These are the kids whom we are seeking sponsors for, beginning November 2!
I cannot imagine walking three miles for one meal. I surely cannot picture my 4 year old doing this every day. Yet, there are kids around the world so desperate for food that they really have no choice. We know of these children, and of this community, and we can help them. They have a pastor, a church building, and a few adults already willing to invest of their time and cook for them. However, they need more.
They need:
- hope and the knowledge that they're loved and valuable.
- to know that there is a Sustainer who sees their hardship and their tenacity.
- to hear of the Savior who provides so much more than physical nourishment.
They are worthy of time, prayers, emotion, resources, and the efforts here, by some folks in Alabama, to try to make a difference, to give them opportunities to hear the wonderful news
that He loves them, and we do too.
Please read this beautiful perspective and pray for these children, and for the Lord to provide partners for their futures.
It’s Just a Three Hour Walk
by kimberly woolridge
I’ve been helping Adventures in Missions with some administration
here in Swaziland. Doing admin can start to feel tedious and it’s easy
to lose focus on the purpose behind it. However, I am realizing that I
kind of enjoy doing admin, especially when God helps me see the impact
it really has in a ministry.
One of the things I was able to help with was entering children’s
sponsor profiles into the system for the new Lesibovu care point. A care
point is a type of community center where often hundreds of kids come
for a safe place to be during the day or after school. It’s also a place
for them to get a meal and in some cases, get education if a school is
attached to the care point. Lots of children and young adults from
surrounding areas walk to the closest care point every week day. The
children at each care point have papers filled out with all kinds of
information about their families, schools, and homes. The profiled
children are then put up for sponsorship by people all over. One of the
questions asked during profiling is how long it takes them to walk to
the care point. Many children walk only 10-30 minutes to get to their
care point. As I was entering this information for the Lesibovu care
point, I saw that most children don’t have too far to walk. But every
now and then, I discovered that some children have to walk for three hours to reach their care point.
Did you hear me? A three hour walk. To a place where their basic
needs can be partially met. A walk to a place where they can be a little
safer. Each care point offers something, but even so, not all needs are
met. My point is that many children walk barefoot, for three hours, to
reach a care point that offers a little bit more than their families
can. The Lord is using AIM to come along side care points and help
support them. People here with AIM are getting to know the Swazi people
in order that they can meet basic needs and also spiritual needs. It’s
so important to meet physical and spiritual needs, and God is equipping
his people here to do so.
When I saw that three hours, it really gave me some
perspective. I’m still not sure how to connect how seeing that children
walk for three hours fits with the importance of administration, but I
know it does, and I’m trying to process it. But I do know that it hit me
like a ton of bricks. There is purpose in the tedious.
{originally posted at http://kimberlywoolridge.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/its-just-a-three-hour-walk}
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