Danli

A couple of weeks ago, for the weekend of the taxi strike, Jen, Leah, Joseph (another teacher at Pinares) and Blanca, my Sunday School teacher, went to Danli to visit this family that we have been praying for in our Sunday School class. This family has probably one of the most tragic stories, and yet it is one that is far too common. The mother was a prostitute and died of aids only a month and a half after her youngest of 6 children were born. Her 6 children are Yarida-age 19, Isis- age 13, Jenny- age 12, Armando- age 10, Eduardo- age 4, and Jason- age 2. They are not sure when the mother contracted AIDS, but it is for certain known that Jason, the youngest, has it and will not make it to his 3rd birthday. He is the smallest child I have ever seen, and even though he is 2 he looks as if his body were that of a small 5 month old. He cannot talk and is too weak to walk, and with every breath you can feel the strain on his poor little lungs. I can honestly say that even though I knew of his condition and was mentally prepared beforehand to see this family, that as soon as I saw this little boy I found myself holding my breath and choking back the tears. They honestly do not know which other of the children have it or not, and I think they do not even want the children to get tested out of fear for what the results may show. Right now, these 6 kids are living with their aunt and uncle, who have 4 or 5 children of their own in a home that has no running water, no plumbing, and no floors. This family is literally dirt poor, and yet living with at least 12 people that I saw.

So, the roundabout way that we became familiar with this family was because Blanca's friend, Michelle, is a missionary here from the U.S., and during one of her short-term mission teams that came, she worked with a little church in Danli. The church building happens to be the 4th wall of the little shack that these children live in, the other three being made of scrap wood and tin, and while she was there she saw the situation of these children and decided to become involved in their lives. She and Blanca have taught them how to best take care of themselves hygienically, to best take care of what little they own, and have also given food and basic supplies that are needed so greatly. With Jen, Leah, Joseph, and myself, we each bought about $25 worth of groceries and cleaning supplies for this family, which was able to go so far. We also made it a point to buy lots of fruits and vegetables, which have so many of the vitamins and minerals that these kids so desperately need but hardly receive.

After arriving and dropping off the three boxes of food, we took all of the kids (the 6 orphans and their cousins) to a fast-food type chicken restaurant with a playground, and you would have thought we had taken them to Disney World. They all changed into the cleanest clothes they owned and put on their best shoes, which were pathetic at best. For Isis, the 13-year old, she had shoes that had the backs cut off of them because you could tell that she had grown out of them, but couldn't buy new ones. Upon returning to their house with full bellies and an afternoon of playing in a place that was relatively clean and safe, we gave the kids the rest of their gifts, which consisted of things like toothbrushes, shampoo, and small toys for the younger ones. The rest of the time was just spent hugging these little ones and trying to show them as much love as possible. You could obviously tell that they were hurting, especially the two older girls who had apparent anger problems. You could also see how attached they were to Jason, knowing in the back of your mind that they were going to lose him as well.

I know all of this is terribly depressing and so hard to swallow, but too often these images are seen on things like World Vision commercials and in magazines, and often we feel distantly removed from it. We think to ourselves that "that is a shame," and we feel a fist in the pit of our stomach that causes us to cringe at the reality of the poverty that still survives today, but feel like the problem is beyond us. Don't get me wrong....this is not a campaign of mine to get people to feel guilty about the lives they lead. These problems are overwhelmingly gigantic, and even living amongst it I still find myself saying over and over "What can I do? What can I do?"... much in the same way that I did living in the states. I feel like most people are compassionate and do care about things like this, but feel completely at a loss for what it is that they, personally, can do. So, they leave it up to big organizations or governments to take care of the problem, because they are big enough to make a substantial dent. But yet, those are wholly insufficient as well.

As I try to wrap my mind around all of this, everything seems to fall short. It is not something that is fixed by throwing money at the problem, and is not something that will probably ever cease to exist. It seems to me to not only be a cyclical problem, but more so like cyclical problems existing within other cocentric circles of cyclical problems until so tangled a web is woven that there seems to be no beginning or end in sight. The only thing that brings comfort to the situation is that this is not how God created this world to be, and this is not our home. These kids will only have to live in this life on earth for only a blink of an eye in the face of eternity, and they will spend the rest of their time in heaven, where it is perfect and where there will be no more hurt or struggling. If our time with them brought them even the smallest feelings of joy and relief from daily life, then praise God. We are hoping to visit again in the next month or so, and since then Leah and I have been stockpiling children's clothes in anticipation of this.

While all of this may be burdening and completely unpalatible, I urge every single one of you to look into your life and find one situation where you have stepped back because it seemed like there was no end in sight and that no matter how hard you tried, things would never change. Maybe it is an addiction of your own or of a family member, maybe it is a co-worker or a friend whose dysfunctionality you don't think you can handle anymore. It says in Hebrews 6:10 that "He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them." You are not pressing on for yourself or even for your friend or family member, but you are pressing on for God. And funny enough, while these sort of things would have mentally and spiritually worn me out before, I find myself recharged and possessing the strength to keep on loving and serving in ways that I never thought capable. It amazing what you are capable of when you lean not on your own strength, but on God's. He's pretty big, and His strength is all powerful and all consuming, and when we are able to even tap into one fiber of His being much can be accomplished. Lately, when I have found myself at a loss of what it is I am supposed to do and what it is I am expected of, I have found myself meditating on this verse from Micah, which says that "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Fair enough, God.
Keep on keepin' on my friends, and I will continue to keep you updated.