BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Yesterday was March 19th. As it happens that is the birthday of my sister, Janet. Congratulations, big sister! I hope you had a great day. You will always be one of the most important people in my life and, though time and distance have certainly altered the landscape, the geography remains the same.

Yesterday also was a day to meet with the homeless orphans who are now positioned to complete their six month training. They have lived on the streets together as a large family unit looking out for one another in a world that has largely denied their existence. Ten percent of the population of this country can be described as homeless and orphaned. Yet, when asked, the staff members at PFR say they do not go to church because they have no home; their families are fractured or nonexistent; their government makes it a crime to live on the streets...the only home they know. Now they graduate with hopes and dreams and a few skills that may equip them for employment. I do pray it works for them.

These young men and women are excited but quite challenged. Where will they live, how will they acquire the tools of their new trades, who will accept and love them? Somehow those questions remain the same as they were a year ago when we began this effort to train them.

My time in Africa is coming to a close. I can feel myself moving back emotionally to America already. In America I am part of a church that is attempting to welcome people as they come out of jail and prison; it is attempting to reach out to kids from broken families (I heard the figure of 80% of the kids in some Portland schools are living without a father figure in their homes); and to be brothers and sisters in the lives of those less fortunate. The attempts are anything but perfect. Yet they are undoubtedly close to the heart of God. My hope is that somehow some of that energy could be found here. Why can't these young people have local families from churches and elsewhere that embrace them as they attempt the task ahead of them?

This next week I will meet with the administrative staff at PFR to discuss the future of the scholarship program and other issues. Please pray for God's continued direction. It would be wonderful if the practical needs of these wonderful young people could be found in the family of God. But we all need to see what is before us. These and those after all are our brothers and sisters.

dlm