africa-love.livejournal.comAfrica Love — LiveJournal

? ? LiveJournal Find more Communities RSS Reader Shop Help Log in Log in Join free Join English (en) English (en) Русский (ru) Українська (uk) Français (fr) Português (pt) español (es) Deutsch (de) Italiano (it) Беларуская (be) africa_love —no suspend reasonReadability More africa_love Archive Photos Video Readability Log in No account? Create an account Remember me Forgot password Log in Log in QR code No account? Create an account By logging in to LiveJournal using a third-party service you accept LiveJournal’s User agreement Recent Entries Archive Friends Profile Memories Africa Love Where the Spirit leads Previous 10 new blog Mar. 31st, 2012 at 12:27 PM africa_love Hey all, Due to the crazy amounts of spam I get here (and how difficult it can sometimes be to update) I now have a new blog address http://aperfectinjustice.blogspot.com/ where I am going to update regularly with posts about the ministry, street kids, and what is going on in my life. I am sorry for the inconvenience! God bless Abby and David Leave a comment Share Flag Link He’s back Nov. 29th, 2011 at 1:01 AM africa_love One week ago as I was leaving the street children programs I saw a tiny, skinny little boy walk past me swaying uneasily and holding a whiskey bottle full of Chenge, the drug of choice for street children. I realized with a start that it was Yahaya and called after him. He stopped, looked around, and at seeing me stopped as emotions flooded into his face. Recognition, shame, fear, and then… hope. He rushed to me and gave me a hug, melting into me and whispering over and over, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry for leaving, please forgive me.” My heart felt like it was going to explode with love at the lost little boy clinging to me, he was my little boy and nothing would ever change that. When Yahaya had run away from our home he had gone straight to doing drugs like he always had and he hid from us and any place he knew we might find him. The moment I saw him God flooded back into me the enormous love I had for that dirty, raggedy, high little child standing in front of me. He was amazing, and I love him. I took him out to eat and as he was eating I couldn’t help but look at him and wonder at the amazing person that God had created him and mourn over the loss he had already experienced. He had lost his parents, his home, his childhood, and his innocence. His eyes were glazed over as he told me he was staying in a movie hall (where men come to watch bad movies). He asked if he could come back and I said yes, we loved him and wanted him home. I asked him to come to the programs so that we could bring him from there but he did not. Early the next morning he walked himself all the way back home where he was greeted home with open arms. Yahaya does not know how to be a child. He doesn’t know how to play all the games that Ugandan children play here, he doesn’t know how to play cards, play with friends, he doesn’t even know how to play soccer with the other boys. He has never been able to play before. He has never had a mother read to him or give him a hug. He is in our home but he is still alone. He stays to himself and doesn’t want anyone getting close to him. He is such a wounded kid, he is still trying to protect himself from the abuse and abandonment that he is sure must be coming soon. God has finally brought him into a home and a family, he just hasn’t realized it yet. Praise God for bringing home this lost little sheep! PLEASE pray for Yahaya that he will feel and accept God’s as well as our love. If he doesn’t there will be nothing to hold him back from running to the streets again. I see such an exceptional heart in Yahaya. A sensitive heart that loves deeply and loyally, that is compassionate and hurts for others that are hurting. God created him so uniquely and wonderfully. The streets will turn that heart into stone if he lives there much longer and I know that it feels so scary to him to trust and love when it has only caused him pain in the past. Please pray that Yahaya will stay in our home and grow up there. We want him to stay home with us In other news, Kateregga Derrik and Bashir Agaba, two amazing kids in our home, are going on a missions trip with our church to The Democratic Republic of Congo this December 7th. They should be receiving their passports tomorrow. They both have a love of God and His word and want to be pastors when they grow up. Please pray that they have a fruitful and safe trip sharing the Good News! We are moving into our new home this coming Monday and so Lord willing, will be bringing home more boys off of the street then as well. Please pray that God will give us wisdom as to which boys are to come home with us as we have so many wonderful kids in our programs, only God can choose! 2 comments Leave a comment Share Flag Link Ibra, Yahaya Sep. 16th, 2011 at 11:05 AM africa_love There is a new boy, Ibra that we are wanting to bring into our home tomorrow. God placed him on my heart to come into our home, two weeks ago and he never left. We have talked to Ibra about why he left his home. Looking sadly into the dirt he told us, that he had a mom who he loved, but she passed away. His father did not even go to the funeral (which here is a big deal) and remarried right away after her death. His new step-mom abused him a lot as well as his dad until one dad his dad chased him away from his home and told him to leave... *Psalm 10:14 (Message translation) * * But you know all about it— * * the contempt, the abuse. I dare to believe that the luckless will get lucky someday in you. You won’t let them down: orphans won’t be orphans forever.* No child should be told to leave his home and go to the street. No child should ever have to sleep on the streets, cold and hungry. Praise God that we have a God that cares, that defends the cause of the widow and the orphan and will one day wipe ever tear from our eyes. Yahaya never came home. He has been on the streets so long but is so precocious, special, and just plain cute that he has been into many homes. We are the 6th home that he has run away from. I believe that God can use his time with us to place a scripting into his heart of what a safe, good home can look like so that one day he can think back about his time with us, and want badly enough to take the risk of coming off of the streets that he does the hard work necesary in his heart to stay in a home. We have a big God, I know anything is possible! Leave a comment Share Flag Link Yahaya Aug. 29th, 2011 at 10:48 AM africa_love Please pray for Yahaya who ran away from our home this morning. He told the other boys that he was going to run away because he wanted to do marijuana and chenge (an aviation fuel the kids huff) again. He ran away to Kisenyi and the street children reported to me right away that he was doing those drugs and avoiding talking to anyone. David and I both tried to find him and talk to him but he ran away. Drugs often act as an anti-depressant for kids who are trying to depress a lot of trauma that they dont want to think about. 2 comments Leave a comment Share Flag Link Coming Home Aug. 23rd, 2011 at 10:56 AM africa_love (This is a picture of Yahaya when he was still on the street) I have to admit, I have never seen a child enter a home like Yahaya did yesterday! It had been a bit of a long day at the boy’s home when all of the sudden one of the boys shouts, "He’s here Abby! He’s here!" knowing exactly who it was who had arrived, I rush to the front of the house to see Yahaya walking with his tough swagger like he always does through the front gate with Uncle Alex and Mama Joyce (our Ugandan aunt and uncle who were the ones to purchase his items and officially bring him off of the street, we wanted him to find security in the house uncle and mama). He is clean, wearing bright green soccer shoes, athletic pants, and a collared shirt. He sees me, breaks into a sprint and jumps full force into my arms for an enormous hug....