Wasting away on the streets. The first contact with the street kids is on the streets. The tough reality of the life there often hits you in the face when you are faced with boys and girls who are skin and bones as a result of excessive drug use, and whose faces bear the marks of having lived, and of living, a life full of desparation and hopelessness.
Yesterday we went to Beira Mar, one of the tourist areas in the city of Fortaleza, and also one of the areas where the street kids hang out. When we do streetwork we bring games, drawing material, bibles and first aid equipment with us. These are great tools to make contact with the children and adolescents, and help us in drawing their attention, sharing with them about Jesus, and building relationships with them.
As we approached the group we saw Simão. He saw us and gave us a drugged grin. His main priority was to hide his bottle of glue under his t-shirt before he headed off to the sewer drain to do some more drugs. Simão has been to "Grace Farm" twice. When he is off the streets he is a different boy. In spite of being 15, he'll play for hours with toys and loves to invent games. Unfortunately numerous years of living on the strees has made him deeply addicted to drugs and streetlife, it's hard for him to get out of it.
And Simão's story is only one of many many more. The majority of the kids we work with are between 12 and 25 years old and have been on the streets for more than 5 years. We work mainly with boys, as they make up about 80% of the kids on the streets, but we have a great heart to reach the girls in greater measure also. When "My Father's House" started, the main drugs used by the street kids were glue and paintthinner. The last few years crack has invaded the streets, and is causing deeper addictions and more destruction of lives.
As we walk the streets of Fortaleza, and meet with those who have made their home there, we want to bring the love and Truth of Jesus to them. The Truth which sets free and transforms lives. And we want to bring hope and value and dignity to them, so that they would start longing for, believing in, and fighting for a life off the streets.
Prayer pointers:
vision and strategy - HOPE - housing and work for the street adults - freedom from drugs - protection for the kids and us as we work there - widsom and discernment - LOTS of LOVE to share with them!
Yesterday we went to Beira Mar, one of the tourist areas in the city of Fortaleza, and also one of the areas where the street kids hang out. When we do streetwork we bring games, drawing material, bibles and first aid equipment with us. These are great tools to make contact with the children and adolescents, and help us in drawing their attention, sharing with them about Jesus, and building relationships with them.
As we approached the group we saw Simão. He saw us and gave us a drugged grin. His main priority was to hide his bottle of glue under his t-shirt before he headed off to the sewer drain to do some more drugs. Simão has been to "Grace Farm" twice. When he is off the streets he is a different boy. In spite of being 15, he'll play for hours with toys and loves to invent games. Unfortunately numerous years of living on the strees has made him deeply addicted to drugs and streetlife, it's hard for him to get out of it.
And Simão's story is only one of many many more. The majority of the kids we work with are between 12 and 25 years old and have been on the streets for more than 5 years. We work mainly with boys, as they make up about 80% of the kids on the streets, but we have a great heart to reach the girls in greater measure also. When "My Father's House" started, the main drugs used by the street kids were glue and paintthinner. The last few years crack has invaded the streets, and is causing deeper addictions and more destruction of lives.
As we walk the streets of Fortaleza, and meet with those who have made their home there, we want to bring the love and Truth of Jesus to them. The Truth which sets free and transforms lives. And we want to bring hope and value and dignity to them, so that they would start longing for, believing in, and fighting for a life off the streets.
Prayer pointers:
vision and strategy - HOPE - housing and work for the street adults - freedom from drugs - protection for the kids and us as we work there - widsom and discernment - LOTS of LOVE to share with them!
No comments:
Post a Comment