What About The Children

“What about the children, to ignore is so easy…”

The crowd stood around the lifeless body wondering what to do, speechless that the vehicle didn’t take the time to check and see or take the victim to the hospital.  In an area of town where the gangsters rule by night and emergency assistance is few and far in between, calling on the holy name of Jesus was the only option.  As the internal organs became visible, no one dared touch the child until out of nowhere came a hand that reach out and touched the form and began to say the name of Jesus and right before all the on-lookers, the form moved, turned and groaned in pain.

The emergency personnel arrived took the child and our tour through Nanga and Guguletu continued.  These two townships of Capetown, South Africa and the episode just described are one in and of the same.  The people in them have been hit by a moving vehicle and left for dead, but God in His mercy is reaching out in love and hope.  Our driver was visibly shaken by the episode, because his children was about the same age and in the car we began to ask God to have mercy and cause the child to live and tell the story of how she met Jesus that day.  The hand God chose to use that day was the hand of my wife.  She didn’t know the language or the people, but she knew God and that was all that mattered.  There are times in church when parts of messages become real and even songs we sing that seem impossible; that afternoon we could hear our pastor’s voice singing “…love through me holy spirit love through me.  Let my hand reach out to others love through me…”  Our children were about 3,000 km away and the instinct that only a mother could have was rush to the aid of her child.  I tell you, on that day it was as if it was one of ours lying there on the street.

The experience was the highlight of a much needed time of rest for Vicky and me and a time God used to speak to us about our future and what He had in store for our family.  Since our return, day and night the children have taken on the burden of praying for this child.  We took a picture as keep sake because one day we will meet again.

“…and if not for those who loved us and who cared enough to shows us…where would we be today?”

 

My wife children and I have been profoundly impacted by what we’ve experienced in Zambia over the past six years.  We felt the Lord tug at our hearts to come and help in the areas of need and therefore set out on this wonderful journey that really has only just begun.  Our return to Zambia in March of 2012 was the beginning of a new chapter for the Carr family and little did we know that it was also another tugging of the Lord for us to move on.  That last statement sounds very strange because we thought we had come to what the call was for us, but the Lord through the messages at church was pointing out that ROJF and KCF was just a vehicle He used to get us onto the continent.  Slowly over the months we realize that the doors were closing on our tenure at KCF and had no other recourse than to submit and declare that God is God and we are not.

 

Making the decision includes resigning from Kakabalika Trust School as Administrator and Kakabalika Child Foundation.  We have learned tremendously from our colleagues and more so from the students and KCF boys who have solidified for us a love and passion for teaching and caring.  The difficulties experienced were like a file; they sharpened our characters and taught us wonderful truths about ourselves and our interaction to and with people.  Invaluable, we will never be the same and this experience will always be remembered with fondness.

 

We want to publicly thank Rev. Sambo for the confidence and opportunity to serve under his leadership and to our colleagues at the School and the Residential program for covering our many mistakes, pouring their support and assistance upon us like a cold cup of water on a hot summer day.  We are eternally grateful for the opportunity to serve and do hopes that a foundation was laid so that leaders trained will have an equally rewarding time.

“…so many innocent children will choose the wrong way…”

In the short time that we have been in Zambia many changes have taken place among the people.  The HIV/AIDS rates have fallen from 1 in 4 to 1 in 7.  Prayer, death, medication, information and abstinence campaign played a critical part in driving the high numbers down.  One statistic that is constantly increasing is children; in Zambia alone 46% of the total population of 13 million people is children under 16 years.  Around the world 22% of the people trafficked for slavery, labor and sex trade are children.

There are many homes in Zambia where a child is heading that household.  We have spent the last six years dealing with the ones that end up on the streets, but there is a greater number in the compounds needing just someone to care.  The burdens is enormous and very overwhelming for the governmental institutions, but God who is father to the fatherless, hope for the hopeless knows their names, bottles their tears and hears their every call.  His answer is you and me and to that end our family is praying and discussing what God would have for us to do next in assisting the plight and needs of children.

In the meantime we are continuing our work at KCF through June and we hope to have something concrete for you to partner with us on in your prayer and support.  We do look forward to hearing from you before then, hoping that you will let us know what is going on in your life and how we can labor in prayer with and for you.  Do know that we love and miss you dearly and cannot wait for that someday when we can be together.

Matters for Prayer:

·         Grace to endure the separation pain

·         Smooth transition and adjustment for the new head of school

·         Time to reflect, pray and process after the change

·         Continued encouragement, support, love and prayer from family and friends

·         Discernment and clarity for the Carr family’s next God venture

There Is Fruit

God really uses mysterious things to speak and get at my heart. The story I shared in the previous blog is very real and close to me. He has been speaking interestingly enough through nature. I guess it has helped that we are on a farm and have planted corn, beans, potatoes, groundnuts and other vegetables. We are also raising chickens and have a goat! So, a lot of the time God uses what is around me to speak to me because there was a time not very long ago where I felt that He was very distant. A time when He had given a specific instruction and then all seemed quiet for a while after that. At that time, I was desperately drawing close to Him asking for clarity and direction. He did just that.

Like I said, we planted sweet corn in our yard and were hoping for a wonderful harvest. We grew the corn as organinc as we could manage. It was growing beautifully and then after some time, it decided to get dry. No matter how many times it rained, it was dry and many stalks were falling to the ground. The children and I went out a few times after school to try and fix the fallen stalks. We would pick them up and then pound dirt around it so they could stay standing. This went on for a couple of weeks and then we noticed that it was time to try to harvest the corn because we may lose the little bit that was left. I really had no hopes in this crop, as far as it was concerned I knew we had nothing to pick really. However, we went out and picked as much as we could. One massive bowl, two, three and then four!! Ok, I forgot to take a picture but I hope you understand the kind of bowls I'm referring to. These are not big mixing bowls that we keep in our kitchen to make a big salad or even put some fruit in. No, these are BIG African bowls. Go ahead, do something with me, get both arms out in a circle as if you're hugging an imaginary person and fingers are barely touching. Got it? Yep, that big! Not one, but four of those full of corn from my fallen, dry and torn up corn field. That was more than incredible, it was amazing!!

When I took the first three bowls inside to try and figure out what to do with it, God spoke to me and said, "Vicky, there more fruit in you than you realize. You think I am so far away and you are dry and torn inside but get ready because the harvest that I will reap from your life is plenty. and not just you but Warren and the children" I just stood there amazed. He actually wasn't finished with me yet! In fact, it seems as if He is just getting started!

In the midst of this trial, God spoke to a couple of my friends to call one day. I cannot explain to you how timely that was. It was like me and the kids going out to pick up the corn and sure the stalks up with more dirt so they would remain standing a bit longer. That is what these friends did. The held us up in prayer and made sure we were standing for a bit longer. There was another friend who out of nowhere emailed and said that our family had popped up in their prayer meeting. Coincedence? Don't think so. God is working even when we don't see Him at work.

The past couple of months, Warren was invited to share at the local christian radio station twice. Around the same time, we met some new friends who invited him to sing at the American Embassy. He lifted the name of Jesus at both places. God whispered to me, "There is fruit, Vicky" I really am not saying this to be proud but because God is working and I know it's not just for us. He is working for you too and in you too! Are you like us, and have felt dry and torn and like there is nothing left to give and surely there is nothing left to take from you. You are beyond empty. Dry, bruised and broken. God is there and He will see you through and you have fruit.

It is very rare that my husband gets to preach but this past Sunday, He was invited to speak at a local church. He blew me away because the message was about being God's workmanship created for Him for a specific purpose. We are God's masterpiece, He will finish what He started in us. He who began a good work in you, will finish it! There is fruit!

A New Leaf is Growing

     It has been quite a while since my last blog. Not because of the lack of events in our lives but because we have been so busy that I have hardly had time to sit and just be.  I'm not sure if you have ever had moments like that, but this past year has been very trying for our family.  God had been introducing a change that I quite frankly did not want to hear.  I have been very happy with where we are and did not need any shaking.  I mean I finally felt like I was beginning to arrive at a settled place after being on the "chaos" and "transition" bridge for so long.  But you know, we had been praying that God would have His way and would speak and bring us to a deeper level in Him.  A friend of mine sent me a beautiful message one day that I now know came directly from heaven.  I have to tell you a little bit of the background so you could understand.  You see we had given this friend a plant as a house warming gift when we visited right before moving to Zambia.  She was very glad for it and even promised to pray for our family every time she would water the plant. I was moved because that is exactly what she did.  Well, here we are five and a half years on the field and believe it or not the plant is still alive.  There was a problem not long ago where she noticed that the plant was looking unhealthy.  I think it is best to post what she wrote:

Hey Vicky, I thought perhaps I should check in and let you know that the Carr plant is alive and well.  I must admit, it has endured quite a bit of neglect on my part.  I don't have much of a green thumb and often forget to water it but it's resilient and it's still holding on.  It's leaves have suffered a few scrapes and bruises but I think it adds character.  Once it got knocked over and dirt went everywhere but thankfully it wasn't permanently damaged.  A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that it was beginning to look a bit tired and dry so I thought to re-pot it.  (It's been in the same pot since you guys gave it to us right before your initial trip to Zambia).  But after inspecting its roots, I noticed it hadn't actually outgrown its home and didn't need a new pot afterall - just fresh soil and a healthy dose of plant food.  I took great care to replace the soil and then returned it back to its original place in our dining room.  I'm now happy to report that in just a short while, it has perked up and it's actually growing a new leaf!  Not many plants would survive the way this one has! I expect it will be fully recovered and thriving again in no time!

I pray you are doing well, my friend, "I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His spirit.  Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him.  Let your roots grow deep down into the soil of His wondrous love and keep you strong." Ephesians 3:16,17

      This amazing message spoke so clearly to me for where I was back then.  All I knew is that like the plant I had been knocked down and felt like all I stood in (my soil) was scattered all over the place.  So bruised and broken.  God was saying, "Let me heal you and help you get new soil and put you back to the right place."  Of course, as the healing process began and slowly God started taking away the dead leaves and fixing the scrapes, I prayed, "Lord, like the verse in Ephesians, please let my roots grow down deep so that nothing would move me from the place where you place me."  Well, like a true Father who does not give me a stone when I ask for bread He did just that... He started to let my roots grow deep.  One thing I did not realize though, is that as the roots grow deep eventually a new pot is essential for healthy growth to continue...  And transplant shock is almost inevitable...

More to come...