Well, that was the first time that I had ever been asked that one!
We were going to be having a special mid-week English class in the hood when Alexandre arrived at our gate with the above question. The temptation was to say, “OF COURSE WE SHOULD CHANGE THE LOCATION! We should CANCEL the ACTIVITY! We should run for cover! We should move to another part of TOWN! FORGET Faith Baptist Church!” But, strangely enough, that is not what I heard myself saying, “What do YOU think that we should do?” came from my lips as if I were thinking of going to the park for a jog or something. His suggestion was to have the kids come to our house. We would then return to the hood tomorrow to see how things were going (“because once someone is murdered all relatives and police go hunting for the killer with nothing but revenge on their mind” Or at least that is what Alexandre had told me).
So, off we went to, of all places, the HOOD to pick up the kids! As we arrived the hearse was just getting there to pick up the body, and the stories were flying. Some said they thought that the murder was a drug hit. Others said that it was a dispute over a woman. Whatever the case there was a man with four holes in his body in front of the grade school and one of the kids that came to our house for the party saw the whole thing! We didn’t find out until the activity was almost over that she had been there just as her class was being let out at the end of the day. She was within feet of “the hit”. She saw someone lose their life in a brutal and merciless way. AND SHE STILL CAME TO THE PARTY! I couldn’t believe it. And to top it off the party game we played was… “KILLER” (NOT my suggestion).
Dawn and I both shook our heads as we let the day’s happening sink in. We tried to imagine how our girls might have reacted if one sunny day a hit man had arrived at the Green’s house, blown Mr. Green into eternity and then calmly walked away! Would they have wanted to have gone to someone’s house to play “Clue”? I highly doubt it! We’re working in a brutal neighborhood. People are calloused. They need Salvation and we NEED your prayers! Please pray for opened doors and Salvation decisions… and safety!
Filed under: Uncategorized
oh my stars!…and to think that we were all just hanging out in the street together, with lots of kids, AT NIGHT, in the very same neighborhood, just over a month ago! it kinda brings home the reality of the situation when i remember seeing hundreds upon hundreds of kids on the playground directly across from those schools. the need for Christ in that area is more than apparent – it’s desperate!
here i sit, in this comfortable little office back in the states, realizing just how sheltered i am, realizing just how little i have given back to Him in appreciation for the gift of salvation in my own life. may God grant you the courage, strength, and safety to carry on His work in habiteto, for you are the true “fools for Christ’s sake” (1 Cor. 4:10) of today. i’ll be praying for all of you.