Broken Plate. Broken Heart. Broken World.

Last Thursday I was with the kids and some of their friends at the cafe working on homework, but then art class started and all the tables were getting full so we decided to leave.  Micha asked if their friends could come to the house to do homework with them that afternoon so I told her yes.  Each of their friends headed home to change out of their school uniforms before coming over and I walked the kids back to the house.  After they quickly changed Micha, Jessi & I headed out to pick up their friends.  We arrived at Dada's house first and when we went in she was already doing dishes.  We had left her at her house approximately 5 minutes before and she had already changed out of her uniform and had started working.  As we talked to her about coming over to do homework Micha walked around where she was doing dishes and accidentally knocked a plate off of where it was sitting.  It of course broke on the concrete floor and Micha asked her if she was going to be in trouble.  Dada said yes, that her 'mother' would beat her when she got home.  My heart broke.  Sweet, precious Dada is a restavek like so many other children here.....doing all the work, being mistreated and not being able to just be a kid.  I walked Dada home after she finished her homework.  Her 'mother' was home so I told her that I had broken her plate and that I was very sorry it was an accident.  She of course said that it was no problem and that she had plenty of plates.  I don't know what happened after that, but I just prayed that Dada would be protected.

It is so frustrating to not be able to fix things for these children.  It is so frustrating to not be able to just call child services and have them taken out of these situations.  It is even more frustrating that it is so ingrained in culture here that people  don't even think twice about it.  There is so much darkness wrapped up in the culture here that things that are definitely not ok are just overlooked because they are completely normal here.

This evening a few of us went to visit a family that is very dear to us.  They have recently taken in a 13 year old girl whose mother died.  After we found out about this we were so happy because we know what a great couple they are and what loving parents they are.  But the last time we visited them something just didn't seem right, the girl that they had taken in was working the whole time we were there.  She was just taking laundry off the line and sweeping which are reasonable chores for a 13 year old, but she never sat down to chat with us and was just constantly working.  We just couldn't believe it, there was no way this couple would ever have a restavek.  After some conversations that Kam had this week she basically found out that this girl is doing all the work at their house.  I know that they are treating her well and that she is going to school, but she is still a restavek.  Cultural norms can definitely cause hearts and eyes to be closed to reality.

Please pray for these dear, sweet girls....pray that they would know true freedom in Christ.  Pray for the adults in this country....that their hearts and minds and eyes would be open to reality and that they would see children as the precious, loved children of God that they are instead of as slaves.  

John 8:36  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.