Eyes and Ears

It’s been a month since Chris and I made our big move to Kitwe to start interning with Abba’s Heart!  We are so grateful for the prayers and encouragement you all have sent our way as we've made this transition.

 

God has been so faithful and has been teaching us so much already.  As we entered this new year, Chris and I’s biggest prayer was that God would speak to us in new ways.  We wanted to empty our hearts of any expectations or agendas and truly ask Him to lead us wherever He wants.  At this point in our lives, we just want His direction.  We want Him to take control and to use us in the ways He sees best.  We were SO encouraged to hear that Abba’s theme for 2017 aligns perfectly with our cry.  “Eyes to See and Ears to Hear.” 

And so, for today’s blog, we wanted to share some of the things we have seen and heard so far in this journey.

We have seen ten boys whose lives have been transformed by the grace that only comes from our heavenly father.

We have heard those same boys write verses and choruses that praise the name of the One who saved them.

We have seen a group of small boys, no older than 12 years old, sleeping on the streets during the middle of the day while the rest of the city moves past them.

We have heard those same boys asking when the learning center will be open so they can come and practice their reading/math skills.  (It was closed for the school holiday, but will open again in a few weeks)

We have seen girls with bruises on their faces and sorrow in their eyes.  Girls who have experienced more pain than I could ever imagine.

We have heard those same girls begging to be considered for the group who will soon move into the girls’ residential home.

We have seen too many young people wandering through the filthy, muddy markets as they search for their next hit of alcohol or sticka (an inhalant used to get high).

We have heard testimonies from the residential boys of how God rescued them from their addictions and is using them to encourage others.

We have seen a team of Zambians and Americans come together for the purpose of sharing God’s love with this hurting world.

We have heard that team spend time in prayer and worship as we’ve sought God’s leading in this ministry.

The list could go ON and ON, but we are so grateful for the ways God has been opening our eyes, ears and, most importantly, our hearts.  Chris said it best when we finished our first day of doing ministry on the streets: “This is where Jesus would have been!”  And there is no doubt in my mind that it’s true.  While the rest of the world scoffs at these children, seeing them as nothing more than a nuisance, our Savior would have been sitting right next to them in their filth.  This is what it means to have eyes to see and ears to hear.  We want to see and hear the things Jesus sees.  The things that we so often overlook.  The things that break the heart of our Father.  The things that SHOULD break our hearts too.

And so we are asking you to pray for our eyes and our ears.  Please pray that we truly would see all God wants us to see in this year.  And that our ears would be open to hear His voice, along with the voices of His precious children.