the Whipple's | the most beautiful road ever traveled...
A tearjerker...and evidence God is at work!
Lifesong for Orphans adoption grant & loan ministry had the privilege of coming alonside Isaac's adoption into the Whipple family
A tearjerker...and evidence God is at work!
Lifesong for Orphans adoption grant & loan ministry had the privilege of coming alonside Isaac's adoption into the Whipple family
That's how Lifesong's partner in Honduras (TOLM) is serving the children in the 2nd poorest country in the western hemisphere...
DE-PARASITING PROGRAM: Motivated to evangelize, several ministry teams set out, in late March and into April, to cover 23 different municipalities and there perspective schools, distributing pills for parasites. To paint a clearer picture as to how many individual schools were visited, one group alone visited around 55 schools. These groups set out on a Monday not returning until Thursday or Friday.
Children were de-parasited and many heard the Good News of Salvation - receiving Christ as their Savior.
another way Lifesong for Orphans is striving to fulfill Our Pledge... to "our children"
A note from Dru, Lifesong missionary in Zambia, Africa...
Dedicated in loving memory of Mapalo (Blessings) Mukange (1 April 2004 – 23 March 2009)
Malaria struck in full force the last two months. We’ve taken as many as 14 in one day to the clinic; it is often fatal, as it was in the case of 4-year-old Mapalo. I thought of Ramah crying for her children as I drove Mapalo’s aunt and father home from the hospital the day he died; the entire half-hour trip was accompanied by loud wailing and crying, which only got louder as they were joined by friends and family when we arrived in the compound.I cried silent tears as I watched the neighbors carry furniture into the yard to make room in the house for the mourners. It is a daily occurrence in the compound, where death prevails; all too often, it is the children who die. Our security guard, Nicodemus, had 9 children; five died in infancy.
How do we celebrate life in the midst of so much death?I found the answer at the cemetery, when I attended Mapalo’s funeral. This was my first time to attend a funeral in Zambia; I have usually made excuses to avoid them. The cemetery was as busy as an American shopping center the day after Thanksgiving—burials every direction I looked and the roads lined with cars, buses, and large trucks used to transport mourners. After the service, we walked to the area where children are buried. We had to wind our way through mounds scattered throughout, many with no markers; the cemetery is near capacity.
A man dug the shallow grave while we looked on, the wooden coffin we bought was laid inside, and the grave filled. The women patted the dirt with their hands, and a man uprooted a nearby cassava plant and stuck it in the dirt. This plant will wither and “die” but will later revive and form a large bush to shade Mapalo’s grave.
I found this a very poignant reminder that we must die to our old life in order to be reborn into our new life in Christ. The Zambians use this as a symbol of life after death. Mapalo may have left us, but he is enjoying life with Jesus in eternity. This is what we celebrate even as we grieve our losses on earth. We know that our Redeemer lives, and because He lives, we too will live again in a new body that will not suffer or die!
Our Lifesong-India Vision Team recently returned from a VisionTrip where the purpose was to meet with our indigenous Lifesong staff and strategize on how to improve & grow our Orphan Care work there...it was a fantastic trip!
I plan on highlighting different aspects of the trip over the next few days...
One of the tender moments was when the young girls were having fun playing games with Marla Ringger @ Jyothi Nivas children's home...one special little girl asked Marla to pray over her day at school, her life, etc - it was special!
As we look at these pictures, I can't help but to think "...isn't this so much more meaningful than playing golf or laying out on the beach year round?"
God blessed us, so that we may bless others...
Check out these special notes we received from some of the children on our last trip to Honduras...
Dear Lifesong,
I’m writing you out of appreciation for you being so special to me by becoming a part of what plan Escalon is and I wanted to tell you that I will be praying for you that you will prosper and that God will always be with you in all you do. We know that life can be difficult but we know that God is always with us.
You are great people and I will remember you in my heart even though there is great distance between us.
I also want to thank you for the blessings that you are to this ministry, it is a big help and more than you can imagine. I hope that you will continue to pray for this ministry and the people here in our little piece of heaven (plan Escalon), because I would have no idea where I’d be if this place didn’t exist. It has made big changes in many lives including my family.
Thank you for everything.
I’ll remember you all and pray that God will repay you with more abundance.
Mayra Mata
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Dear Lifesong
Receive the blessings in abundance from our creator.
The motive for this small note is to express our gratitude for becoming part of this ministry. We hope that your efforts be repaid by the Lord and every thing that you have sown will be multiplied to you all.
There are not word to express our gratitude for folks like you and what you do, we know that you do it all out of a heart of love. I didn’t have the chance to meet you but I will remember you all.
Thanks to God and folks like you, I will be graduating this year after much sacrifice but the important thing is I am very happy and grateful to have been part of this great family at Escalon. I will always feel a part of this family and that now you too are part of our family. I hope that God will allow you all to return again and that God will open the windows of heaven over you. It is my desire that I will donate a year back to Escalon when I graduate to help others like others have helped me.
Blessings to all of you and prayers that God will keep you. Thanks for your time and work and for supporting this ministry.
Maribel