Poverty spoke and hunger had a name. As you walk through sewage entering the slum, you come to the realization that you are not home. Not any home you have ever known, but it is home. Home to over 700,000 people and growing. And home is not like anything most of us have ever seen. Home is a tiny room, walls made of rusted corrugated metal do little to keep in the heat or keep out the rain and overflowing sewage. There is no furniture in this home, only a rug or towel if you are blessed enough to have these things. I watched kids playing with trash they picked out of a pile and running throughout the streets.
At the school, we realized these kids survive on one meal a day, when they are not rationing(which they are currently) . I wondered if they have enough energy to concentrate on their studies. They stay late most days to get extra help to pass the eighth grade exam to be accepted to high school. Accepted? Some even stay in at lunch and come in during their vacation to better prepare themselves. They walk proudly in their uniforms- dirty, tattered, ill-fitting as they are.
These are the blessed ones, the ones that are able to afford school. But what about the rest of them? They stand just outside the gate of the school looking in at all the commotion. Who decides who should have opportunity and who should not?
But we trust not what is seen, but what is unseen. My heart breaks for the things my eyes see, and I realize that I will see these things for but a moment, God sees these tragedies at all times. I will trust in the sovereignty of the Lord.
In Him,
Erika
(Front row) Erika Yenokida, Garrett Lee, Cindy Ko, Rebekah Ogimachi, Brenden Fong, Josh Chinn, (Second row) Kristine Fu, Dakota Chenoweth, Matt Sekijima, Heather Nakamura, Renee Wong, Nicole Okada, (Back row) Trenton Yenokida, Steve Lee, Dan Ko, Bob Sandefur, John Herburger, Jesse Sandefur, Shawn Terasaki
I'm crying :(, Love you Erika and bless you for what u are doing.
ReplyDelete