Monday, November 3, 2008

Seeing God Big, Part 3

(Please drop over to Leslie's blog, her daughter is Susannah, many were praying for Susannah as they adopted her, she was very sick with a serious heart condition...well, Leslie's dad fell 25 feet from a ladder, please, please pray for him.)

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The first day at the orphanage, we had a birthday party. I love the way Dr. E., the Director of the orphanage, does birthday parties…The birthday child sits in the middle of the circle and each of the older children come up and speak a blessing over their 'brother' or 'sister'… It was during these blessings that I first saw C…

He brought his Bible up with him and read the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) over the birthday boy…he spoke with such authority…poise…it was powerful to see this young man stand so boldly in front of his peers and all of these strangers.

In the coming days, we got to know C better…he is truly an amazing young man.

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C’s mother died and he never knew his father…He was passed from family member to family member and finally to strangers where he was a slave herding cattle. At one point, he ran way to live as a street kid in one of the big cities…but it was too much, so he decided to try and find his father.

He went to the last place he had heard that his father lived, only to discover that he also had died. An aunt, who had 8 children of her own, finally brought him to the orphanage.

Dr. E said that C quickly discovered a love for God’s word and now he loves to teach in the orphanage…the problem was, C had an eye condition that made reading more difficult for him.

Well, one of our team members B., flies helicopters…and a while back, B.’s wife had given him a large print Bible. Since he's a pilot and has perfect eyesight, he had just put it on the shelf...it had never been used. As he was packing for his trip to Africa, his wife brought him the Bible and suggested he take it with him, she said he would probably find someone who needed it…

Well, I’m sure you see where this story is headed…On Sunday at church, B. noticed that C was having a hard time reading his Bible…he had found the person who needed his large print Bible! Once again, God provided BIG in the details!

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Since then, money has been raised and C was able to have surgery that significantly improved his eyesight...

But let me ask you again, who but God? One young man, thousands of miles away, one pilot with a misfit gift, and one wife who answered the stirring in her heart to send the Bible...
God knows and cares about ALL of our needs...

It was such a blessing to watch C…to know the heartache and hardship that he had lived through, and to see his joy, I'm sure you can see it in the pictures…he is a special young man!

Tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to A…bring your Kleenex for this one!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just think how God blessed Caleb with B and his Bible, B and Nick with support /sponsorship during this year for him, and E for all the monies she got together for his eye surgery. But God blessed all of us by letting us see the story unfold. And I know the 3 mentioned above have been blessed by their part in Caleb's life. He is a special young man----love that smile!

Thanks for telling the "Caleb Story".

Mom

Katy said...

Hey Sharla-
Thanks for your encouragement on my blog!! I needed that. Loving your stories from Africa. I sometimes wonder if people see God so much better there becaus ethere isn't as much in the way. I haven't been myself but have heard amazing stories like yours...look forward to more!

Denise said...

Kleenex for the next one? I have needed one from every story!