Yesterday at the Joshua Project, Jaap, the after-school project coordinator, informed us of some specific cases of sexual and physical abuse that went on in the past and are still occuring with some of our kids. We of course were aware that the situations of many of the children that we work with are very unhealthy and it saddened me, but it hits a little closer to home when you hear specific stories of things that have happened to the very child you were just hugging and playing with 5 minutes ago. Two boys in particular have stolen my heart and the hearts of my teammates who work at the JP as well. Their names are Boya and Bungani, and they are absolutely crazy, with tons of energy and attitude, but with sweet hearts underneath it all. They’re 8 or 9 years old. When I hear of things they have been through and the family situations that they return home to each day, it tears me up. It’s so hard not to get angry and bitter towards the people who hurt these children, many of which are their own parents, but I realize that they have been hurt themselves, and as a result, they hurt others. Pray that God would break this bondage of generational sin! I don’t want these children to grow up and repeat the cycle and pain and abuse! Pray for the parents and for the children and that God would touch their hearts, speaking into them the truth that life can be full of joy and love through Christ. I’m so thankful that God is powerful far beyond my wildest dreams and that He is in control. It’s hard to surrender to that… to realize that there’s only so much I can do (very little, to be exact) and to trust that God sees the broken hearts of His children and will bind them up. A few verses which have spoken to me this week are found in Isaiah 55.
” ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, ‘ declares the Lord. ‘As the heaves are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ “(vs. 8 and 9)
And the following verses are such an encouragement about how everything that God is about will bear fruit in season. Nothing done in the power of God will ever amount to nothing or end up meaningless… He is always faithful.
” ‘As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace.’ ” (vs. 10 and 11)
In other news, our team will be going to Lesotho in less than 4 weeks! We will be spending two weeks there doing outreach, and we’ll be involved with orphan work, construction projects, and house visits. We’re all pretty excited!
Also, a praise item: The girls on my team who go on house visits for their internships have been praying like crazy for a certain tavern in the townships. It’s a place where alot of pain and hurt originates because men get drunk and come home and beat their wives, and many other sad things. So, they’ve been praying and fasting that God would shut down the tavern and do something crazy with that piece of property. They’ve been doing this for months now, not without discouragement at times, but they’ve kept on having faith, praying, and also building relationships with the owners of the tavern. Then, yesterday, the owner told Amber she’s tired of running the tavern and want to turn it into a store, or something else! Praise God! He truly is a God of Wonders and it’s awesome to see how He is working here in Jeffrey’s Bay!
