Lost sheep without a Shepherd
Posted by taiwankat on January 6, 2010
This past Saturday at Lu Ti Park, the restaurant owner closed his shop because of the New Year. The restaurant is adjacent to the park, and the gate was closed down about a third of the way. These days, the darkness settles in early in the evening, and with the rain quickly approaching, we could only make out faint shadows of the kids in and surrounding the restaurant. Upon closer examination, we saw about a dozen or so little boys, mainly in 6th and 7th grade. They were smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol. Shocked, a few of us went into the restaurant. Veronika approached the restaurant owner and found out that he had bought a huge box of alcohol for the kids. His logic is that the kids will inevitably find some other place to do these things, so he would rather them do so under his supervision. Growing up with a very similar background as many of the kids in Wanhua (drinking starting from the age of 9, being part of a gang in the past), he wishes to be a ‘father figure’ to the boys. He says that he understands the challenges that these kids face and wants to help them. Obviously, giving them alcohol is not the right way to help them, but what can we do?
We felt helpless. What can we offer to these kids? How can we help them? They were drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, sprawled on the ground, stumbling, struggling to walk straight, fighting with each other, crying from getting hurt, throwing fire crackers; it was complete chaos. Seeing those boys broke my heart. We know, though, that God is in control. We thank God for opening our eyes to the needs here, and we pray that God would continue to guide us in how to pray for the people here. Our Almighty God has the power to change hearts, to change lives. In Him, there is no darkness. In Him, there is hope. So we are driven to our knees in prayer, trusting and depending on God because He reigns.
