Seeing God through hard situations.

Dear Family and loved ones,

I am in need of lots of prayer over the next week. One of my oldest friends here is in need. His name is Calvin, he is 13 years old and he is a shoe cleaner. He had six siblings, one died when it was a baby from head trauma and the other died from an unknown disease one day very suddenly at age 19. He has two younger sisters, one is 5 and the other 11 and an older brother age 18. He hasn’t seen his dad in five years and is not sure of his where about. His mother use to live in Hato Mayor (our city) and cleaned houses for a living.

In November my brother donated money to buy Calvin school clothes so that he could attend school here in the city. He went everyday through out November and December. When I came back here in January, Calvin fell off the radar. No one heard from him or seen him. Around February we found him working in a little street food place by the public park. I asked him what he was doing, he told me he moved in with this one lady to work in the city because his mom lives to far out of the town. I didn’t like the situation, but there was nothing I could do. Jessica told him if he finished the school year with good grades she would send him to school with the little boy my mom sponsors – Ricki. Calvin was so excited and ready to go to school.  I saw Calvin working all day and night at this little store, knowing he wasn’t going to school.  The next time I saw him he was sitting on a scooter outside one of the local disco techs. He told me he left the lady’s house and was now getting paid to watch people’s scooters. He said he moved back in with his mom. He still was visiting at the café, not regularly but I still saw him.

Today I saw him for the first time in a week. I gave him a bag of clothes donated by one of my brothers last week and he was carrying it around today. We sat and talked for two hours. He told me his mom told him to go work and clean shoes one day, when he came back his family was gone. They moved to a different city without him. He has no family here, no aunts or uncles, no one.  The house was actually given to Calvin by his grandpa and his mom pawned it for a little over one hundred dollars.

I asked him what is he going to do now? He said he is staying in hotels when he makes enough money and when he doesn’t the lady who used to use him as free work in the store will sometimes let him sleep on her floor. But in reality I know he is sleeping on the streets. He is cleaning shoes and he just kept saying all he wants to do is go to school. He told me he isn’t drinking or doing drugs, although lots of men in the streets have asked him to be a drug mule, moving drugs from one place to another. He tells me he refuses to do it. When I asked him what hotel he stays in, he told me a different one every night and he rotates between them. I was with one of my Dominican friends and they said that it sounds like he is selling out his body in prostitution.  Very common among children his age here.

I asked him if he wanted us to look for his mom but he didn’t seem like he wants us to. I told him I know of some orphanages around the area; him and I are going to check them out. But I have also heard terrible stories about the orphanages here and how they sexually abuse the children.

I am asking for PRAYER! I believe in the power of pray! Please pray for this situation. This boy is a theft and a liar, but that is not by choice. His life has caused him to act this way, he has seen to much in his 13 years of age. I can’t allow him to stay at anyone’s house that I know. But I need to help fix this situation. I need prayer for wisdom on what to do. As you get into your comfortable bed tonight, with a lock on your door, and your children who you love safe in their rooms. Please pray for my friend! I love him very much. He is not in a good, safe, or comfortable situation. He is in a survival situation.  

Please pray for Calvin and than pass this on!