We pulled into a bus stop in Macedonia for some squatty potty and snack time before hitting the road again. As the bus was coming to a stop I see two young girls run up, arms stretched wide and hands open, hoping that they would soon be filled with money or food. My first thought was irritation that led way to sadness that these little girls are trained to be beggars. I had experiences like this before and the reaction was always to blame the ‘worthless parents’ and walk away. I’d never seen anyone stop and take the time of day to sit down and actually talk with any of these beggars, so my natural reaction was to continue on with my day and pretend they weren’t there, after all I didn’t want to reinforce this behavior that begging is okay.
I walked in and was looking around for what snack I wanted this time but I kept looking out the window. As much as I was irritated, my heart also broke for these poor girls. I saw two of my squad mates talking to these little girls so I decided to would get a couple of ice creams for them. Little did I know I would spend the rest of the stop playing with these girls and talking with their Mom in the broken English they all knew.
It’s not these kids fault that they live this way, it’s all they know. Likely that is how it is with their Mother as well. This world doesn’t need more people turning their backs on them or saying they are bad people and don’t belong. This world needs more people to see them as children of God. People who are willing to give them the time of day to stop and say hi and tell them that Jesus loves them. It was an honor that God called me to minister to and pray with them but I still felt like I could do more. I have a lot of clothes, I have money, I have more food, I could do more than buy a few snacks for them. It came time to say goodbye and my teammate and I reminded them one last time that Jesus is in their hearts and they would put their hands together as if to pray and then point up at the sky.
I got back on the bus trying to hide a few tears behind my sunglasses. Immediately I started praying. ‘Why God, it’s not fair, why would you put them through so much? Those little girls had scars on their bodies that didn’t belong, they weren’t just scars from scraping their knees. And their Mom, it was obvious she was being abused too, why God, why?’
About 20 minutes later I was looking out the window and I saw the most beautiful rainbow. I smiled for a moment, knowing that God was smiling down. He was telling me that I did what He asked of me; to love on those three Macedonian gypsies, outcasts of their society but precious children to The Lord.
As we continued driving and the rainbow disappeared, God had reminded me that He hasn’t forgotten about them, He is watching over them, always.
