God's Peace be with little Josiah!One of the books I recently read described 300,000 African child soldiers, led by ruthless killers. The young author recounted his experiences of walking 2 days with sleep ... seeing heads cut off by machetes, smashed by cement blocks, and rivers filled with so much blood that the water ceased flowing. "Each time my mind replayed these scenes," he wrote,"I increased my pace." He finally made good his escape.
He had been captured against his will, but ended up in that life where it was common to smoke marijuana, sniff brown brown (cocaine mixed with gunpower), and pop energy pills. That is all part of the world many of us tune out.
On the other hand there are mission-minded pastors in many part of the world working to eliminate such violence from the lives of children. Central Church in Riverside, CA is swimming upstream against the violence of the drug cartel (whose best customers are American druggies), domestic violence, and poverty in Mexico.
So I rejoiced when I read Pastor Eric's "Happy Birthday Josiah!" Because of you Eric wrote, Just 10 days old when he came to us last year, Josiah was one of the first kids to move into Beginnings@Siempre after you helped build it. Abandoned into our arms so tiny and frail...
LOOK AT HIM NOW! Real success. Living, breathing, growing, walking, eating, loving success... because of you. Thank you is no where big enough a word... but thank you.
Memorial Day Weekend is here! Next Friday night we'll have our first big dinner together, then Saturday morning we build! Thanks to each of you that have sent financial support- we paid off the property Beginning's on last Wednesday! God is too good! Thanks to those who've supported the kids all year long. Thanks to the builders, the painters, the wall paper hangers, those who laid the flooring... to each of you... Josiah and 20 other infants have safety and a home because of you. Your love and caring rescued them. What a legacy to leave!
Pray for our safety this weekend. We have a small group with a HUGE task. Your prayers mean so very much. If you'd still like to join us- email me today -we still have room. What we do together today changes the lives of abandoned children forever. You're Invited. They need you. Now, more than ever.
I enjoy so much following Eric's links from Siempre (Tijuana) and pray God bless all who minister to children everywhere in Jesus name, espesially in such troubling times for our children.
from Warner's World
walkingwithwarner.blogspot.com
4 comments:
hey Wayne,
thanks for the kind words for Siempre's kids. Josiah would be pleased to see his picture there:-)
May God bless your ministry of writing. I always enjoy checking in.
By the way- the book you read -was it: "What is the What?" Just hearing you recount the story made me miss Africa- and all the little Josiah's (that means The Lord Delivers) waiting to be rescued.
blessings brother,
Eric
Thanks Eric, comments like yours keep me going on this site. The book was A LONG WAY GONE, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Sierra Leone)by Ishmael Beah, Sarah Crichton Books, 2007.
Now that you pushed me to justify my reference, I'll get back to that book, as I intended earlier (thanks again). Another, different but similar in ways, was George Obama with Damien Lewis in HOMELAND, An Extraordinary Story of Hope and Survival (in Kenya)which I will also reference.
Long Way Gones a heartbreaking read...
I look forward to picking up Homeland. You'll be touchd
By what is the what?
Blessings
ahhhhh, you have read Israel's story A LONG WAY GONE? I didn't know people in the Church of God read stuff like that. It came to me via a sister in law who spent years in foreign service and reads all those books. I was especially interested in HOMELAND; I still have not forgot when Frank and Margaret LaFont almost begged us to visit them in Kenya back in the mid 60's. Never could afford it but Kenya has always had a special interest. You should read the John Githongo story--talk about corruption......
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