From the Smith family: In August of 2014 our family had the privilege of traveling from the U.S. to serve at the Dumisani Youth Center, as part of a Mission H.O.P.E. USA mission trip. We served as remodelers, working to spruce up and add a new cheeriness to the facility. We cleaned, spackled, painted, repaired, and replaced. It felt good to serve God, the resident children, and their caretakers in that important capacity. But better still was the joy and satisfaction of playing and interacting with those orphaned children, and seeing their happiness and contentment even in those very humble surroundings. Our family learned a profound lesson in simple joy and contentment without materialistic pride or excess, and received a humbling reminder to “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth…” As we traveled to Africa, we fully expected to feel the tug of the orphaned children at our heartstrings. And while their plight is sad indeed – many having lost their parents to the ravages of AIDS – immediately upon our arrival we were confronted with the jolting reality that in many ways, those orphans were the lucky ones. For surrounding the Dumisani facility is a ramshackle slum filled with decrepit shacks, open sewers, stray animals, and unsupervised, largely abandoned children. We saw many of those children standing at the gates of Dumisani, clearly longing to get INTO the orphanage. The need is great in Memel, and so many other, similar towns and cities throughout South Africa and beyond. Dumisani is a bright, cheerful, hopeful light in a region with too little hope and cheer. Through its protective home for orphaned children, its community youth feeding program, and its regular bible studies and other community outreach programs, Dumisani and its tireless, faithful stewards are valiantly meeting physical needs, offering social support and emotional hope, and mostly importantly, shining Christ’s light of spiritual renewal and eternal salvation into this land of spiritual hunger and confusion. We hope, pray, and trust that our 2014 trip will not be our last visit to Dumisani, nor the end of our support for those orphans and the dedicated workers who nurture and supervise them. We earnestly encourage others to support Mission H.O.P.E. USA in this vital ministry as well, in whatever capacity you are able. As the Psalmist wrote, “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.” -The Smith Family, Doug, Christine, Brady and Riley
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:32:32 +0000
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