One place we went to was a village called a squatter's camp. These people are extremely poor and their houses consist of sticks and trash bags. As we went around and gave food to them and prayed for them, almost every single one of them were telling us that the government had came and told them they would all have to leave in five months. They asked us to pray that God would allow them to stay where they are... That blew my mind.... To stay where they are??! They live under a trash bag, and every time there is a storm, their house is blown down. They have nothing... But yet thats ok with them, thats what they have, and they are making due. They're ok with it... All I could think about was how incredibly self centered and prideful I am. It immediately put me in my place, and humbled me. These people are content with next to nothing, but yet we are never satisfied. As Christians, we need to join with and partner with our other brothers and sisters in Christ. Our brothers and sisters are HURTING, they are DYING, its time that we put our material things aside and get radical.. If we have nothing, so be it, we still have God. And thats all we need.
We also went to San Martin which is an orphanage for special needs. They have people anywhere from 12-50. Every single one of them have some kind of disability or mental disorder. Most have the mental capacity of a 2 year old. Their living conditions are horrid, absolutely horrible....People are tied to beds, everything is dirty, and no sheets or blankets are on the little pads they use for mattresses. They literally lay there all day long and do nothing. Most of them can't speak and some are in extreme discomfort due to their physical conditions. I could tell you the life stories of so many of the kids there, but I want to share with you the story of one little boy who changed my life today..
Kike is a little boy, somewhere between 12-14 years old who was used as a drug mule. As a little boy, he was forced to swallow balloons filled with drugs to illegally transport them across the border. Once they got him to where the drug deal was being made, they would cut open his stomach to get the drugs out. This boy was a normal kid. He had no problems at all. But now,.. He can't talk, he can't walk, and he can barely even sit up. Because his stomach has been cut open so many times, he now is missing part of his stomach which has physically affected him so much. They also made an incision in the back of his neck which severed some of his nerves. That causes him to shake all the time, he can't talk, can't make facial expressions, and can't walk. Today I got to spend a lot of time with him. I would sit in his room with him on his bed and talk to him, and pray over him, and blow bubbles for him. Kike is mentally there, he understands everything everybody says, mentally he is a normal child. But drugs have destroyed his body from the inside out. Chris and meredith were in there with me a lot while i was with Kike. Chris asked me if i wanted to try to walk him. They have worked with him for 4 months now to try to get him to walk again, and he has only tried 3-4 times with someone holding him up. All he can do is shuffle his feet while someone holds him up. We got him out of the bed and I grabbed him around the chest and I put one of my feet forward. I first had to show him how to move his foot before he understood how to move his. I put my foot forward and then he put his forward. The whole time, I am behind him holding him up. We made it all the way across the room and back. As we got close to the bed I stopped, amazed at what he had just done. As I was stopped, he pulled me and moved his foot... He took his first step by himself. I didn't have to show him that time. We all looked at each other in complete amazement at what had just happened. As he was laying in the bed I prayed for healing for him, and begged God to heal him. I so wanted and longed for God to fix this, and make him better again. He doesn't deserve this.
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