Through the generosity of people like you, we have been able to purchase some water tanks and gutters to install at HOPE children’s home here in Uganda. THANK YOU!!!!

Now the precious rainwater can be saved for washing clothes and scrubbing pit toilets, what a blessing. Now the rain will not run freely off the roof, creating rivers through the yard and funneling itself straight into the dirt floor schoolrooms. Ahhhhhh, the well and hand pump are up and functioning in the yard of Hope, the gutters will be up soon, things are looking so encouraging!

But, as always, there is the natural, and then the "supernatural". The lesson of the gutters and the well are obvious, blessing to everyone around and underneath them, but a deeper lesson was woven into this "natural" event.

A huge part of Show Mercy’s dream is not just to feed and clothe and protect these children, but to prepare them for adulthood. We desire to provide a safe place for them physically so that their hearts are free to dream, to learn and to love those around them and the Creator!

As Brian shared about this project with the children, he enlisted the help of the older boys in completing it.  As they measured and planned, the geometry that the kids had memorized in the dirt floored school house came alive, as Brian asked them questions, some of them for the first time in their lives tasted the sweet flavor of an older man looking at them in love and trust.  As our car pulled away from the home that day, the older boys were running down the road, with 20 dollars in their hands for nails and rope, and the detailed instructions of how to build a ladder out of thick tree branches. For most, this was the largest amount of money they had ever held. It was a risk, yes, but it is the way they learn isn’t it? The ladder was somewhat of a test, would they spend the money wisely, would they measure correctly, would they work together, would it be finished in two days like we had instructed?

Two days later, as we pulled up to Hope, four extremely exuberant young men stood in front of the car, and two absolutely beautiful ladders were leaning up against the roof. For most of you in the develpoed world, these ladders would seem the cruddest creations, but oh in our hearts they could be displayed in the finest galleries. We are so proud!

As they showed them to Brian, the Lord spoke so loud and clearly to our hearts. He told us that He wanted us to be like those children. These children are no longer called orphans, they have a home, and provision, and have been introduced to their perfect Father, but they still have a choice in their hearts. They can hold back and gaurd their hearts from His free love, or they can step forward and believe that the offer of love and relationship is truly for them. There is nothing more beautiful than the once orphaned heart fully in love with their true Daddy. 

He is driving up to our lives with a proposal, with a project, and He longs for us to step forward and say yes (even if we have NEVER done it before and think we just might fail, even if we don’t yet believe His love towards us), He longs for us to look in His eyes and say, "i will try". He longs to give us the supplies we need and put the plans in our hands.  He longs to see us running down the road, with His instructions in hand, and His provisions in our pockets. When He comes back around to see what we have done with what He has given us, IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THAT CREATION LOOKS LIKE, because to the heart of the FATHER, the crudest built ladder made of tree limbs, is a fine piece of art work. His heart sings………."my children believed in my instructions, they believed that they were able to do it and they used my provisions and just look at what they have done!"

Do you see??? So when you hear Him coming, when His "car pulls up to your life" and He hands you some "provisions" and instructions, boldly raise your hand and say yes, He has chosen you, He loves you and you have a vital role to play in making the world around you a better place.

What are the ladders that He is asking you and i to build today? Is it to hammer away at a mundane task, to work through a difficult relationship, to love the person in the desk next to you? It might just look like a simple "crude" ladder to you as you work on it today, but when you follow His instructions, and use the provisions that He has given you and believe He would not have given you the task unless He believed you were able to do it, your "ladder" will be a glorious piece of work!

Keep pounding away on your ladder, He has given you all you need……hey……i think i hear His car coming down the road! 

Click here to find out more about Show Mercy International and how you can partner with us to rescue and care for more orphaned, abused and abandoned children.

Susan Stubbs
Show Mercy International
www.showmercy.org