Reality of the World

In January one of the ladies that was working in my city went on furlough. She had a preschool that needed someone to run it while she was away for a few months. So, in February one of the girls on my team and I took over this program. Before this lady left, we went to visit all the families to begin contact with them. The families were poor, and many had serious economic or social difficulties, ie: father in prison, unemployment, abusive dad, etc. It broke my heart! But one of the girls has quite the interesting set up at home. The mother lives here in this city with her two girls. Her husband lives in a western European country and is married to another woman; trying desperately to get a passport so he can take his family out of Kosova (normal idea here, but interesting way to go about doing it). When we went for a visit the mother was dressed in frumpy clothes, the house was a mess, smoke filled the room, and there was evidence of many cigarettes on the coffee table. One girl was at school, and the other was riding her bike, yes, her bicycle, around the living room- over our feet even! So, this is how our relationship began...

During the last months, it has been pretty interesting with all the families, not just this one. But most interesting of all is this little girl and her family. Her mom is pretty depressed and really searching for fulfillment in external, worldly things. The girl is a spoiled brat that throws temper tantrums all the time. It's a pretty dysfunctional family!

So, enter today; our last day of preschool. The last house we came to drop the children off at was this one. As we drove up, a strange man started to slowly walk out of the house (there are often strange men around...). The little girl's face froze, and she stopped throwing the temper tantrum she was having in the back seat. One of the ladies from the church got out and tried to figure out who the man was while the little girl cowered in the back seat. The man claimed he was her uncle and her mom was out visiting someone who was in the hospital. We had no choice but to leave the little girl with the man. I got chills up my back as I watched him grab her hand and slowly lead her back inside the house. As we were driving back to the preschool, we met the mom a little ways off and she said that the man was her friend and it was alright. I guess it is the simple fact that the stories don't match up, but I feel so unsettled about what took place.

The little girl is four old, and yet she's been exposed to more of this world than I have, in some ways. I can't even imagine what sort of life stands before her if nothing changes. May the God who came to seek and save that which is lost step into this little girl's heart and mind. May He restore and redeem her and her family to Himself. Please, please, please join me in praying for this baby and the other ones that face similar circumstances each day!