She was the only woman sitting with some men at the table. There was an empty seat beside her. I knew it was meant for me. I sat down and said the 1 word that came to my mind then - susah-ke? Immediately she burst into tears and couldn't stop crying as I moved to hug her. It had to be Holy Spirit at work. I had never seen her before in the centre. After awhile she calmed down sufficiently to open up.
She is a foreigner; having entered Msia some 6 years ago. She's only 25 years old but had already worked multiple jobs. She had suffered at the hands of some employers. One had such a bad temper he burnt her passport. So she became an illegal immigrant. She had prayed many times she would be caught and deported back to her home country. But that didn't happen, so with no job and no money, she ended up on the streets of KL.
This latest (no. 4) boyfriend had walloped her head with a piece of wood, Thankfully there was no bleeding, just a huge bump. That was the reason she covered her head with a knitted cap, as she was ashamed. She had "hooked up" with the guy just recently. He never told her he was married. His wife had come to the field where she was hanging out and humiliated her publicly. So much drama. He had stolen the motorcycle he was using, was on drugs and had kept her hand-phone on the pretext of charging it. She said she was scared he would follow her afterwards. I told her I would accompany her out later after the service concluded. I prayed God send angels to guard her from every harm.
But as I finished my sermon, I felt I couldn't leave her on the streets. A little voice spoke to my heart "Take her home." But how to get her out as the guy was still hanging around in the centre? In fact he kept looking at her throughout the service, although she had moved to the front to avoid sitting with him. Yet he had followed suit and shifted upfront as well.
Thank God for divine intervention. He made sure the man was fully occupied, by Pastor no less , so I could get the woman out of the centre. After dinner, as Pastor talked to the guy, I quickly led her out and straight away drove her back to my place in PJ for the night.
In the aftermath of things, I realised how God deliberately gets us to be the answer to our own prayers. Sure Christians are supposed to pray about everything, but the problem is we often "leave it up to God" to handle the issue. So many times I would pray God, please help these street people...provide for their needs blah blah blah. That's all well and good, I am sure. But that night when I heard the voice "Take her home", I was ashamed that I didn't even think of it in the first place.
I reminded her of Jesus's parable about the prodigal son, who left the father's house, squandered his money and ended up totally destitute, before he finally decided to return. All the while, the old man was waiting for his lost son to just come home . We both knew she is every inch the prodigal daughter.
The next morning which "so happened" to be a Sunday, I took her to church, where my Pastor prayed for her. She said she was so overwhelmed. I was supposed to send her off to the MRT station after the service, but at the last minute I felt she should stay on for the session after lunch. Again at Holy spirit urging, I got her to join in prayer to stand for her nation.
Only after that , I drove her to TBS station to catch the bus out of town because she said she has an adopted Christian sister in another state who could take care of her. I gave her money for the journey and thought that was that, thanking God she could begin afresh somewhere else. In hindsight I shouldn't have left her on her own at the station, even though she reassured me she was familiar with the place.
Things didn't turn out well. Apparently she was somehow intercepted by the boyfriend, who took all the cash I had given her. So she didn't manage to leave KL. Instead they both went back to the centre. The Pastor to whom I had already told the whole story wisely separated them, bought a bus ticket online and even got people to escort her all the way to TBS station again. The only hitch was they didn't get to see her actually board the bus, since only passengers holding tickets are allowed into the boarding area.
That was more than a week ago. She hasn't contacted anyone of us since then. There was nothing we could do anymore, except pray God's hand be upon her to keep her safe and to guide her physical as well as spiritual journey. We may not be able to keep track of her, but we know God goes after every wandering sheep.
UPDATE: A week later, she was back in KL. I met her at the regular Saturday street-feeding I serve in. She said her sister outstation had no place for her, but at the very least, had put her in touch with a relative who got her a job as a cleaner. She kept apologizing to me for all the trouble, the money lost, etc etc. I just reminded her to live as daughter of God Most High, her Abba Father who has already opened new doors for her, bringing her back to Himself.
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