A trend that I see in missions to visit orphans is that almost always the women on the trip out number the men by 3 to 1 or more on some trips. Sometimes we are happy if we even get one man to join our mission teams.
My husband, Simon, has been an amazing asset to Visiting Orphans. He has such a passion for our trips and whenever he leads a team he is able to really influence some wonderful men to join our teams. This was the case with our January 2010 Africa team. There were 11 men out of 30 people, and this was fantastic, but rare. I want you to watch how this trip impacted Jesse Lee and Daniel Locke on this trip.
Jesse actually joined this trip independently from Simon's influence. He was so impacted that he is now leading our June 2010 trip. Hear straight from his mouth on this video interview why men are so crucial and needed on our teams to reach out to the orphans..(you will need to turn the music off on the player on the right side bar)
Daniel was a friend of ours who couldn't wait to go to Africa and has such a heart for the orphans. Daniel personally crafted collapsable full size soccer nets out of PCV pipes so he could travel with them. You can imagine the kids reactions when they saw him pulling these out of his bag and putting them together. These men are examples of the Father's heart to these children who have no fathers.
Most orphanages have plenty of women care takers but very few men on staff who ever interact with the children. So, the young boys and girls grow up rarely knowing the love of a father. This is especially true in China. If you are a man reading this post, I pray you would feel that desire in your chest to go and would understand that that is the Holy Spirit speaking to you and beckoning you to come...
p.s. There are still a few spots left on Jesse's team to Africa. You can find out more here. We need men on all our teams though..not just Africa. Join my husband Simon on our trip to Ecuador from May 22nd to May 29th. You can find out more about this trip here.
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ReplyDeleteI would like to add to this Amanda, that I was just ruined by the Lord on my first trip to Africa. My heart broke for the fatherless. Even when I was tired and just sat down, they were just happy to sit in my lap. I will never forget the little girl that was so scared when she first seen me. She had never interacted with a white man before. The workers could not get her to come over and touch me. After about 10 or 15 minutes she sat right on my lap and played with her toy for the rest of the time I was there. I will never forget that little girl nor the young boy who choose to throw a football with me even when there were all of the other kids playing soccer and basketball. He had me all to himself. I still remember his smile. That was my first trip over seas. I am so happy that it was not my last.
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