Pure Religion

Much like an expectant mother prepares and waits for her unborn child, we in Kipkaren are preparing and waiting for 96 orphaned children to come and find a
refuge of hope and a place to call home. As a follower of Christ, I have been challenged that pure and undefiled religion before God is simply this: to care for orphans and widows in their trouble (James 1:27).
In Sub-Saharan Africa— where there are literally millions of orphans—the need for a response is overwhelming. And the reality of living in this community is to be confronted daily with these statistics in the form of children who are struggling to survive. They each have a name and a story of how life has left them without parents.
Nine-year-old Patrick was born to a single mother who died of AIDS-related complications. Because he, too, had been infected by the HIV virus,
his family rejected and abandoned him. About 4 months ago, a Good Samaritan found Patrick sleeping amongst bushes. He was very sick. Patrick was admitted to a local hospital where he continues to live, because there is no other place that is willing to accept him. I am anxiously awaiting the day when he gets to come to a home where he will be accepted and loved
as he is!
Recently, I was shocked by another story I read about in an article in a Kenyan newspaper. In a
town about an hour away from Kipkaren lives a grandmother whose 8 children and their spouses all died of AIDS, leaving this grandmother to care for her 37 grandchildren. The article explained that she owned very little land; therefore, she has been farming on the top of her children’s graves in order to feed the orphaned children. The grandmother was pleading for help. I thank God that in a few days her burden will be lightened as we’ll be able to take in some of her grandchildren.
There are also 2 little boys whose mother was a patient of our home-based care ministry when she
died last July. I remember the day I watched those kids bury their mother. I went home that night and journaled these words:
What did your little eyes see?
There were no tears today.
What did your little eyes see?
As your mama went away.
What did your broken hearts feel?
Were you just too scared to say?
What did your broken hearts feel?
As your mama went away.
Little eyes—I’ll cry for you;
Though I don’t know what to say.
Broken hearts—I’ll fight for you.
Because your mama went away.
I thank God that these two brothers will soon have an opportunity to go to school, to eat a balanced diet, and to grow up within a safe environment. These stories represent countless others that could be told; but for now, I ask you join me in praying for the Kipkaren Children’s Home. In the upcoming weeks, we will be receiving 96 children between the ages of 3-10 who are total orphans. There are big adjustments ahead for the entire staff as well as the children who will be coming. Please pray that in every single detail, God’s Spirit will lead in this journey of faith.
Sudan Update
This week, I received an email from Stephen Reech, director of Empowering Lives Sudan. “After your team’s visit to Sudan, the community came to share testimonies. Within 17 families, people were healed,” Stephen reported. “Abiei [a girl with cholera whom we took to the compound to treat] thanked God for what He had done for her. She said that the devil had a plan to kill her, and God’s plan was to send His people to rescue her from the devil. Abiei said that she had no faith in God before, but now she believes in God.” Praise be to God!
Stephen concluded his email by requesting continued prayer for peace in all of Sudan. Thank you for your continued prayers and support of this ministry in Southern Sudan.
Loving Much
It amazes me the number of times in the Bible, outcasts and people who were considered failures
were the ones to become the children of God. In fact, Jesus taught the religious leaders that the harlots and tax collectors would enter His Kingdom before they would.
On another occasion, when Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee for dinner, a prostitute lady came, and Jesus allowed her to come near to him. She was broken and weeping, but she came and worshipped at the feet of Jesus with her tears and a costly bottle of fragrant oil. After much criticism, Jesus replied to the accusers: “You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in . . . Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. Then
he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’” (Luke 7:45-48). And then he sent her away in peace.
I have often read that story but never with a face in mind of someone who is like this woman.
Right now, that is changing.
In April of 2005, while hosting an AIDS awareness campaign in Kipkaren, our home-based
care (HBC) team was sharing about the importance of HIV testing as well as making wise choices to prevent the further spread of HIV. A known prostitute from our community had come to the campaign and approached David Tarus, one of the directors of ELI Kenya. She grabbed his arm and, in Swahili, said these words, “I know that I am HIV+, and I don’t want to pass the virus to others. You are telling me to change, but this is the way I feed my children. Can you help me find another way?”
Over the past year, her plea for help has continued to be heard deep within our HBC team. We
have prayed for God to give us wisdom to know how to minister to this woman as well as to six other prostitutes from the Kipkaren area with whom we have been meeting. It has been a challenging journey, but God is leading us in the way to go. We meet together every Wednesday morning to encourage the women, to ask them what their dreams are, and to teach simple business skills and other life skills. This past Saturday, the women came for a Bible study and
then there was a time for their feet to be washed and their nails to be painted. One of the goals behind this ministry is that each of these women will begin to see that they are of value to God. As one of the women was having her feet washed, I walked into the room. She grabbed my
hand and said, “Juli, I will never forget this day!” Please join me in praying for these women.
Along with their children, they live very vulnerable lives. Please pray that God will show us practical ways to train and empower these women. It is only God that can deliver them, but I know that Jesus is waiting to receive them into His Kingdom.://