Droughts, hurricanes, wars and rumors of wars – who can really save us?

Greetings from Durban, South Africa where I am sitting over looking the Indian Ocean.  We are here celebrating Ian’s 52^nd birthday and taking a day or two to reflect on where we have been, what we are doing and where we are going.  We have 164 children living at Project Canaan now, and the responsibility of that weighs heavily on our shoulders.

As far as my eyes can see, I see water, and it's beautiful and powerful and awe-inspiring.  It seems that water has been at the center of conversation for us for a very long time now.

Last Saturday we were glued to the TV, like so many others around the world, watching for surging ocean water as Hurricane Irma moved north through the Caribbean and on in to Florida.  The week before we watched helplessly as Hurricane Harvey dumped 33 trillions gallons of water on Houston and other parts of Texas.  During that same week we had a conversation with a vegetable farmer from the Cape Town, South Africa area who told us that their rainy season had just finished and their dams were only 1/3 full. He told us that Cape Town (and surrounding farms, wine country etc) will run out of water before the rains come next year.

I have always heard that water is life, but why does it seem that water can be life-giving and life-taking all at the same time?

While I don’t understand why God allows droughts, floods or hurricanes, I do believe that HE is the only one who can make it rain (or not), and I believe that He is the only one who can save any of us from disaster. I don't understand a lot of what God allows/does and doesn't do and I sure don't understand why He doesn't STOP many of the things we see from happening, but that is not for today's blog.

On Thursday we got a call from a Social Welfare officer about a 3-day-old baby who was found in a plastic bag, hanging on a branch of a tree.  The child was still covered in blood and his umbilical cord was tied with an elastic band.  A passerby heard the child cry and called the police.  Why did God allow that?  I believe that God is the only one who could save that child’s life. The mother could have dumped him in an outdoor toilet (where 30+ of our other children have started their lives), or lit him on fire (like two of our children), or strangled him and dumped him in a garbage can (like one of our children), or left him in the river to die. BUT she didn’t. Something in her had mercy on that small baby. Something whispered to her spirit to give him a chance, and she did.

As I sit and look at the Ocean and give thanks for my husband’s life and this journey we are on, I am stopping to ask you for help.  While it is God who saved each of our children’s lives, it is us who must feed, clothe and care for them, and He invites people to be a part of that journey with us.  This is difficult timing because SO MANY people need financial help to recover from the disasters that have recently struck.  We do not get government funding to raise these children. We are 100% donor funded, and without more help from monthly donors we will have to say “no” to a baby who has been dumped or abandoned.  Please, will you help us today by becoming a Heart for Africa Angel?  Or even make a one-time gift to help us help a child?

To give in the US please click here.

To give in Canada please click here.

We can’t control the rain, the wind or the weather, but we can do something about helping a child in need.

Thank you for considering my request today.

Live from South Africa … the ocean brings me peace.

Janine

PS In other news, we have a lead on who was involved in the break-ins on Project Canaan. This "Wanted" article was in the newspaper yesterday. We pray that the thieves will be found and prosecuted.