Friday, July 3, 2009

This week

It has been a good week. The team had a good day and a half rest and then has been going this week. They went to a fellowship meeting on Tuesday night, Bible study on Wednesday, Feeding program with Children of the Nations on Thursday and a Bible study at a secondary school today. We will have a barbeque Sunday with some students coming over to our house.

Our hearts rejoice with being able to serve in so many different contexts. Our family has been to a secondary school in the rural area where we will go later this month as the conference speaker. We were able to go to the crisis nursery this week several times and got to help entertain and care for the babies. It was sad though as one of the children died last week. These babies come to the nursery in really rough condition. Many are sick and severely malnourished.

Please pray for my preparation. I will be teaching at conferences two weeks in a row. I long for God’s word to come alive and speak to the students hearts calling them to a deeper sense of his love and call for their lives. I long to see these young men and women become change agents in the church and community God has them in.

Adoption update: Things move slowly here. As I have mentioned before Fuluke (actually spelled Farook I think)is HIV positive. He has been tested and is positive but they do a second test in a month to be sure. His mom died of complications from AIDS. We have learned that the US is allowing adoptions of HIV positive children now but it is unclear if they will from Malawi. We are trying to find that out and are still in process with Farook seeking the Lord’s guidance. We are also looking into another boy, Jackson, who is in the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery. He is 4 months old. We will know more as the social welfare department contacts relatives to see if he is “unattached.”

Please pray for us to clearly hear God’s voice as we continue to follow his leadership. Adopting a boy with HIV will be even more life changing for our whole family, we don’t walk in blinded but also know that without medication Farook will not likely live past the age of two but with medication he can live a healthy life. So we pray and seek the Lord which child He has for us. Please join us.

Thank you for your emails and comments. Please keep them coming. We are encouraged by our friends and family love and support as we try to walk by faith.

2 comments:

Tala Haddad said...

Yesterday I had the most amazing time alone with God at the northmost place of Jordan (Um Qays), or the city called Gadara in the New Testament right on the shore of Lake Tiberius (The Galilee Sea). I thought I'd share the number of miracles Jesus did around that place, hope they will encourage you to remember His power, His passion toward us, and His care for us while you are on this mission:
- He healed the 2 possessed men, and the people of the city of Gadara were scared of him according to Matthew.
- He walked on the Water, It was His way of telling us He is above all the waves of trouble that hit our lives.
- The fishing miracle; when the nets could not hold the fish the disciples caught.
- Calming the storm!
- After His resurrection, he appeared to the disciples there where he had prepared some fish on the fire for them (He prepared them a very special meal, a sign of deep care and passion).
- there are many many more I can still add.. Mighty and Wonderful our God is!

Erik said...

Chris - I think you are right about the spelling of Farook. It is spelled lots of different ways. I have seen it spelled Farooq or Faruq as well. It can mean "male" or "moral". I'm praying for your hearts. Psalm 34:18. The LORD is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.