Wow. Where do I even begin?? I’ll start with the drive. 22 hours in a vehicle is not necessarily anyone’s idea of a perfect Spring Break. However, I, and the rest of the team, didn’t quite know what was ahead of us in Poplar. The first day we got here we really just relaxed and were preparing ourselves mentally and spiritually for the work that was planned for the rest of the week. As we split up and went to the places we were going to stay, I was getting excited! I had a feeling I was really going to see God move here this week.
On Sunday, we attended Pastor Vance’s church, had a pot luck lunch, and rested until supper that night. However, on Monday, we worked quite a bit. We moved out all of the furniture, boxes, tubs, and equipment that was in the church basement. They had previously had a flood down there and were trying to reconstruct things so they could still use it. The smaller kids couldn’t lift much more, so we started another project: painting Pearl Hopkins house, she is one of the elders in the tribe here.
Tuesday and Wednesday are the days that I, personally, saw God really move. We went to the Juvenile Detention Center to visit, sing to, share testimonies with, and just talk to the kids there. During the songs, none of them were listening or even caring, so I immediately thought, “Well.. it was pointless coming here. I knew they wouldn’t pay attention. Ugh.” It only took about two minutes for God to prove me wrong. We started another song that had motions and partners.. Not only did they cooperate, but it looked like they were having fun!? Soon after, Dexter and my dad shared their testimonies. They listened and some looked extremely interested. I could tell that some of the kids could relate and understand this stuff. We played a few games of knockout and then went home.
Sounds pretty productive, right?? Let me tell you about Wednesday when we came back. :) We went through the same procedure as on Tuesday but the guys left early so the girls could talk to the other girls. During the prayer, Mickey, a seventeen year old girl, accepted Christ!!!! Praise the Lord!! As soon as those guys walked out the door.. The girls opened up their hearts to us. They started talking about their goals and dreams! These girls all have amazing dreams and want to carry them out and fulfill them but being in the JDC holds them back. Most of them are repeats-are in and out of there constantly. There is one girl I talked to the most, her name is Stevie and she is a thirteen year old seventh grader. She shared so many things with me!! Her goal in life is to be a mixologist and graduate college from Harvard or Yale. She is European, and would love to go back one day. There were some things that she shared with me that almost brought me to tears.. She has attempted suicide three times and has cuts from her wrist to above her elbow. I can promise you, those cuts are not small. She showed me the scars and they completely cover her arms.
My prayer for this place is mainly for the people. More than anything, they need to know that there is someone who loves them unconditionally. Someone who knows they are worth more than what this world makes them feel like. They need to know that suicide and trying to live up to this world’s expectations are NOT the answer!!! There is an eternal Father in heaven who has forgiven them even though they didn’t ask for it. They need to be loved.
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