Miracle Child

William from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

Six year-old William once asked his mother, “Why do other children walk on the bottoms of their feet? Why am I like this? What did you do to me?” When she told him that it was God who did it, not her, William said, “Then please tell God to fix me.”

William was born with clubfoot, affecting both of his feet.  If William had been born in America this common deformity would have been easily fixed when he was still a baby.  But in Zambia it’s a different story.  In Zambia, where the resources are few and the funds are even fewer, healing is only a distant dream. 

Last February Lifesong Zambia coordinator, Dru Smith wrote about William in her newsletter.  When Wendy in Illinois heard his story she was prompted to act.  After a thorough investigation she discovered CURE Clubfoot International, which had a clinic in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia!  In April William was fitted for casts (first in a series of 3) and then had corrective surgery on his right foot in June and his left foot in September (the video was taken in September just before his second surgery).

God used His people to “fix” William.  Today William can walk!  Soon he will be strong enough to return to school, play with the other children, and be able to do many of the simple tasks we take for granted!

Through this journey the Lifesong staff has been able to help not only William, but his family as well.  William’s brother, Bright, and cousin, Gift, have both been enrolled at Lifesong school.  In addition his father, Victor, who was unemployeed now works in the Lifesong gardens!  We’re so thankful our God is the master at doing “abundantly and immeasurably more” than we even think to ask!

Tasty Treats #4: Iced Coffee Latte

Wow.  What a day yesterday.  The power of God is mighty, isn't it?  Praise the Lord Davids is on his way to being adopted by a loving family!  Thank you to everyone who committed this boy to prayer.  Your prayers really did make a difference!  Got to love when the body of Christ joins together in prayer for orphans!

And now it's time for another...

Today we're featuring the Iced Coffee Latte on page 14, made with none other than Gobena coffee.

 Serving orphans never tasted so good.

The recipe calls for 1/3 cup instant coffee granules mixed into 1/2 cup of boiling water, but instead I used:

Gobena coffee (whole beans freshly ground)

and brewed it at a 1 heaping tsp coffee:1 cup water ration.  (I would recommend going stronger, if you want a stronger coffee flavor to come through... or you could consider following the recipe too)

i combined the super strong coffee with a quart of chocolate milk, cold water, and a can of sweetened condensed milk... whisked it all together and voila!

And the final product was super yummy!

at least Leah thinks so...

(and Marla and Christi and me too!)

Urgent: Please Pray!

*UPDATE* A family has come forward to adopt Davids! (click here for more info)  Praise the Lord!! Our God's hand is mighty indeed and His children are LOVED!

Some of you have already heard this little boy's story and are already active in spreading the word.  But for those who don't know, there is a boy in Latvia who desperately needs a forever family... FAST.

Read is his story here

Could this be part of YOUR story?  

Please READ!  

Please PRAY!  

Please ACT!  

Help Davids find his forever family!

~

Also, today The Christian Alliance for Orphans is having a prayer webinar for Haiti.  Can you believe the earthquake happened a year ago today?  Click on the register button to sign up!

Goodness, it can be overwhelming how much pain is in the world, right?  

There's so much to pray for!  

Today I am thankful that my God hears my prayers... and cares!  

Isn't that amazing?

He has a plan for Davids!  

He has a heart for the people of Haiti!

Today, let us pray... and let us wait expectantly.

Prayer Leads to Action

Wow!  Thank you for all of your responses this week!  So many great ideas.  Keep 'em coming!  You still have until 11:59 Sunday night to have a chance to win a new t-shirt!  ... oh the excitement of it all.

Recently we received an update from Ginny Stoller, one of our missionaries in Ethiopia.  I want to include a little excerpt from what she wrote.  I'll warn you... it's heart breaking... and oh so common...

Last week I had a young mother sit in the school office and beg us to take her seven year old son—not to merely register him, but to literally take him... for adoption—something we are in no way equipped to do.  Her eyes were pleading and hopeless.  A widow, she had lost her husband about three years ago, and has three children.   Her landlord gave her a week to get out of her home. Because she must care for her children, she cannot hold a job and earn money to support the family.  One child is already up for adoption in a town to the south, and the youngest is a three year old strapped to her back—too scared to even look at me. The 7 year old is recovering from TB, and has been on medication for four months.  He was registered in another school but has to take his medication with food, something our school provides for our students.  We were able to register him in kindergarten and ensure he can be fed, but this doesn’t solve his mother's desperate situation, and she’s terrified of having to live on the streets.

I also recently found out one of our 3^rd grade students lost her mother after a long illness (probably HIV).  Her father died a while ago.  Her uncle and his wife brought her in to discuss their living situation.  They were trying to keep her mother’s house to live in, but were unsure if they would be allowed to stay there. She sat quietly behind them, her head down.  Surely the loss of a mother and the threatened loss of a home is more than any child should have to bear.

I know that God has a plan for each of us.  I believe He loves and cares for the destitute.  I have faith that His heart breaks when He sees another family... another child thrust out on the streets.  

I also know that He desires to use His body to help protect the weak.  He wants to raise up His church to do powerful things... will we let Him?  

I won't pretend to have the answers.  When I look at situations like this I feel overwhelmed and small.  But i know God is faithful!  I KNOW it!  And HE has the answers.  He is not overwhelmed or surprised by any of this.  He is not small or weak.  He is BIG and mighty!

Will you join my in prayer this week? Pray that God's body will rise to the occasion of caring for the vulnerable.  Pray that He will give clear insight and direction.  Pray that we will take hold of His grace that is so sufficient and respond when we feel the Spirit move.

Pray... and then act!

Give-aways are Fun!

WARNING: As hard as I tried, I couldn't help making this post sound like it should be read by Bob Barker.

Alright everyone, today we want to hear from YOU because we are having, not 1, but 2 GIVE-aways!

Here's how it works.

Give-away #1: Answer this question:

How MANY children has Lifesong helped bring home to date?

The prize will go to whoever is closest.  If there is a tie, we will draw names for the winner.

Give-away #2: Leave a comment on Friday's post:

Those who have posted already, will automatically be entered.  Both give-away responses can be combined in one comment on today's post.

And what, you ask, will our prizes be?

NEW, never-before-seen T-shirts!

You will get first dibs on a Lifesong tee in brand new brown(males) and red (females)

NOTE: You will not be limited to only the new colors.  If you would prefer one of our other colors, we are happy to accommodate.

You have till 11:59pm Sunday night to comment, and then we'll announce our winners on Monday!

so COME on Down