Shaficki

I stood before our teachers and I knew what I was asking for. 

I was asking for willingness in a place that had already been willing -

for someone to stretch way beyond what is comfortable, even though some had       already made sacrifices -

  for someone not to look at the price when God says ‘follow me’ and to let the Holy Spirit abound in them 

They all stared back at me for a minute, a few bowed their heads to pray

    As one who was late walked in, and I started explaining the situation again

Another interrupted me...

“He’s coming with me.” 

Teachers who have poured into a child that has nobody to care for him. Buying him shoes. Giving him their breakfast. Counseling him in things where nobody else is there to guide him. 

He’d been gone for over a month now. Ran away from a witch doctors home where he was living - SHE was the one who opened her doors to HIM. We heard he was living on the streets and we searched for him. 

But it was him who came back willingly today.

I commended our teachers today. I gave them praise ! Because a little boy that trusts no one found a safe place here. A little boy with nobody in the world to watch over him - came back to them. The streets can be tantalizing for little boys, despite the suffering that comes with it, they are fully able to live the Peter Pan lifestyle. They can do what they want, be as dirty as they want, when they want...

He could have started to take drugs. 

He could have turned to stealing. 

He could have run to a place where he would be ‘free’ from all grown-ups, rules, and cares in the world.

But he ran to God. He ran back to a place where he had been loved. 

As we begin the search for any remaining family, and we try to nail down the facts on his story, and we are praying through next steps to take -- I asked for 2 weeks. 

Our teachers aren’t rich. They are where they are because this is where God has asked them to be. They make sacrifices to be here. Some still struggle to pay their rent, feed their families, and pay their bills all in one month. They are driven by passion for the Lord, for the hope they see overcoming this slum that has been overlooked for so long, and by a desire to see the lost come home. 

She boldly stepped out and said she was taking him. 

A woman of faith. She opened a door.

Another teacher quietly spoke up -  I will buy him books

       

  And another - I will buy him pencils and soap 

Another - I will buy him new sandals 

Another - I will buy him new school shoes (that’s 10% of her monthly salary) 

I’m overcome by the way they give. Those who have little, giving much. Those who have loved much, loving more.