It has been unclear to us as to when, where, and how to announce our new ministry. We thought about a letter (boring) or even a video message.
Today God showed us how He wanted us to do this. God had brought Zechariah 4:10 to my attention a few weeks ago at the Christian Alliance For Orphans (CAFO) conference. In reviewing material from one of the conference sessions the other night, I saw in my notes that I had written the scripture Zechariah 4:10 along with the words, "humble BEginnings."
This scripture lingered in my mind all weekend while we were in another city about 3-hours from our new home in Tegucigalpa. Early this morning, I decided to draft a blog entry and I entitled it, "Humble BEginnings." All I had was a title - nothing more. So, I walked away from the laptop and we went to eat breakfast at a nearby restaurant. Upon returning, Kelly and I encountered a woman waiting at the gate of the neighborhood where we were visiting. The woman, whom we would soon know as Louisa, approached me when I got out of the car to open the gate; she said that her baby, David, was very sick. We are fully aware of the dangers here, but we could tell that this woman was sincere and desperate to get help for her baby.
Since we were visitors in an unfamiliar city, we weren't sure where to find a clinic/hospital. Louisa directed us from the back seat. We thought we were going to a clinic or a hospital, but she directed us to a pharmacy. I was thinking to myself, "but, this isn't a clinic and this little baby needs to see a doctor!" Again, we trusted we were where God wanted us to be. So we went inside. The pharmacist knew the woman and baby. She took them immediately into a treatment room and started a nebuilization treatment on baby David. I told the pharmacist that we would pay for the treatment and medicine. The pharmacist said, "no, that won't be necessary." I sat dumbfounded and impressed in the lobby while I waited for the baby's treatment to end. Kelly in the meantime left to buy some rice/beans for the woman at a local market.
While baby David was being nebulized, the pharmacist came out and told me about Louisa, her family, and their plight. She confirmed all of the horrific stories that Louisa had shared with us while we were en route to the clinic/pharmacy. Louisa's husband was killed in a car accident and she is raising 7-children alone. Louisa's youngest child, baby David, was conceived as the result of a brutal attack/rape; he was born on December 24, 2014. The pharmacist told me that David as well as the other children are always sick due to the inhumane conditions in which they are living. Initially, their house consisted of four poles surrounded by plastic tarp. Thankfully they are now in in a structure that is somewhat better - a house made of mud brick. I was present and able to see Louisa's reaction when the pharmacist told her that she had qualified to receive one of nine houses that the government is constructing for the poorest of the poor. Each house will cost only $4,000 to build. Wow! Makes you think, huh?
Kelly and I took Louisa and baby David home. While we were walking on the dirt path to their mud brick house, we were greeted by her other children, Alberto, Fernando, and Jafet. Inside we met Louisa's 16-year old daughter, Ana Rosa and her 19-year old "husband."
God BEgan our ministry for us and even gave us some humble resources to share.
This severely impoverished family needed so much and we weren't equipped to help them with other basic necessities such as undergarments. Several of the pics I took of Jafet had to be edited because he didn't even have underwear, shorts, or pants. The other children were wearing dirty clothes and they didn't even have shoes.
We didn't notice a little detail on Jafet's shirt until we downloaded the photos that we took of Louisa's children. Scroll back-up and look at Jafet's shirt (beginning).
Yep, we have found our new calling, our prayers have been answered, and our borders have been expanded. To find out more about our new ministry, go to www.be-ministries.org.
"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” Zechariah 4:10