"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in His holy habitation.
He settles the fatherless in families...." Ps. 68:5,6a
God is so busy here and it is hard to know which story to tell first of all He is doing. We started the day with a beautiful boat ride which we launched just down the road from our house onto Lake Victoria. We traveled for about 45 minutes along the coast, passing fishermen and small villages along the way to visit the children's home at Bethany Village, operated by the Africa Renewal Ministry (ARM), with which we partner. This place was such a breath of fresh air after the desperate conditions in which we have viewed orphans all week. Here we found, set among lush palms and grassy lawns, individual "homes" where hundreds of children live in "families" with a "mother" who is a local widow who has been carefully chosen and hired to live with and care for 12 to 15 children in each house. This facility has its own school and medical clinic and shows to us all what can happen when the believers in the States funnel their resources through a system that is intentional and accountable. It was a beautiful thing to see these children receive godly love and instruction and live in the truth of the Gospel. Needless to say, our hearts were encouraged and spurred on to see this happen elsewhere, proving that it can be done!
After lunch, some of us went to the Loving Hearts Baby Home, also run by ARM. The conditions there would rival any facility you would find in the US. We returned with Kevin and Nicole, our team members who had visited there all morning, looking for the child that God would connect them with, as they have been pursuing the adoption process for almost 2 years now. Please pray for them in their search for God's will, as they have had many closed doors, but still feel strongly that God is leading them to adopt internationally. Pray for open hearts and doors and for them to receive some encouragement in this process. It has been a privilege to walk beside them this week in just a tiny bit of their journey in this and now their burden has become ours as well. It was such a blessing to see the sweet Ugandan women who lovingly care for these babies and to see the Scriptures printed all over the walls of this home. Places like this give us great hope in the midst of much despair. Praise the Lord for the way He is at work in the hearts of His people. Pray for their continued obedience.
But as we were visiting this place of hope, Beth and Sarah had to face the painful and harsh reality of returning Marvin to Airfield school where he lives. It was not a pretty picture and there was no easy way of doing it and no other options. This is one of those situations where we are completely helpless to do anything for him because of the corrupted system in which he finds himself. This is a very personal example of the frustration that is experienced over and over again with the poorly run children's homes that are in place here.
At the same time, we have also seen much worse conditions.
Part of our team, Mark and his daughter, Kristie went to a school in the slums of Kabalagala, not far from here today. I had visited Rays of Hope on Tuesday with Emilie who is working each day there on her summer-long trip. Mark's sister had made dresses out of pillowcases and sent them with him and he went to deliver them. Here is a school that has been established for years for the street orphans of that slum, to give them a safe place to spend the day, have a meal a day and a semblance of an education, while receiving Christ's love and the Gospel through the hands of His people. There is no children's home for these. When the school day is over, they return to the streets. This is when the need becomes overwhelming and we can feel despair with the levels of corruption and the helplessness we feel. Thank the Lord He is in control, sees it all and is Sovereign. We can trust Marvin, Kabalagala, Mercy Home and Airfield school to His wise and loving care. Oh, let us be tools in your work, oh God.
"I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute justice for the needy."
Ps. 140:12
No comments:
Post a Comment