What's on my mind

My heart is so heavy this week!

I want to bring you into a little part of my world and share my burden with you. It's my desire in sharing, that you would get the burden too and join with me in prayer for this family. I'm going to try and give you a little background and also paint a picture for you.

Three years ago, our team met this family who were living in abject poverty. The mother and father whose names are Bia (mother) and Oh(father), were only 28 at the time. Both of them enslaved by the sprit of poverty, and laziness. The father in chains to alcohol. At the time they had 6 children and the mother went to jail shortly after for several months.(breaking and entering).

When we met them the two oldest daughters, who were 9 and 10 at the time, had never gone to school and there were no plans of them joining school. All the children ran around naked in utter filth all of the time(except the two oldest girls, of course). Though there were serious problems in the home the mother and father loved each other, which is a plus. He had always been faithful to her even during her many long visits to jail. Though much of the time he would spend passed out drunk, he still loved his wife and kids the best he knew how.

Fast forward to today, they now have 8 children. The father is no longer enslaved to alcohol but is enslaved by a much bigger demon....Ice and he's pulled his wife into his addiction with him. So what used to be a pretty mild mannered drunk has turned into a raving wife beating, gun slinging maniac!! He's kicked her and all the children out more times than one and attempted to cut off the fingers of his mothers husband, which forced them to move out.

He's now selling ICE for a policeman who also pays him with prostitutes. So now his hearts turned away from his wife and his children. He beats her, kicks her out. She leaves for a few days and then returns. This has happened twice just this month.

Now this grandmother has played a vital role in the lives of these children as the mother was too lazy to raise them, incarcerated, or pregnant and the father was passed out somewhere. Now she's gone.

Thak, a beloved friend and team mate took in the two oldest daughters three years ago so that they could attend school. At the time the girls were 9 and 10 and had never been to school, and there were no plans for them to go to school.  So when schools in session they're with her. When there's a school break they go back home to be with their parents. Both girls have been either number 2 or 3 in their class for the lsat three years!!

But as we have it now, both parents don't want any of the children. They came and dropped them off to Thak, all eight of them, several weeks ago and haven't been back. Thak brought the two littlest ones back home three days ago because she was so stressed out, going from two to eight all in one day. After one day the father called and said, "you have to come get these kids. I can't handle them." So we got in the truck and picked them up.

When we walked in the house, the air was filled with the smell of drugs. There were shoes lined up at the top of the stairs and the door was closed. There were a room full of people smoking ICE. The mother came out of the room, holding the smallest baby and the two year old clinging to her leg. She sat down on the stairs eyes glazed over and said,"Thak you have to take them. I can't do it. I'm so dizzy. My heart's racing"

Tears began to stream down my face as I stood in this hovel of a house and looked up the stairs at a naked baby girl and a lithe brown eyed boy whose face was crusted over with dirt and snot.

Thak said, "Bia, go get Bii Mai some clothes she soaking wet with pee." Bia sat on the stairs and looked at her dazed and confused. Eyes glassed over. Thak went up the stairs took the naked baby and the dirty little boy and we headed back home.

My heart was heavy, friends. My heart is heavy. I haven't been able to sleep for the last few nights thinking about the house, the mother, the father.

Here's the front of the house. 

This is the downstairs. The floor is covered with red dirt that runs in from the back door when it rains. As you can see there's no cleaning going on in this house.

There's standing water about 4in deep in the bathroom. The black on the floor is...well....who knows what it is. 

Here's a picture of Bia, very high, holding her last baby Bii Mai (New year). This was the evening we dropped the kids off.

This is the room where the get high. There's people over all day and all night either buying drugs or smoking drugs with the mother and the father. Things are left just as they are. When they're done eating they just walk away and leave the paper/wrappers there. The cigarette papers and butts are scattered all over the floor. Filthy clothes lie in piles all throughout the house. 

This is the community bedroom. To the left, the mother is sleeping in a drug induced coma as the small little girl lies in her own feces and urine. with sweat dripping down her little face. 

Dum (Dark) third child/ 9 years

Uan (Cubby) 1st child/12years

New Dii (Good) 6th child/3years

Pii Tak(defender) 7th child/2years

Tuut(angle: renamed by Thak) 2nd child/11years

Bow Yai(Big boy) 4th child/6years

Bii Mai(New Year) 8th child/1 year on Dec 11th.

Thak with two littles hanging on her.

I didn't get a picture of child number five. His name is Eeat.

So here's my burden. I can't get Bia and Oh off my mind. Their addiction plaques me. My heart aches for them. My heart aches for the children. My heart aches for all the young boys that come in and out of their house to buy drugs..lives wasted. My heart aches for all those addicted, all those wrapped in chains and living their lives as slaves.


Love
Amber