It was one of those days. The weather was perfect after weeks of hot, humid, stay inside weather it had cooled down enough to open the windows. I sat quietly under the shade trees smelling the clean fresh air. The sun was shinning, a cool breeze caressed my face, and no humidity.
I just closed my eyes and breathed it all in catching a whiff of Honey Suckle blossoms. It’s amazing to me how a simple smell can catapult you back in time. The smell of that fragrant flower made me feel like a kid again.
Feeling like a kid again is a huge accomplishment when you are over 50. For the tiniest of minutes I was 12 years old running through the grass with my friends playing tag, stopping to pick Honey Suckle blossoms to suck on. In that brief moment I felt young, free, safe, happy, everything I felt as a 12 year old child.
I began to worship God in my heart thanking him for that memory and for my blessed childhood. I felt as if He responded saying that these joyous feelings, these feelings of safety, joy, and peace, this is what eternity with Him feels like and I will enjoy these feelings every minute with Him. Oh what a taste of eternity!
All of these thoughts and feelings were only a few minutes in reality but I could feel eternity. For one instant I almost left this earth behind desiring so much to be in that eternity, but no, my work is not done yet, so I stay. But everyday, when I open the windows on a perfect day, when I smell the Honey Suckle, when I run my toes through the soft grass or warm sandy beach, I think of eternity and long to be where He is.
I wish that all children could feel as safe and happy as I was as a child but the reality is that many are faced with hunger, disease, war, and other atrocities that life in this world meets out to the poor and down trodden. The problem is so big! In Uganda alone over half the population is under 15 and 7.4 million of these children live in abject poverty.
I believe I can make a difference in this life to the lives of these children and others like them around the world. Can I reach everyone? No, but I will do what I can and make a difference where I can. How? By using my talents and resources to help these kids through the Friends of TOUCH organization.
You can help too. Sponsor a child, volunteer in the office, hold a fund raiser, pray. This coming spring we will be holding a Gala event that will be a once a year large scale fund raising event and we need every ones help. More information about this event will be coming up in our newsletters and on our web site, begin now to pray how you can help.
Thank u
D
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Leaders Born from Prayer
Have you ever tried to help someone and they just didn’t get it? Less than two years ago, we found that even though children were receiving food and aid from TOUCH, many of them were hardened against the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Of course, Sara and the staff at TOUCH love and care for the children no matter what their background or beliefs. They continued to serve faithfully and to pray that God would show them how to reach the children. It became clear that the children were hardened because of the conditions of their lives, the trauma they have endured, and the sins committed against them.
Like the prophets in the Bible, Sara decided to spend time in prayer repenting for those things. The workers at TOUCH, and here at Friends of TOUCH, joined together for this purpose. Over the next few months, we prayed and wept together through over 200 circumstances, events, crimes and sins that scar the lives of children.
Slowly, change began to come. At Christmas, the children of LifeHouse Church in Hagerstown, MD raised enough money to purchase a brand new Bible for every child at TOUCH. Prayer and the Word of God are a powerful and effective combination, and the children began to open their hearts.
As the second school term began just two weeks ago, our secondary school students returned to a government-run boarding school. The headmistress there says she wants more students from TOUCH, because they are so well-behaved. They are leaders in the school, especially in the Bible Club. They live as examples to the other students, and their enthusiasm for the word of God has spread to others.
Sara reports that students who finished with TOUCH and are now living on their own come back to worship at Calvary Temple, where TOUCH classrooms are located. “It’s so good to see them coming to worship God from their own hearts – not thinking they have to maintain a place in the program.” Sara says, “Their relationship with Christ is their own.”
Prayer is a vital part of caring for children. The World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk was June 5-6th this year. This international prayer movement is facilitated by the VIVA Network, to make people aware of the millions of children who are at risk for poverty, disease, and exploitation, and to pray for them. Friends of TOUCH hosted one of the prayer events at Lighthouse Worship Center in Gloucester, VA.
Participants prayed for the children of the world in five areas:
So many of you have called or written to tell us how you pray for the children. Please know that your prayers are powerful and effective. We are watching expectantly to see what God will do in their lives, here in the second half of 2010.
See the June-July Newsletter
Of course, Sara and the staff at TOUCH love and care for the children no matter what their background or beliefs. They continued to serve faithfully and to pray that God would show them how to reach the children. It became clear that the children were hardened because of the conditions of their lives, the trauma they have endured, and the sins committed against them.
Like the prophets in the Bible, Sara decided to spend time in prayer repenting for those things. The workers at TOUCH, and here at Friends of TOUCH, joined together for this purpose. Over the next few months, we prayed and wept together through over 200 circumstances, events, crimes and sins that scar the lives of children.
Slowly, change began to come. At Christmas, the children of LifeHouse Church in Hagerstown, MD raised enough money to purchase a brand new Bible for every child at TOUCH. Prayer and the Word of God are a powerful and effective combination, and the children began to open their hearts.
I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.
- Psalm 119:45
As the second school term began just two weeks ago, our secondary school students returned to a government-run boarding school. The headmistress there says she wants more students from TOUCH, because they are so well-behaved. They are leaders in the school, especially in the Bible Club. They live as examples to the other students, and their enthusiasm for the word of God has spread to others.
Sara reports that students who finished with TOUCH and are now living on their own come back to worship at Calvary Temple, where TOUCH classrooms are located. “It’s so good to see them coming to worship God from their own hearts – not thinking they have to maintain a place in the program.” Sara says, “Their relationship with Christ is their own.”
Prayer is a vital part of caring for children. The World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk was June 5-6th this year. This international prayer movement is facilitated by the VIVA Network, to make people aware of the millions of children who are at risk for poverty, disease, and exploitation, and to pray for them. Friends of TOUCH hosted one of the prayer events at Lighthouse Worship Center in Gloucester, VA.
Participants prayed for the children of the world in five areas:
- Those who need a family
- Those who suffer violence
- Those who have no educational opportunities
- Those who suffer hunger and poverty
- Those who have been affected by loss and death
So many of you have called or written to tell us how you pray for the children. Please know that your prayers are powerful and effective. We are watching expectantly to see what God will do in their lives, here in the second half of 2010.
See the June-July Newsletter
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