to Michele and Lacey had told them that at night they sleep with the jailers.
Little boys. Sleeping with jailers.
…what?!
I went to bed with a very heavy heart that night. I kept trying to think of how my friends and I could have helped the little boy encircled by intimidating police officers. All I could do is pray to God for clarity.
The next day, a few of my friends and I decided to walk to a refugee campsite by the Monkey Temple to visit with victims of the earthquake. On our way there, we ran into a British gentleman. I was not a part of the conversation, but my friends informed me that he was here to research and raise awareness of what street boys go through in Nepal.
God brought clarity.
Usually, street boys are a part of a gang. To help with hunger pains, they stick glue in the top of their shirts to get high. They protect their selves by having razor blades attached to the cuff of their sleeves, so they usually have scratches all over their arms. To earn money, they usually go around asking for baby food or something like that so they can sell it back to a store for money.
So, on the streets of Nepal, there are YOUNG boys in gangs, getting high off of glue to deal with their life and hunger, and they protect their selves with razor blades.
Imagine your ten year old son, brother, cousin…whomever….in that same position.
Does it break your heart?
It does mine.
The awesome thing is, the ministry my squad and I am working with this month has MANY different avenues to help out it, and one of them is with street children. That makes my heart so very happy.
Please be praying for the street children in Nepal, and the people that are here to help them get Godly wisdom and the tools that they need to help them. This is happening in the world that YOU and I are living in!
Also, be praying for the refugees that were affected by the earthquake. I got to meet some of them and heard a few of their stories. Please don’t forget them, please intercede on their behalf and if you can, find ways to support organizations that are doing things here.
Thank you all for the prayers and support. Please keep my squad and me in your prayers.
With love,
Meraia
