Sunday night Seeds of Hope (our missio community that is helping Sudanese orphans go to boarding school) had a BBQ. The purpose of the BBQ was to bring people together to hear the vision and give support through finances and prayer for the upcoming trip to Africa.
Angie, the leader of Seeds of Hope, gave a terrific presentation on her upcoming trip where she will get to go and meet our children, as well as the headmaster of Roots Academy where most of the children go to school.
Arok wasn't at the BBQ because he is already in Africa. He left a couple of weeks ago and had to cross the border from Uganda to Kenya. But, just three days ago, he crossed the border from Kenya to Sudan.
Arok is going back to his village for the first time since he left it as a scared little six year old orphan.
Unlike our transient culture, Africans know that the land is their home. They don't ever stop longing to be there; even if a war has been waged over it for over 20 years.
It's rather like the Israelites in the Bible. Their land was their inheritance. But it always comes with a price. Many times that price is war.
Arok was concerned about the flood of emotions that could hit him when he returns.
Will the memories of the screams of his village pound his ears?
Will the smell of the fires from the huts burning incense his nose?
Will the cold of the night remind him of being all alone after his village was destroyed?
Perhaps.
Most likely.
But, my prayer is that Arok will be struck with the great sense that God has saved him and strategically positioned him for such a time of this, just like Esther.
God put Esther in the palace to help save his people from destruction.
God has placed Arok with Seeds of Hope to help get his village children educated so they can return and rebuild that which was decimated.
I dream about the village of Paliyu having many wells for water, thriving farms with abundant crops, clinics for medical care, a government that is just and fair, and schools to educate the children.
This is what can happen when children are educated. The cycle of poverty and hopelessness is broken and seeds of hope are planted.
Arok is a seed planter of hope and he is stewarding his life well. Please pray for him as he gets nearer to his village each day and for the two remaining border crossings that he has left to go!
Pray for Angie and Arok as they meet up in the town of Nakuru and then travel to Kodera, Kenya to observe the remarkable community transformation that has taken place with Pine Lake Covenant, so they can begin to make plans for their village.....
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