Abused. Neglected. The outcasts of society. These are the kind of children that came to camp this last weekend in Jeffreys Bay. Yet, I saw something different in these children then from how the world sees them.
Restoration. Acceptance. Adoption. The sons and daughters of the Most High King. The ones Jesus promises:
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor. 1 Samuel 2:8
This past weekend my LXP team and I ran a camp for 35 kids from a special school with kids with behavioral problems and abusive homes. I didn't know what to except, I prepared myself for naughty kids what would need lots of discipline. But the more I prayed for these kids, the Holy Spirit told me these children just needed love, not more rules. For three days before the camp started we woke up at 5am as a team and spent time praying and fasting for the children. The Lord began to grow my faith and acceptation for the camp and what He wanted to do in these kids hearts and life's.
It seems impossible to put into words what the Holy Spirit did this weekend.
As the kids arrived on Friday evening I could see and sense their deep brokenness, but also their walls were highly built up around their hearts for protection. They didn't know acceptance or unconditional love. That night we had an altar call and many went forward, but as I prayed with the girls I could see they didn't understand what they were doing, there were walls built up and confusion in their minds. I pleaded with the Lord to tear down every stronghold, wall and curse in their lives.
The next morning the kids were up early and ready for the day, as the worship began I knew there was something different about these kids. These were the brokenhearted, orphaned, and abused that Jesus wanted to use. I cried as I listened to these students sing out their brokenness and pain. Jesus heard their voices.
"He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea." Psalm 102:17
"Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom
and broke away their chains." Psalm 107:13-14
That afternoon the girls and boys separated and my teammates decided to share their stories/testimonies of where God has brought them from. The Holy Spirit was very present as my teammates shared their pain and now victory in Jesus, the girls were silent and listened intently and then one by one the students opened up and shared their own stories. Never in my life have I seen such pain, never have I known such brokenness firsthand. Though the girls spoke in Xhosa, I could pick up some pieces and the Holy Spirit continued to impress on me what was being shared the the burden grew heavier in my spirit.
The girls shared unimaginable pain. Rape. One by one. The stories almost the same. Rape by cousin. Rape by father. Gang raped. Neglected by their parents with no where to go. Paid R20= $3 for sex. HIV/AIDS. It was more then I could imagine.
I sat with my teammates listening, every eye filled with tears as we tried to somehow grasp the pain of these young girls. My thoughts went back to the morning during worship and how I felt God wanted to use these precious souls so powerfully in His kingdom. These are the ones Jesus promises to rescue and secure justice for. His beloved daughters.
"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82:3-4
He will not ignore their cries or forge them. This was the breakthrough I had been pleading with the Lord for. This was the first step in healing- transparency and honesty. We spent the next hour counseling and praying for them. It is not by strength or by might, but only by the Holy Spirit that I could minister to them. I wish I could say their lives are all better and their is a happy ending, but the reality is they are going to the same situations and homes.
This is the time my faith and trust in Jesus is truly tested. Every part of me wanted to take every girl as my own, open a home for them, and take them to be safe from any harm or pain. But I knew that I had to trust Jesus, because He promises:
"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6
He is the Father to the fatherless and He will not leave them. I praise God that He gave me the opportunity to be part of these precious souls life's and I choose to trust Him no matter, because He won't let them go.
