The Preacher and I : Let the Little Children Come Unto Me

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Let the Little Children Come Unto Me

The Preacher and I attended the CAFO, Christian Alliance for the Orphan, Conference this past week. It is a two day conference dedicated to children. Children from around the world and children here in our own backyards. Story after story we heard of children who have lost parents to death, children who have been abandoned and children who have been preyed upon. We also heard the stories of the foster and adoptive parents who have taken on the life of adoption and fostering these children.

Throughout the conference the scripture, "Let the little children come to me." (Matthew 19:14), kept running through my head.

Who are the next generation to spread the Good News? It is our children. Who better for Satan to attack and kill than the children. I believe he will do anything he can to keep the children of this world from hearing and spreading the Word of God.

The men and women who organize this conference, I believe, understand this. That is why so many parents, church ministry teams and para-organizations find this conference a breath of fresh air. These people know that along with the hard times joy can be found. There were solutions given, explanations given, hope given and joy given. There was a collective praise for the solutions, for the explanations, for the hope, and praise for the joy.

I think out of all of the speakers and presenters, I thought that Rephat Nyarenda of The Micheal Project said it best. He told the story of how he was orphaned at the age of 9 years old and placed into a foster home of a Zimbabwean couple. He had never seen a washing machine before and he was fascinated the first time he saw his foster mother washing clothes. While the machine was running he decided he needed to open it and fine out how it worked. Due to the machine being engaged in its wash cycle the door was locked, but that did not stop Rephat. He pulled on the door until he got it opened. This of course broke the machine.

He immediately began to plan his escape, of packing his bags and running. He began to think of who he could blame, but when his foster mother came into the room she asked, "Rephat, did you break the machine?", and he said, "Yes." Truth had been said. She bent low and gave him a hug wrapped tightly and gave him forgiveness by saying, "It's okay."

Two little words said so much to this orphaned child. Through out his Christian journey he remembered the words of his foster mother and knew his Savior was saying the same words, "It's okay!" These two words say forgiveness, they give healing hope and they give peace.

So the next time you see an adoptive parent, a foster parent or even a biological parent struggling with their battle with Satan who is fighting for their children's souls, tell them the Lord wants to wrap them into a hug held tightly and tell them "It's okay" and to keep fighting. Satan will not have your children today!

Here are some pictures from the conference --