It is not just an overseas project...

Has it really been over two months?? It's hard to believe I survived being this far away from Africa for this long. It is so crazy to think that a place I was only in for two months has completely taken my heart. It hurts to be away from Africa. It is literally taking my breath away to look back at these pictures and recall the brokenness and yet beauty, the poor and yet rich, the sorrow and yet joy that a camera lens cannot capture. I was blessed beyond measure to be able to experience all that I did. 

Even though I want more than anything to go back right now, I know God is using me here where I am and teaching me what I need to learn. It has not been an easy transition these past few months coming back to the states with losing a few things I had before I left, hearing unexpected news that is completely life changing (which I am very excited about), and being in a culture that once was my whole life and now is foreign to me. But, God is sovereign and faithful and He knows what He's doing with me. "He's got this," is what I am constantly telling myself throughout each day.

And how could I forget the people around me? They need Jesus just as much as an orphan in Africa does, believe it or not. How can I be an overseas missionary if I cannot even turn to my current neighbor and tell them about Jesus? It is just not an overseas project, it is a lifestyle I must live daily, no matter where I am. I cannot wait to go love on the people on my campus today. 

Cheers, 

Alex

Want to read more from Alex?  Go to http://alexgraceanthony.blogspot.com

Accept the Command

So . . . Wow God is good.

I just had a precious memory from my trip to Zimbabwe, and I wanted to share it with you.

I had been paying no attention to our schedule because I got to the point on my trip where I couldn't keep up with our crazy schedule and I was just thinking, "Okay, I'm up for anything today."

So to be honest, I was not in a good place in my life. I was farther away from God than I wanted to admit to myself or anyone else. But as we pull into a very rural primary school where a lot of kids didn't even know English (which is very uncommon in Zim), I remember thinking, "God, this is going to be the best day of my life."

Over the past few years prior, I lost my joy and heart for a lot of things, including Africa, even though my life dream was to work with little African children and love them like Jesus does.

So as we pull up to this school with my heart in terrible condition, the past few years of neglecting God and ignoring all the plans He has for me was completely forgotten.

We get out of the car and the school is awesome! Like I said before, this was a very poor and rural area. A lot of the kids have their only good meal at that school. The headmaster of the primary school walked us around campus and took us to different classrooms. We got stares and giggles and smiles. When class was dismissed, a BUNCH of kids came darting in our direction. One of the girls on my team and I were suddenly surrounded by at least thirty small African children, all fighting over who gets to touch (not just touch, but hold in amazement) my white skin and hair. Oh, how crazy about my hair they were!

In that moment, all I could think was "God is so good. God is so good. God is so good." I looked at these kids who were in bad shape and dirty and broken, and I saw Jesus. I saw joy in their eyes that I had never seen before. And in my heart, I felt a kind of love that I have never felt with anyone or anything before. I didn't know someone could love so much. This isn't the kind of love you get for a boyfriend or girlfriend, it was a kind of love that could only come from God. It was a love that I can only experience again with how I love Christ, and the thing is, I love Christ even more than I love those beautiful creations of God in Zimbabwe.

It breaks my heart to say that unfortunately, a lot of those children are lost. The reality is those who are lost are going to hell. They don't have anyone telling them about the Lord because of us Christians. We aren't doing our DUTY. We aren't doing our COMMAND. When I went to Zimbabwe, people were telling me left and right how special I was for going there. They were telling me how wonderful it is that I am doing this for God. But we are missing the point!! I did NOTHING significant for going, I was simply accepting the call God has given me to go.

It should be normal for Christians to go tell people about Jesus. It should not be significant when one Christian we know actually goes.

We should not say that only specific Christians have the calling to go be missionaries. When Jesus said to His disciples, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men," He didn't say, "and I will make you fishers of men" for no reason, He meant it. And when He said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations," He didn't say, "only go if you are called." This was a command for all Christians. So, if we assume that we have to have a specific calling, then why don't we say we have to have a specific calling to stay? Because as far as I can tell, Jesus meant all of us.

So, go. GO AND TELL THE NATIONS ABOUT THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU! Don't keep it in, don't contain it. Start a revival in our nation and in our world. You can make a difference. You can make disciples.

Accept the command!

-Alex A

2015 Zimbabwe Orphan Care

“It will not do to say that you have no special call to go to China. With these facts before you and with the command of the Lord Jesus to go and preach the gospel to every creature, you need rather to ascertain whether you have a special call to stay at home.”
-Hudson Taylor 

It's Not Easy

Recently I went on a trip to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in Africa. What can I say? It was the most incredible place I have ever seen. I was so blessed to have been able to have that experience. I was there for 52 days. We visited orphanages and schools and shared the Gospel with them. Over all, 54 kids that we know of received Christ. It was so awesome! The people were wonderful. They were all so polite and the children spoke in unison when you asked them, "How are you?" They would each say something like, "I am very well. Thank you and how are you?" They spoke with rich accents and had rich dark skin and rich bright smiles. They were amazing. They treated us "makiwah's" (white people) like kings and queens. I will never forget their hospitality and generous hearts. 

Here's the problem: I left. I don't know what to do with myself because I don't see my precious friends Tando and Michael every day. My heart is broken because I can't play with the greatest orphaned babies that ever existed. My eyes are filled with tears because I can't hug my friends at church every Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday. Where did the time go? 
My heart did not come with me back to America. It stayed in Bulawayo with my friends and orphans of whom I came to love so dearly. I miss them. I miss the baby snot I would have to wipe off their face every time I held them. I miss the white girl hip hop jam outs I would have with my team at one of Tawanda's concerts. I miss the freedom of going into schools and praying with students and sharing with them the love of Christ and what He did for them. I miss telling them that Jesus wants a relationship with them if they only surrender their lives to Him. I miss the responses. I miss the hearts of each person I came into contact with. I miss the thirst and hunger to hear truth. I miss being asked the hardest questions. 
 
I miss Zimbabwe. It's not easy not being there. It's not easy being here. 
The hardest thing I ever had to do was leave Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. 

But God is a faithful God. If it weren't for Him, I would not be able to get through the day. He constantly provides strength and endurance. He is even giving me countless opportunities to serve Him in America. 
So, Africa, until I return, I will be praying for you. Know that I love you. Know that you have stolen my heart. But most importantly, know that God is with you. You are so important to Him. Don't forget about me. I'll be back soon. 

 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.  I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.  However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."   Acts 20:22-24

 

-Alex

Zimbabwe

Last week in Zim

Hey everyone!!! With one week left in Zim, things are going very well! This week has been very emotional because we are doing things and going places for the last time.
 
But God continues to bless us with amazing opportunities! In total, (so far) 54 kids have gotten saved this summer!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!   Thank you all for your prayers and love!

-Alex

Jesus Saves

Friday was the last day of a 4-day Bible club at a local primary school. I was entrusted with the task of sharing the gospel with over 200 children between the ages of 5-14 that afternoon. I was nervous all morning.

What if I said the wrong thing?

What if they had questions that I couldn't answer?

What if there was no response at all? 

When time came for the Bible club, our team was running a bit behind schedule. I only had 10 minutes to share about the most important topic that could ever be shared. I was more than a little nervous. But that's when it hit me: none of this was about me anyway. God knew before the earth was formed that we would be running late. He knew that I would have the chance to share the gospel. It was only through Him that I had the opportunity to share, and so I could be confident knowing that the response depended on Him and Him alone. God can do amazing things when we leave the response up to Him!

After sharing the gospel, I invited the kids to come talk to me or my teammates if they had any questions. God moved, and I had the awesome experience of being able to lead 7 girls to Jesus! They were so full of questions, and had such a genuine desire to know the truth. I shared with them that the angels rejoice in heaven when someone comes to know Jesus. Their precious mouths literally dropped open in amazement at the knowledge that they were making angels sing.

Please pray that God would continue to use us to introduce others to Himself, and that we might give the glory to Him and Him alone.

-Becca

I love my teammates

Happy July, everyone!

As I sat pondering what to write, I began discussing with my teammates some ideas for this blog post.  Then it hit me… I LOVE MY TEAMMATES.  So I must tell the world.

First of all, you should know that one of my greatest concerns about coming to Zim was spending the summer with 5 other girls.  The horror!  I could only imagine the cat fights and bickering, and that was enough to trouble my soul.  So I specifically requested prayer for that and moved on.

Orientation came along and butterflies filled my belly as I walked into the room where my future teammates stood.  What were they like?  Would they like me?  Would we all get along?  I met them all, and quite frankly, still wasn’t sold out to the idea that I’d be living with them for the next two months.  Little did I know that these girls would become sisters and best friends and counselors and coworkers all in one. 

See, I’d be lost without these five.  We laugh together (in excess).  We cry together.  We pray together.  We worship together.  We have our hearts broken together.  We love.

The thing is, this love is not from ourselves because quite honestly, we are fallen, selfish people.  We get annoyed when people don’t press certain buttons on the microwave or they pronounce words wrong.  But we can choose to love.  We can love because we have our eyes focused on the One who IS love.  The One who first loved us that we may love one another.  And by that love for each other, others may therefore love Him.

"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35, ESV)

So, friends, I challenge you:  how are you loving your fellow believers?  This is how our ministry is effective—people know us by how we love.  Make that your goal today.  Go out of your way to show someone love, even if they are not particularly loveable.  See how God will use that.

Prayer needs: 
Please pray for us in these final weeks of our trip.
Pray that God would give us love abounding for one another and the people we minister to.  May His glory be known by how we love. 

-Emily

It's a Party in... ZIMBABWE!

We performed for our local church's youth talent show. As Americans, we had to show some pride, then show some love to our Zimbabwean friends.  Here are the lyrics for the part we wrote:
 
"I hopped off the plane at BYO with my skirt and my Chacos on,
Welcome to the land of sadsa and beans, mmmmm, we know it's gonna be yum!
Hopped in the car, here we are for the first time,
Look to the right and we see the Bulawayo sign,
This is all so crazy,
Everybody's speaking Ndebele! (And Shona!)
My tummy's turning cause I'm feeling kinda jet lagged,
Back is hurting from this big bag,
But then dude turned on the radio,
And Tawanda's song was on (3x)
.....................................................
It's a party in ZIMBABWE!"

Undeserving Love

Church lock-ins. So many thoughts come to mind, good and bad.

But this past weekend, we had the privilege of joining a local church at their young adults lock-in. I had been a part of several lock-ins in the past with youth at my church, but never one with young adults. It was an experience I will never forget.

Our night was filled with many games, snacking, bible studies, worshiping and praising God, and prayer time.
Our theme was North vs. South Fears, so the idea was that we had people from the Northern hemisphere and people from the Southern hemisphere, and we were gonna see how our fears compared or contrasted.
I did not know what to expect, whether our fears would be different or not, but I knew the evening would not be a waste.

Once we started the Bible study, we all had to write down major fears we had and we shared them in an open group. One girl stood up and listed off a lot of different fears, but stumbled a little in saying her last one, clearly showing this was the fear that is weighing her down the most. She said she fears her dad will die without him knowing that she loves him and then she sat down. Hearing that struck a nerve in me, but I could not quite put a finger on it, because so much has happened in my time here in Zimbabwe that so many other emotions and thoughts flooded my mind.

After enough people shared we broke into groups and I was placed in the same group as this girl and two other girls. We again shared our fears and talked more of them. When the girl stated again that she did not want her dad to die without him knowing she loved him she broke down in tears and I finally remembered why this resonated with me. I too went through a point in life where I struggled to find love for my parents. Without even saying anything, we simply sat there weeping together and praying to God.

After we finished going through the group time I was able to take her aside and hear her story. We had very different situations concerning our parents, but the bottom line was we had both come to a point in our lives where we lost love for others. I was able to share my story and how the only reason I found love for others again was through Christ. I had to really understand His undeserving love he pours out to me. I had to understand what He did for me on the cross. I had to believe in that and let Him change me and my heart. Only by Christ, was I able to find real love to have for  others. We were able to talk a lot more about it, and she was so encouraged to hear someone else having struggled with the same thing before and to hear truth.

I was not prepared going into that lock-in to have my heart broken for someone else's struggle so similar to mine. To have God use such a private and not talked about much part of my life. It showed me that God uses everything in our past to glorify Himself. To draw others to Himself.

Please continue to pray for us. 
-Allie
 
Pray for the girl I met and that she can find love for her father and others. 
Pray that as God continues to show us his undeserving love he has for us, that we can keep pouring it out to others we come in contact with.

I want to have a relationship with Jesus

Sharing the Gospel has always been something that I love to do. However, before coming on this trip, I hardly ever shared it with anyone. This was mostly because I had a "really good" excuse:  people in my area already know about the Gospel. Over the last few weeks God has shown me that even if someone knows about the Gospel, it does not mean they are saved or know what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. 

We went to several schools this week and shared the Gospel with them. At one of the schools, the students asked SO many questions!! They are truly hungry for God's Word! One of the girls that I talked to was near tears as she told me she can't understand the Bible. "I want to have a relationship with Jesus," she said. "I just don't understand the Bible." She told me what translation she used, and I immediately knew why it was hard for her to understand. I recommended she get a Bible that is a different translation so she can read it and understand. She left so excited to start reading! Another day this week we went to a school and asked if they knew what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus, and ten of them got saved!! 

Please pray that our team will be able to lead more to Christ this week and that God will use us in awesome ways! 

-Alex

If I had nothing, would I still cling to Christ?

We visit village M once a week to hold a church service. Every time we go, I am encouraged and challenged by what I see. Before coming to village M, I had never witnessed such poverty first hand; it overwhelmed. Nothing. They had nothing... yet, during the services, people raised the voices and hands high for one reason--to praise honor and glorify the one true God. Despite their circumstances, they display genuine faith, worship and love for our beautiful Savior. If I had nothing, would I still cling to Christ?

Please pray that our team continues to put faith in Christ, no matter the circumstances.
 
-Jessica

Seen & Set Free

"I have seen. I have heard. I AM."

These are fragments of the words which God spoke to Moses in the burning bush. They are also the same three lines written on dozens of burning bush crafts completed this week at N Church. 

It would have been easy to miss these words. In the one-room church where we held our Bible Club, kids clustered around benches, scrambling over extra sheets of red tissue paper, pin brads, and uncapped markers. But even if someone tapped at my shoulder every other second, I said it everywhere I turned:  

"I have seen. I have heard. I AM."

As I get older, I'm starting to realize this is all I need to hear. So many things can take captive those who Christ can make free. Here we especially see the captivity of financial struggle. Our team hears of a young man's experience living on the streets, or we spot another woman at the end of the day, head in her hands, drooping over a table of unsold snack chips, the wrappers as shiny as aluminum. How can the message of Christ free those in circumstances like this? How can the kids of this county understand that Jesus' sacrifice releases them even from the struggle they were born into?
Maybe if they hear it enough. Maybe if we speak about how God saw and heard his suffering people long ago, they can trust that he does the same today. 

When we finished the Bible Club yesterday, we drove out of the suburb and passed a young boy's house. It was P. He stood outside, the sun hitting his smile. He proudly held up his burning bush. And as he stepped past that crooked mailbox into an open doorway to dinner or no dinner, to lots or little family, I knew the promise was still the same for him.

I have seen. I have heard.

Please pray that the gospel shared during the Kids Club would be impressed in these kids' hearts. Pray for their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Pray that their families might know Christ and receive his liberating grace.

-Ellen

Experiencing Truth

Over 165 million gallons of water flow over Victoria Falls every minute. An adult male lion's roar can be heard from up to 5 miles away. The night sky of the Southern hemisphere contains more visible stars than that of the Northern hemisphere. These facts are based on research, research that I, myself, have never done. However, this week I have experienced all three of these things, and I can confidently state that truth that comes from experience is much more profound than truth that comes from knowledge alone. I had heard all these facts before, but without experiencing them for myself they were little more than useless bits of information floating around my already cluttered mind.

Now, each of these facts is attached to a memory, to a moment when these awesome truths became real to me. I will never forget standing in the "mist" (which is really more of a torrential downpour) coming off of Victoria Falls, my arms flung wide, not caring that my feet were beginning to squish in my shoes or that my teeth were beginning to chatter. I reveled in the moment. Each minute that I stood there a few drops out of those 165 million gallons landed on my upturned face. The sheer enormity of Victoria Falls became very real to me in that moment. How small was I compared to this natural wonder. How much smaller am I compared to the God of Wonders. And yet, when I stand before Him, with my arms flung wide, it's the enormity of his love that showers my upturned face. 

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 8:38-39

I will never forget being awakened at 2:00am by the bellowing roars of a restless male lion. I didn't care about the time of day or the amount of sleep I was missing. I knew that I had to hear it again. Wrapped tightly in a blanket, sitting on the balcony of our cabin, I waited. A combination of anticipation and the nip in the air had me shaking when I finally heard it again. The power in a lion's roar became real to me in that moment. Oh, how I longed to hear from this wild lion, this king of the jungle. How much more should I long to hear from the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the King of kings. The reality of experiencing His voice should drive me to listen with anticipation and long to hear him speak again and again and again. 

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear." -Matthew 11:15

I will never forget the first time I saw the Southern Cross. The utter brilliance of the stars in the southern hemisphere made the light of the stars in the northern hemisphere seem like little more than a distant memory of a dull glow. Basking in the radiance that these stars produced, the rest of the world faded around me. Nothing else mattered, only the brilliance of the light of the sky. Nothing else matters, only the brilliance of the Light of the World. The things of this world grow strangely dim in the light of the One who knows all, sees all, and gave all for us. 

"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" -John 8:12

God has allowed me to experience His majesty in brand new ways this week. His power and splendor have been displayed all around me. And because of this, God's glory has become real to me. 

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims

his handiwork." -Psalm 19:1

• Please pray for God to continue to allow us to experience Him in new ways.
• Pray that we will continue to rely on Him alone to sustain us in the busy weeks ahead.

-Becca

When God's Plans are Better

"Welcome to our family!" our new friends at the nearby primary school sang to us.  My heart melted at the sound of their pure voices and the sight of their sheepish grins.  The six of us attempted to return the favor by singing our arrangement of "Amazing Grace."  White smiles shone from contrasting brown skin as little hands applauded and welcomed us in approval.  It was go-time.

Bible Camp was commencing.  Two by two, our team divided into three groups: story, music, and games.  An hour and a half later, my voice was raspy from the scream-singing we had done.  My apparently rare, "angel-white" hair was knotted from the 1,000 sticky hands rubbing it.  Who knew praising the Lord would be this wild?

We left overjoyed, but sad to leave them.  We headed back to our lodge, planning to do the same thing the next day at a different school.  But God had other plans. 

The next morning came and half of us were under the weather (don't worry Mama, we're all better now).  In spite of this, we planned to go make an appearance at the school in an effort to establish a good relationship.  We bumped two & a half hours down the road to find kids patiently awaiting a program, though it was after school hours.  And since my teammates are flexible and downright awesome, a program they delivered.  Leaving the sick ones in the car, they went out to meet  the school staff and children.  I watched from a distance out the car window and listened to them sing our arrangement of "Amazing Grace" with boldness and, well... grace.  My heart swelled with joy.  Though both leaders of the music group were in the vehicle, our teammates sang and danced with the kids, giggles abounding.  Furthermore, they were able to share the Gospel with these sweet souls... using a soccer ball.  It suddenly became a happy day. 

• Was sickness in our plans?  Of  course not. 
• Did I want to stay in the car that day?  No way! 
• Did God work through our seemingly bad situation?  Mm-hmm. 
• Are His plans always better than ours?  Absolutely.

So, friends, take heart;  we serve a mighty, faithful God who works in ALL situations.  When things in your day don't go as planned, fear not.  Jesus' plans are always far better than our own.  Rest in that today.

-Emily

The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9 ESV

Africa Sounds

So many times this past week I have just closed my eyes and listened...
Everyone was just fed lunch, from the 9 month old to the 5 year old. Some were harder to fed than others. They just love to squirm. They all have taken their plates inside to the sink and washed their hands in the bowl and pitcher outside. Now we carry the little ones to bed for nap time. As we help all 8 little boys pile into their 8 different beds in one tiny room, they realize we will soon leave. They all shout "Auntie, Auntie" to us as to get our attention one last time. I cannot help but smile at this beautiful noise. "...He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you.." Deuteronomy 31:8. I thank God that there is never a moment he leave us alone. I pray that these orphans can grow up knowing that truth.

I do not know what they are saying. They never know what I am saying but they pretend to know. But oh how we laugh together. We laugh at every silly dance move. We laugh at every silly face. We laugh at every new game played, oh how we laugh together. ".. a time to weep, and a time to laugh.." Ecclesiastes 3:1. I thank God for the laughter he created. I thank God for these beautiful people he created and loves, and the chance I have to laugh together.

They call it a marimba. I have never seen one like this with big gourds underneath the keys. They make such deep, cheerful and beautiful sounds when played. Especially when 5 are being played at once. The older kids at this orphanage are so talented. But now a girl named Zandile has taken my hand. She pulls me away into the backyard. She digs through the trash and finds lots of wooden sticks and planks. Next she grabs some trash taped up. I watch and help as she carefully peals off the tape and puts its on the end of a stick. It now is making sense! She is making her own mallet and her own marimba. I now listen as she plays the same rhythm they are playing inside. ta-tah-tah-tah ta-tah-tah-tah ta-tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-tah-tah. I think she sounds better than the real instrument. I thank God for His Son and how he died on the cross for our sins. Even though we have nothing but trash to offer God, He still makes us new and beautiful again.

We are sitting in a shack. There are three almost solid walls with only half of the fourth wall there. They gave us plastic lawn chairs with roses embedded on the backs. There are 17 chairs and a bench total. That is all we have room for, but oh how we filled up the chairs. We had to bring our blankets. Africa has winters too, and with 4 incomplete cinder block walls and a wind that never stops chilling you until the sun comes overhead, you stay pretty cold. They now ask us to stand and turn to hymn #84. As we turn to the page using a borrowed hymn book, I see that we will be singing "Ngiyeza, Nkosi, ngiza nginje". It is to the tune of the familiar "Just as I am" hymn. I can hear all 20 people in this tiny room praising God and they sound louder than a church choir. They came to church today for no other reason than to praise God. I can see their bundled up cold bodies, yet hear such warmth in their voices. I thank God for all He has blessed me with and for learning how to truly worship and glorify God. You simply give Him all you have.

The ground is as hard concrete, yet it is covered in a layer of sand that has blown in today. I see the houses. Their yards have neatly been swept already this morning and they actually look to be living on a slab of concrete. It would seem odd, but it matches their small two rooms houses make out of concrete. They are all roughly 25 feet long and 9 feet wide each. This is where the families live. I hear only one sound. A radio. I cannot understand the words being said, but I do know it is the only sound I hear. No laughter. No barking dogs. No happy greetings from one person to another. Just a radio. And silence. Silence because people are hungry. Silence because people are ill and dying. Silence because people have no joy. Silence because people have no hope. I thank God he has given us hope.

Pray for the people in Africa that we encounter. 
Pray that God will provide for them. Food, clothes, and shelter. 
Pray that they will hear of the hope that you can have in Jesus Christ.

-Allie

Pain is Gain

There is no better pain in the world than when your face hurts from smiling too much. This pain was experienced in the middle of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe during a picnic. The team and I were waiting with anticipation to meet a group of orphans to celebrate two of their birthdays. They were about forty-five minutes late, but that was okay because a hundred little African hands were waving at us from a few yards away. There was a huge group of kids that were there on what we assumed was a school field trip. Some children would hide behind things, wave at us, and then hide again. When we would wave back, we heard rich laughter. In that moment, I was reminded of why I am here. I am here to share the love of Jesus, even with a simple smile and wave. 

When our friends got there for the picnic on "Africa Time", we played with them. In the middle of an intense game of tag, a little boy fell and hurt himself. I took him back to our picnic spot and sat him on a log, giving him the perfect combination of tender, love, and care. As tears flowed from his eyes, I tried to think of how I could make him feel better. I thought back to when I was his age. My mother would always kiss me and somehow, like magic, I was immediately better. I kissed the little boy's arm and said, "There, all better?" He nodded and within thirty seconds was up tagging people again. Suddenly, it struck me that he did not have a mother to kiss him when he was hurt. All he had was Aunties and temporary visitors who, like me, come and go. 

Pray with me for these beautiful African children to find a parent in our Father God

who can give them a love full of unforeseen kisses that they could have never

had with an earthly mother or father. 

-Alex