LENDING A HAND TO THE NEEDY

HI DAD!    happy Hero's Day!

You are my Hero, 

Together with Mum

you made my life to shine.

God Bless you,

Found this Message on my Mobile Phone last Monday which was Kenya's Hero's Day - a Day set aside to remember our Heroes!     It was once known as Kenyatta Day, Father of the Nation's Day

The FIRST Kenyan President's DAY!    The HERO that fought against Colonial Rule and WON.   Certainly a man of outstanding vision and leadership ability.  A man to be remembered        BUT as my picture declares 'Heroism is MORE than merely slaying dragons.'      I do not see myself to be a 'hero' in any particular sense.     I am just someone doing what he felt he needed to do!    OR, as one writer has put it -

'A hero is a man

who does what he can'.

No Big Deal - just doing what comes naturally.      I felt somewhat startled to read this message sent by my son - Was I - AM I - a hero?    George thinks I am, and even links Esther my wife in with me, appraising us both as being worthy of such a designation.  But what did we DO that has made George see us as such?   We took him in, cared for him, loved him.     As far as we knew when he came to stay with us in Testimony House he was a total orphan, but two years later, in 1986, his mother appeared, looking for him.     She said she wanted him back in her care and would come again in a month to take possession of him.    He was, of course, on a Court Order, and for George to be handed to this lady's care it had to be proved first that she WAS his mother and then that she was capable of caring for him.   However, on her return a month later, George all excited and ready to go with her, she declared that she could not look after him as she had no permanent home and wandered from town to town.     She said Goodbye to her son and walked off down the drive from our front door, never to be heard of again.    George followed her to the gate, and our hearts broke for his disappointment and broken heart.     He was then twelve years old.     He had been abandoned twice.

George with his son.

He remained with Esther and me for another eleven years, completing his Secondary Education, and then in 1998 went on to do a Course in Sales & Marketing.     He then worked in Insurance for some time, marrying in 2007.    He now works about forty kilometres away and calls in from time to time.    But why does he consider us his 'heroes'?     He was always quiet, well behaved; no trouble at all.   He was easy to love!     We did not have to 'suffer' because of him, or even have to 'fight' for him.     But I suppose we DID stand by and with him, as we did for our own children and all the others that made up our Testimony Family.

We DID suffer and fight for some of the others who themselves were uninspired to work hard at School, and at times not willing to fight the Devil for themselves.

There were days when it was hard for US to bare them, believe and trust in them. Yet each one was, we believed, brought to us in faith that we would not run out on any one of them and do our best to be dutiful and responsible parents - but still not 'heroes' in our own estimation.       We have only done what we felt we SHOULD do. 

I read today these words by a well known celebrity -

'Too many children in foster care

are falling through the cracks...!   

BE A HERO

take time to learn about 'Adoption' today!

An interesting comment indeed.     Here in Kenya the Government has been pushing its own fostering programme to the limit, with hundreds of thousands opening up their family to foster a child;  they are even paid for it, all in the effort to empty the national streets of all homeless children.     BUT, recently in the press it was clearly declared under the banner headline - ORPHANS' PROGRAMME HAS FAILED. - 'Labour and Social Welfare Committee Members raised concern for the effectiveness of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) cash transfer programme.       More than 30% of foster children run away back to the streets they were picked up from.      Foster parents tend to take the money and USE the child as a domestic........no love in such homes or families only disadvantage and greed.   Most of us who work on the ground with children in Children's Homes KNOW this Program would fail from the onset.      It is not so easy to BE a REAL parent, and much less easy to be a RESPONSIBLE parent to your own flesh and blood, let alone those of another tribe or colour.

I often look back at my own 'blood' parents.     They both turned their backs on me.   To me this does not speak of heroism.        I am thankful to God for choosing them to be the substance and means of my creation and existence, but they RAN from their further duty in providing me with loving care, guidance, and in risking their own happiness and convenience for my ultimate good.     I was NOT fostered  -  and as an answer for a homeless orphan I still find it hard to recommend it.     BUT I was ADOPTED!     And indeed I have adopted FOUR of our own in addition to our blood born kids.         We have endeavoured to BE parents to our own, our adopted, and many others we welcomed into our home, that we could not adopt or foster - but could care for.      I suppose that might be conceived as 'heroic'  -  but we never felt it to be so, or even now looking at it in retrospect do we feel it WAS so.      It was just in our hearts.      It may not have always been easy.

It was not always comfortable, rewarding or satisfying.      We struggled to understand the nature and character of youngsters whose antecedents we had no idea of.      We suffered and wrestled with the effects of unrequited love, rejection, and open hostility at times.     We had to FIGHT often to avoid being found short of GRACE and Forgiveness when we were robbed, reviled, and ashamed by those WE had set ourselves to love without condition - just as God has loved US.

Of course there were, and continue to be, little stars and 'brilliants' of light to encourage us, and lift up our heart,   But they have not been  the majority.      It is NOT easy to bring up a child in the way that the BIBLE says they should go.   We can meet with resistance, un-thankfulness, arrogance..............without any excuse to turn away from, or give up on, ANY child that we have accepted responsibility for as a parent.        This demands Endurance, Courage of ones Convictions, a lively faith in GOD,  Constant Love, and never ending Grace.    Perhaps these ARE qualities that might be found in a HERO, but WE never thought about it; we just lived by the Grace of God, and let it over-flow around us.    

A Parent should NEVER give up on his children.     Stick with them, stand by them, FIGHT the Enemy for them night and day.       Neither of us have set out to be heroes, any more than Christ and the Apostles set out to make a name for themselves on Earth or even in Heaven.    We have just done what He put upon our hearts to do, having himself provided ALL we needed to DO it as we went.       It has been ALL of HIM.    He ends up with ALL the Honour and Glory - He is Himself, finally, THE HERO.    None the less we are glad if only one of the children He gave us to care for can think of us as in this way -  Thank you Georgie!    And thank you all the rest of you - each one remembered and loved as you each deserve - without reservation or condition.   It has been a privilege every time to be trusted to by God to care for you as part of his care and plan for your life.

My brother and sisters the world is over-flowing with unwanted Men, Women, AND children.    Without asking WHY they have become unwanted, let us remember to REMEMBER them.       Perhaps especially the children since there is great prospect of saving and rehabilitating them in time for them to still make a contribution to the decades ahead - should time permit!      And, yes I can see you might need to be ready to take a chance, a risk that could end up being a truly 'heroic' effort, if you WERE to ADOPT a needy child. But still I find it good to say to you - BE A HERO!

He who would valiant be 

'Gainst all disaster,

Let him in constancy

Follow the Master.

There's no discouragement

Shall make him once relent

His first avowed intent

TO BE A PILGRIM

With our LOVE always

John and Esther, and ALL of us in Testimony