WEC International

WEC International parent site:
wec-int.org

 

Rainbows of Hope

Rainbows of Hope

 

Spanish translation
of this site:
Arco Iris
De Esperanza

 

 

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. - Jim Elliot

Children In Crisis / What Now?

What Now?

A man was walking along the beach one sunny morning. The tide washed in thousands of starfish, leaving them to dry out on the beach. Further up the beach, the man noticed a small boy picking up starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. Approaching the boy, the man asked, "I think I know what you are doing, sonny, but do you really think you are making a difference for the starfish?" Looking at the starfish in his hand the boy replied, "I don't know, sir, but for this one it will." He then tossed it back into the ocean.
(Worldwide Thrust, Nov/Dec. 1997, Phyllis Kilbourn)

Perhaps you are overwhelmed by the crisis that presents itself to you. Yet, just like in the above story, we should believe that God enables us to make a difference in the lives of individual children, one after the other, just as God puts them into our hands.

A word from Phyllis Kilbourn: founder of ROH and currently director of Crisis Care Training International, a ministry of WEC International.

"Making a difference, however, will prove costly. First, it will cost a commitment beyond ourselves; a commitment springing from a God-given compassion... Making a difference can also cost an emotional overload... Yes, working with children is costly emotionally as we deal with injustice issues day after day, cringing from the pain inflicted on children. Just as painful, though, is to witness the lack of biblical response from the body of Christ..."

"Is such a commitment, involvement and stress to reach exploited children worth it? A MILLION TIMES, YES! We won't receive trophies, medals or make headlines. No, our reward is much greater: ear-to-ear smiles; warm, lingering hugs; and, above all, the light of hope sparkling in the eyes of a child as a sense of purpose, belonging and self respect become new found treasures in Christ... You can make a difference, a BIG difference, in the lives of children as you allow God to use you as an instrument of healing."

What can you do?

Pray:
Pray for the children of this world. Perhaps for a certain group of children, a specific country or a city or for certain organizations that work with children.

Prayer is foundational in Rainbows of Hope. The Prayer Department is involved with many different activities with the purpose of promoting prayer for children at risk/in crisis all around the world. Our monthly Prayer Bulletin gives you detailed and up-to-date information about the ministries ROH is involved in. If you or your church would like to receive this bulletin or wants to adopt one of our ministries in prayer, please contact: rohjulia@comporium.net

A prayer for children in crisis (Click here):

"Lord, it hurts so much to see them. It hurts to look at these children for very long. After we have seen their pictures and asked ourselves what their lives could possibly look like, our reaction is immediately to find something else that can keep our attention. Their needs are so incredible and their number so great: If we are not careful we will mix them all together in our thoughts: 'Street children, war victims, child prostitutes--Lord, help them all!'

A praying childLord, help us never to forget that you know the name and the heart of each individual little child as intimately as you know us. Don't let us be overwhelmed by all the needs until we find ourselves helpless. Don't let our hearts be so full of pictures of suffering children that we only feel guilty and say one or two prayers before falling back into indifference. We want to follow what you told us in Isaiah 1: Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

We want to turn our grief--your grief--into action. What hurts you the most? We know that you love these children. After you said: Let the little children come unto me and do not hinder them, you took them in your arms, put your hands on them and blessed them. You are probably longing to do the same for the children of today. We pray for hope. These children daily live without hope. What kind of feeling is it to see a life without purpose ahead of you, hated by some and ignored by all others? What is it like to see many people come and go into your life and never believing that they will stay very long? What happens when every person disappears one day or breaks trust?

Everyone has this experience at one point, but what if you could never expect anything better? These children need to see you, the Lord their God. Their example of fatherhood has probably beat them nightly or abused them sexually until they fled to the anonymity of the streets. On the streets they are confronted with pimps, condescending strangers, hostile police officers and many others who abuse or exploit them. No one shows them love, perhaps not even their equally desperate friends. Lord, show them what you show us: that you are a continually loving Provider who is interested in who we are, who wants to spend time in fellowship with us every day and who has given Himself in order that we might live.

Show yourself through your servants when they turn your love into action. Let these children know the security and comfort of a personal relationship with you. They do not feel any security or any comfort yet. Show us how we can love your children."
(Excerpt from We Raise Them to You, Holly Folger)

 

Give:
Give to these children's projects. Giving is not only financially but can also be practically during a short-term mission trip or in deputation work, in the background.

For information about financial support, please contact ROH's Finance Department at: ROHUSA@comporium.net

Go:
Go personally and inform yourself. Either on short-term trips or perhaps you feel called to a long-term ministry!

For more information please contact ROH's Personnel Coordinator at: ROHTom@comporium.net

Inform:
Look out for news about children in crisis on the television or in the newspapers. Write to the representatives, consulates and other service stations concerned, in whatever way appropriate and express your concern.

 

Final word

There are many rejected and unloved children in this world who need to experience God's desire to be their Father. They will not hear this from their parents. They need to hear it from the people who have experienced the father heart of God for themselves. Mark 10:13 says: [They] brought their children unto Jesus, that He would bless them... May it also be said of our generation and may it also be said of the church of Jesus Christ at the end of this century, that they "brought their children unto Jesus."