The first situation was in Malaybalay, Philippines,when we had the chance to do ministry with the juvenilesin the prision (blog title “In Jail”). The second time was working on Bangla Road with the woman in prostitution in Phuket, Thailand (blog title “The Pit of Hell”).
One older boy, Patrick, specifically stood out to me. He was dirty, his cloths were falling apart, he had a fat lip and blood shot eyes. But his eyes were kind and he was kind to the younger boys. When he was leaving I felt God tell me to pray for him, I ran after him and he gladly accepted my offer.
After we had cleaned up after lunch, we went to what is known as “The Black Base” in Nakuru, Kenya. What we saw was heartbreaking! I will try to paint you a picture.
We walked up through the hussle and bussle of a market, through a taxi rank and then turned a corner where we saw a big open area. The ground was covered with black dust from charcoal and burnt tires, there was a big metal dumpster in the middle. There was 50+ boys and maybe 3 girls – this was where the street kids lived. All were very dirty with ripped clothing. Over half of them had little bottles of glue and were higher then high. Some slummped up against the dumpster others trying to play soccer but missing the ball horribly. Others sitting around playing cards, most just wondering aimlessly with their bottle of glue stuck in their mouths or in front of their nose, their eyes glazed over. I quickly spotted both Patrick and Eugene, my heart broke. They took us over to where they kept their rabbits that they breed and then sell at the market to make money. The irony of these cute, fuzzy animals in this rough, and dark environment almost made me laugh. Next they showed us where they slept, there was room for maybe 20 people to sleep under the man made shelter. They informed me they had to take shifts sleeping because there was just to many of them.
Everyone was awear of us by now, we were 6 white people, 4 of us girls, and in their intoxicated state they began acting inappropriatly. Patrick along with the guys on our team and the 2 pastors that were with us quickly stepped in and we moved away from the crowd. We decided to stay despite some of the team feeling slightly uncomfortable and Curt would play some songs. Us girls backed up against a car as Curt played and they loved it! Eugene stood right next to me and protected me from any wayward hands or comments as he joined in the singing. Patrick stood on the otherside and kept the crowd under control. When we gave them any opportunity to share their stories they were all eager to talk. One younger boy stated, “I’m from a childrens home thats out of town and I don’t know what devil bought me here” (referring to the black base).
When it was time to leave, I asked Eugene if I could pray for him, he had told me earlier that he believed in God and that he had Jesus living in his heart. He said he didn’t use glue, but he was in a gang. He agreed to let me pray with him and asked for me to pray that he could go to school. I began to pray, declaring truth and life into him and asking God to open doors for him to go to school. By the end he was crying and all I saw was this little, little boy that has grown up way to fast in this dark, rough environment that had been so hurt and was so lost and desperate for love. I hugged him right there in the middle of that dark place as I held back the tears in my eyes.
We went to leave and I turned to Patrick and looked him in the eyes and told him that “he is a good man and he can be different.” I thanked him sincerly for looking after us and we left.
As we were leaving the Pastor informed me that we were the first group of white people that had actually taken the time to minister to them, that most groups just go to the “black base” just to see. They were touched.
