This past month Child Welfare officials turned to The Passion Center to care for Isabel. What we know so far is that her mother and father were migrant farm laborers in the North region of Malawi. When her mother became seriously ill, her father left seeking help. As her mother’s condition grew worse, the father never returned and Isabel’s mother died weeks later. Alone, disoriented and vulnerable, a neighbor took Isabel in for a time. When they could no longer feed her, she was turned away. For the next year she fended for herself working any available job she could find in the local trading center. Finally her plight came to the attention of local Child Welfare officers. When they couldn’t locate any family members and without the ability or facility to care for her they asked The Passion Center to step in. Isabel is already responding to the love and care her new home is providing. She’s learning about the overcoming love and grace of God in Christ firsthand and is quickly making friends with others who have also been abandoned, abused or who have no home.

The Residency Home is but one way The Passion Center labors to see God alter the trajectory of these bruised lives so they might hope and have a future again. If a grandparent or another family member is willing to take in an orphan, The Passion Center designates these children as Passion Kids and works to provide them with all their basic needs as well as matching them with sponsors, who would pray for them and give towards their needs. We also train and assist the family guardians; all in the hopes of keeping a Passion Child with a family member. There are almost 200 of these Passion Kids now, but there are also many children like Isabel who have no relatives and who need a home like The Passion Residency Home (Linda and Ethel are two examples).

We sense that God is leading us to provide for more orphans like these. This year we would like to double our capacity to do so. We’ve been praying about this for some time now. Some initial plans and coordination have already been made, so in the next few months we’ll share more specific information with you. In the meantime please pray with us and if you already know that you want to give to make this a reality in 2012. You can do so by donating towards “Special Projects.”

Thank you so much for praying for and supporting The Passion Center in Malawi. May God continue to bless and guide you!

What do you need to play with a friend? Not much really.

One dynamic development has been the impact of the Community Health Network. We’re training a solid group of village volunteers, some HIV+ themselves. In most cases, they’re the only ones visiting and caring for the infirmed and ill. They provide the only emergency transportation, via bicycle ambulances we’ve provided. And with supplies from The Passion Center, they minister to those suffering as well as work with village leaders to improve the overall hygiene and sanitation in the villages.

Sadly, the country of Malawi is in a growing economic crisis. Government mismanagement and misplaced priorities has resulted in severe fuel shortages, rapidly rising food prices, power outages, a growing scarcity of medicines and a lack of education materials. You can read more about the new in Malawi here and here.

Please pray…

• That country leaders would soon implement solutions for these problems
• For those suffering
• That the Lord would enable The Passion Center to continue bringing hope and a future to children and their communities!

What a joy it is seeing orphans—who once faced a bleak future—growing strong and healthy, learning about the living God and smiling freely!

With your help, we’ve seen just that by providing for their needs as well as providing them a place to be kids again…all in the name of Jesus!

The two photos below help capture a bit of that victory. In one, playing soccer is not a distant dream if you can make your own “village soccer ball.” In the other, kids gather around the only Swing Sets in the area to play and be with their friends.

Thank you for caring, praying and supporting The Passion Center. May God bless you in 2012!

When you can’t buy a soccer ball, does that mean you can’t play soccer? No way! The children make their own soccer balls by melting plastic grocery bags.

Ethel grew up in a large Muslim community in the neighboring district. When her biological father passed away, her mother married a strict Muslim. At the age of fourteen, her step father began pressuring her to marry an elderly Islamic cleric. When she refused, her step father threatened to divorce her mother; he stopped paying her school fees and she was forbidden from touching anything in the house. Fearing the ill-treatment might get worse, village neighbors informed the Child Welfare officials. When the step father refused to stop his demands on Ethel, officials turned to the Passion Center, requesting we provide Ethel custodial care and supervision. This region doesn’t have other organizations to turn to when children need rescuing.

Today, Ethel considers the Passion Center her family. She is doing well in school, plays with the other kids and smiles easily! Learning first-hand of God’s grace, Ethel accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and is now in a youth discipleship group. Like Ethel, most of the Passion kids are rescued from the ongoing agony of despair, poverty and hopelessness. As we provide food, clothing, education and basic medical needs, our staff shares and demonstrates the love and goodness of God. As a result, many experience the redeeming work of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. It’s amazing to see lives once marred by loss, abuse and abandonment now flourishing, as the Holy Spirit heals and restores their spirits.

As Christmas draws near we remember that Christ came to rescue, redeem and restore those who are lost, needy and broken. May God bless you.

The song, Dancing with Orphans, is by Danny Oertli.

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Malawi funerals are unique. The entire village gathers outside the family’s house sitting respectfully for hours on the ground in two large groups—men and women. In the main house, women from Stella’s family mourn intensely around her open coffin. At the same time ladies from her village church sang songs of hope throughout the day. When the coffin is finally brought out and laid in the middle of the crowd, relatives, church leaders and the choir form two bands around it. Stella’s pastor recounted her life in Christ, the role The Passion Center has played, and exhorted those gathered to also trust God’s promises. As we began to escort the coffin through the brush to the village graveyard, songs of comfort and grace accompanied us. I continued to recognize young faces from The Passion Center and was amazed that they made the long walk to be here. I realized they saw Stella as a sister in their new Passion Center family. A group walked with Caiaphas supporting and consoling him.

Then it strikes me that for most of them, the last funeral they attended was their parents’, when they stood alone looking into their own bleak future. Now they are here, facing death again but knowing that it doesn’t have the final word. In a strange way, the entire scene reminded me again that there is life after death—both for them and for Stella.

Stella’s story may be short by earth’s standards, but that’s not how a life in Christ is measured. It has a real beginning and it continues without end. Thanks for helping us to show these children that there is life and hope!