We're doing so well! God has been so good to us, nothing has gone wrong or even been difficult so far! We love our Zambian family, and we're learning a lot.
This past Tuesday we visited the community of Baluba, which is where the orphanage project takes place. This town is not really supported by the government, because they people created it themselves. They could not afford to live anywhere else, so they just started building their own homes. And since there is no building to keep the orphans in, they live with whoever will let them stay with them. The conditions are so heart-breaking. No electricity, no running water, no furniture, no furnishings. They live in small homes with just a mat and a cooker. Most cannot afford charcoal to even cook. One home we visited has 16 people living in it, and 11 of them were young children. I have so much anguish in my heart for these people! When we arrived at the first home, I just felt hopeless. How in the world were we supposed to help these people? Any small thing we could do would be worthless in the grand scheme. I felt so discouraged and just could not stop crying. And children would follow us everywhere, just thankful to receive a handshake from us. Why have we been so blessed when it seems that these people have not?
As we continued on, I started praying. I think that God has brought us here to make a difference, but not just as individuals. I think we are supposed to make a difference as His church, state and nation. Just our church could make a HUGE impact on this place. The project has been "given" land by the government, but that doesn't mean it is free. They've really been given the opportunity to buy a large area of land, but that opportunity is taken away after 6 months. The project must pay for the land and start building to prove they are really going to develop something. So even if they pay for the land, it can be taken away. To buy the land is about $1,200. Please be praying about what we can do to provide some hope to a situation that truly seems hopeless. I have to take a step back, breathe and remind myself that our hope comes from the Lord, and all things are possible with Him.
We had to opportunity to visit the Luanshya prison yesterday. Meg and I spoke to the women, while Tanner spoke to the men. There were only 4 women, but they had 2 babies who had to live in the prison with them because there was no one else to take care of them. They were a bigger blessing to us than I think we ever could have been to them. So kind, so loving, so encouraging to us! Tanner spoke to about 100 male inmates and presented a salvation message. From what I could see, about 15-20 men prayed to receive Jesus Christ into their lives. Praise God!! We pray that they were sincere and will be able to grow. The church Bernard pastors wants to go every week and counsel, but they are only permitted to if they give gifts of soap or something else, which they can't always afford. They also have the freedom to preach on the street, but they don't have the money to buy sound equipment. So much could be done here if they just had the means to make it happen!
We thank you all for your prayers, and we're very excited to come home and tell you about the many other things we have experienced by the grace of God!
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