Laying a foundation is hard work.
I now know this firsthand, as the majority of our ministry this month involves laying a foundation for a new boys’ home for the organization we’re working with. It is hot, sweaty, back-breaking work. It goes slowly when you’re caught up in it, but when you step back, you see how much has been accomplished. You must work methodically and wisely, lest the foundation crack or lean. A foundation has to be strong and reliable, able to help the building on top of it withstand storms, earthquakes, and the years to come.
This boys’ home, when finished, will house boys who are the “could have beens.” The families of these boys were going to sell them into the sex trade; maybe for extra money, or to pay off a debt, or to have one less mouth to feed. The organization we’re working with hears that the families are thinking of selling their children, and they step in to offer another option. The organization brings the boys to their property and gives them a future. The boys go to school as high as their intelligence and drive allows, they are clothed and fed, they are loved, and they are taught about Christ. They are allowed to stay in the home until they are ready to take on the responsibilities of adults.
While we’re working, our collective team (Fearless and Relentless) has committed to coating the foundation and the site in prayer. Every day we work, myself and a few other teammates walk around the site of the future home and pray over it. While I was praying inside the foundation holes a few days ago, God revealed something to me. Our work this month is deeper than we think. While we lay a physical foundation for this boys’ home, we’re also helping to lay another type of foundation. We are involved in laying a foundation for the country of Thailand. Think about this for a minute. A new generation of boys will grow up never having to experience the horror of the sex trade, but they will grow up in the shadow of it. They will know that if not for the sex trade, they would be with their families. They will live with the reality that their families were willing to sell them into a life of horror, pain, and shame. But they will also live with the reality that Christ redeemed their life. They will know love and a different way of life than a lot of their peers. They will grow up as men willing to bring change to their country.
Hear this! A new generation will change the face of this country! One day the enemy’s stronghold on this country WILL be broken! God is going to use these future men to redeem this country. As God revealed this to me, I had tears of joy! The hope I feel as I shovel gravel, wheel around loads of gravel and sand, carry water to help mix concrete, and carry buckets of concrete to the foundation is amazing! The fact is that not only are we pouring a foundation with concrete, but also pouring a foundation with the Spirit. Praise God! Pray for us as we pour concrete, and as we pour into the kids in the homes! Pray that God would be able to use us to build a strong foundation for Thailand.
