with the K2s, showing me their "brave face"
Below: their space shuttle - before take-off and after. the brown shreddy thing is the fire.
D has been with us since the first Taking It To the Streets at Circuit Road.
He is a precious child, very endearing, sweet, yet destructively mischievous.
When we first knew him, he was in Pri 2 (or 1?) He had a learning disability, (we think it's dyslexia). And, he had water-logged brain. He had to go for an operation, and he was frightened. I remember the Saturday before the operation, he kept coming up to me and telling me that he was going for operation, "maybe will die". After worship, all the kids prayed for him to have a safe operation and that he would not be scared. =) Later he said he knew that Jesus was with him.
When he believed in Jesus, he went home to tell his parents about Jesus. His mom came to know Jesus too. He even told his dad that he doesn't want to offer incense etc.
At HS, he set the toilet bin on fire. That was the period of time where we found out that "gangsters" had been making use of him, calling him "Big Brother" to make him feel accepted and cherished, making him their lookout when they committed crimes. We heard stories about fights. He got into trouble in school and home as well.
But he's someone who's really sincere when it comes to worship. you can tell, coz he can be angry and destructive before worship, but after that he'd be singing the songs long after worship ended, and once in a while just like... cheer for jesus..out of the blue... hard to explain...
Now that he's Primary 4, he still can't do the alphabets. When he comes for Kidz Club, we let him come to Gems instead of Blaze. Last Saturday, he looked strange when he got here. very tensed and angry. i spent some time with him during tuition and i realized the extent of his academic problems. no wonder yp was so worried! Yet he tried so hard. We spent an hour learning 6 words (from Psalm 119: Lord I give praise to you), using makeshift flash cards. and he really couldn't read at all! not even "to". but he kept at it, memorising the sequence of the phrase in order to remember the words. each time we got a word right, we celebrated, gave each other Hi5's, and sometimes he'd just clap spontaneously with joy, gleefully... like a child should! How dare those gangsters taint and make use of a child!
Later i asked him to draw pictures (hp and my secret plan: find out what he's good at and encourage him to excel in it), and after a picture, he secretly tried to write me a letter. ...
He read it to me, "To Teacher Shuyan. I Love You. From Derrick"
i love you too dearie.
If this is his reading standard now, he certainly cannot keep up with what the rest of his class is learning! Then, that'd just lead to restlessness, which leads to mischief, which leads to scolding by teacher, which leads to more retlessness, discouragements... is it any surprise that he hangs out with older boys who seem to accept him and give him "important jobs" to do?
and that's what i'm appalled by! have those guys no heart at all? He's a child for goodness sake! He's have enough difficulty coping with school, and later on in society, without you making use of him and leading him astray! Getting him into more trouble, making him go down THIS path before he's old enough to decide with wisdom!
God, you can keep him safe... let your wisdom guard his heart and mind. send your angels into his path. let him remember the joy of being safe in your presence, and never settle for anything else. give us the wisdom to know how to help him and love him. let him experience your love through us.
