Shoe Story #2: Johnson and his parents

So, we’re trying something a little different on the blog J. You can read the first Shoe Story for more information.

This week, try to get into Johnson’s shoes:

I (Krista) met Johnson at one of the medical clinics that we did in Kisii, Kenya on the EPI project last week. He is a 12 year old boy (sorry, I didn’t get any pictures of him) and lives in a poor, rural village. There are three children in his family and he is the second born, also the only son. He and his parents came to the clinic and his father shared with the doctor that his symptom was that “he faints when I beat him.” The common practice in many African nations is to use physical discipline as a means of teaching children right and wrong, but this one seemed a little more severe and so I got the chance to sit down and talk with Johnson for a while. After speaking with Johnson for quite some time I learned some saddening information….Johnson was not only getting beaten at his home, he was also getting beaten at school. He described how he felt by saying “I have no peace” while trying to hold back a few tears as to not be seen as a weak boy. I also learned that when he is beaten by his father, his hands and feet are tied up while he is either whipped or cained. The fainting occurs because he probably has some sort of panic attach during it (understandably so). Johnson admitted that he has been thinking about running away from home.

I then got the opportunity to talk with Johnson’s father who said that Johnson was getting into a lot of trouble by stealing money from them, disobeying, etc. His father was very open and honest with the fact that he beats his son and this was a surprise to me at first. I thought, wouldn’t you want to hide something like that, especially from foreign doctors and counselors? But this man didn’t hide it; he really wanted help in trying to raise his boy up in the right way. He was terribly naïve and did what he thought fathers do to discipline their children….which made talking with him very non-threatening.

So I was able to talk to both his parents about providing a safe and loving environment for Johnson and rewarding him when he does things right, and some more counseling stuff J….and also nicely warned them that the physical discipline was destroying him and he might run away some day. The local pastor that we were working with also met Johnson’s parents and shared with them about trying to raise children up the right way and gave them some great encouragement and his contact information should they ever need help. The parents were extremely receptive to all of this advice, just soaking it up, which was amazing. It was like they were hearing it for the first time….like there really was another way to help Johnson.

At this point, I went and got Johnson and had him come so that we could all talk about it. It was like a mini family counseling sessionJ. Johnson was reassured that his parents do really love him and that they make mistakes, but more importantly his parents agreed, in front of him, to loving him in different ways now. The pastor was supportive and also told Johnson that he could come to him if he ever needed to talk to someone. We prayed with the family and all walked away feeling pretty hopeful about the situation.

About a half hour later I saw Johnson out of the corner of my eye as I was counseling another woman. When I was done talking with her, I asked him what was up and he said that his father allowed him to come and ask me if he could go with me. So, trying to hold my tears back this timeJ, I asked him to go get his father so I could see what was going on. While he was doing that, I thought about how I was going to break it to Justin that a 12 year old boy was coming with us to NepalJ. He went and got his dad and when they came back I told his father what Johnson had requested. His father explained that he gave him permission to come up and talk to me, but didn’t know he was going to ask to go with me. But then, what happened next was unbelievable! His father looked at me and said, “You know, I think the reason he wants to go with you is because you have shown him love. “ I was speechless for a few seconds and knew that God was there with us at that moment. It was like a light went on for this man and I really sensed that he was going to try and change. Before leaving he said, “When you come back next year, I will invite you to my house and you will see how it has changed.” With Johnson standing there, I explained why he couldn’t go with me and how I would be very delighted to come to their house if I came back to Kenya.

I left feeling more hopeful, although still saddened by the fear in this boy’s heart and what he has been through. I do trust God was at work that day and I believe that He will continue to be with that family. Please join me in praying for Johnson and his parents. Pray that they would begin to change and that Jesus would work miracles. Also, praise Him for bringing Johnson and his parents to the clinic that Friday afternoon.

All of this took place on my birthday....I thank God for allowing me to be used by Him that day! It was truly an amazing experience and a great birthday present.

Thanks!