Lost Sheep - Kids at Risk
22/01/2010 9:00 am <>
We go to the park every week to play with the kids and tell them Bible stories. There is a restaurant adjacent to the park, and we have met the owner a couple times before. One Saturday, the gate was closed down about a third of the way; the restaurant owner had closed his shop because of the New Year. These days, the darkness settles in early in the evening, and with the rain quickly approaching, we could only make out faint shadows of the kids in and surrounding the restaurant. Upon closer examination, we saw about a dozen or so little boys, mainly 6th and 7th graders. They were smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. Shocked, a few of us went into the restaurant. Veronika approached the restaurant owner and found out that he had bought a big box of alcohol for the kids. The restaurant owner’s logic was that the kids will inevitably find some other place to do these things, so he would rather them do so under his supervision. He said that he understands the challenges that these kids face and wants to help them. Growing up with a very similar background as many of the kids in Wanhua, the restaurant owner wishes to be a ‘father figure’ to the boys. One visitor noted, “He wants to give to these kids, but he has no source from which to give.”
We felt helpless. What can we offer to these kids? How can we help them? The kids that day were drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, sprawled on the ground, stumbling, struggling to walk straight, fighting with each other, crying from getting hurt, throwing fire crackers; it was complete chaos. Seeing those boys broke my heart. But that’s the reality of the situation here. There are many more kids-at-risk in Wanhua, growing up in this kind of environment, surrounded by gangs, alcohol, drugs and other such things. Many are neglected with no one to really watch over them. We know, though, that God is in control. It has been a continual learning process for me to trust God and to just give everything to Him. We thank God for opening our eyes to the needs here, and we pray that God would continue to guide us in how to pray for the people here.
Lately, we have been seeing the same kids, here and there. Some have previously attended our Kids Club, and we have already started laying the foundations for relationships to be built upon. We are not exactly sure what steps to take, but God is definitely doing something here. Our Almighty God has the power to change hearts, to change lives. In Him, there is no darkness, and in Him, there is hope. So we are driven to our knees in prayer, trusting and depending on God because He reigns. We pray not only for the kids, but for the restaurant owner, as well. We pray that they will not be like sheep without a Shepherd, but that they will have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10-15)
Katherine Woo - Taipei
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