James

Yesterday, I met a boy named James. I think I might be supporting him, right now I am praying about the decision and committing him to God in prayer, if nothing else.

He is severely abused by his mother, both physically beaten and emotionally scarred. You can tell because when he talks, it is always in a whisper, as though he is worried how what he says will be taken. Even if Kioko (the social worker at Kosovo) or I talk to him... then there is his short, shallow breaths, as though he is ready to take flight the very next moment. Finally, there is his glazed over eyes as he stares off into the distance, never making eye contact, as though he is in another world... and he deserves one. He deserves so much more than what he has. His mom sells beer here, which is illegal (it is home brewed with no license, in the slums, and is sometimes so intoxicating it can be lethal). She doesn't own her shop or a home, so she rents the shop and she sleeps there at night. He, and his siblings (2 brothers and one sister) go to another home to sleep. He has no space to call his own. He hasn't done his homework in about a month. Some of this is his own fault, but part of me has a hard time understanding how he can be to blame for anything. He spends his afternoons home from school fetching water for his mother. When he finishes, it is often time for bed, or, if he can, he decides to play with friends instead of do homework. He is afraid of adults, even teachers, and Kioko. My prayer is that for once, being an outsider can help. Maybe not being from here, not Kenyan, can actually help me connect. Or, if nothing else, I have 6 more weeks here to love on this boy, James, to get him to see that people aren't all like his mother. Some people are good. Some people love him the way he deserves to be loved, the way Christ loves him. People like Kioko and his teachers at Kosovo (the center in village 2 of Methare valley) are here to love on him, to help him, to show him Christ in real and tangible ways.

Please pray for James. Pray that he would know Christ, that he would be safe tonight, that he would do well on his exams all this week (midterms for all the centers of MOHI). Pray also for me, that God would give me discernment in whether or not to sponser James, in how to love him such that he understands, and how to love his mother as well (cuz I am having a hard time doing so, even thinking about her makes me sick and angry.)

Will write more later.
God bless