Have you ever felt sadness but couldn’t put your finger on why? Last week was hard for us. Where Refilwe had this fog of sadness and despair over it, Alabanza is fresh air, a place of restoration. There are mountains when we walk outside of the barn (our meeting house). There are pet dogs that follow us wherever we go. There is a fireplace in the barn to warm your hands (yes it is freezing here). There are bunk beds where last week we lived on the floor squished together like sardines.
We’ve seen and been enveloped by the pain of extreme poverty. And God has blessed us with a place to rest awhile. The children here still have a lot of the same needs as the Refilwe kids. The Refilwe children are fighters because they have to be. They have to fight for food, for survival. They are the ones that will literally steal your next bite if you aren’t looking. They stand in line in hopes to receive a warm hat. When it’s really, really cold they stay home (in their small tin houses) trying to stay warm.
The Alabanza children are blessed to have more. They come from higher class families and houses. They tend to have fewer siblings and more quality clothes. They are polite at lunch time because unlike the Refilwe kids they aren’t starving.
But sadness, evil, and despair haven’t distinguished those with versus those without. Witch craft and ancestor worship are regular things in many of the children’s homes. I’ve heard stories of children that live in fear because someone has placed a curse on their house. And let me tell you this stuff is real and Satan is alive and well. Please pray with us that the bonds of witch craft and evil are broken here. Praise God we know the ending of this story….Jesus wins!
