Orphanage in Guguletu!

This weekend I had the honour of helping out at a local "orphanage" in Guguletu. The reason I put orphanage in inverted commas is because many people recognise it as an orphanage, but in all honesty it's not. A Pastor and his wife live in Guguletu, a local township, and run Barcelona Baptist Church. They are also the parents of 22 AIDS orphans. Yes, that's what I said.....22 children ranging from young adults to infants. Prepare yourself for this.... 18 of the 22 children are AIDS positive. No, not HIV positive but AIDS positive, meaning they currently have the disease. Heart breaking, isn't it? I cried for an hour straight when the Pastor shared their story. They have had heart breaking situations come upon them time after time, but through it all they trust God in a way I would have never ever imagined. Some of their children have been left in burning houses to die. Some have been dropped off at the gate of their home. Yet, these children LOVE their adopted ma and pa. They called them mama and papa and they don't know anyone else who fits into that category. These people are living the gospel. I had the privilege to play with these kids, work in their garden pulling weeds, serving the kids lunch, and helping the "momma" in the kitchen. A group from Athlone Baptist Church did work in the gardens also, weed-eated the high grass, cleaned the rooms for the children, and brought many many non-perishable food items for this family.

Please pray for them!
Pray for provision which comes from God alone.
Pray for safety in the area as there have been many riots because of political issues (people burn tires and block the roads with rioting).
Pray for the children's health and their parents.
Pray that these kids would know the love of Jesus through their parents love.
Pray that God would continue to raise up people to help in their area and to meet their needs.
PRAY!

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

Teaching me new games on the trampoline.

 Working in the garden.

Measuring the new carpet for the house they are going to build.

 A place where some of the kids sleep.

The items Athlone Baptist brought.

A shop in the township, and a momma with her baby on her back.

One of the local water sources.