Tonight was a very sobering evening as all the children in the Benin orphanage gathered around me to pray for my itchy skin to be healed (exzema rash on my arms). They sang some precious songs to God, then one by one said a beautiful prayer over me. The sobering part was looking out at all of them so passionate in their love for God and others and remembering where they came from just a short time ago.
Some were rescued from domestic slavery, abuse as well as others watched parents die horrific and sad deaths through murder or AIDS.
As they were praying the 3 who were directly standing in front of me where a sibling group who just last year watched their parents brutally murdered by a thief that broke into their home one evening. The youngest one, then two was found laying over her mothers bloody dead body crying. The pain and scaring they came with is unbelievable, and now they were extending out their hands to me praying the most precious prayers over my life. That just blew my mind and put a huge lump in my throat.
I then started looking around the room as my eyes were supposed to be closed. I could not help but breath in this moment in time when I could watch each passionate prayer of complete selflessness from ones whom I knew in normal circumstances would be cursing the world for the injustices done to them, and yet I was witnessing this beautiful picture of redemption.
Thank you God for redeeming them, restoring them and bringing them to life in you.
The sweetness of tonight is embedded in my mind for years to come.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Benin trip July 31-Aug 10 2011
I am leaving tomorrow for Benin West Africa. We are checking on the safe home/orphanage we were apart of starting 2 years ago.
We are checking up on them as well as scouting out what the next step is for us as Orphan Relief and Rescue in helping more children. We are focusing on the children who are being used as domestic servants in homes as an orphan. There are hundreds of thousands of children being used as domestic servants in this country. As an orphan in particular, that child has no value as a person. They are strictly a piece of property. We are working to change all that.
Stay posted
We are checking up on them as well as scouting out what the next step is for us as Orphan Relief and Rescue in helping more children. We are focusing on the children who are being used as domestic servants in homes as an orphan. There are hundreds of thousands of children being used as domestic servants in this country. As an orphan in particular, that child has no value as a person. They are strictly a piece of property. We are working to change all that.
Stay posted
Monday, May 2, 2011
Champion For Children Award
Thursday, March 3, 2011
No place to Go
Sexual and physical abuse occur daily in the bedrooms of many orphans at the hands of their directors, those entrusted as stand-in parents. It's something we would rather not hear about or even have to think about. Unfortunately, abuse is all too common in Africa, sometimes brutal but often in the passive form of neglect.
There are many amazing orphanage directors out there, but there are also many who should never be entrusted with children. Their sole purpose is to use the orphanage as a business, realizing profit by exploiting children of all ages. Kind-hearted and well-intentioned people visit for an afternoon and take pity on the children. Money is sent, but it will never reach the kids it was intended for. Selfish directors pocket the money or sell the food and medicine. I see this over and over again, and it breaks my heart.
Whether I'm here in Liberia looking out my window or at my desk in America, my thoughts are never far from the children living in horrific orphanages that desperately need someone to fight for them.
In October, the Government of Liberia wrote me a letter requesting that Orphan Relief and Rescue build and manage a transition center so that, together, we could begin to rescue children in the orphanages I'm talking about. Many of those orphanages have been on the government's closure list for years but, since there is nowhere to move the children once they are rescued, the government's options are limited.
It's both a great honor and burden that the government of Liberia has asked us to intervene and build a transition center. It is one of the greatest immediate needs that I know of in the entire country, and could save hundreds upon hundreds of children. I met personally with the social welfare office last Thursday, and they once again pleaded with me to open a center soon, even an interim one--anything to help get the rescue process going.
Why Orphan Relief and Rescue?
Government social workers told me that if ORR opens a transition center, they are confident that we will work alongside them to ensure the very best for the children. They told me that ORR staff have proven that we only want what is best for the children. They have seen our team take personal interest in many individual cases where kids needed someone to go the extra mile, so the government has full confidence that ORR is the right organization to take on this immense project.
I shared that we really want to help them but, as always, God will have to do some pretty big miracles for this to happen. The head social worker looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Then let's just believe God will do it, because we desperately need this!"
So now we pray and share the stories and do all that God is asking of us. The rest is up to those whom God will prompt to partner with us in this endeavor. Will you please pray with us on this HUGE need and request? May justice come soon for all of these precious children.
There are many amazing orphanage directors out there, but there are also many who should never be entrusted with children. Their sole purpose is to use the orphanage as a business, realizing profit by exploiting children of all ages. Kind-hearted and well-intentioned people visit for an afternoon and take pity on the children. Money is sent, but it will never reach the kids it was intended for. Selfish directors pocket the money or sell the food and medicine. I see this over and over again, and it breaks my heart.
Whether I'm here in Liberia looking out my window or at my desk in America, my thoughts are never far from the children living in horrific orphanages that desperately need someone to fight for them.
In October, the Government of Liberia wrote me a letter requesting that Orphan Relief and Rescue build and manage a transition center so that, together, we could begin to rescue children in the orphanages I'm talking about. Many of those orphanages have been on the government's closure list for years but, since there is nowhere to move the children once they are rescued, the government's options are limited.
It's both a great honor and burden that the government of Liberia has asked us to intervene and build a transition center. It is one of the greatest immediate needs that I know of in the entire country, and could save hundreds upon hundreds of children. I met personally with the social welfare office last Thursday, and they once again pleaded with me to open a center soon, even an interim one--anything to help get the rescue process going.
Why Orphan Relief and Rescue?
Government social workers told me that if ORR opens a transition center, they are confident that we will work alongside them to ensure the very best for the children. They told me that ORR staff have proven that we only want what is best for the children. They have seen our team take personal interest in many individual cases where kids needed someone to go the extra mile, so the government has full confidence that ORR is the right organization to take on this immense project.
I shared that we really want to help them but, as always, God will have to do some pretty big miracles for this to happen. The head social worker looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Then let's just believe God will do it, because we desperately need this!"
So now we pray and share the stories and do all that God is asking of us. The rest is up to those whom God will prompt to partner with us in this endeavor. Will you please pray with us on this HUGE need and request? May justice come soon for all of these precious children.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Seeing Justice
My Liberia trip this month was very successful. It was definitely one of the harder trips. With no running water, a few days of no power, creatures invading the team house and club music playing next door till midnight each night to name just a few of the hardships. The thing that always pull me through these type of trips is seeing God do crazy stuff in the lives of those we are serving as well as in my own life and the lives of our field team.
Without the God element, there is no way I could live this kind of life. I am too much a creature of comfort. The joke is that I am not a camping type person, yet as I choose to walk in the life God has asked of me, I am never at a loss of the awe-ha moments of seeing God do one crazy thing after the next.
I am so in awe of the incredible favor we have with the Government of Liberia. I am in awe of all the healthy Children we are helping who not long ago were on their death beds. I am in awe of the orphanage directors who had to listen to their children cry themselves to sleep due to empty stomachs, who now have adequate food and sanitary conditions to live in. I am in awe of children who had no hope for a future, and are able to now dream big.
We are seeing Justice come to pass for so many children.
With all the success stories there are still big prayer points. One big prayer point is for the many displaced orphans that come into the system when their orphanage is closed due to negligent and awful directors. This issue is never far from my thoughts. God has a way of not letting me get away with ignoring large needs that are close to His heart. He tends to put them right in front of my face as if to say “Rebecca this one is what I want you to pay close attention to.”. The children from the closed homes are ending up in some of the full orphanages that we are helping and it is really a sad situation because they are just another mouth to feed. They are a huge burden and not considered a welcomed guest. The children are so precious and yet do not belong anywhere. The government is asking us to build a transit center for the purpose of finding adequate homes for the children, and they pleaded with us extra intensely while I was there. They know where we are financially, but they still ask. My heart aches for those kids. All we can do is share the stories with others and pray God will provide an answer for these precious children. Two girls who are displaced grabbed my heart on this trip. They are both named Mary. One is about 8 and the other 12. I called them big Mary and little Mary. They followed me everywhere at one of the homes we help. Them clinging to me, just broke my heart. They would stroke my hair and hug me with longing eyes every moment they could. Out of all 80 kids in the home, I knew God specifically set it up that those two girls would be who God would use to rip my heart apart to represent the huge number of displaced kids that do not belong anywhere. Big Mary and Little Mary have captured my mothers heart and the fight in me will continue till an answer is found for the many others who God is wanting us to fight for. Will you join with me in praying for a transition center to come to pass in God’s perfect timing.
Without the God element, there is no way I could live this kind of life. I am too much a creature of comfort. The joke is that I am not a camping type person, yet as I choose to walk in the life God has asked of me, I am never at a loss of the awe-ha moments of seeing God do one crazy thing after the next.
I am so in awe of the incredible favor we have with the Government of Liberia. I am in awe of all the healthy Children we are helping who not long ago were on their death beds. I am in awe of the orphanage directors who had to listen to their children cry themselves to sleep due to empty stomachs, who now have adequate food and sanitary conditions to live in. I am in awe of children who had no hope for a future, and are able to now dream big.
We are seeing Justice come to pass for so many children.
With all the success stories there are still big prayer points. One big prayer point is for the many displaced orphans that come into the system when their orphanage is closed due to negligent and awful directors. This issue is never far from my thoughts. God has a way of not letting me get away with ignoring large needs that are close to His heart. He tends to put them right in front of my face as if to say “Rebecca this one is what I want you to pay close attention to.”. The children from the closed homes are ending up in some of the full orphanages that we are helping and it is really a sad situation because they are just another mouth to feed. They are a huge burden and not considered a welcomed guest. The children are so precious and yet do not belong anywhere. The government is asking us to build a transit center for the purpose of finding adequate homes for the children, and they pleaded with us extra intensely while I was there. They know where we are financially, but they still ask. My heart aches for those kids. All we can do is share the stories with others and pray God will provide an answer for these precious children. Two girls who are displaced grabbed my heart on this trip. They are both named Mary. One is about 8 and the other 12. I called them big Mary and little Mary. They followed me everywhere at one of the homes we help. Them clinging to me, just broke my heart. They would stroke my hair and hug me with longing eyes every moment they could. Out of all 80 kids in the home, I knew God specifically set it up that those two girls would be who God would use to rip my heart apart to represent the huge number of displaced kids that do not belong anywhere. Big Mary and Little Mary have captured my mothers heart and the fight in me will continue till an answer is found for the many others who God is wanting us to fight for. Will you join with me in praying for a transition center to come to pass in God’s perfect timing.
Friday, February 11, 2011
A Real Miracle
Nearly five years ago, a baby girl who was near death was dropped off at an orphanage during the same time we had stepped in to help their distressing home in Liberia. The story given by the people dropping her off was that the child’s mother was mentally ill and had given birth to six babies before this little one. All the children had died before reaching the age of one, due to the severe neglect of the mother, who would leave her children alone in the home for long periods of time. One child was taken over by ants and died; another was repeatedly bitten by unknown animals (possibly rodents) and died. So this little girl was rescued by neighbors who could not bear to see another child die in the hands of this neglectful mother. After hearing her distressing cries day after day, they took her and dropped her off at the only home they felt would take her.
The director of the home was a loving mother, and she stayed up night after night nursing the girl back to health. The director had 85 other children to care for, yet she took that extra time with this little one to save her life. The little girl was given the name Miracle Rebecca because her life truly was a miracle, and we were very involved at the time with their home. When we started working with this orphanage, the 85 children were extremely hungry; they had not eaten for three days. They were living in horrible conditions and suffering terribly. No one else was helping them. Finding the directors to be highly credible and honest people, simply victims of the civil war and poverty, we immediately started dropping off food and then helped them get their home up to sanitary conditions. Because of that, today Miracle and the rest of the children in the home are doing amazingly well. The director reminds us that, had we not come to their aid when we did, many of her children may not be alive today, and she would never have been in the position to accept Miracle into her home. Many lives were rescued due to our involvement and God’s provision. Thank you for making these stories possible by your partnership with us.
The director of the home was a loving mother, and she stayed up night after night nursing the girl back to health. The director had 85 other children to care for, yet she took that extra time with this little one to save her life. The little girl was given the name Miracle Rebecca because her life truly was a miracle, and we were very involved at the time with their home. When we started working with this orphanage, the 85 children were extremely hungry; they had not eaten for three days. They were living in horrible conditions and suffering terribly. No one else was helping them. Finding the directors to be highly credible and honest people, simply victims of the civil war and poverty, we immediately started dropping off food and then helped them get their home up to sanitary conditions. Because of that, today Miracle and the rest of the children in the home are doing amazingly well. The director reminds us that, had we not come to their aid when we did, many of her children may not be alive today, and she would never have been in the position to accept Miracle into her home. Many lives were rescued due to our involvement and God’s provision. Thank you for making these stories possible by your partnership with us.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
On my way to Liberia
On my way to Liberia today. Having unexpected Layovers and delays, yet God is asking me to just give my every emotion and thought to HIm. Nothing ever goes as planned with Africa travel and I need to not let anything bother me.
Excited to see the kids and orphanage directors. Excited to meet with the Government. Excited to see what God is going to do on this trip. Will keep you posted! Stay tuned.
Excited to see the kids and orphanage directors. Excited to meet with the Government. Excited to see what God is going to do on this trip. Will keep you posted! Stay tuned.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Given new life
So happy that 9 kids from a closed down orphanage were given a new home in a brand new boarding school that we worked hard to get them into. They were in a horrible situation in their previous home, and now they have been given a whole new life. Pictures will follow when I go to Liberia in Feb. to check on them. Yeah!!! LOVE IT!!
I love this quote by Bono:
So what we're talking about here is human rights. The right to live like a human. The right to live, period. And what we're facing in Africa is an unprecedented threat to human dignity and equality.
I love this quote by Bono:
So what we're talking about here is human rights. The right to live like a human. The right to live, period. And what we're facing in Africa is an unprecedented threat to human dignity and equality.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Purposeful Living
About a year and a half ago a 24 year old female peace corp worker in Benin West Africa was killed. Her throat was slit in the night while she was sleeping. it was a mystery to many from the Western World. To most of us who regularly work in those area's of Benin it was quite obvious that if she had at all questioned justice issues or had made someone feel threatened by her existence, that person or group would have had her killed.
Now over a year later, the mother of this girl is speaking out to say that she knows why her daughter was murdered even though the investigators findings were inconclusive. She said her daughter was teaching English at the local school and learned some of the kids were being sexual abused by one of the teachers. She was asked to please help them by some of the school staff. A few days after anonymously reporting the person, she turned up dead. Her mother feels that this is what led to her murder.
As I read this story again this week, I am brought to the reality that this is exactly what I am doing in a much larger scale each time I go back to Benin. Each trip I know my life is threatened due to the magnitude of what i am addressing and am dealing with daily while there. Some are happy I am addressing these justice issues, but many are not. I am cursed daily, and I know many would like me dead.
My strength lies in knowing Who has my last breath in His hands. When God say’s my life is over, then it will be over, but until then, I will continue to fight this fight for the Justice of the children. I am no dummy and I take many precautions when i am there to protect myself. But the reality is that ultimately we need God to cover our every action and life. As I look at this new year Purposeful living daily is how i am choosing to live my life in 2011. May all my energy and my every breath be used for Christ's purposes to see lives transformed and the hurting set FREE! Domestically and Internationally!! That is what I call "REALLY LIVING" None of us know how long we have to live on this Earth. Let’s live it to the fullest with Purpose!!.
Now over a year later, the mother of this girl is speaking out to say that she knows why her daughter was murdered even though the investigators findings were inconclusive. She said her daughter was teaching English at the local school and learned some of the kids were being sexual abused by one of the teachers. She was asked to please help them by some of the school staff. A few days after anonymously reporting the person, she turned up dead. Her mother feels that this is what led to her murder.
As I read this story again this week, I am brought to the reality that this is exactly what I am doing in a much larger scale each time I go back to Benin. Each trip I know my life is threatened due to the magnitude of what i am addressing and am dealing with daily while there. Some are happy I am addressing these justice issues, but many are not. I am cursed daily, and I know many would like me dead.
My strength lies in knowing Who has my last breath in His hands. When God say’s my life is over, then it will be over, but until then, I will continue to fight this fight for the Justice of the children. I am no dummy and I take many precautions when i am there to protect myself. But the reality is that ultimately we need God to cover our every action and life. As I look at this new year Purposeful living daily is how i am choosing to live my life in 2011. May all my energy and my every breath be used for Christ's purposes to see lives transformed and the hurting set FREE! Domestically and Internationally!! That is what I call "REALLY LIVING" None of us know how long we have to live on this Earth. Let’s live it to the fullest with Purpose!!.
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