The Fatherless…

 

      

      Children are everywhere in Africa…it takes about half a minute walking through a village for you to have two small hands in both of yours.  Here in Malawi you can here “azungu” yelled from every direction.  It is the polite word for “white person” and the children love to yell it and wave as we either drive through villages or walk down the road.  Not only do they yell it at the top of their lungs…but then they come running towards you at full speed with huge smiles on their faces…it can’t help but melt your heart.

      Jesus clearly had a unique fondness for children.  He preached that unless you had faith like a child you would not see the Kingdom of God.  That’s a bold statement!  I have to admit that coming into this year i was afraid of doing kid ministry.  I haven’t had alot of experience with kids, and although everyone confidently said that it was a piece of cake…it was still something i dreaded.  That fear didn’t last very long…i quickly realized that it didn’t really matter what you do with kids…they just want to be around you.  Whether its playing a hand slapping game, drawing, or simply letting as many as can possibly fit in your lap sit there…they are entertained.  And entertaining them isn’t even what they want.  They just want to be near you. 

      The heart breaking fact in Africa is that many many children have no parents.  There are roughly 1 million orphans in Malawi.  This makes up about 10% of the population!  The community aspect of the culture and obligation of the extended family does help in not forcing these kids to live on the street…but the fact remains.  Here is where COTN again, lends a helping hand.  It comes in the form of sponsorship. 

      I have to admit that i have always been skeptical of sponsoring children thousands miles away in some remote village…i guess i just never trusted that my money would go towards what was promised.  Being involved with Children of the Nations over the past two weeks has opened my eyes to the reality that there are ligit organizations providing for very ligit needs of children in this country.  This past week i had the opportunity to go for a day to a village about 2 hours away with a church from Orlando that partners with COTN.  A few of the people had sponsor kids in this village.  When we arrived, not only did the Americans know exactly who their children were…the African children too were able to meet thier American sponsors face to face. One child had even written a welcome message on the side of her house!!  It is because of the sponsors’ money that those kids are able to go to school past 8th grade and have school supplies.  The monthly donations also provide food for the families that take care of them.  I was shocked that the leaders of COTN know exactly how many kids in that village are sponsored and how many are not.  To see first hand how much effort they go through to document and keep track of each kid wills me to want to be involved with COTN in the future.  

      What i am left with the most is the ability to say, yes, there are missionaries out in the world, giving their lives to living out Psalm 146.  They are choosing to be sojourners and partner with God in upholding the widows and the orphans.  These are the ones who need to be prayed for and supported not only with love, but also with finances.  I pray that God blesses them and their ministry.  I pray that God uses them in big ways to make a difference in a world that at times seems to far gone. 

      Seeing those wide smiles.  Holding those small hands.  I believe it makes a difference far beyond what i can see during my short time here.  Loving on kids who don’t always get alot of loving touch matters to me because it matters to God. 

 

“He upholds the fatherless…”