It's another street ministry day and I'm on the bus right now headed to the city of San salvador.
I know that over the next couple weeks you most likely will read some entries from me that might not make sense to you but I want to explain why I'm here and some of the reasons that I keep coming back.
If you have talked to me in person before I'm sure I have told you story after story of some of my experiences of being overseas but I don't come here just to provide the stories they come along with the mission.
Words can't explain my surroundings or the tears on my face when a child that doesn't know love refuses to let go of my waist as I'm forced to get on the bus and leave just to watch them chase us through the streets as we drive away. But I'll do the best that I can to explain the situation here.
Gangs control El Salvador not the kind of gang you would find in the US but imagine every neighborhood having one. Zones here would be our neighborhoods and between the zones you would experience gang retaliation on a daily basis. Gangs get their money by making known their presence in an area. Small shops and companies such as buses are required to pay a fee to the gangs for "protection." So they get money by threatening communities and if you dont pay up they will kill you.
Between the guerilla wars and gang retaliation (as of two years ago) 80 percent of the population was under the age of 21. Many kids are orphans working and living on the streets raising siblings and trying to find some food. Last year I watched out the window as children chasesd a garbage truck to get the food that people threw out. Full on sprint of a group of kids.
So many of these kids don't have parents, they don't have food, or a home. Gangs start recruiting at the age of 7. The older guys hang out with the boys and teach them gang signs and invest time with them so the kids have a sense of a family, they get money from the gang system and can support their families and siblings. In return they become a member of the gang which is a life long commitment. And the pattern continues. The girlfriends of the gang members are susceptible to any member of the gang that wants to use her but in return she is protected and financially supported by the gang.
The pattern continues day after day unless someone steps in to change it. Its Injustice at it's finest.
Kings castle ministries started in the 1980s with a vision to reach the children of el Salvador before they were recruited into gangs. They started to break the pattern by doing street ministry. Programs specifically designed for kids to tell them that Jesus loves them and to bring hope through the gospel. They had feeding programs and churches planted. They go out and bus the kids to church. They showed them that gang life isn't the only path to take.
So I am here. These are the kids that I am working with. It is not easy, I don't get a good nights sleep, I am dirty, i am sick and exhausted the majority of the summer, I always seem to get bit by something haha but I wouldn't trade this for any amount of money. If I could live everyday of my life for the rest of my life like yesterday it wouldn't be long enough.
I'm not risking my life for nothing, im no better than the kids living on the street, theres no difference we all have the same heart and were created for the same purpose. I know Gods protecting me but Im not going to sugar coat any of the experiences that I have here. You may never find yourself on the streets of el salvador but I want to give you a glimpse of reality that these children face everyday.
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