Dearest Friends,
WE WANT MORE!
The other day we did a program that was such a blessing to all of us. The children especially enjoyed everything we did. When we finished, they kept asking us to keep going. They said, “We want more! We want more!” It was an especially sweet show because these children live in a really difficult place and it was a joy to bring them joy. They smiled and laughed and many of them asked Jesus to rescue us. They began to pray softly and got louder and louder as they continued to pray.
These children live in a terrible place where they see things that children should not see. They have knowledge of things that no child should know. For a little while, at the puppet show, they were children. Their pain and hurts were forgotten as they smiled and laughed. I wanted to cry for them, but they do not need my tears. They do need your prayers. Ask the Lord to take them deep in their new faith. Ask Him to send His angels to stand around them and protect them. They live in a dangerous place.
The Christian Community Center
We were all praying that it would not rain because this show needed to be under a big tree outside the center. We needed the space so that we could get all the children and parents in a place where they could see the show. God gave us a beautiful day. So many children gathered under the big tree with their parents and heard God’s rescue plan for them. I asked the children to go and tell their leader, Mr. Tom, if they had prayed with me. One little boy found him afterwards and told him that he really needed to talk with him. The little boy was so happy because he had asked Jesus to be his Savior.
The children really impressed us with their kindness, their thoughtfulness, and their desire to help us. All of them were eager to talk with us and share their lives. Of course, they couldn’t really talk to Billy and Drake, because they were busy changing a tire on the trailer. This was our first flat tire of the summer and hopefully our last.
We have been going to this place for many many years. Always the children are eagerly waiting for our arrival. Always they tell me some of the saddest stories. A little boy was born with only four fingers, and he was talking to me about how the boys at school were making fun of him. Another little girl told me how she was very confused because her uncle was now her father. Her birth father and mother had never married, but she didn’t understand why her father’s brother was asking her to call him father. I really did not know what to say. These children’s live are so messed up. I just talked to her about how God was a good Father who she could always depend upon.
Two Inner City Shows
When we arrived at one place and the children saw up, they began to shout, “It’s Agape! It’s the puppets! It’s the puppets!” At another show, the children were crying because they thought we had forgotten them. One group of children made me promise I would come again and that I would never forget them. It was an easy promise to make. How could you ever forget such precious children?
A little boy was really crying hard at one show that we did. He told me that he was afraid of balloons. Later, I saw him after we had finished the program. He was smiling and told me that he wasn’t afraid anymore. He said that he had asked Jesus to be his Savior.
Please pray for the children in these places. It is hard to describe the places where they live. They are surrounded by brokenness and decay. Too many people in their lives disappoint them. It is hard to explain to them that there is a Father who loves them when too many of them have never known such a father. Many of the children at these shows told me that they asked Jesus to be their Savior. Please ask God to help them grow in their faith and shield them from the wickedness that surrounds them. There are many more shows to tell you about, but the hour is late, and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Please keep praying.
In Jesus,
Linda for Billy, Drake, Kelsey, Mary, and Leslie