Spring break: inner city kids don’t go on vacation.
A few weeks ago was a week that mostly everyone in ministry looks forward to; maybe because we get to be a bit more laid back than normal.
One day of laid back was enough for me. I realized I should go and visit our kids homes since they were out of school. At first I thought to myself ‘I bet most kids are at grandma’s or walt disney world’ and neither turned out to be the case. It turns out that staying in the office would’ve been the worst thing in the world to do.
The majority of our kids live in goverment owned housing. Most weekends, when you drive through the complex, kids are every where with no parents anywhere. These kids take care of one another. The most simple things in life: ice cream, baskettballs, high fives, organized sports, hannah montana dolls and teenage mutant ninja turtles, all things that most kids enjoy, these kids go without the simple things.
We met justice when he was in preschool. A bright eyed boy with blonde hair with endless energy, justice was always able to find a way to escape his class. Week after week, justice began to open up and allow our workers to love him and teach him about God’s love.
When we were walking through the complex we began to hear screaming sirens from on coming police cruisers. They pulled up infront of the house of our little justice. I knew something was wrong when the special forces truck showed up. Shortly after the apartment was surrounded, two officers kicked the door in, moments later carrying out justice, who was asleep at the time. The police seized his parents because they were making meth. Ironically, the police brought justice and took justice that day.
I’m glad I didn’t stay on the couch that day.
Story 2
Spring break: a 52 year prayer answered.
Grandma Louis is a hero.
Grandma louis served as a missionary in south africa for over twenty years. When she found out that her first grandbaby was being born came home. Since her daughter was homeless Grandma Louis asked her daughter and brand new baby Makenzie to move in with her. Shortly after Baby Makenzie and mom moved in, the mother spiraled back into a former addiction to meth. Now 52, the mother looks like she is 75, all her teeth are gone, has survived 2 strokes and tried her best to be a good mom. She hit rock bottom the night before we showed up.
It’s normal for us to be in a house for an hour at a time but not three hours at a time. Realizing that this was God’s way of using us, we asked her if she would accept Jesus and be baptized. She resisted at first but then precious little Makenzie who is now 10, said that she wanted to also. We drove down to the church and baptized both the mother and the daughter. I happened to peek down into Grandma Louis’ eyes: she was so full of joy. Since everyone in heaven was having a party, we decided that we would too. We ordered pizza’s and had them delivered to their house.
The couch was a pulpit and then turned into a pizza parlor.
