Man I wish I were a kid again at times. Life is great and I love doing whatever I want, but sometimes I miss being a kid and not really having to think a whole heck of a lot. Kids are great. One of the thoughts that has been on my mind a lot lately is just how formative kids are. Children are so vulnerable to whatever is going on around them. I am saying all of this in response to all of the brokenness that Carrie and I see on a daily basis here in Vancouver. One of the shocking discoveries we have made in our time here is the correlation of the people on the downtown eastside and the foster care system. First of all the DTES as we sometimes call it is the poorest postal code in Canada. This is a ten block area with a great deal of open drug dealing, drug using, prostitution, mentally ill, and a bunch of others who are just on tough times. Yep thats right this is an area full of suffering. Now back to my point. Studies have shown that a very high number of people who are in the DTES have been through the foster care system. This makes me feel like there are big problems in many children's lives by no fault of their own and they end up suffering for the rest of their lives. I feel that this is one reason why God's heart is with the poor and suffering. The other feeling I have is that as Christians we are not doing a good job of taking care of the orphaned. We need to be reminded of God's heart for the widowed and the orphaned.
Children who grow up in world without it - create yet another generation of DTES future residents. Net, sad cycle of life!