Saturday, February 5, 2011
February 5,2011
Well thank the Lord I am feeling well again. Having 2 bouts of food poisoning in a week and a half was not fun!! This past week the Lord was really convicting me about being like Martha in the bible. Martha was busy, busy doing this and that but not doing what was more important, sitting at the feet of Jesus, like Mary. Again, I am praying that the Lord would direct my steps to the areas he would specifically call me to serve and intervene. We had a church planning meeting this past weekend and I will be on the planning and leadership team for children’s church, mercy ministries and college campus outreach. I know, already you may be saying, “have you forgotten what you said in the few sentences before?” But I have prayed about being involved in these areas and being a small church still, there is more each of us must do.
School is going so well and my heart is being knit even more to my pupils. I have 2 new kids that started this week, so my grand total is 28. One of them was out for 4 weeks with the measles, the other transferred from another school. By the grace of God, most of the students are able to grasp and understand the lessons and there continues to be a big improvement in class participation and hmm.. lets say classroom etiquette. The school provides a meal 3 days a week, a soy based porridge that is high in protein and other nutrients. I was noticing that on the other 2 days the vast majority of the kids did not have a lunch come mealtime. This was causing sleepless nights for me and I certainly was not going to come with a lunch and eat it in front of them when they had nothing. Ever part of my being turned in repulsion to such an idea. So, now on Monday and Thursday nights I cook for my class for the following days. I have seen a big improvement in behavior after doing this for 2 weeks. A hungry belly is a distraction for sure!
I started another “tradition” with my kids as well. At the end of the day I call them one by one to come and stack their chairs at the front of the room and as they leave I give them a big hug. I don’t think I ever would have thought that such a small gesture would make such a huge difference. There are about 10 kids that I either never saw smile or rarely saw smile. Now as they wait in anticipation for their hug they sit unable to hide a smile on their face, even giddy with excitement. What joy this brings to my heart and even tears to my eyes. May they feel the love of their heavenly Father through me.
January 29, 2011
Being in a place of such need on so many levels can be somewhat of an overwhelming thing. I spent most of the morning Saturday walking the streets of downtown Ndola. I had nothing on my agenda other than to observe the people and pray. My heart was burdened. As I walked passed the post office I saw a young girl and boy gathering up the broken pieces of a glass Fanta bottle. They smiled at me as I passed and I saw that they were using a piece of the broken glass as a bowl like cup to gather what sips remained in the broken bottle. I decided to take them to a local bakery and allow them to choose a drink and something to eat. (We picked up a third child on the way J) It took them about 15 minutes to decide what they wanted, I think there were just too many good things to choose from. As we left the bakery they said, “thank you madam..thank you” and they skipped along side me as we headed back in the direction of the post office. These 3 kids are regular beggars on the streets of downtown Ndola. I see them on a regular basis and don’t know much of their story. I do know that it is not required for kids to go to school and it is up to the discretion of the parent or caregiver. I have gathered from observation that at least 2 of the 3 stay with a grandmother who is blind. She sits at a central location near one of the bust stops. She is always sitting in the same place with her hand out waiting for those who pass to assist her. The grandchildren “report” back to her and check on her throughout the day. I am sure these children have mastered the art of knowing whom to target and I try not to be a “sucker” but it’s hard. The street kids will almost always come up to me, for the mere fact that I am white. Here white equals money and I am sure word spreads quickly about the ones that give. One thing that I decided is that I will not give the kids money, they will say, “Madame, I am hungry..can you give me money” Instead of giving them money I will go and buy food and give it to them. That way I am certain that they actually eat. It would be easy to go broke doing this but it is something I do not do every day. I am learning to say no and to be lead by the Spirit in whom to help. Its hard, I will tell you that much. Towards the end of the day I saw an old woman sitting under covering of an entrance to a shop. Near by a young boy was begging from some of the patrons parked near by and an even younger boy sat next to the old woman. As I got closer I realized the woman was blind. I would probably not be wrong in my assumption that these were her grandchildren and that their parents had died. I was actually on my way to get something to eat as I passed them. I was surprised that as I passed not one of them approached me to beg..shocked rather. It was about 3 or 4 pm by this time and I had not eaten anything yet that day but as I passed them my focus shifted from the hunger I felt to the thought of their hunger. How does a blind grandmother care for 2 young boys and how dependant is she upon them to beg for money so that they can all eat? I crossed the street to a corner grocery store and bought a bag of rolls, a large package of bologna, some chips, fruit juice and candy bars for the 3 of them. I had food at home I could make and waiting an hour longer was not that big of a deal. I crossed the road again as a light rain began to fall and put the food at the grandmothers feet without saying a word, then continued walking on my way. I had not gotten very far before I felt a small hand grasping mine. It was the older of the two boys; he kissed my hand and thanked me over and over again..he was about 9. I continued walking as the rain grew heavier, I didn’t bother to even open my umbrella. It was as if I didn’t notice the rain soaking me or maybe I just didn’t care. In the scheme of things and what I had experienced today and seen it just didn’t matter to me. I felt like crying but continued walking not aware of anything around me but only on what I had seen so far, my feet must have been on auto pilot because before I knew it I was boarding a bus for home.
January 25, 2011
There is a song that I have been meditating on this week and it a song that always brings me to tears. Most of the time I cannot even sing the words because I am crying too much. Today I was determined to “get the words out” I sat in my living room singing it as the tears poured and my voice cracked but it came from a heart of worship and gratitude for all my Savior has done and for his faithfulness time and time again. Here are the words to the song, may they move you and cause you to reflect on the faithfulness of God in your life through the good and bad times.
He’s Always Been Faithful
Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God’s hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.
I can’t remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can’t remember one single regret
In serving God only, and trusting His hand
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful to me.
This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I’ve heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He’s always been faithful, He’s always been faithful
He’s always been faithful to me.
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