age twelve....what does that number bring to mind....middle school, maybe a first crush, maybe a great vacation with family... probably not survival. sara sits next to me, i feel the confusion of her drug...she huffs paint thinner as do most the street kids...a coping mechanism. she explained that it helps make her not hungry, or cold, or feel anything for that matter. her life is one of the day to day. she dodges the police because they are not protection, they are violent to the kids on the street she explains...they see them as dirt to clean up or abuse whichever they deem fit. all of this seems awful but then comes the blow... she looks intently around the court yard...seemingly halfway attentive to what is around her yet very aware of the person she is looking for...her husband she calls him. the 21 year old boy that she is "married" to. i ask her what she looks forward to and she smiles, and says next year she wants to start a family...the breathe left my body and my mind began to spin...i looked at this little girl, her nails were filthy, her clothes were the same every day, her ears were caked in wax, and her smell....paint thinner..my heart rips inside as i pull her into my arms...this is akward for her she squirms a bit and then smiles her glassy eyes only partially aware of her surroundings..

these are the kids that are at risk everywhere here...the poverty is so thick and the survival a mandate..

everyday sara survives...at 12. this takes me awhile to come to grips with..i am stunned by the differences in her and my own daughter...i want to help her, but how?

how so we begin? i asked God show me what you see, break me for what breaks you...it is working...
In Him,
Kris