The Border Kids

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
Isaiah 43:1-2

The Border Kids...
Today we hit the ground running.  I spent some time down at the border. We were supposed to give out these little comic books that tell the story of Jesus and invite the kids to church. Poipet is a gateway to Thailand and a city of transient people moving back and forth between the two countries.  It is a mix of backpackers, street vendors, and people who live in abject poverty...and children! So many children.  They are hungry, filthy and nobody is watching them let alone protecting them. Many of these kids beg during the day and are used for sex whenever someone can make a buck off of them.  I noticed that they all seemed to know each other and stick together in a sort of little person gang. I am beginning to realize the necessity of this.  The border is very porous and a a large amount of Cambodian children are trafficked into Thailand through here.  Once in Thailand, they become completely untraceable and as far as the Thai government is concerned, they have very little if any value at all.  It is a dangerous place to be a little kid living on the streets of Poipet. Today, one of the Cambodian interpreters and I set out to see what God was up to and what He wanted us to do.  I noticed a group of children hanging out together by a street vendor and I was drawn to them so I went over and gave them the comic books.   The woman with them seemed to be okay with this so I began to speak to the children about the book.  Suddenly we were engrossed in the most amazing Sunday School lesson I have ever taught.   I explained  that Adam and Eve did  something very wrong. (The children don't understand the concept of sin so we kept it simple.) and that they deserved to be punished  (Sadly, the children do understand punishment.) As we turned the page and  saw Jesus on the cross I told them that Jesus was punished for them.   They were so taken by this truth because taking someone's punishment is a BIG DEAL!  I will never forget the looks on their faces when I told them that God knew their names and that he  sees them and loves them so much, he sent me all this way to tell them.  They were so excited that they brought other children to get the story and then they took some books and even gave them out to the adults.  It was AWESOME!
While I am here,  I hope to find out more about these border kids who spend their days begging on the streets. They have arrested my heart.  I believe I was supposed to see them and they are to become much more than a mini gang of street kids to me.  They have names.  They have futures.
People need to hear their story.

This is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth..to feed the poor, rescue the captives, care for the orphans, there is much work to do here and only God is big enough.  

Love from the road,

Julie