My heart is definitely broken. Broken into two pieces…One
piece always resides in Zambia. When I am there my heart feels whole
for some reason. I hope you have a place where your heart longs to be…a place
only God could have picked for you. It’s strange to think I could love a place so much that has such despair, poverty and pain but strangely so full of joy
and hope…
I just returned from my happy place…Happy?? so many ask... how
can dirt, power outages, dirty water, disease, death, 85-90% unemployment,
AIDS, Malaria, extreme poverty, corruption and…and ….and …. HOW can that bring
such peace and contentment and Happiness? Lifesong is part of it…
I was reading this morning in Matthew 6:25-34. This passage
is hard for me…Don’t worry about tomorrow…don’t worry about your food or your
clothes. I remember in 2013 walking down the red dirt road in Zambia crying out
to God…WHERE ARE YOU??!!!! Why are all these people who love you and crying out
to you still suffering so? Why are they starving to death, dying of preventable
disease, some basically naked…? You say you are the father to the fatherless, you say “do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink, what you will wear… Look at the birds of
the air…. Are you not much more valuable than they?” I was so angry… But God in
His gentleness reminded me that I was there… I am His Church and His Church is to
be about His business. His Church is His was of redeeming a lost world… "So get it on with it child...thats what you are here for!"
In the midst of all that is a struggle and hurting Zambia is
a place called Lifesong. Lifesong School and Lifesong Farms… In a desperate
place Lifesong is Hope. Food, medical care, education, jobs, skills
training and most importantly discipleship. Lifesong is breathing Gods Hope into
a desperate place. The hands and feet of Jesus, demonstrating that God does
care more for these people than he does the birds or the flowers…
When I left in 2014 M was important to me. M, a 2nd grader
could not read...didn’t even know the letters of the alphabet. On top of all that- home
life is a struggle and certainly not a place for M to learn about Christ. In my
eyes not much Hope for this little one…except God has Lifesong there.
So back to my happy place…where those who have nothing give
you all they can. They are like the widow with her mites sacrificing to give you any little thing. Typically, you will
leave with handfuls of notes and cards beautifully colored and written by our
students because it’s all they have to give. M gave me two notes…
M can now read and write thanks to Lifesong's amazing staff and teachers. And M is quoting scripture...on the back of this note John 3:16 written out. That
makes me Happy. That’s what Lifesong is doing for a community that is desperate
for Hope. God is using Lifesong to demonstrate that He loves his people more than the
flowers and the birds. He is using Lifesong to show these precious ones that
they were created with a hope and a purpose…And that God so loved them, that He gave His only son...Where else would M here that?
Do you have a broken heart? I encourage you to let God break
your heart for a hurting world. Matthew 25:31-46 begs us to… There are so many ways
and amazing ministries to get involved with… I implore you to let God break
your heart in two. It’s so worth it! We, His Church, are the only answer…
So today is my Miracle Day because M loves me like a cup of milk...and God broke my heart in two…
Sandy
