Dearest Friends,
One Little Boy
We are working with an amazing group of people who have great vision and a clear plan for reaching their country for Jesus Christ. Each summer, they have camps for over 6,000 children. At one of these camps, a father whose faith opposed Christianity gave his son permision to attend. He said, Go to their camp. Enjoy all of their good food, but do not listen to them. While the little boy was at camp, he asked Jesus to be his Savior. The teacher asked him how he would explain this to his father. The little boy smiled and said, I will say that this is the tastiest thing that they served.
Poverty
Like so many, many places in the world, this is a very poor country. The children from the mountains live in remote villages and often arrive at camp wearing clothes made of patches. They are always hungry. By God’s grace, they are also very open to hear about Jesus Christ. Poverty, when met with the kindness and generosity of local believers can be a sweet opportunity to talk about Jesus Christ.
Orphanages and a Shelter
The gift that the Father has given us is beyond our expectation. This week we have taught 16 hours of classes. Yesterday, Thursday, we went to both an orphanage and a shelter to do programs. We shared with many children, teenagers and mothers. Keep praying! Great need and extreme poverty opens doors.
Children crowd the orphanages because of poverty and the break down of the family due to drugs and alcohol abuse. At 16, they are forced to leave and with little education, they have a bleak future. Most of the girls face a life of prostitution and the boys will usually become involved in some type of criminal activity. When you look at the children at the shelter and the orphanage your heart breaks. Their eyes are so full of hurt. Please pray that they wil put their trust in Jesus who is the only one who can take their pain away.
Though we are not allowed to pray with the children, we can tell them how to pray. God will finish His work in them.
The Homeless
We are blessed to train and equip many people one is a young woman named N*****a. She spends her days with people that others do not see, the deaf and homeless. Often, she is forced to move, 4 times in the last 2 years, because no one wants tto be around those people. As she was telling me this story, she smiled and talked about God’s providence, how He always cares for her.
As a result of this ministry, many homeless people have been reunited with families. Many have come to faith, but they sturggle to live changed lives. They steal to eat, whether believers or unbelievers. Now, some are begining to try and find small jobs so that they will not steal. Slowly, the Father is changing them.
T****g
T****g is a homeless man who lost his toes to frostbite. He walks with a cane and lives in a sewer where he witnesses to the other people who share his sewer. Since he has trusted jesus, he has been trying to work so that he will not have to steal. He begs and works to collect bottles that he can sell. This is the only work that he can get. His desire is to provide for others in the sewer so that they will not steal. He came to one of our programs. His eyes are full of light and he is usually smiling.
His life challenges me to examine my own life. Do I see others needs? if I lived in a sewer, would I be thinking about others or would I be thinking about myself? I will tell you truthfully that I do not like my answers.
I am so blessed but what do I do with my blessings? You are so blessed. What are you doing with your blessing?
In Jesus,
Linda, Sam, and P***l
Big Prayer Request
The ladies who work with children here and some of the Bible school students have embraced this ministry with enthusiasm. They love it and practiced over 5 hours to prepare for their first show. The children are thrilled! However there is someone here from another country who objects to the idea of puppet ministry. This person is in a position to cause these dear ladies enormous trouble and is already causing us big problems. They could be forbidden to use the puppets and other tools we brought. God miraculously delivered our equipment safely to this place. Please ask Him to remove this problem and turn this persons heart. Please pray for us.