Street living and injustice

It is quite common here in the Philippines to walk down the street and see a child reach their hand towards you and say phrases like "money" or  "taga-i ko ug kwart" (give me money) or "ma'am, sir money".  It is also common to see children sleeping in stairwells, on sidewalks and on streets. However, it is even more common to see people pass those children like they don't even exist.

Tonight Ronald and I were walking down the street and we saw a little boy, probably no older than 12, sleeping on the side walk. He was LITERALLY sleeping in the middle of the side walk. Does something seem wrong with that picture? YES! Something is defiantly wrong with that picture. People are not meant to live like that. God created good and I whole heartedly believe He wants us to live good lives. Is this child living a good life? I don't think he is; He doesn't have a bed, no consistent food source, and who knows if he has family. 

 So, not knowing anything else to do, we gave this poor little boy food. Now back when I lived in the states ... not that that was to long ago ... I would usually feel pretty darn good about feeding a homeless person. I never questioned where they would get their next meal because there are so many ways for a homeless person in the states to get fed. But not here, not in the Philippines. Tonight giving that child food and then walking away only made me feel worse; I am heart broken by the fact that he is left out in the world all alone with no one to provided for him. And here I sit in my nice house, with a comfortable bed and plenty of food in my fridge while this poor little boy is out on the streets sleeping on the sidewalk not knowing when he will eat again. HOW SAD. 

I am at a complete loss here, friends. As christians we are called to take care of each other. Quite honestly, I haven't seen enough of this. We are a selfish people and until we overcome ourselves we are going to continue to see starving children and homeless families. 

I don't know what to do. The only solutions I can come up with are short term solutions. I am looking for long term, heart of the matter solutions. I want to get to the root of this problem ... why are children living on the streets and how can we change that? 

Please pray with me as I look to God for the solution. 

1 John 3:17 

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

Peace. 

-Caidy 

Ahh ... VBS

Vacation Bible School! 

I remember when I was a little girl I LOVED VBS at South County church of Christ. It was the next best thing to church camp. I would beg mom and dad to take me every night! Fortunately for me, I would usually be able to go 3 out of 5 nights. It was the best! The singing, the skits, the crafts, the snacks, the friends ... it was a blast! We had fun while learning about people God used in the Bible. It was a great experience and I never imagined that one day I would be able to create the same kind of fun for kids in the Philippines! 

These last few weeks I have been apart of the planning and executing of two VBS's. One for Lilia's Place and the other for the Consolacion church of Christ. Both have the same Joseph theme.

Lilia's Place was a great experience! We shared a different part of the Joseph story and did two crafts  each day. My personal favorite was the day the kids put J in jail. Each kid had a different way of arranging the jail bars and it was so adorable to see what their little minds came up with. 

 I saw, on a daily basis, how much these kids were soaking in every minute of the fun and learning more and more about our amazing God! It reminded me of my times as a child at VBS; I was more than happy that I could help these children make fun childhood memories!! 

Lilia's Place VBS was encouraging in many different ways, however, my favorite part of the week was when I taught the kids the Hippo song. Immediately after singing, sweet four year old Lilia said "Good job, Caidy!" She stole my heart in that moment. I thank God for precious, kind, encouraging children like her.

Consolacion VBS is every Saturday in May. Since the church meets at a school building it is not possible to have a one week long VBS because of summer classes. SO... that leaves Saturdays! We have two weeks down three more to go. It has also been a lot of fun! Getting to know these kids is a blast as most of them don't understand a word I say. I have learned that you don't need words to share a common love with children; you just need a smile and a warm heart.

 We have had about 45 kids attending the VBS and 8 mothers attending the parenting class. So far so good all around. We have many helpers and it has been encouraging to see everyone come out to help make this a great experience for these kids. I am excited to see what God has in-store for the next 3 weeks at Consolacion! 

Love and Peace to all. 

-Caidy