More Stories: Kampung

the two mondays i was in S.E.A.,

i accompanied my friend and her national
partner to the kampung (COM-poon).

those living in such communities are generally quite poor.

it took us about an hour to get to this specific kampung by ankot.

when we arrived, 

i was surprised to find the village directly on the water.

for reals, westerners would pay big bucks for that kind of property.

the main income for this community is fishing.

fishing boats littered the beach.

there were boardwalks to travel from house to house

for those families living where the tide comes in and out.

it almost made me think of mississippi a bit.

post-katrina, that is.

my friends go to this community because 

they provide a traveling library.

kids in these communities get little to no education

because it isn't deemed important.

i mean, why does someone need to go to school if they are just going to run the family store or be a fisherman?

the kids loved getting the books.

they loved hearing a bule speak their language.

they loved making fun of the bule who couldn't.

these kids face more problems than poverty.

they witness and experience physical, verbal, and sexual abuse.

the violence they display towards one another clearly exhibits

what is being modeled for them.

PRAY:

*for the national worker and my friend to continue to gain favor with the adults in the community

*that the relationships formed will lead to Christ-centered conversations

*for soft and receptive hearts among the adults and children, that the gospel will land on good soil

*as Christ transforms hearts, the community as a whole would be transformed, bringing light to the darkness