Pure, unstained religion, according to God our Father, is to take care of orphans and widows when they suffer and to remain uncorrupted by this world.
James 1:27 [God’s Word]
Unstained Religion
I live less than 50 feet from the church doors and yet as I walk with my children to church every Sunday, rest assured I will have at least one child who has fallen into a puddle or splashed mud on the other. Some days it’s so hot I feel myself literally melt into a blob of hair product and make up. By the time I’ve reached church, I am one hot mess.
As I look around to my Haitian friends, I notice they are worshipping in freshly pressed dresses with barely a blemish. The men wear crisp white shirts. The little girls with their glistening faces have beautiful braids and the boys are often in dress pants with shirts and ties. They have saved their best for the Lord. For those moments of church, my friends who sleep on dirt floors, have no plumbing, have no electricity, and suffer through unimaginable struggles—for those moments, they are undefiled. They are pure. They are safe. They are loved. They are protected. For those moments, the fatherless find comfort in the arms of Jesus. For those moments, the orphaned find family and freedom. They are unstained.
The greatest tragedy of Haiti is not the poverty itself. The greatest tragedy of Haiti is seeing the stained faces of the youngest victims of poverty–the orphans. Stains of abuse, neglect, and the emotional stress of constantly searching for food and protection spread across the faces of orphans like skin cancer.
In 2011, in an effort to dry the tears of the orphans at the Mole, a very special church made a 3-year commitment to sponsor every orphan. What a life-changing gift. The stains were washed away from gaunt faces and replaced with well nourished cheeky smiles. They were orphans no more as they were grafted into the Northwest Haiti Family and even more so the fatherless received care from agents of an Almighty Father. While there is always poverty in Haiti, these children received the hope of a life that would be different. The blemishes of being unwanted have been traded in for the pure garments of Christian benevolence and love.
As the three year commitment comes to a close, we were recently informed that our sponsoring church would like to shift funds from the orphanage to working within the church and Spiritual community of The Mole. We are truly blessed by this continued generosity but are now forced to experience something much like our preschool children—growing pains. While our hope is firmly in the Lord and we know that He has everything, we cannot help but have anxiety over the care of our precious children. No longer orphans—they are our sons and daughters.
With the heartache of every mother in Haiti, I find myself asking for someone to feed our sons and daughters. Can you help us continue to provide shelter, protection, nourishment, education, and above all love to these children? We are definitely into an exciting time and couldn’t be more thrilled with how God is shaping our children and their caregivers. But the hard truth is that the orphanage is losing $1650/month. The need for sponsorship is real. Will you become a stain-remover in the Mole?
Reblogged this on Circle Haiti and commented:
My favorite month of blog posts, October is for Orphans, is right around the corner! But before we get to my posts highlighting each child in the Mole orphanage, go ahead and read this post from Jody to learn more about the need for sponsorship for our kids!