Friends, even though I’m in Asia I still need to tell you two things I finally realized in Africa.
One thing I really appreciated in Africa was that the people had TIME. I noticed that when I was there and it appears to be so evident right now when I’m again in a world full of busy people living the big city life in Singapore!
When I’m talking about having time, I’m speaking about little things like spending 5 hours without interruption to sort out beans from little sticks, rocks or simply bad beans. Or spending 3 hours with doing laundry by hand. Who has time for doing things like that in the western world? I would stress myself out with that. But in Africa you have actually time for doing such daily simple things for hours. It helped me to slow down emotionally and physically.
I made TIME to one of my LIFE VALUES! I’m aware that it’s going to be challenging but I want to fight for it! I want to fight for spending consciously time with people, fight for investing in already existing relationships but also for making new friends. I want to fight for taking out time for myself to rest, to process, to slow down. I want to fight for estimating the precious gift of time in the western world, to return the true value of it.
Something different God laid on my heart: Adoption!
We had different ministry options and could choose where we wanted to work with. God was telling me to intercede for the ministry the first week. So I did daily intercession between 2 and 4 hours. One staff member was also on my heart, her name is Ceciliah. I had this desire to get to know her, spend time with her, pour into her and cheer her up in that hard time she was going through. Never had I the Baby House on my heart. It is a home for abandoned children till they reach the age of 5. But Ceciliah ended up working there. So I chose to work at the Baby House to have the opportunity to be around her. I would have never thought that but it became a place I enjoyed helping out at whole-heartedly. Change diapers, feed the babies, clean the dishes, play with the babies, bring them to bed,…day by day.! It gave me a little sense what it must feel like to be a mother when the babies smile at you, when they want to cuddle with you, when they stretch out their arms that you hold them and carry around and when some of them even started to call you Mommy. What broke my heart was the day when a mother decided to give her 6 month old baby to the Baby House because she was only 16 years old and wanted to go to school. The first few days the little boy was almost constantly crying…crying for his Mom to come and hold him, comfort him, feed him, love on him. But she didn’t come. She wasn’t there. She was gone and left him in the care of others. To experience the sadness and desperation of children being abandoned and the joy on loving on the children, made them feel loved, give them a safe space made me realize that I have a heart for adoption. As God predestined us for adoption as sons and daughters (Eph. 1,5), I believe every child on earth deserves nothing less than to be CHOSEN and LOVED by an earthly father and mother representing the love of God as the heavenly father. It is my conviction and heartbeat that every child has the right to be adopted into a family and to grow up being cared for.
Some of the aunties who care and love for the children as a mother in wonderful ways and with tender hearts beside having own families and a household to care for after the work at the Baby House.
