Miles In Missions

At C.A.R.E. Africa we do many interviews every week for children wanting to join our ministry. We try our best to get to the truth of the child’s current situation by asking lots of questions. Caretakers and the children will say whatever to get into C.A.R.E. so we have to play detective. We talk to references and pastors to see if their story is true. Once a child makes it through the first interview we then visit the home to see the environment and if the child truly meets our vision statement of being voiceless and exhausted.

Recently an 8 year old boy name Damilola came with his mother for an interview.  His mother looked tired and exhausted as well as very thin. Damilola was dirty and his clothes were torn and ragged.  She was annoyed with our questions but more out of exhaustion then frustration. Damilola couldn’t understand my English or any of our staff’s English. He couldn’t read or write. When we visited the house, the structure looked like it was days away from caving in. A few old doorframes were literally holding the roof in place. They truly were voiceless and exhausted.

We didn’t have a sponsor lined up so we put Damilola on the waiting list. All of our staff that visited his home that day were in shock of the conditions and started praying for a sponsor. Two days later we received an email from the mother of two little girls in the U.S. who had saved and raised money to sponsor a C.A.R.E. Africa child. They had visited Egbe as a family and spent a lot of time with C.A.R.E. Africa. When they went home, they decided they wanted to sponsor a child.

Our staff were so excited, but knew that Damilola would not be able to cope in school yet. We started looking for a teacher that would have the patience to work with him one on one so he could eventually go to school. God sent us an angel who is the daughter of one of our housing compound workers, Oyibosay. She had taught primary school for many years and had recently lost the job. She is a miracle story herself as she was recently heading to heaven with congenital arrhythmia of the heart. Through donations toward a pacemaker she was given a second chance at life. Now she is helping a little boy who is also being given a second chance.

This story is one of so many that I get to be a part of daily. I wish I could share them all. Continue to pray for C.A.R.E. Africa as we always have a list of children waiting for a second chance.