They seem like a bunch of American teenagers.
As I travel around the country with these Kuyasa Kids, I'm amazed by how much they seem to have all the same issues as American kids. They love "High School Musical", they give hugs to their friends, and teen boys wrestle each other to the ground. Most of the time, they seem like an average teen.
But when given the opportunity to dig a little deeper, I'm faced with the reality of these young African children. We simply ask for prayer requests and the response hits me square in the face when one of our youngest asks us to pray that her mom won't die. But it's not that simple, she asks that we will pray that her mother will live until her 18th birthday, so that she will be able to financially take care of herself when her mom is gone. When we finished our prayer, pouring out God our requests for health and life, this 11-year-old girl crawled onto my lap and just cried.
The reality that these kids face in a township where roughly 1 in 3 people are HIV infected is sobering. They all have several friends that have lost parents, so the prayer of an 11 year old, is that their mother will live 7 more years. While I know I thought about death as a young child, it was a fleeting thought, not a reality that scared me to tears.
1 comment:
After figuring out that I have to join this crazy thing in order to "observe" anything, I want to share that this story grips me especially. It is difficult for us to understand as Americans who have one of the greatest health cares in the world (that's right, Hillary)and find hundreds of options for helping people live to a long and prosperous life. But these children understand that there is a limited amount to go around--water, food, education, and now, family. What is sad is that the older children no longer cry about it. They know it to be a fact that they accept. I hope everyone who reads this touching article will let it really sink in. It is a precious touch on the lives of children who deserve all the love we can give--sacrificial love.
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