Dearest Friends,
A SITUATION… LIFE AND DEATH
I can’t quite believe what I saw the Father do today. I called the lady in charge of the children for our afternoon show. I simply wanted to confirm the time and place where we would do the puppet show. I could hear a strange tone in her voice as she said, “I think it will be alright. I think you will be able to get in.”
When I asked her what the problem was, she said that there had been a “situation.” I asked for more information and what she said broke my heart.
Across from the place where the children were gathering for a puppet show, there had been a shooting. A young person was dead and a lady had been shot in the leg. People… children, teenagers, and adults in the community had witnessed something terrible. All I could think about was the children who live in such a dark place. I started to cry.
I told the puppet team what was going on and urged them to pray. When we finished, some called their families and asked them to pray. Some parents were at work the ones that were contacted promised to pray and encouraged their children to go and talk about Jesus. What deep trust in the Lord they all showed as they trusted Him with their precious children. You need to know that all of my puppet team wanted to go.
I felt that we would be very safe as the police were everywhere after the shooting. However I could not stop thinking about the children… their fear and their need.
As I was telling the Bible story, I thought so much about the words I was speaking. I talked to the children about how they could put their trust in Jesus and He would take away their fear. Surely, these words spoke to their hearts as some told me that they had asked Jesus to rescue them, to be their Savior. Praise God!
How can I describe to you the dark place that these children live? Just before I received the phone call, I had told the team that we were going to share in a terrible place for children to live. When we arrived, the fire department was washing the blood off the sidewalk. People had tied stuffed animals and mementos to a tree that stood beside the place where the murder happened. A little boy named Thomas helped us unload. He asked Heather if he could come home with her. This child did not know where home was for us, but reasoned that it must be better than what he knew.
Are you praying for us? Are you on your knees so that we can stand in the dark? Can you see the needs these children have? Do you hear their cry? We return to the inner city of Baltimore tomorrow.
I WANT TO HELP
At the insistent urging of several friends, I want to tell you about our website www.theagapepuppets.org. My friends are Christian businessmen who feel that I do not do a good job of asking for support for this work. I have always found this to be a difficult subject.
However, I trust their wisdom. So, the truth is, we really need some help. You can give on the website or you can send something to our mailing address. Please ask the Father what He wants you to. I am eternally grateful.
In Jesus, Linda for,
Meg
Jared
Seth
Krista
Heather
And Paige