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We often forget the true definition of "reality" cannot be defined by our own.
I have been burdened to share a bit about Helping Hands,
a ministry serving those children orphaned to AIDS. I was so
blessed to go to Mafikeng, South Africa the summer of 2004. The
transpiring of this arrival, in and of itself, is a gift from God that
I will never forget and one that I could never do justice through mere
words. I have had a heart for the people of Africa as far back as
I can remember. It was an intrigue that kept me intent in the
eyes of National Geographic photos for hours on end. I could see
a story in the eyes of its people that was far beyond the words on the
page. It struck my soul and gave me a fire that would be ignited,
physically and undeniably as an adult.
The child you see above is standing in a line to receive her one meal
for the day. She clings tightly to her bowl, for it is the prized
possession that guarantees her meal. But even guarantee is a
false hope if you are one of the children that remains when the last
has been scraped from the bottom of the pot. The need is
overwhelming, hope a neccessity, and the smiles are those of children
who find peace in the embrace of a stranger. The arms of a
stranger who give hugs that feel so much like those they received from
their own parents once upon a time. "Once upon a time" has always
seemed to convey the beginning of a story of hope...one that
happened long ago and has since faded from the memory but was
reawakened by the mere utterance of four magical words. But the
embrace of a mother or father that happened "once upon a time" brings
tears to the eyes of the one who realizes that those words hold no
magic to bring them back.
Helping Hands
strives to write a new story for the lives of these children.
They long to breath hope back into the words "once upon a time".
They long to share the most powerful, life-changing, and magical "once
upon a time" life of Jesus Christ, the author of our hope. Helping Hands
feeds well over one thousand orphans and they aspire to be blessed with
the ability to feed many more. I am sure there are a number of
people who wonder why we went and I do have so much to say about this
topic, but I can sum it up by simply saying this: there are more
orphans than there are arms to hold them and this is a hunger even
deeper than the one that pains their bellies at night. If you
would like to learn more about Helping Hands and the opportunities available to you to minister to the children of South Africa, you can check out their website by clicking here...
"I asked, 'Why doesn't somebody do something?' and then I realized I was somebody." - unknown
© Victoria Sheahan, 2005
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