Nonnie

Just going through some pictures today and saw some of my little Nonnie. They were taken mostly of when the youth were here on mission trip. She was about eight years old 'Mom' thought at the orphanage. She came to the orphanage not to long before our church, Acts Family Vereeniging and Ext 23 adopted this little orphanage. She was is bad shape. She had AIDS. She had been abandoned by her mother, like most of the children here at the orphanage. This is the case across many of the countries in Africa. Tragic to think...

For me, I cannot imagine the choices these mothers face. Grace, love and mercy have to be for both moms and babies. I look at the kids and wonder what hard-ship did those parents face? What a hard thing to do...give up your child in hope that they will find something better.

For Nonnie, it was a better choice. She did get health care and the medicine she needed. Mom did love her. We all loved her. She was so full of life. The first time I met her, she was so shy. But hello love! She wouldn't come to me and if you know me and babies, that will just not happen. I will do pretty much anything, including bribery, for them to come to me. Well, finally found the thing that Nonnie loved. Pen and paper and lotion. So, every time she saw me, she knew I would come with some kind of pen, pencil, crayons, markers, or something to draw with and on. And don't think I was taking them back with me, oh no...leaving it all there, heart and all.

Early in August, I got a phone call form Dudu that she had gone to heaven and was healed. Forever...no more pain, no more suffering. Nonnie is not the only one here in South Africa or Africa. There are many like her. We are here to change the next generation through love. Love is the answer.

Grace

I was thinking today about grace and what we as believers are doing with it and about it? And what am I doing about it?

I was thinking about grace, Africa, our J-Life teams, FBC McKinney, friends, family, and the amazing opportunities we are given every day. Our family is in a place where we have the amazing opportunities to experience growth in young people over a year that most people do not get to see. Our one year program that we have with J-Life has taken the lives of about 40 young people over the course of the last ten months and changed them and changed us.

We have the view of watching them grow and learn about Christ and what He has done for us. These young people have an intensive training for four months and then move into communities to work with local youth groups that are mostly struggling. So, with excitement we watch…

Now, to my thoughts about grace… We have all had a moment that grace has been given to us as believers. The moment that we accept that Christ died on the cross and paid for our sins, we were given grace. By the very definition of grace, it is not earned. It is not that we don’t have consequences to our sin. But, it is that we offer or are offered grace. Here in Africa the consequences to sin are apparent. The forefathers to this nation made choices that today’s generation are still paying the consequences for.

Jesus offers the words about grace, love and mercy all throughout the Bible. Does Christ say love your neighbor if? No, He says love your neighbor. He doesn’t say love your neighbor if he has the same skin color, if he has the same social status, if he doesn’t have AIDS, if he steals from you, if, if, if…There are no ‘if’ in the Love your neighbor and part of loving is extending and showing grace.

We are in this race together. So, let’s learn together…