Monday, June 23, 2014

In Home Visit




This evening just after dinner, we received a call from one of our workers. A little girl in the community fell and hit her head splitting the scalp. Kerri was Dr. Kerri tonight.

It's nice to see our friends here are so trusting of us. I hope the little we do speaks Jesus to them in a real and refreshing way!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

All Locked Up




This past week, I had a new first in Zambia. One of the street boys that we've been working with was arrested for stealing a phone. It wasn't the first time I've had to deal with theft, but it was the first time that I had to visit a 13 year old child in a Zambian prison.

The day before, while Michael was shopping with Luke at the grocery store, a drunk police man came up from behind and grabbed him. When Luke objected to the treatment Michael was receiving, the person identified himself as a police officer, threw him in a cab and took him to the police station. Luke went down there to get the full story, but it was clear that Michael was going to have to stay the night.

That's when I came into the picture. I was already planning a trip into town. So, my morning plans were altered a bit to include trying to help this boy. When I arrived at the police station that morning, they allowed me to go back and check on Michael. I didn't know what to expect. It turns out that they have a single room with an iron gate that was locked with a huge padlock. I wish I could show you a picture, but they don't let us take pictures at the station.

But it was quite overwhelming seeing this small child crammed in with 30 other prisoners in a room of about 100 square feet. As I stood there all I could think to ask him was if he was ok. As he answered, the tears began to flow. This boy was scared.

Without making the story too long, I was able to track down the woman who had filed the charges and we were able to work out a solution that kept Michael out of prison and get him some much needed help.

So, pray for him. Pray for wisdom for myself and others in the church that disciple Michael. Pray that he will let us invest in him in a way that encourages him towards a faith in and love for Jesus! And pray for us as we seek to minister to his family. He comes from a really tough family life, but God can change it!