Good Life Home

After a great meal and some crafts with the children at Mercy Home it was time to move on.  We went next to "Good Life" home that wasn't too far away.   

This one had probably the worst conditions we've seen in any home.  The picture above is taken in the church sanctuary and off the left side is the family's living quarters - a bedroom, storage room, and kitchen - each about the size of one of our kids' bedrooms. Again, they have joy because they have been rescued, but to see the conditions would put anyone in shock - at least the first time you see it. 

The storage room - under the blankets are the kids' belongings.

Looking out from the building.  The brick wall is the beginning of what they hope will be enclosed soon - "by God's grace" as they would say.

The family's bedroom (and baby)...in a sling made out of a sheet tied to a pipe in the ceiling.

Kitchen. The stove is at the far corner on the floor. This sounds awful, but our garage is significantly cleaner than this kitchen.

The room where the pastor and his wife stay.

 The baptismal...

I'm brought back to the book "Not For Sale" and the issue of human trafficking.  You see, these homes (this one included) are not just taking unwanted children - they are saving children from a life spent in bondage in some form of human trafficking.  Many of them are girls, and are literally saved from having to experience any part of sex trafficking.  In fact, I was told that at this home in particular, they had an attempted break-in and kidnapping - likely to traffic some of the girls. 

In the midst of this dark reality, this church/home/family is shedding light and showing signs of new life.  They have just recenly received a baby who is currenly 4 months old.  This brings them to 19 children - in a space that's probably meant for 5 (Indian style).  It is another example of people obeying the Word.  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep one's self from being polluted by the world."

The 4-month old baby - her mother had seizures, so her father left them. Because of her seizures, the mother couldn't care for her and brought her to Good Life Home.

What these children have in abundance is the same thing that many in our own country lack - pure joy.  They each enjoy less than $1 worth of food per day (that $1 does go much further than ours would, but still...), a few sets of clothes, they rarely leave the home, but they have abundant joy.  Why does joy come so easily to these children? Becuase they daily are reminded of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  Each was abandoned for a different reason - some because their parents simply knew they would not be able to provide for the child, some because they have neither parent, some because the father in the family killed the mother and left the child, and some because their illegitimate conception and birth hindered the mother from being married.  Yet God has found them a place where they are loved, fed, clothed, and sheltered from the weather.  How joyous each day is when you depend on Christ!

That brings me to Brother Luke.  This one will take some time...