We are praying about how to partner with a young Christian man there who has been given a heart and vision for helping keep orphans in families! Helping a parent work to 'afford' keeping their child. That would have been our Jakob. Don't get me wrong...I know God has him for us. BUT, from the beginning I had to ask...can we help his mom keep him??? We were too late. Since then it has nagged me at what point it wouldn't have been. Daniel, this young man with a heart and vision, was himself left to be cared for by his grandmother who could barely manage. He knows first hand he was spared from an orphanage. He believes that offering a Christian day care setting to families/a parent would afford them the opportunity to work, thereby feeding their children. That's one of the largest reasons for relinquishing children to orphanage status! So, Daniel gave us his 'business plan'. He's ready. All he's missing is financial support. We are praying how to partner and support him, not just financially, but as on-going ministry. He wants these kids to know the love of Jesus! He wants these parents to be trained to love their children....in Ethiopia. Us? We want to help children stay with their families if that's good and possible. We will be meeting again with Daniel on our return trip to Ethiopia. He's ready to roll. There's an initial location/area targeted. That's all Daniel is thinking about. We think God may be doing something to help this 'crisis' age (1-3 years) to bridge the gap before they can go to government supported schools in Ethiopia. In that time, they will hear about the love of Jesus and give a parent chance to secure work and skills. Hold your hats people! God is always good and always moving...are we always seeing and following?
3 comments:
That's great Cindy! I'd love to hear more about him and his ministry too. We are always on the look out for good ministries happening in Ethiopia and this is exactly what needs to get going. Blessings!
Hi Cindy, Shoot me an email with his contact info. We'd love to meet him when we are in ET and this is something that we'd love to support in some way.
Hey, Bethany already does this, FYI. Not a daycare per se, but orphan prevention. You can sponsor families. They have programs not only in Ethiopia and other African countries, but also in South American and Eastern Europe.
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