Rescue.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Working with street children has helped me understand the heart of the Father more than ever before.  Let me share one of the major ways He’s been giving insight into His thoughts over the past few weeks…

At the end of September, our Outreach Team had our monthly meeting after Mayompapa as we usually do.  But this meeting was a bit different; we were meeting to discuss our next Intake.  (It might be obvious, but Intake is when we bring one or more boy off the streets and into our Residential program).  There are 7 of us on the Outreach team, and we had each sent Andrea, our Outreach Director, our top five choices in order of how “ready” we think they are to come off the streets.  This was trickier than you might think because we had to choose 5 boys who are under the age of 18 (the spaces we had available were only in our Under 18 house) and, as I mentioned in our last blog, the little boys tend to be a bit more troublesome.

After collecting all of the lists, Andrea compiled one final list of 5 boys we would be targeting for the Intake.  We knew we only had 2 spots available, but we needed to have more boys on the list in case something went wrong with the first two (ie: they weren’t in town, they chose to not accept our offer, etc.)  Number one on our list was a boy named M and number two was C.  They had both been very consistent to all our programs, had pretty good behavior and seemed to genuinely want to get out of town.  We prayed over all 5 boys on the list and set D-Day for October 27 so the Residential Team would have enough time to prepare.

Four weeks passed after that Tuesday meeting.  We all knew the boys we were targeting.  It’s such a strange feeling to look at these boys and realize they have NO idea you’ve been conducting meetings just about them.  They are totally oblivious to how much time and energy we put into finding out where their homes are, visiting their family members to do home assessments, pinpointing their emotional/educational needs and praying over their struggles.  Just like we have NO idea how much time our Father spends thinking about us.  Making plans on our behalf.  Discussing us with the angels.  It’s pretty surreal, actually. 

During those four weeks of waiting, it became apparent that the Enemy knew we were up to something.  M’s behavior started changing.  He started skipping programs.  He had always distanced himself from the term “street boy” since arriving in town around June, but he was beginning to look and act like all the others.  It was as if he was giving up hope.  It was sooo hard not to tell him to just hold on for a few more weeks, but we couldn’t.  We had to trust God and leave it in His hands.  If M wasn’t the boy He wanted in the house, it meant that someone else was.  C was still pretty consistent, but we worried for him if M didn’t come.  C is younger (probably 13 or 14) and is definitely more addicted to street life.  He has been in and out of centers quite a few times, usually running away due to peer influence.  We worried that if he didn’t have someone like M to come in with, he might struggle in the house with the older boys and choose to run.  But again, we had to trust that God would make everything clear on the day of Intake.

And FINALLY that day came.  We all went to the Learning Center like normal.  Both M and C were there, along with the other 3 boys on our list.  M was late.  But we were actually grateful he even came, because he skipped all last week and Wednesday.  C shut down on me during group lessons after he made some mistakes on his work.  (A VERY common problem with a lot of our boys).  It wasn’t the best of days.  They left after class around 1 as they normally do.  It seemed like a typical Friday.  Except we knew this could be the day that might change their lives forever. 

After closing things down at the Learning Center, we split up and Chris, Andrea and Enock (the Assistant Director of Abba’s) started the Search and Rescue.  This might sound silly, but this is quite literally what ended up happening.  Once our boys leave the Learning Center, there’s no way to really know where they go.  Kitwe is the second largest town in Zambia, so it can be very easy to lose someone in the streets.  Since we wanted to do things as covertly as possible, they couldn’t give the boys any hint to meet them somewhere or anything like that.  They just had to make educated guesses about where the boys are usually found and start walking.  And walk, they did.  For TWO HOURS.  In OCTOBER, the HOTTEST month in Zambia.  During the hottest part of the day.  After teaching all morning and not eating lunch.  Why?  Because they were on a mission.  And because they know that their God did the same thing for them.  Left the 99 for the one.  Did whatever it took to find them.

And then they found C.  Laying against a wall.  With a bottle of sticka in his hand.  Chris said it was one of the most emotional moments of his life.  Seeing that little boy who looked so hopeless; knowing they were about to cross the road and offer him a new life.

 

And isn’t that the story of all of us?  So often we think we need to clean ourselves up before we can say yes to Jesus.  That he doesn’t want our filth and failures.  But that’s so far from the truth.  Jesus knows the same thing we know about these boys…there’s nothing they can do for themselves.  If we waited until they cleaned themselves up or got over their bad habits, we would NEVER have any boys to bring into our homes.  The only way we can help them is to take them as they are, dirt and all. 

After finding C, he helped lead them to the shop where M is usually found helping the owners.  Both boys happily accepted our offer to come to Garneton (HUGE answer to prayer!) and in that moment their lives potentially changed forever.  They didn’t worry about the things they were leaving behind in town.  They didn’t ask to go say bye to their friends.  Didn’t question whether they were ready to give up sticka and freedom.  Just said yes and took the first step of their new beginnings.  I wish I could adequately paint a picture of their arrival at the home last night.  So many welcomes, hugs and smiles all around!

I know in this moment everything seems perfect.  I ALSO know that feeling won’t last forever.  I know it won’t be easy.  I’m sure there will be doubts and moments when one (or both) of these young men think about turning back to their old lives.  I know the real battle has just started.  But I also know that our God and our team will do whatever it takes to keep these boys where they are now. 

Right now, we need PRAYER.  Prayer for M and C as they try to adapt to this new world.  Pray that they adjust well and feel part of the family.  Pray that they keep their eyes fixed on their futures and find a way to silence the lies from the enemy that we know are going to come soon.  Pray for their house parents as they maneuver through loving these 2 new boys, along with the other 7 boys in their care.  Pray that they would get an extra dose of wisdom, grace and patience from the Father throughout these next few weeks.  Pray for our team as we continue connecting with and targeting more boys to bring into the houses in the future.  You really have no idea how much we covet your prayers.  We know it’s the ONLY way we can do any of the things God has called us to join Him in.

Thank you for rejoicing with us.  To Him be ALL the glory!