“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.” – 1 John 4:18
I am afraid of the dark.
Actually, I’m afraid of everything.
But the dark is one of those everythings.
Here in Mozambique, we have daily black-outs where we lose power for various lengths of time.
Some days, we lose power multiple times.
Combine that with my fear of bugs, and it makes me one giant weenie.
But I have seen how perfect love comes together to drive out fear.
Even in the dark.
Here at Beacon of Hope, we have an 8 year old.
He is Angie’s [the woman who runs the boy’s home] adopted son.
His name is Popino, or PC.
Two names.
And PC has some struggles.
One of them is coordination.
But he is a sweet, funny, boy who has stolen my heart.
[If any of you have heard stories about Rosalba, a student of mine a few years ago…PC is the boy version of her]
The other night, at bathtime, our teams were sitting in Angie’s room having some girl time and hearing her life story, and he was running in and out of the bathroom.
Stark naked, strutting his stuff, completely without shame.
We’re all laughing so hard we’re crying, and his sister is trying to get him under control.
All of a sudden, he shuts the door.
Which locks from the inside.
And PC doesn’t know how to unlock the door.
We’re still giggling knowing that he is dancing around in there and the tub is going to overflow at any second and Enia is explaining how to open the latch.
Then, as if on cue, BLACK OUT.
Quickly our laughter turned to worry and our worry to fear.
Popino is locked in the bathroom.
The water is running.
It’s dark.
He’s clumsy.
Next thing we know, he’s gotten in the bathtub, because that’s all that made sense at the time.
Enia, his sister, runs to find which boy has the extra keys.
But none of them do.
Instead, they all charge into the bedroom together.
After a few seconds of deliberation, they all turn to face the door.
And kick it down.
At the end of the day, the little one is safe and snuggled in his mama’s arms, and we learned that we live with the local fire department.
These boys have been such a beautiful example of how to love each other well.
They have fun when it is time to have fun.
They learn when it is time to learn.
And when fear comes and someone is in trouble, they work together to overcome the fear.
I think God is like this.
Often, I get myself in trouble.
I get stuck in the dark, and slowly feel the panic rising in my chest.
But on the other side of the door, God is my fire department.
I may be locked in for 5 minutes, or 5 hours, but God doesn’t step away from the door for one second.
He gives me constant assurance that He is there.
And if I have lost the key, He will do whatever it takes
[including kicking down the door]
to keep me safe.
I’m still afraid of everything.
But for these 11 months, and forever after, I will not let my fear define me.
I will not let fear set limits on what I can and cannot do.
I will live and work as if I have the strongest, buffest, firemen as my security detail.
Because I know I do.
Thank you to those of you who have supported me financially and helped me reach my $10,000 Launch goal. By the end of February, I need $13,000, and I must be fully funded by April. I’m close, but I need your help to get there.
If you want more frequent, detailed updates, pictures, and souvenirs from around the world, becoming a financial supporter is the way to do that!
My final fundraiser is Adopt-A-Block. I will be FULLY FUNDED when this grid is complete. Here’s how it works: Pick a square. Pay attention to the number in the square. Click “Support Me” at the top of this page. Donate the dollar amount of the square you picked. Tell me which number you picked so I can color it in.
Thank you!!!
