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20th Anniversary – CSM Impact
Catherine’s Testimony
Catherine served with Tim Osborne’s youth group on a CSM mission trip to Washington, DC. She shares an amazing experience that has touched her heart forever.
Of all the incredible experiences I had on this year’s missions trip, none stick out in my mind as much as my time at a Vacation Bible School we held in conjunction with Kid’s Connection, a local D.C. organization for low income children.
Every afternoon went to a park across the street from some of the city’s worst public housing projects where we rounded up neighborhood kids for a few hours of games and Bible lessons. Unlike the VBS at Grace, these kids often wandered in unattended by parents, and when we walked them home afterwards I rarely saw a mother or father who was waiting for their child.
For the most part the kids we encountered were enthusiastic and good-natured; we saw many of the same faces every day and formed relationships with those who returned. I met a boy named Joey* on Monday, and over the next 5 days he and his siblings would open my eyes to the hurt and need among children in America’s poorest neighborhoods.
From my first day with Joey I could tell that he was an unusually bright kid, who loved to play games and was protective of his younger sisters. It pained me to think that under different circumstances a talented seven year old could be getting a great education and eventually go to college, where as Joey might never finish high school. The closer we got over the week the more he opened up about his family and neighborhood. He educated me about rivalries between elementary school children and their families (which often turned violent), and his abusive parents at home.
Our relationship culminated with a conversation we had on the last day of VBS, which left an impression on me I will never forget.
Joey confided in me that he and his 6 year old brother received regular beatings from their drug-addict father (who I had met the day before), and that he wanted to get revenge by becoming a murderer. Hearing these words come out of the mouth of a seven year old boy was the most disturbing and surreal experience of my life. I was upset, bewildered, and deeply, deeply saddened. I had no idea how to react, and so I said little, only listened and then wrapped my arms around him as he cried for almost a half hour.
Later I spoke with the director of the program about Joey and his siblings, and was told that an ongoing custody dispute between his parents and grandmother would likely remove him from his abusive home. I still pray for Joey and his family every day. The experience I had that day was incredibly humbling. After spending a week trying to show these children the love of Jesus and the potential for each of them to live happy and successful lives, I was hit with a horrible reality: for many of these kids, the concept of unconditional love is totally foreign. With the exception of his grandmother, Joey had no adult in his life that he could look up to, count on, or turn to for help. There was little joy, security, or love in his life.
And Joey is not alone. How many other children we met in that week come from similar backgrounds?
And more importantly, how can we, who are so incredibly blessed and privileged, allow God to work through us to help these broken and helpless children?
It’s a question I’ve struggled with since coming back from D.C., and one that I still don’t know the answer to. I like to think that my short time with Joey made a positive impression on him, that I was able to convey to him in some small way that there is love in this world, and more importantly, that there is unconditional love from God. But I know that there are thousands of children just like him, and my heart breaks to know that some of them might never know the message of the Gospel or see it acted out in their own lives.
So until I’m called to do more, I pray; for Joey, for his 5 younger siblings, and for the children like him that I may never meet. I encourage all of you to do the same.
* Not actual name
