All of Us Orphans

They arranged the benches, set up the tables, hung the scale, and put everything - the thermometers, the malaria tests, the milk powder, and even the little gift bags - in place. Now we just waited to see who would come. 

Our infants in distress program includes a monthly milk distribution such as this. I use the phrase "such as this" lightly because this day was particularly special. Instead of having one distribution in town and one in the village for the convenience of the attendants, we called everyone together under one roof. Instead of having it on a Friday, we changed it to a Thursday because of a national holiday. And instead of giving everyone a notice one month in advance, Rebeca had to rush around the entire province last week on her moto to inform as many mothers and caregivers as possible of the date, time, and location change. 

Oh, and it rained the night before. It would be amazing if many people came at all. 

But they did. One at a time. Walking as many as fifteen kilometers. Riding a bike with babies tied to their backs. Arriving on a moto with a driver and a mother plus her two twins. 

We weighed, measured, and assessed each child. Each baby received a gift sack with a blanket, clothes, diaper rash cream, wash clothes, and a hat inside. Each child received a malaria test and the appropriate treatment. Each mother or caregiver received health teaching on malaria prevention. Each mother and baby left with a sack full of milk powder, nutrition cereal, plus a little moringa tree to plant in their yard and better the nutrition of their entire family. Most of all, each baby was loved and touched with the kindness of Jesus, and every person present heard a message of truth from the Word of God. 

At the end of the day, 82 babies were served, 56 mothers were present (which means we had a lot of twins and triplets!), and only 10 were absent. 

I loved watching them load up and leave. They came empty handed and left with sacks full of goods, balanced on their heads, babies on their backs, and moringa seedlings poking out in various directions. 

Those of us who worked the distribution started at 8:00 am and didn't sit down to eat until 5:00 pm. We barely talked as we shoveled peanut sauce and couscous into our mouths, but Rebeca took the time to say, "That was definitely the largest and the longest milk distribution ever, but I'm not tired. In fact, I'm energized. I see all those babies and I know they would be dead if it wasn't for this program. When they are all together in one place, I can see how much of an impact our program is making." 

Sometimes God calls us to do something without allowing us to see the difference it is making, and so we continue blindly and trust that he is making beauty out of our meager and humble efforts. Other times, God graces us with a glimpse of the fruits of our labor. Today was one of those days. 

Today God brought 82 children to receive his love and care in a way that says, "You may be outcasted, abandoned, or orphaned in this world. but not in my family! In my family, you are loved and valued and taken care of. You are never, ever forgotten or abandoned." And he brought 56 of their mothers, grandmothers, fathers, and caregivers to hear that Jesus Christ is the reason for this program and that he is the source of the hope we offer. 

The infants in distress program currently serves 92 orphaned, abandonned, amd malnourished children under the age of two by providing milk, medical care, health teaching, and spiritual support through monthly milk distributions and home visits. The reach of the program goes beyond Burkina Faso and even into Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire where families find out about the program and bring their children to our city to be enrolled. Over three hundred children have graduated from the program since it started in 2010. Currently this entire ministry is operated by three passionate Christian Burkinabé women who are all single mothers of multiple children. They work out of one small rented office with two rooms. 

But God is doing something. He started stirring hearts a long time ago and provided a piece of property given to our ministry by the government for the development of a center for infants in distress. Now, partnering with Architects Without Borders, our team is working to develop a fully equipped Infant Reacue Center that will serve as a home base for the infants in distress program. It will include temporary housing for orphans and abandoned children, an infirmiry equipped to care for infants preterm to three years old, and culturally-appropriate houses where families with their sick children can lodge and be under close supervision. It will be a place where children can play, eat, learn, and grow. It will also be a place to train, educate, and encourage families, caregivers, and foster families to better care for the infants that God has placed in their lives. Yes, God is indeed doing something, and he is not done yet. 

God has given us 92 infants in distress to love and look out for, and he is only going to expand that reach with the completion of the Infant Rescue Center. If we can take care of 92 with only three people and a rented office, imagine what God can do with a fully equipped center and staff! 

I encouraged the listeners at the last milk distribution to consider the children before them as a call from God. "Look at the child in front of you. Hold him in your lap. Look her in the eyes. This child was given to you by God, and he has called you to care for him or her." The call to care for orphans isn't just for those on the front lines, but for each and every one of us. The Bible commands us to care for the widows and the orphans. I encourage you, too, you who are "listening" through this blog to consider these orphans as a part of your calling from the Lord. How can you rise up to pray and care for the orphans around you today? 

You know, we were all once orphans. Gentiles. Sinners. Separated from God and his family. But then a miracle happened. God, the perfect Father, took notice of us, and he adopted us into his family, the family of God. It had nothing to do with anything we had done, but purely out of his unending love and limitless grace.  

Now we have the opportunity to to share that hope with children who have been orphaned, abandonned, or given the under hand in this world. We have the chance to show them a tangible picture of the spiritual reality that defines each of us if we choose to believe and accept it. God has adopted us fully into his family, and we are his children that he loves. We belong to him, and he is preparing a place where we will be with him forever! That's something to look forward to, to live for, and to share with the world.