The Pastor and the Orphan
by Danny Casler
This morning I woke with a dream that I was back in the first house I grew up with in Hawaii. There were yard sales everywhere and mothers and their children but no fathers to be found. Everyone was selling everything. The houses were all cement and rebar like a bomb hit the entire place. My town I grew up in, was no more. My family was no where to be found and it was almost like I was an orphan in my own home.
I woke to go enjoy breakfast. We had a milky like porage with some bread. Bread comes with every meal with a sliver of cheese and butter. After saying some prayers and having a little talk time we went back to work. Busting butts again. Everything is coming along so well. I think the entire team is so gifted in everything they do and they are a great community. I have never been a fan of church but I am a fan of community and thru this, I am learning so much more about Christ. Steven is an amazing speaker and he associates well. He reminds me of my old pastor Mike Kai. I was always able to understand and associate because he kept it real, faults and all. I think Steven is going to find that he will be utilized on such a larger level in his future. He is a videographer and photographer, but I feel he will be called to Minister to people all over the world, eventually leading him to a position as a pastor. That is just what my gut tells me. It is weird the things we think we will become, or the things we think we need to be, but the path that god actually throws us into. Its never the comfort zone or situation we think we will be in. Its always changing.
Anyhow, I have noticed one thing. I have a kid who wont leave my side. Altho the other kids are very high fivey with me, and very touchy huggy when were around, I have gained a little brother in this one kid Mischa. We work together, he comes in to watch me play guitar, we are communicating even tho we cannot speak to one another. I can tell he has found a place in me that he may have missed or lost along time ago in his family. I am going to set him up with email so we can stay in touch. I want to be a reason these kids refuse a life of crime or prostitution and even more so, I want to prevent them from ever thinking they need to commit suicide. So anyway, he is my new buddy.
Today in a little bit, we have a Japanese lady who is going to give us a seminar on sex trafficking. I am really excited to learn more and maybe speak some Japanese with her.
Evening
I spoke a little Japanese with the lady but the seminar was incredibly hard to stay awake for. I learned some different and staggering statistics but eventually snuck out to sleep. I slept thru the entire afternoon into the evening and even skipped on dinner. I am forcing my buddy to get healthier. This cough, or swine flu as Steve and I have been joking, since he has it too, has just worn me out. I think I got worse on the plane. What a bummer.
Also, I wanted to let you guys know the story of Mischa. It broke my heart and I was going to break down and cry with him but I he wasn¹t crying so I knew I had to be strong altho, I could tell he was only a few words away.
Mischa has 4 siblings. 3 brothers and an older sister. His sister moved in with a man she is seeing and he sees her on the weekends. His 2 older brothers, he does not know and probably never will. His younger brother is soon to enter this same orphanage in which he will spend 3 years and then be off on his own into the world. Mischa has been in the orphanages since he was a small child. His parents but him in the orphanage at a very young age, for a reason, I have no found out yet, and from that point on, he went from place to place to place. He found out years later that his father died of tuberculosis and then his mother committed suicide by drinking herself to death. I found out that 75% of the Ukrainian population has very serious alcoholic problems. No one likes to admit that they do. Its pretty sad but its very true. Anyhow, he told me that he has had 2 offers to be adopted, once in France and once in Germany but he refused. I asked him why and he said he wanted to be here for his family. The little bit he has left. These kids cling to anything that feels like love and maybe that¹s why he is clinging to me. He grabbed my arms today and a wet rag and began cleaning my arms from the dirt and paint, in the areas I could not see. We don¹t understand eachother language wise, but we understand eachother as brothers, not just in christ, but brothers in life. When he told me the story it had to be translated by my other friend and he refused to look up, and he fidgeted a lot with his hands and fingers. It made me proud of him that he refused a great opportunity to be taken in but sad that he turned down that same opportunity at a new life. His honor for his family is so strong, and I think that increases his chances at a brighter future… I hope.
Now, im just laying in bed, will probably read some crazy stories from the “Translator” and pray for Russ (manager of Scary Kids) who inspired this book on me, and has some first hand experience with the genocide in Darfur which I will be getting involved with shortly. I see my life is working in many new directions, all that I am excited and open to.
