I can’t believe it’s been so long since we last posted! We’ve been SO grateful to have two teams come
to visit us since April, but they’ve definitely kept us busy J
This past Tuesday we had an opportunity to dedicate the new Mayompapa
Field where we will do our weekly program for the street boys. It’s very close to the field we’ve been
using, but it’s bigger, has better facilities for meeting/washing, and even has
areas for soccer, basketball AND volleyball. We brought all the boys over to be part of
the ceremony, and I just stood back and thought about all the
possibilities. Andrea, one of the other
missionaries at Abba’s Heart, shared a word from Isaiah that touched me in a
huge way and I just wanted to share it with you all.
She started in Isaiah 42:22.
It says, “But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits
or hidden away in prisons. They have
become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no
one to say, “Send them back.”
This is a picture of our boys. Satan has stolen so much from them. Things that God never intended for them to
lose. Family. Safety.
Shelter. Education.
Innocence. Hope. So much more.
They are trapped. Unseen. Forgotten.
It seems as if there is no chance of restoration.
The next chapter, Isaiah 43, starts with two of the most
hope-giving words in the English language.
“But now.” God is
declaring that NOW it is going to be different.
Things are going to change. He
starts by saying, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you BY NAME; you
are MINE.” What a beautiful
promise our boys needed to hear. He
knows their names. They are HIS. The world may reject them. They might feel all alone. But they have a Father who has chosen them.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you
pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not
be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” I’m sure our boys walk through life feeling
like they’re drowning. Feeling like the
darkness is going to consume them.
Feeling like another day of THIS is just too much. And sometimes it feels contrite to tell them,
“Don’t worry…Jesus is with you!” But sometimes that’s all I can say. And in the end, that’s the most important
thing they ever need to hear. To know
that in spite of all the brokenness of this world, there is a God who sees
them; who will never abandon them.
Verse 4 says, “Since you are precious and honored in my
sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people
in exchange for your life.” I
never really thought about this before, but Andrea looked at the boys sitting
on the ground, and told them to look at all the staff and missionaries
surrounding them. She told them that God
exchanged our lives for them. He asked
us to sacrifice our time, energy, and love for the lives of these precious
boys. And He did it for each of us at
some point. Each of us has had people
who made sacrifices on our behalf. Who
poured into us when we had nothing to give in return. THAT is how much he loves us.
Lastly, we jumped over to verses 18-19 in chapter 43. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on
the past. See, I am doing a new
thing! Not it springs up; do you not
perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
To me, this verse is a picture of restoration. Rebuilding.
Redeeming what has been lost. And
THAT is the cry of our hearts for these boys.
Sure, it’s nice to come and give them the chance to shower/wash their
clothes, play games and eat a good meal, but we want so much more than that!
We want to see restoration happening in their
lives. We want to reclaim what Satan has
stolen. We want to see hope returning to
their eyes. We want to see them enter
into relationship with their Heavenly Father.
And that is what we were praying over that field on Tuesday.
The piece of property we were dedicating is so much more
than land. It is a battlefield. A place where we meet with the enemy every
week for the lives of these boys. A
place where we attempt to take back what has been stolen. Chris and I just finished listening to a
sermon series from our friends at Mission Point Community Church about the
armor of God. We have learned so much
and our eyes have been opened in a new way to the war that is raging all around
us. We have felt the spiritual attacks
from the enemy since we started working with these boys. We know that he has tried to claim them for
himself and he HATES that we are coming to take them back to their Father.
Will you please pray for the battles that are taking place
over here in Zambia? Please pray for the
Mayompapa Field, that it will truly become a place of refuge and
redemption. Pray for us every Tuesday as
we build stronger relationships and teach these boys about the hope they have
in Jesus. And please pray for Chris and
me (and our whole team) as we stand on the frontlines every day fighting for
the lives of these precious children.
Pray for strength, passion and vision to keep going.
