That They May Have Life

As I sit here and type this, I hear the loud church bell ringing, signaling a call to worship for all God's people here in Rehoboth.  God is calling you to worship, too, in His Word...

Isaiah the prophet spoke these words regarding Christ:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

² to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;

³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

 

⁴ They shall build up the ancient ruins;
    they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
    the devastations of many generations.

⁵ Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;
    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;
⁶ but you shall be called the priests of the Lord;
    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;
you shall eat the wealth of the nations,
    and in their glory you shall boast.
⁷ Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;
    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;
therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;
    they shall have everlasting joy.

 

 

⁸ For I the Lord love justice;
    I hate robbery and wrong;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

 

⁹ Their offspring shall be known among the nations,
    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
    that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed.

 

 

¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
    to sprout up before all the nations."  Isaiah 61

 

It is difficult to put into words what we saw and experienced yesterday.  In making home visits with Ida and her staff of caregivers, checking in on the children and their families to see how they are doing in school and what their home situations are like, we were with the poorest of the poor.  This is extreme poverty unlike anything we will ever see in the USA.  This is a place where there is no hope for a different, better life.  But God.

 

But God calls His people, and He sends them to the least of these to speak Christ's hope into their lives, to tell them that they are extremely valuable to God-- so valuable that He sent His very own Son to die for them.  God uses people like Calvyn and Ida Isaacs and their amazing staff of caregivers and others who help and work at the Care Point, not because they are being paid well to do it, but because God asked them to do it, and they said, "Yes, Lord."  They are Jesus to these children.  They are His hands and feet.  They are His heart poured out to the little ones with no hope...who now have hope!

 

We have heard so many incredible stories of what God has done in these lives and in this place.  I can assure you that Jesus is very powerful and present at the Ark Rehoboth, and He is transforming lives in a way you and I rarely if ever get to see.  Praise His glorious and powerful Name for all He has done!

 

May you be encouraged today to trust the One who is faithful, who has angel armies at His disposal, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and who knows and loves you intimately.  His name is Jesus.  The Light of the world.  The Light shining brightly in this corner of the world!

 

"The thief comes only to steal and kill,and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."  John 10:10

We are here!

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"  Psalm 126:3

 

fun with our new parachute!

Thank you, Jesus, for our first full day in Rehoboth.  What a joy to be with these beautiful people!

 

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'm going to share lots of photos of our first day with the staff and children at the Ark Care Point in Rehoboth, Namibia, run by Christ's Hope International.  We have been so blessed by our hosts, Calvyn and Ida Isaacs.  They are amazing people of a deep and passionate faith, willing to do whatever the Lord asks of them.

 

We began the day with staff devotions... oh how we enjoyed worshipping with them and hearing their beautiful voices!  Then we opened up 4 large suitcases full of gifts for the children and staff of the Care Point.  We had so much fun giving them to the staff, and even showed the caregivers how to have fun with the parachute!

 

 

  

Our favorite part of the day was when the children arrived to the Care Point after school for their hot meal and fun and games with us.  This Care Point has 50 children that come to it on Mondays-Fridays, and these children are carefully selected as those most in need in their village.  Most are living with aunts, grandmothers, etc. and would otherwise not have a home, food, or education if it weren't for the assistance Christ's Hope gives their foster families.

 

 



 Thank you for the new soccer balls, Pastor Michael!

 

 

 Auntie Joanna fixes all our delicious food!

 

 

 

Once the children arrive (they walk from their various schools, some very long distances), they eat their meal and then have time with the caregivers.  Fridays are a fun day, so it was the perfect first day to spend with them!  We had several stations: tie dye shirts, parachute fun, play dough, pipe cleaners, necklace making, and crawling through a fabric tunnel.

 

 

Amazing how much fun you can have with pipe cleaners!

Impromptu eye-glass clinic!  :-)

 

 

The tie dye shirts were definitely a hit!

 

 

Please pray for us today as we go on home visits with the staff to many of these children's homes.  It will be a difficult experience for us, no doubt, seeing the extreme poverty and difficult situations these children come from that our Western minds cannot even fathom.  Ask the Lord to prepare our hearts for what we will see.  And pray that God will give us eyes to see these children and their families as He sees them, hearts to love them as He loves them, and compassion to serve them as Jesus came into the world to wash the feet of the ones He loved.  Jesus died for each of them.  Pray that those who have not already would turn to Him as Lord and Savior, and that they know the deep, deep love of the Father for them, the One who created them for His glory.

 

Lord willing, I will share with you about it tonight.





Today is the Day!

"This is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

A recent day of fun for the kids at the Ark Care Point in Rehoboth, Namibia

It is here!  We leave for Namibia today!!

We had our team training from both the National and International Directors at our home on Saturday, we have finished packing our bags, and in several hours we will be heading off to the airport.  GOD IS GOOD!!!

I (Julie) am off to spend the rest of the day with my precious family I will miss so much, but I will keep you posted as we travel and once we land, so check in as often as you can to see and read the latest.  We love you, Body of Christ.  Thank you for your support and prayers!

In Christ,
Alyssa, Nicki, and Julie

Count-down to Namibia trip is here!

 

 

We will be in the center of the country in Rehoboth



Flag of Namibia

Just two weeks from now our team (Nicki, Alyssa, and myself) will be in route to Rehoboth, Namibia.  Hard to believe it is already here!  We will do our best to stay in touch with all of you back home as we love and serve the precious children at the Care Point, posting photos and blogging when we have internet access.  So stay tuned! 

Be sure to join the  LifeBridge Church group on Facebook so you can see all the pics and videos!

Ark Children's Home Tour video