“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” ~ James 1:27
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” ~ Matthew 25:37-40
Many people do not realize that Urbancrest supports many orphan ministries all over the world. In Uganda, Urbancrest partners with Alfred Adundo’s Macedonian Child Outreach Project, Richard & Susan Angoma’s Family Empowerment-Uganda, and George & Geraldine Smith’s Bavuma Island ministries. Urbancrest also helps take care of orphans in various locations such as Svitlana Mayboroda’s Orphans for Christ in Russia and Brent Gambrell Ministries in Haiti. Locally, our church works alongside Larry Bergeron’s A Child’s Hope International to help feed children and support foster care/adoption worldwide. Though we have been a major partner with Joe Veal’s You-Turn Ministries in Malawi for many years, our involvement with the orphan ministry there just began a new chapter.
Two years ago, Joe Veal through You-Turn Ministries was led by the Lord to expand his extensive evangelism ministry in Malawi to work with orphans. Orphan care is a huge need throughout the world, where over 30,000 children die every day due to poverty, malnutrition, and preventable illnesses. In Africa, most of those who die are orphans and children that have no one to care properly for them. The life expectancy in Malawi is only 34 years due to the AIDS epidemic. As you can imagine, the adults who die at that age leave numerous children in need of care.
With the help of God and many supporters, Joe was able to purchase property that had a house already under construction. After researching other orphanages in Africa, he designed a kitchen and a porch to add to the house where the children could be fed. The house was redesigned as a training center and also serves as a new church plant for the area. This is what is known as the Lighthouse. Currently, 63 children are being cared for in this location and receive daily food, school fees, and other provisions.
The strategy in Malawi seems simple to me. First, as stated in James 1:27 we are to be obedient in caring for the widows and orphans. In Malawi, it is difficult to ignore the orphan problem. Second, the focus should be on evangelism. By feeding and caring for orphans, the love of Jesus is shown to the community and each individual child. The name of Jesus is glorified to them and through them. Most receive Christ, and an army of evangelists is made ready to reach the next generation. The final element of the strategy is discipleship. The leadership of the community is impacted and becomes open to receiving input into their lives and the lives of their village through Bible and leadership training. Our Urbancrest team had 88 village chiefs at the first leadership training conducted!
The primary reason that I went to Malawi was to see the work at the orphanage so that I could assess whether Urbancrest could help duplicate the efforts in another location. The ministry leaders in Malawi had already been searching for a location before I arrived. We visited a city called Dedza that is south of the present Lighthouse location. The Mpingo Baptist church there has agreed to use their building for a Lighthouse orphanage and training center in their city. The location is great! The church building is African-style and large enough to accommodate the training seminars. The property is four or five acres and will accommodate more buildings. What sealed the deal for me was the fact that they had already installed a water line the day before. If we are going to feed 50 children a day, water on the property is a necessity.
Much work is needed to prepare for the orphans. A kitchen and feeding porch just like the one at the original Lighthouse will be built. The church is new and has been meeting on a dirt floor. A concrete floor will need to be poured. The Lord has allowed Urbancrest to adopt this site and partner with Joe for this new Lighthouse. Our FPF team has approved $5,000.00 to complete the construction projects. In November, this will be completed and the Lighthouse in Dedza will be ready to receive children. Our great need now is to raise the $10,000 per year that will be needed to care for these children. Please pray with us that God will raise up regular givers that will meet this need. Our Faith Promise budget does not include this orphanage. Yet, we have been assigned this responsibility by the Master long ago.
The current plan is for Urbancrest to send a team each year to Malawi to train and care for these children. Pray now and prepare to join us next summer. We will need men and women to teach, evangelize, and care for orphans. If you are lead to give, you may do so through the Faith Promise Fund by designating that your gift is for Lighthouse Dedza.
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