Love on Display

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Matthew 22:37-39

During the holiday break Amber and I decided to get involved with an orphanage in Snake Park. We asked members of Faith Baptist Church to participate in order for them to learn how to serve and love their neighbors.

This orphanage is run by a woman who belongs to a Zionist church which believes in praying to your ancestors who speak to Jesus on your behalf. The traditional African belief in ancestors is one of the biggest barriers to the Gospel. Many Africans believe in Jesus but do not believe Jesus' words when He said, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

The children prepared songs, dances and even a sketch (skit) about King Solomon. The story can be found in 1 King 3:16-28 where Solomon in his wisdom is able to decipher who is the true mother of the baby. And to our surprise, one of our girls from last years Girls Club sang a song for us. Just reminds me not to take for granted the opportunity we have to love on our grade 7 girls and teach them of Christ's love.

Brad led the children in a few songs with his guitar. He shared his testimony about being scared of dying when he was young because of being sick.  He also shared the story of Jesus calming the storm and saving the lives of his frightened disciples. God has power over nature, sickness and death. Please pray that seeds were planted in the hearts of these children and the young adults as they heard of how God loves them and desires to have a relationship with each one of them.

We had three members of Faith Baptist and Philani are language tutor come with. Sibongile also shared a story from the Bible. Thembane led the children in singing and dancing. Zakele and Philani had a good time playing with the kids. Pray that church members would understand that God calls us to share His love with our neighbors, even the orphans living a few blocks over!

I can't find the right words to describe the beauty of this picture... Christ's love transcends culture, language, and skin color. Amen!

Who can resist these beautiful faces? As we were leaving, some of the children began to cry. Please pray for these 19 orphaned children to understand the love their Heavenly Father has for them, in spite of them not having an earthly father.