"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will comfort you and watch over you."
Psalm 32:8
Word of warning: This blog is not for the faint at heart. And if you don't think you can do what God might ask you to do, then maybe it's best you stop right here and not read on. And another word of warning, try as I might to keep this concise, I have once again failed miserably. However, this story is too important to leave out the details, too compelling to not articulate every word. Read on at the risk of a broken heart for orphans.
In case you missed my last blog, I talked about how important it is for the children in Zambia to get an education, and I posted a video that paralels the lives of two girls growing up in Africa, one with an education and one without. If you missed it, scroll down to the blog below to watch the short, powerful video. It's an eye-opener, for sure.
I also mentioned how God is using the ministry we worked with in Zambia - Family Legacy Ministries International (www.familylegacy.com) - to radically change the ability for the orphan child to be educated in Zambia through their Father's Heart Program. If you're familiar with organizations like "Compassion International" or other "sponsor the child" programs, Family Legacy's "Father's Heart" program is similar in structure, but the schools that most of the chilren get to attend are Christian Schools (Lifeway Christian Academies), run by the ministry. In fact, the ministry is now the largest private provider of education in the entire country of Zambia! The children are not only getting a top-notch education at a low teacher-student ratio compared to government schools, but they are participating in a top-notched Christian discipleship program as well. This includes Biblical lessons on relationships, Christian character, and life skills. On top of all that, the children receive 1 meal a day at school, and with good attendance, extra "blessings" of food are given to the caregivers of the child at their home. Yes, the Father's Heart Sponsorship program is comprehensive, and if you're interested, you can sponsor one of the girls still needing sponsored that Amber and I led during our week of CAMP LIFE. Look for the link toward the bottom of this blog to learn more!
Since I returned from Zambia on July 14th, I have slept through the night only twice. Jet lag? No. In fact, I really didn't even experience jet lag. My first night home, and nearly every night thereafter, I stayed up later and was up in the morning before the rest of my family. No, jet lag is not the problem. My "problem" is a girl named Ireen, who lives in the compound of Chainda. The Lord has woken me up nearly every night telling me to pray for her. I cannot sleep, and I cannot rest. I've told some of you bits and pieces, but let me tell you Ireen's story, here and now.
On Tuesday afternoon of CAMP LIFE, I had already had my one-on-on "Blessing TIme" with Nephie and Catherine. (See the previous blog if you missed Nephie and Catherine's stories!) We had time for one more, and so Magdalene, my Zambian partner and translator, called over 12 year old Ireen to come sit and talk with us.
Without even knowing her story or background, I could tell Ireen didn't have a good home life. She was probably the dirtiest girl in my group. She didn't smell, mind you, not one bit. But her hair looked like it was braided months ago and then left untouched since, her skin was dehydrated, and her eyelashes were long and mangled together with dirt.
I started the conversation with some simple questions. How old are you? Do you know your birthday? Who do you live with? But I could tell the conversation that started very light had quickly turned very serious. As Ireen spoke in Nyanga (the native language in Zambia) with Magdalene, tears flowed down her face. I saw Magdalene take Ireen by the chin and look closely at her face. Then Magdalene turned to me to tell me Ireen's story.
Ireen is a double orphan. She has a little 4 year old brother Nicholas, and her mom died after her brother was born. Ireen's dad then re-married, but after that, he passed away, too, leaving Ireen with her step-mom. If you're familiar with the fairy tale Cinderella, well then you can likely guess some of Ireen's story. But even Cinderella didn't experience or endure what Ireen is currently living.
You see, Ireen's step-mom has her own kids as well, just like Cinderella's step-mom. So when there is food for the family, the food goes to the step-mom and Ireen's step-siblings, leaving Ireen and Nicholas to go hungry. On most days, they go without food, getting only one meal every few days, at best. And school? Sure, the step-siblings get to go to school, but Ireen? Well, she gets to stay at home and do chores all day.
Yes, this story of no education and little food is all too common in the life of an African orphan child. Ireen's story is similar to untold others. But there was one thing I noticed about Ireen the first time I met her. You see, she had scars on her face. I just assumed it was from an accident of some sort. But on Tuesday, she had fresh wounds both on her cheek and up near her ear, both areas still red with blood. Another part of her ear looked nearly infected.
During our "Blessing Time," Ireen told us that her step-sister had stolen some money from her step-mom. Instead of punishing her own child, the step-mom took it out on Ireen. She trapped her down on the ground and sliced up her face with the prongs of a fork. As I heard this story and witnessed the wounds, I realized this was not the first time a simple kitchen fork had been used as a weapon on her sweet face. The rest of the scars I had noticed earlier...those were not the result of an accident, as I had originally assumed. No, they were intentional abuse. Repeat abuse.
What do you say to a child who has experienced something like this? It's hard enough to lose both your mom and dad at an early age, but to have to grow up being unloved is a whole other story. As we tried to finish our "Blessing Time", and as I tried to learn as much as I could about Ireen's situation, I just silently prayed for God to give me words to say that will somehow comfort Ireen. We finished our "Blessing Time" by praying over her, and somewhwere in the midst of the tears of our time together, I learned that like Catherine, Ireen had accepted Christ the day before during our "Small Group" time. Once again, the Lord nudged me, "Oh ye of little faith!"
After we finished talking and praying, Magdalene and I clung to Ireen and walked her up to where the mobile nurse's station was located at CAMP LIFE, so she could get some medical attention for the wouunds that were dirty and at risk for infection.
Later in the week, on Thursday, Ireen let me take these pictures of her scars to document the situation.
As a mom, I cannot fathom how any person who calls themself a mother would hurt another child like this, but this one thing I did know: God sent me to Zambia for Ireen. He has yet to show me what all that entails, but I know God had put Ireen in my care that week so she could be rescued. Rescued to live a life free from abuse; rescued to have an education; rescued to know what it means to live freely in Christ Jesus, rescued to know that someone loves her.
You see, not only does Family Legacy have the Father's Heart sponsorship program that I mentioned earlier, they also have something called "The Tree of LIfe Village." Children who live at the "Tree of LIfe" are children, just like Ireen, who were in desperately terrible situations of abuse or neglect. After an investigation is done by CPU (the government's Child Protection Unit), if a child is deemed to be in a situation of extreme neglect or abuse, then the government can place them in the full time care of Family Legacy, and eventually, they can go live at the Tree of Life Village. But did you catch the "if" part of that? The government has to deem it necessary (and there is a lot of corruption in the government), and for that to happen, a case must be filed, a $100 fee paid to start the investigation, and perhaps most importantly, a sponsor for Ireen's full time care at the Tree of LIfe Village must be found.
As I spoke to staff members at Family Legacy about Ireen's situation, it was apparent that the most important thing was to find a sponsor for Ireen, but as I learned, if CPU sees fit to remove her from the home, they will also remove her little brother Nicholas. (That means double sponsorship would be needed, both for Ireen and Nicholas.) To complete the paperwork and even start an abuse report, I also needed to commit to Ireen's sponsorhip myself or at least commit to sponsor her until I can find another sponsor.
And that, my friends, is what left me immobile.
Immobile because in spite of my heart's longing to sponsor Ireen and rescue her, I knew I could not sign a paper of financial commitment like that. To sponsor a child at the Tree of Life, it's $250/month per child, plus the $100 fee required just for CPU to begin the investigation.
Some have mentioned to me that they think that's a high amount, but in reality, it is not. That covers all education needs, food, clothing, medical needs, counseling, and allows for the child to be raised in a loving and safe Christian home with 11 other children. This is not an "orphanage." This is not even a "house". This is the opportunity to grow up in a Christian HOME where love abounds. Many of the children at the Tree of Life Village are HIV positive and have other serious illneses. With Family Legacy's sponsorship programs, only 6% is deemed as "overhead" compared to some ministries and sponsorship programs that are 20% or even higher. $3000/year is a small price to pay to rescue a child like Ireen, don't you think?
But for me, knowing our family's current financial situation, knowing that we are actively raising money just to not go in the hole each month, that $250/month might as well have been $300,000.
I texted my husband about Ireen. "What should I do about filling out this report? I know we can't commit to the Tree of Life Sponsorship, but what can we do?" I asked him. He just responded, "We need to pray about it." Then he quickly reminded me that I shouldn't make decisions in the heat of emotions. Yes, I knew that, but he didn't quite understand the urgency of the situation, or so I thought. Honestly, I got more than a little ticked at him that Tuesday night. But the truth is, there wasn't a whole lot that we could do at that point, except to pray and ask God for wisdom.
As we texted back and forth, he reminded me to pray that Ireen's step-mom would come to know the Lord. He said, "That's the answer. Then all Ireen will need is the Father's Heart sponsorship, and if her step-mom gets saved and changes, she won't need removed from the home." We began to pray for that to come true; I knew God could do it, and I started to get excited about the change that might be coming for Ireen. You see, on Thursday of CAMP LIFE, I would get to go into the compound of Chainda, and "my girls" would be able to share the Gospel with people in their own community and with their own family members. I began to pray that we would have the opportunity to visit Ireen's home. In my mind, I tried to picture her and role play what a conversation might look like. I thought of a few ungodly things to say to her, too, but hey, this was just role play, not real life! I figured I better get those thoughts out before they actually came out of my big mouth, unchecked!) I posted the situation on facebook, and many people around the country began praying for her step-mom's salvation.
I cried myself to sleep Tuesday night, although I'm not sure you could call what I experienced "sleep." I cried for Ireen. For the pain she's had to go through. For her safety. And I cried for help from God. Help to know what to do. To know how to handle the situation. And for God to somehow save Ireen's step-mom or provide a way for Ireen and her little brother to go live at the Tree of Life Village, if that was His will for her and Nicholas. The one verse God kept bringing to my mind over and over was one I memorized a few years ago. It has two parts to it, and I started claiming the first part for me and the 2nd part for Ireen: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will comfort you and watch over you."
As I prayed about what to do, God just kept telling me to trust Him. I wasn't sure that He wanted me to fill out that abuse form at that point, mainly because I wasn't sure what He was telling me to do about the obligation for financial commitment. But God just kept telling me this one thing: that "He will instruct me and teach me in the way I should go." And as I prayed for Ireen's safety, He assured me that "He would comfort her and watch over her."
Wednesday of CAMP LIFE came, and I could hardly wait to see Ireen. "Are you safe?" I said. She shook her head and answered in English "Yes," Then I hugged her and with tears in my eyes told her I loved her. Somehow between Monday and Wednesday, this dirty little girl with mangled eyelashes became one of the most beautiful girls I had ever seen. She didn't have a bath, and nothing in her physical manner changed at all. Nothing. In fact, I'm not even sure she changed her clothes. But I had changed. God had changed me. He allowed me to love her the way He loves her, just like "Uncle Greer" asked us to pray at the beginning of the week.
I tried not to show favoritism with Ireen. I held hands as I walked throughout the day with the others, too. (That's what you do over there in Zambia, you know. You just walk hand-in-hand because you love each other. Even the adults do it!) But I must be honest, I slipped Ireen my apple every day, so she could take it home to feed her little brother. Truth be told, I saw some of the other girls doing the same thing. They seemed to understand how bad the situation was for Ireen, much worse than even their own orphaned stories.
By the time Thursday arrived, I could hardly wait to get to Chainda to talk with Ireen's step-mom. But that divine appointment was not going to happen. It turned out that Ireen lived on the far outskirts of the compound, and we weren't able to go to her home to share the Gospel. My heart sunk. "What now, God? What am I supposed to do? I can't sign that form to say I'm responsible for her sponsorship, and I can't NOT sign that form, because she needs to be protected - she's a child of Yours!"
And He told me, "I'll instruct you and teach you in the way you should go."
This picture was taken on Thursday after the girls had shared the Gospel throughout their community of Chainda.
I took the abuse report back to the hotel Thursday night and prayed over it again. God had told me that He would show me what to do, and He was faithful, as usual. That night, I talked to the staff at Family Legacy and told them again about Ireen's situation. I told them again that signing the form to commit to her sponsorship at the Tree of Life was just not an option for me and our family, but I would commit to finding a sponsor for her, should CPU allow her to be placed at the Tree of Life.
"I will find a sponsor for her. I have to."
Family Legacy agreed to let me turn in the form, based on my word to find a sponsor. This is outside of the norm, but I know it was God-ordained. Let me step up on my soapbox for one moment, please. One person told me they thought this was a bit manipulative of the ministry, not accepting the abuse report without someone signing up for the sponsorship. After all, it's all about the children, not the money, right? I want to set that straight, in case you are thinking the same thing. There must be sponsorship guidelines in place for those who will go to live at the Tree of Life Village, because the needs of so many children are great. There are a whole lot more chidren who need rescued then spots available at the Tree of Life. The primary way they can determine which children will be rescued is by sponsorship. There are some children who live at the Tree of Life Village currently who have lost their sponsorship (more on that in a later blog), and there are some children that the government has just "given" Family Legacy and told them to "take." Sponsorship for these precious children is vital to their care, and if they took "everyone" they wouldn't be able to so superbly care for and minister to them all. It would be more of an orphanage-type situation vs. a home. So if you are a nay-sayer, please believe me when I say that $250/month for this full-time care is not an exorbitant amount and requesting the commitment to sponsor them is not a manipulative practice. It's the most pratical approach, and it is working. I saw it first hand, and I saw the kind of care and the joy experienced by these children who reside at the Tree of Life Village. (Stepping down from my soapbox now.)
I had heard some of the others who had attended CAMP LIFE previously talk about what happens to the children once the CPU starts to investigate. Some of them suffer even more abuse as a punishment for a report being filed. I completed the form, but before I turned it in to the CPU agent who was at CAMP LIFE on Friday, I felt compelled to talk to Ireen about the consequences that may be endured for me filing the report. She understood the "what ifs" and she agreed to my turning in the report. That afternoon, truly in the last hours of CAMP LIFE, the CPU agent met with Ireen to start to document her situation.
By Friday, we were a very tight little group, and the girls were watching out for each other. On their own, the girls had a time of prayer over Ireen. My littlest girl, Memory, prayed that her step-mom would feed her, even if it's okra. (Apparently okra is the "liver and onions" meal of Zambian children. They all told me they hate it with a passion!) With that prayer, all the girls burst into laughter to the point of tears. We could always count on Memory for a laugh, that's for sure.
No longer did these girls hang their head in shame, thinking they were "no good, dirty and deserted orphans." No. By the end of the week, they had named themselves "Girls of Grace." And I could see the change that God had done in each of their lives, but especially with Ireen. In the midst of her situation at home, God had given her a peace and joy that is unexplainable unless you compare the pictures of her from the beginning of the week to the end. She doesn't even look like the same girl, really.
These pictures were taken on Friday, the last day of CAMP LIFE. Nehemiah 8:10 - The joy of the Lord is her strength!
Special thanks to my boss, Tim Childs at Raptim Travel, who sponsored this blanket for Ireen. I have prayed more times than I can count that it will keep her and her brother warm, and her mom will not steal it from her.
As I continued to text with my husband about the urgency of the situation, I asked him if I could leave $250 with the ministry to get things started for Ireen. I felt like it was "ernest money", to show my commitment to help her and to help find a sponsor. I had almost that exact amount of cash, and in my heart of hearts, I believed it needed to stay in Zambia and not go back to the USA with me. He agreed, and I handed it over to Andrew Knight, who is the "man on the ground extraordinairre" in charge of sponsorship programs at Family Legacy. The first $100 of the money was to be put toward opening the case with CPU, and the last $150 was to be determined, based on the results of the investigation. If CPU would see fit to place her in the care of Family Legacy, then the remaining $150 would be put toward her first month of sponsorship at the Tree of Life. But if CPU determined she was not able to be placed at the Tree of Life, then the remaining $150 could be put toward her Father's Heart sponsorship and enrollment fees for her education.
So, where do I go from here? Well, I don't know, exactly. I'm still waiting on the outcome of the investigation. In my heart of hearts, I believe CPU will decide to remove Ireen and her little brother Nicholas from the home. However, the step-mom can fight that. Then if there are any other family members around, they can claim "rights" to the children, and there can be a lengthy legal battle. I hope I know something within a few weeks or sooner.
What I do know is that God sent me to Zambia to help Ireen. I believe God won't let me sleep at night because I've not fulfilled my obligation to find sponsorship for her and her little brother. If the CPU determines that she must stay living where she is, then I will commit to her Father's Heart sponsorship personally, so she can go back to school. But if the CPU gives the go-ahead for her to be placed at the Tree of Life Village, then I wil not rest, I cannot rest, until every penny of her sponsorship (and Nicholas', too) is accounted for.
This is a video of the children who currently reside at The Tree of Life Village. Since it's hard to understand their English, here's what they sing: "I'm 6 years old, and I'm still growing UP! I need wisdom and I need knowledge. The only choice is a better place. Tree of Life! Tree of Life! A blessing to the nat...ions. Tree of Life! Tree of Life! A blessing to the nations! The 2nd solo repeats the same words, then the whole group sings: "We are a blessing to the nations. We are happy at Tree of Life! We go to school and are still growing UP. I need wisdom, and I need knowledge. Tree of Life! Tree of Life! A blessing to the nations. Tree of Life! Tree of Life! A blessing to the nations!"
Yes, Amber and I each led a 10-girl group while in Lusaka. Of those 20 girls, 5 of my girls and 6 of Amber's still need sponsored for their education and 1 meal a day through the Father's Heart program.
Our girls and the status of their sponsorship can be found at the links below:
https://web.familylegacy.com/give/ambassadors/6791 (Beth's girls)
https://web.familylegacy.com/give/ambassadors/6795 (Amber's girls)
But it's the sponsorship for Ireen that is the most heavy on my heart. It's Ireen that God wakes me up at night to pray for. It's Ireen who is suffering ongoing abuse, scars physically, mentally, and emotionally. Out of our group of 20 girls, only Ireen is in a terrible situation of abuse and neglect. I do believe she will be placed at the Tree of LIfe, and so I must plead with you to join me in the monthly sponsorship for her and Nicholas.
The other 10 that stil need sponsored would be through the Father's Heart program, and in God's eyes, they are just as important as Ireen. The price of sponsorship varies in this program, depending on the age of the child, due to the mandated testing requirements of the government. For children in grades 1-6, there is a 1-time $95 enrollment fee for school and then a $44/month commitment. For children in grades 7-12, the sponsorship changes to $66/month and a $190/enrollment fee.
Will you take some time to personally pray Psalm 32:8 in regards to sponsoring one of these girls? Ask God to "instruct you and teach you the way you should go" and please, as a favor to me, will you ask God to "watch over Ireen and Nicholas and comfort them."
He is faithful, and I know He will instruct you to make the right decision, and I know He is going to watch over Ireen and Nicholas until we can get them safely placed and sponsored at the Tree of Life Village. No, I can't rescue them all, but I don't have to. God sent me to Zambia to rescue one. And her name is Ireen.
--- Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com