“…me no Jesus, Slava no Jesus…”

(Continued from last week’s “Street Kid Stories” by Benjamin Bradley)

Slava was anxious and afraid to leave but the time finally came when he needed to say good-bye. Slava took that long walk down toward the street. He stopped and paused just as he was about to turn the corner and go out of sight. He turned around for a moment. It was as if he were pausing to see if there might be a another way no one had ever thought of before for him to stay, but the options had dried up. The only option left for him was to continue to walk all night and sleep in the office chairs. How could anyone ask him to give up the only bed he had a chance to sleep in?

After a year of fighting and struggling to believe in his new faith, he was far too tired to fight anymore. Finally, Slava’s shoulders fell and he turned and rounded the corner.

Would the words of God still remain in his little mind and heart through the many hard years we was facing in front of him? This kid had just been forced out of a safe situation by the powers of hell. All that could be done was watch him walk away because of a simple lack of a bed. It is hard enough to leave kids still wanting to sniff glue on the streets but how much harder when a child has become your brother in Christ.

Slava appeared again the next day. Somehow during the course of the night the Holy Spirit had given him the strength. With nothing but the promise that had been shared with him from the Bible almost a year ago, Slava decided to leave his friends who offered him a bed in exchange for renouncing Jesus.

Slava is currently living with an old lady who knew his mother. He has a bed for the winter, but more importantly, he still has his Jesus.

Excuse me mister, I want to eat!

(Taken from “Street Kid Stories” by Benjamin Bradley)

There is a small 15 year old boy who came to the Lord through the street outreaches last year. His name is Slava. He trusted Jesus and claimed the promises of Matthew 6:33 and believed that if he sought the Kingdom of God that Jesus would provide for him. He learned not only how Jesus provided for him but also how to witness and share his hope in Jesus with other kids.

Up to this point the news about Slava has mostly been good. It has given us reason to praise God and celebrate, but three days ago, Slava after a year of fighting and believing, finally gave up. His mother had died just a few weeks ago, and for the first few days after the death he lived with our ministry teams on a make-shift bed in the office, but legally he could not stay there for long. For a period of time after that he stayed with various Christian friends in St. Petersburg. For three long days he walked the streets of St. Petersburg then slept in our office chair at night. Finally, exhausted physically and spiritually, Slava gave up.

Over several days, changes were noticeable in him as he became more distant. When asked where he had slept he said it was with friends but there was an uncomfortable silence that followed these “unknown friends” comments. Then three days go he came to the office, he had been beaten and stabbed in the foot with a knife. When asked what happened he said that his friend had beaten him.

It’s not easy to understand Slava without a translator, but he was able to express that his new friends did not want him to hang around Christians and that they wanted Slava to leave town with them the next day. As much as the desire to offer Slava a place to stay was pushing on our hearts, the knowledge that we could not make such an offer without raising the anger of the local police.

As he was getting ready to leave, he needed something to carry his meager belongings in so he removed the Bible and other Christian items that had always been so important to him from his backpack. He explained that the presence of these items might upset his new friends. He kept saying in simple English “me friend no Jesus, Slava no Jesus.” He looked longingly at the Bible he was laying down.

To be continued…