Sunday, October 11, 2009

Tammy & K...

So, when we were heading out the door for outreach on Wednesday, Kim and I were chatting about plans for the evening and friends we wanted to make sure to visit. I didn't realized we weren't going to the bridges, which was a bummer...I love catching up with my friends over there and Kim had also promised a book to Tammy. Anyways, we start driving downtown and get close to University Park where we had planned to park, and...there was Tammy! Mind you, this is a nice little mile or so walk from where we usually see her. We just all looked at each other and quickly remembered that God puts us where He needs us, not where we think we need to be. I seriously had goosebumps! Off the almost 800,000 people in this city...what are the chances!

Well, after catching up with Tammy, we started heading downtown to hang out with whoever was out and hand out some sandwiches and snacks. We barely made it around Monument Circle when we ran into a group of people, most of which were teenagers. There were a couple familiar faces, but it didn't talk more than a couple seconds for about half of them to take off -- which isn't uncommon with "runaways" or homeless teenagers. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Kim walking away from the group with a young girl. I thought I'd better go walk with her since she kind of took off in a hurry. It didn't take long to realize something was wrong. (It looks like there was another reason God sent us walking downtown instead of to the camps that night.) She told us to just keep walking...even when we asked to if we could sit down on a bench and talk...no, keep walking. She was frantically trying to get away from that group of people. We finally convinced her that as long as she stayed with us she would be fine. We didn't get much out of her in way of a story before she asked for my cell phone to call her mom -- who apparently didn't care a whole lot about her daughter or her situation.

She told us she'd come up to Indy to get away from her hometown, but didn't know anyone or have any sort of plan. Her first night here, she met a guy who offered to take her to where he was staying...which happened to be an abandoned house with about 9 other people. To add to her first night excitement, she learned that the people living in this house were a "gang". They were kind enough to let her join -- after they initiated her, of course. They beat this poor girl with pipes and paddles and fists...then told her she was now a "GD", couldn't wear red, and couldn't leave the house alone. I'm not even going to comment on that, but...apparently, they found reasons to continue beating her...I guess 9 people beating on a little 19 year-old girl proves you are crazy hardcore, right?

She showed us bruise after bruise and really thought she had a cracked rib. I can't even begin to explain the insane amount of manipulation, hatred, exploitation, and just plain stupidity I witnessed that night! We heard stories from...I just call her K...but we also heard stories from "Mom" and "Dad" and their "kids"! Let me tell you about sad and messed up...they admitted to being a "gang", beating on K into the gang, but also beating her on other occasions as well. It didn't take long to catch on to the fact that this poor girl had no idea what a family or real friend or love even remotely looked like! One second she was freaked out to see "Mom" walking our way...but she leaned down and told her that she loved her and to go with us and let us help her get off the streets. They start hugging and telling each other they love one another and on and on...and a few of us who'd seen this started looking at each other in amazement...and not the good kind, we were sick! We pulled her away and started heading back to the cars. I really can't even start to explain everything we experienced up to this point. I was shocked, sickened, angry, heartbroken, confused, and just praying there was something we could do to help K.

Kim and I took her to the hospital get her rib among other things checked out...it was a long night, to say the least. Again, it would be impossible to even start to explain it. To make a really long story a little less, well...long...after hearing from the doctor and social worker that she would be able to stay at the hospital, we all headed home. The next morning, Brian, the director of TDWM was able to get her into a shelter which she managed to get kicked out of the next morning. We don't know the whole story, but a few of us spent a good amount of time last night exploring resources, tyring to track down family members, and finally just praying! We had no idea where she was going to go. She was able to stay with our awesome friends last night. We'll be trying a couple more shelters tomorrow to see if we can get her in anywhere -- but a really big concern is her running into the wonderful "family" that took her in. It won't take long for their paths to cross and she could very well end right back up where she started.

So, if you would...please pray for K and this whole situation. Pray that she would begin to see that she needs to make some major changes in her life, that shelter would be provided for her, that she would experience true love and affection from the only One who can give it. K has a number of medical and behavioral issues, and it's hard to say the root of each of them, but it's more than apparent that she has had an extremely difficult and painful 19 years. Just pray that God would wrap her in His loving arms and let her know that He is so very real and will never leave her or mistreat her! Also, pray for guidance, patience, and wisdom for everyone working on her case...I have faith that God will do something, but it is all in His timing!

And before I skip over Tammy, please pray for her as well. She is struggling with an addiction and has expressed a desire to get help, but just hasn't taken that step yet. Also, her very abusive boyfriend will be getting out of jail really, really soon and she is trying to decide if she wants to continue their relationship...pray the answer would be as obvious to her as it is to those outside the situation and that she would see how beautiful and precious she really is!

1 comment:

  1. That is absolutely heartbreaking. I will be praying for them AND you. God has given you a gift and a heart that not many people posses, and if they do they dont use it in the amazing way you do.

    Isaiah 26:3 "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

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