1/8/13
8:45 am
I can't believe today is our last day of ministry. The time here in Africa has gone by so slowly and yet so quickly at the same time. This morning, my sweet Teresah/ trouble shared her testimony at worship. In 1999, her mother died and she became an orphan. Her grandmother wanted to take care of her, but was incapable, so she went to live with her mother's eldest sister. With her aunt, she was made to do all of the housework and not allowed to go to school. They told her "you are an orphan, your mother is dead, and you are nothing- so do your work and don't complain." She was not permitted to go to church but she hiked miles in order to go and make it back home before her aunt returned. She prayed to be delivered from that place, and eventually ran away. She said she knows God treasures prayer, and "the moment you call on God in trouble, he answers you. Never forget where God delivered you from. He is going to fight for you." She quoted Psalm 86:6-12 and Psalm 91:15, saying, "when I lived with my aunt, I was not comfortable or wanted, but now I am here and I have friends who care about me, family, clothes, food, and most importantly, I know who is God of my heart." She told the story of the footprints in the sand and shared that God is always carrying you and you are never alone. Wow! Her faith is so inspiring. I see God here so much.
Sandra did our devotion this morning at breakfast and quoted Colossians 3:17 reminding us to be grateful daily. Such a good reminder... AK
Teresah in her clinic!
1/8/13
1:40 pm
We spent the morning at Amazing Grace Children's Home. There are only 23 children there so we got to spend some great quality time with the kids. The director's name is Margaret and when she was 22, God told her to quit her job as a businesswoman and start an orphanage. Everyone thought she was crazy, but she prayed about it and knew it was the right thing. She really invests in the children and it's wonderful. She gave us a tour of the primary school, dorms, the kitchen, and the farm. While she was walking us around, she told us that she doesn't really want to take in more children because she cares more about quality than quantity. She said she wants to know each child's temperament and wants to get to know all of their hidden talents. "Many children are quiet but get lost in the numbers elsewhere. They have talents that you can't see unless you focus on them." I thought that was such a great point! Many people focus on the numbers, but world change happens when you invest in a few and teach them how to succeed.
We played with the kids for a little while and made some bracelets. We gave them dolls and frisbees and wrote notes on them. It was a fun day, but we are all pretty spent! We did get to see some precious two week old puppies, though. Their mommy was SO skinny :( Africans really do not value dogs as pets. It bothers me, but I have to realize that people here can hardly feed themselves, so they definitely can't take care of pets. Ernest and I played with them for a long time and wanted to take them home!
On the way back to Fiwagoh, our bus broke down! Yayyy! It took us like an hour to make a 15 minute drive, and I REALLY had to pee. Not fun. We are back now, and are having dinner with the kids soon. All of us are pretty exhausted and ready to be home. We have been talking about Five Guys in the Atlanta airport for DAYZZZ! I can't wait for ice :) Katie is walking around saying that God hates her for calling her into missions because who would EVER want to move to a third world country?! Hahaha. I feel like we inadvertently started our marathon with a sprint and now we are just running on fumes.
I just had a good conversation with Taeilorae, Merrill, Chelsea, Bethany, and the Crawfords. I basically just told them that I am still having trouble knowing what I want my life to look like. I want to find a balance between Jesus freak and party girl, but you can't really do either halfway. Tae said she was in the exact same position and she just had to pray through it. Merrill also surprisingly told me that she was a huge flirt and had to pray through that as well. They all recommended that I take some time off from boys for a while and just focus on me & God. I know that's something I SHOULD do, but knowing I should and wanting to do something are entirely different. I guess we'll see, but right now I just want a really hot shower and my own bed! Or Christie's front porch at Ekubo.... that works for me too!...AK
Making bracelets with the kids at Amazing Grace
The mama and her puppies... kills me.
1/8/13
9 pm
God brought me back down to earth real quick this afternoon after my grumbling sesh about showers and Five Guys. We had a fun afternoon learning about herbal remedies with Teresah in her clinic, but we were interrupted after about a half hour. Lucy came and knocked on the door telling us she had "some friends" for us to meet. We walked into the courtyard and all the children had formed a semi-circle, so we couldn't really see what was going on. We walked around and saw 3 small boys, obviously very dirty and very sick. Pastor Benson picked them up from a village outside Nairobi this morning. They are 8, 7, and 6, and they have been living on their own for SIX YEARS. Their mother abandoned them when the youngest was 3 months old. Pastor Benson got phone calls about these children, saying they went door to door every day begging for food. When he picked them up to bring them to Fiwagoh, it was the first time they had ever been in a car. They were so excited and kept asking Benson "are we moving? Is this a vehicle??" He said they were very hungry, and he asked if they liked bananas. They had never had one. He gave them each 2 to fill up their bellies, but an hour later the smallest one said his stomach was hurting. Benson pulled off the road and when the child "released himself" in the bush, he saw worms in his feces. His belly is so big and distended. They have had very few full meals in their lives. They all have scabies, and their skin was so rough from living outside for so many years.
Hearing their story, my heart ripped out of my chest. It is a HUGE blessing that these children have finally found a home here, but heart wrenching that it has taken so long. More heart wrenching, though, is the thought of the many many children that were not lucky enough to be picked up by Pastor Benson today. I couldn't stop the tears, and went upstairs to my writing spot on the balcony so the kids wouldn't see me cry. Anton walked by and came to sit with me. I was pretty inconsolable, and he told me that he used to be in their position. He never knew his mother, and she left 5 kids when Anton was just a baby. He and his sister were put into an orphanage in Russia- apart from the rest of his siblings. In that orphanage, they were beaten, barely fed, and barely bathed. But when he was 5, he and his sister were adopted into a stable, loving, Christian family in America- and if it weren't for that, he wouldn't be here in Africa today serving God. As he was telling me this, Teresah's friend Lucy came up to comfort me. Of course, the idea of an 18 year old African orphan coming to comfort me just made me cry harder. She told me that God is always looking out for each and every one of us, and those boys were brought here for a reason. "They are orphans no longer- they have been adopted by God and so have we." Wow. Words can't explain my heavy heart tonight... AK
All 207 of the orphans at Fiwagoh crowded around the 3 boys to pray and welcome them to the family. I will never forget this moment as long as I live.
This picture was taken of John 2 the day he arrived at Fiwagoh. He is the youngest, the one who was left at 3 months old.
The picture on the right is John now! What an amazing difference! Just look at the light in his eyes! SPONSORSHIPS SAVE LIVES. Ask me how you can save a life today.
No comments:
Post a Comment