So where is our focus now?
Besides fixing stuff around the house, getting furniture made to accommodate
the needs, advocacy, communications, and paperwork…we are focusing on training
two young men who will play vital roles in the ministry, Manickson and
Lele! Perhaps you are thinking we put
word out, conducted interviews, gave them the “test,” etc. but that is actually
not the case. They were placed here for
us by our ultimate Provider. We simply
listened to the tug on our hearts, and took them for all God has made them to
be!
Meet Manickson (23
years old):
Manickson is a natural leader with a father’s heart (I
should also mention that he cooks like nobody’s business!) He was immediately interested in the vision
of Footprints of the Son. He is our
landlord’s brother-in-law, so he has every reason to keep our house safe and
protected. Medjina (our 17 year old outreach
girl) is one of his relatives, so there was already a fostered love for special
needs children as well.
Manickson is trustworthy and full of life. Christ-tcherry adores him and vice
versa. He is attentive to Peterson’s
needs as well, and actually takes pride in knowing how to meet Peterson’s every
need! We have been able to watch his
attitude and love with the two boys, and through that we see the joy that God
has put in his heart for these precious children. He wants this opportunity, and is willing to
work hard to be part of the ministry.
Meet Lele (18 years
old):
Lele is sweet, gentle, and compassionate. When we first moved into our home, Papito
noticed a young man pacing the village street studying and memorizing his
lessons for school at 6am every morning!
When Papito approached him, he shared that his name was Lele and he was
putting himself through school in the afternoons. He asked Papito to consider his mom for a job
if we ever needed someone.
God had different plans, we would take on Lele! We started out just paying him when we needed
him and seeing how his school schedule would work in with our needs. The rest is history; we can’t imagine not
having him as part of our ministry. He
has a humble spirit, and lives right on this street so he relates to our
community in big ways! One elderly
neighbor who has known Lele his whole life told us, “Lele is a good boy. He always has been so kind and has never had
trouble with anyone. He is a friend and
well loved by everyone.” We couldn’t
have asked for a better recommendation.
We are really
enjoying “training” these two young men.
We are growing right alongside of them as well. We pour into them spiritually, and they pour
into us through their servant hearts. We
have been able to pay them a very fair wage for their time and commitment (they
both are choosing to bless their families abundantly…Lele bought a cow with his
first month’s pay!) They are so grateful to be part of Footprints of the Son,
and we are so thankful that God placed them here for us. He is showing us the importance of “training
advocates” BEFORE ministry begins, and we are grateful for this time. A standard is being set, and we are expecting
to only serve with a “spirit of excellence” which excites us. Please join us in prayer for these two young
men as well as our family as we step into the next chapter of this journey…
