5 loaves

So I think it would be accurate to say that I am the kind of person who likes to keep busy, have lots of activities going on, and I like to help and solve problems. The problem can be trivia, trivial, or more serious. I don't usually see barriers or obstacles... if there is a problem, then there is a solution and I will find it. That's just my personality.

When we were leaving for Ghana on our second trip, I was made aware of a man running an orphanage who was in need. So I decided to contact him and find out more. The problem with some problems, is that they are not so easy to solve, and it's more than just the challenge of problem solving, but actual lives are involved. I met a man I call Brother John. Brother John has an orphanage with 26 children. When I met him, they had been kicked out of their current living quarters and were sleeping in a hallway. First, let me explain that "kicked out" was due to an inability to pay one-two years ADVANCED lease for the place. I don't know many Americans who could pull that off in our economy, the likelihood of a young man caring for orphans is less likely to manage this kind of requirement in Ghana. And this is how it is in Ghana, you have to pay advanced rent... not just one or two months, but one or two years.

So, Brother John has no source of regular support. He lives with the children day by day hoping to bring in just enough to meet the needs of the children for living, education and food. So far it is litterally day by day.

Wednesday last week I received an email from Brother John indicating that the last of their money had been used to move into a place that would take them for the little money they had. On this day they were out of money, out of food, and out of clean water. And apparently I was the only person he was able to reach out to for help. The email was this:


Thank you very much and may the Lord bless you very well as only as He can.

Thank you very much for helping us in Christ's love.

I hope anything little even about 10$ could be a help for now because we ate only once today and the water we bought linked and finished as we realized it this morning but don't have peny on me to buy some.

We are praying as we have not started church services in this house where we may could generate some ongoing funds from.

Thank you very much and keep us in your prayers as well. And untill we talk again, have a blessed day.

Yours Servant,

John

I met Brother John, I have seen the children he is caring for. I know the place he is staying. I have all the documents that prove he is a legitimate organization. He keeps records of their finances and has shared this with me. I know it is hard for Americans to understand how someone could be in charge of so many children with no actual source of support or income. But because Brother John speaks in churches to earn a very small amount and has been able to meet the daily needs of the children, there are families who cannot meet the daily needs and will make arrangements for John to care for their children. In some cases the children are completely orphaned with no one to take care of them, or with one parent who is unable to care for them due to illness or circumstances out of their control. So in America we cannot imagine a situation like this, but in Ghana it can happen, it does happen.

During a trip to a village in Ghana I watched a mother try to give her child to someone who she believed could provide food and medical care. The person to whom the mother was trying to give the child, also had very, very little and could barely care for her own family. "Poor" is a very relative term.

So Brother John, is a God-fearing man who has provided for these children and met basic needs and is managing to provide an education. Of course people trust him with their children, what else can you do? And now as I am going about my very American daily life, there is pause. Pause: there are hungry children gonig to bed at night, children that are asking for help from ME... not an advertisement on TV, not a magazine ad. No, real kids, in a real situation, and in at least one case I was the only one who could provide help. It makes life just a little more complex than I would have ever expected.

Thanks to the support of a few friends with a few dollars we were able to get Brother John some money. Three of us gathered $75 to send to Brother John. $25 each... that's all. $25. Sometimes I feel like I am not helping if I can't offer more. I wonder what will $25 dollars do? How can $25 help? But for the last 3 days these children have eaten enough to be satisfied at each meal. I don't know how long $75 will last for 26 children in Ghana (not to mention the adults who sacrifice with them), but I know a story about 5 loaves and 5 fishes, and I pray the money will find a way to meet their needs until another way comes.