Exodus

It was hot and sunny, about three o'clock in the afternoon.  We stood together at the gate, waiting for our guides to show up and lead us to the children's home.  Soon Tom and Cynthia arrived.  We walked for about thirty minutes over dusty roads, on winding paths.

Along the way we would come to groups of school children.  They rushed to greet us and then stood together watching as we walked away.

 Finally we arrived at Exodus, the name Elijah (below) gave to this place, whose ministry is to care for the orphan, educate, and equip.  He proudly read through his vision statement, goals, and mission...all taped up on the wall of his small office.  Also on the wall were the photos of dozens of children who have come through this place.  Currently the ministry cares for about fifty kids, around twenty-five or so live at the home full-time. There are close to 150 on the waiting list.

 Elijah called all of the children into the small gathering room and asked them each to introduce themselves.  They each gave their name and told us what they would like to be when they grow up...many of them wanted to be doctors, some pilots, a couple engineers, and one banker.

 After introductions the children sang...and I mean sang!  They sang their hearts out.  The sound was amazing, and after you have heard where these kids have come from and what they have seen, it is even more amazing.  Elijah shared with us about some of their stories...most are "double" orphans, meaning both of their parents are dead, but several had other circumstances which brought them to Exodus.  One boy, now named Barack, was born with a deformed hand.  His mother had tried to kill him three times.  Things like birth defects are believed to be the result of evil spirits. He was rescued and brought to Exodus.  His past name had meant "suffering", but Elijah gave him a new name, Barack, which means blessed.  Other children had seen their parents and siblings murdered, one girl had been raped, some had parents who had attempted to kill them, one by poisoning. As I watched the children, the girls especially, it just broke my heart to think that they have no mommy caring for them.

 We played games and sang songs.  They recited scriptures they have been memorizing.  Their smiles were so sweet, so full of joy.  I could not hold myself back from hugging them, but I didn't want to let go.  They showed us where they sleep...two to three to a bed, six beds in a very small room, no running water, a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling.  The "grandma" and "mother" served us chai and rolls, but first heated water they poured over our hands for washing. 

Cynthia and I
As it began to get dark we realized we needed to get going, we had a bit of walk ahead of us.  They all escorted us back!  There must have been close to thirty of them, all of us walking hand-in-hand through the darkness.  As I walked with twenty-two-year-old Cynthia, I asked her how I could be praying for her.  She works as "social worker" at Exodus.  Cynthia has lost both her mother and her father and has four younger siblings that she is responsible for.  She lives at Exodus during the week and goes home on weekends, that is when there are funds to get her there.  The stress that Cynthia lives with is unimaginable.  There have been times when she and her siblings have gone three days without any food.  She cried as she told me how she would cry out to the Lord and ask, "What are you going to do?  What am I to do?"  We cried together as we walked.  What am I to say?  "I'll pray for you," sounds so empty in light of her immediate needs.  She asked if we could come back before we leave for Namibia and said that she would miss me.  My heart was breaking.

After saying our goodbyes at the gate, Elijah and all the children headed back into the darkness, back to their crowded rooms, no furniture anywhere in the home other than their beds and some plastic lawn chairs for guests.  My heart hurt.  I found myself asking God, "What am I to do? What do You want me to do?"  I know that this question does not have an easy answer.  Of course I am to love them, I know that this is why we are here.  But it is not as simple as we all might think.  We have learned that African problems need African solutions, not only Western resources, although they certainly need that too.  Elijah is doing the best that he can with the resources he has.  I guess the children's most basic needs are being met.  Are they being loved on?  I am not sure. Anyway, these are just things I am working through, and will continue to work through over the next two years, as we minister to similar children in Namibia. All day my mind has gone back to those children and to Cynthia.  Interestingly, as I opened my Bible today I was at the story of the Feeding of the Four Thousand in Mark.  It says that the people had not eaten for three days.  What did Jesus do?  It says that He had compassion on them.  He took what the disciples had and He multiplied it.  We will give to Cynthia and the children and trust God to multiply it.

Would you take a minute right now to pray for Cynthia? She told me that she prays that God would fight for her.  Will you pray that for her too and that God would provide for her and her family's needs?

And then also pray for Elijah and the children at Exodus...that their needs will be met and in the end, that God would be glorified through their transformed lives.