"I will return her vineyards to her
and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.
She will give herself to me there,
as she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt." Hosea 2:15
I have been captured by tragedy this evening and I my heart literally aches for what I've seen tonight.
Today was a good day and much was accomplished. I'd say the team has been enclosed in close quarters excessively... Fortunately, I got to get away twice to do some behind the scenes errands. We decorated girls rooms and it was neat to bless people in a special way that shows them they are worth us spending extra money to give them an at home, cozy feeling. Boy did we do it big in the teen moms room!! They got a little spoiled today and I can't wait to see and show pictures (I've been a picture slacker though, ugh.)
I spent some sweet time with Kara- one of our translators and missionary friend from Texas. We just talked about our lives and I feel inspired by her sacrificial outpouring to the people of El Salvador and I hope she was encouraged today in knowing what a Kingdom servant she truly is.
This evening a few girls and I joined a sweet mother, Abbi, to see her girls dance recital. It was so neat to be a family to them when they don't have any here. Abbi is one of our translators and she has four kids and a passion to spend her time sharing Christ... One of the sweetest people ever, without a doubt.
So tonight... What about tonight is stretching my heart in aching pains for things that I cannot fix?? What about what I've seen has stirred up a passion for things I never new were such a trigger to my emotions? Feeding the homeless. We loaded up a truck with bags of food and piled in... We drove to places downtown where the people sleep in piles on one another, lining the sidewalks and under the overpasses. These people have nothing... I saw just how valuable a cardboard box was to them tonight. They were desperate for them-- something that is our trash can literally be their treasure. We handed out 100 or more meals to these people. I had the opportunity to get out of the truck and deliver food to a woman asleep on the sidewalk.. She was pregnant and sleeping on the street. I saw at least three small children. My heart naturally ached harder for the children; but then i thought why? Because they need to be nurtured and loved on... But each body I saw has a soul too, they are a child of God with a story. I pray for them tonight to see light in a very dark time in their lives.
What really burdened me the most were the street corners with prostitutes who have the lowest perception of self worth... There isn't one of those women that could say they want o be doing that for a way of life. No person wants to be abused and used up. I am just incredibly broken over this right now to the point of tears. I so desperately want to take these women and pay them a nights wage for some time to tell them that God designed them for so much more in life. That he can make a way to provide without the compromise of their dignity and that they are made in His image. How can I help this tragedy of a cycle of living in personally demeaning ways and behaviors? How can we get people off the streets? I just want to do something so bad that I feel sick to my stomach.
Please Lord, pave a way to end this tragic lifestyle. Provide necessities to take care of these women and men living life without a home and purpose. Show me what more I can do.
She has a pursuer.. A Hosea.. A God that pleas for our heart and desires us as His own. There is someone willing to take her for who she is.. I beg for a redemption story to intervene and mend the hearts of the street dwelling women who do not understand Gods love.
I don't want to leave this place because I feel so at home and where I'm needed most as an instrument for God right now. Let me be this always.
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