This last week has been one of planning and budgeting and meeting in regard to the mission in Aweil.  I am working on very detailed budgets and program parameters so, it has been an administrative week.  Not much excitement there huh?

Moses, our sweet 18 month old baby who only weighs 6 kilograms (18 pounds) is slowly coming back to health.  After three weeks of having only a milk mixture, yesterday he was allowed to have his first taste of food in three weeks and boy was he happy!  His smile was a picture worth a million words.  His first meal was peanut butter and bananas.  It was a rough three weeks for him because he loves food and we were having to hide our food from his eyes so as not to upset him.

Physically, Moses is far behind his age group concerning motor skills.  His hands don’t function very well, as there is not much strength in his hands.  He can’t even lift himself up to a crawling position.  We are fairly sure that he can only sit and lie down, and stand if we hold him.  Because of his severe malnutrition, all of his skin has been peeling off in chunks, like having a really bad sunburn over your entire body.  So now he is two-toned where his skin is left with light brown patches against beautiful black.  We pray that it all goes back to the beautiful Sudanese black.  This week the children have taken to him and are now carting him around all day long, as if he were their little doll.  It is very cute and he adores all the attention of course.

Because of his being so delicate and sick these last weeks, the children had not been nurturing or loving on him.  It seemed no one wanted to hold him.  He would just sit on the porch by himself.  I was frustrated and couldn’t understand why.  It is very sad sometimes in a culture where those with abnormalities are shunned.  It is almost as if they are disposable people or ones that are hidden away.  Mercy is such a wonderful example of what God will do when we choose to pour out love on these.  Everyone used to run from Mercy when she first came.  Now she makes us all laugh most times.  Sure, she can still grate on our nerves sometimes, but so can a lot of people.

I again had a teaching with the older girls about heart posture and love.  The Lord spoke clearly to me that He is the original seed planted in our heart soil.  He is love.  If we don’t water that seed with loving others, love will not grow in us, it will shrivel up and wither away.  When we posture our heart to love others, that is what waters the seed inside us and causes it to grow.  We can only love perfectly with Jesus’ love.  But it is up to us to posture ourselves to receive the watering by loving others.  No love poured forth, no growth.

1 John 4:16  If anyone sees someone in need but has no concern for them, how can the love of God be in them?

We won’t always be able to “do” something for everyone who is in need.  It’s impossible.  I could not possibly feed every street boy in Aweil in the time I was there last week.  They were never in the same place at the same time.  I fed who I could but I surely loved them all and had compassion on them all.

If our hearts are filled with the Father’s love, then we at least are moved in our hearts for that person’s need.  That is the right heart posture.  We are to do something if we can, but if not, we at least need to have empathy and not just stroll by untouched by their distress.  Jesus was always pressed by huge crowds and the Bible states that He had compassion on them ALL.  I pray for my heart to always be postured in love for what He loves.

Well, since that teaching on Wednesday, Moses has not been left alone.  The girls race to hold him, to dress him, to feed him.  I am so very grateful that they “got it” about their heart posture.  I truly want to see them grow into all that they were created to be, especially in love and compassion for those whom no one else will love or care for.

The Lord also reminded me time and again this week that nothing overwhelms Him.  Looking at my budget and all the hungry boys and the things I want to see done in Aweil, I almost became overwhelmed with the magnitude of it.  The Lord says, “I am the Lord God Almighty, I can do anything.  Nothing overwhelms me.  So don’t you be overwhelmed by the things we will do together.”  Be encouraged family, nothing in our lives can overwhelm our amazing God.  He really is quite amazing.  Amen!

Saturday I took all of our 16, 17 and 18 year old girls (twelve of them) out to lunch to celebrate their beauty and their calling as Proverbs 31 women, which has been our theme these last three months of ministry.  My friend, Nadia, another missionary, then gave them each a beautiful stone beaded bracelet.  We strolled around the market and made the five mile trek back to the compound.  After walking that roundtrip I am exhausted on Sunday!  A day well spent on our beautiful queens, brides of the Bridegroom King.