Vulnerable

It is amazing to me the things which so quickly become common. To see poverty and suffering accepted so naturally, simply a way of life. I've been walking through Masi, my friends and I wandering the streets, weaving in and out through the various roads and back streets of the different divisions. The dirt paths are littered with broken glass more common than pebbles, garbage everywhere, over which the children run barefoot. The drainage ditches are clogged with every imaginable object and reek of sewage. Homes range everywhere from ramshackle tin shanties with no amenities, to comfortable little houses with electricity, water, and fenced yards. But our wanderings took us down the back roads and into the marshy wetlands to hunt for the forgotten. The vulnerable.

Vulnerable Children, a ministry of All Nations begun in 2008 by a CPx student, seeks to address the needs of children either without parents or with parents who are ill and unable to support their families. Due to a shortage of help, part of my work this year will be dedicated to this ministry. VC matches sponsors with families to provide a monthly food package and school uniforms, while the volunteers pursue mentoring relationships with the children and their families. And it was for these families my friends and I were searching.

One by one we found them, some with up to eight people sharing a one room shack barley 10 feet square and a single bed. One family of five was headed by their 23-year-old sister. Simply finding the house was treacherous, threading through narrow alleys and walking across broken boards and tiles. Their home was built on a rotting platform over the marshes, a tiny room with two filthy mattresses and a small cupboard. Their sister couldn't speak enough english to understand us and didn't have a job. Later we sat with two sisters, one with HIV and the other a rape victim. My heart broke as we prayed and wept with them together. The presence of the LORD came and wrapped itself around us, and He gave me the verse in Isaiah 61:1, "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners." I told them how Jesus wanted to heal their hearts and set them free.

This is why we're here. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (John 10:10b) Sometimes it seems overwhelming, hopeless, impossible. And then you sit with the least of these and one day you see a light come in their eyes, and hope where there was none. We cannot change anything but there is One who can, and so we follow Him where no one else will go to share His love with His children, and watch Him change their lives.

A Full Heart

We have left the mattresses from hell behind us and haven't looked back! Last week Tersia and I moved into the home of our friends Simon and Marieke for a month as they visit their family in the Netherlands. We are sleeping on real mattresses, drinking real coffee, and reveling in the space! It is a beautiful home and so peaceful, every morning as I have my coffee and rusks, I sit on my bed looking out over a breathtaking view of mountains and sea. The LORD looks after His children, and He is taking care of our hearts as well as our needs.

This weekend the new CPx students are arriving. I can't believe a year has gone by already! Never would I have guessed at that time what the LORD had in store for me now. My "orientation" with Baby Safe started out with a bang, it seemed I was going to experience everything at once! I was exhausted-mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually-and I've never been happier in my life. So often we are under this bizarre misconception that if we surrender to God's call it will be all struggle and difficulty. But our Father's desire is for us to live out of our hearts, for our glory is His!

On Wednesdays I accompany Bethany to TOP (Termination of Pregnancy) counseling at the hospital, and soon will take on counseling half the women myself. I am getting into a rhythm of administration and meetings, and will be taking on the Baby Safe finances. This past week we visited another children's home run by an Afrikaans couple who wanted to install their own baby safe. After hearing their hearts and seeing their work, Bethany informed them they would not only receive a safe, but a sponsor had donated enough to pay for it. Our own hearts were full to see their joy as they broke down and wept, so much that we wept with them.

My first Baby Safe meeting there was a baby abandoned in Masiphumelele, so Allison picked him up and brought him with us until he could be taken to a foster family. For two hours I held this beautiful baby, feeding him and holding him as he slept, praying in the spirit over his person and future. The following day, his mother returned for him! After reuniting her with her son, we sat and listened to her story and encouraged her in the LORD. What a blessings to see a happy ending come where there is often only heartbreak. Another exciting experience was a Baby Safe first, even for Bethany. A young mother with a month-old baby came to us in order to place him for adoption. A mother has NEVER asked to place a baby post-birth, and no pregnant women have gone through with an adoption after. We were able to take her to the baby house and sit with the social worker as they visited about the circumstances and heart issues. Both of us learned a tremendous amount.

Thank you for your prayers! Please lift up my team members Alli and Bethany as well as myself, the enemy has really been coming against us. These past weeks as we have been fasting and praying, we have all been troubled with nervous sleep, nightmares, even pain. I know it is a direct assault because of the damage we are doing to his kingdom, and he shall not prevail! With this lifestyle there is great struggle, but the rewards far surpass it. I am thankful every day that Jesus called me here, to this work and these people. He is filling my heart and my life. To Him be the glory!