Dear ElijahStreams Family,
You know Jericho. Big walls. UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE walls.
The kind of walls people stare at and think, "That will NEVER come down."
And then SUDDENLY, God steps in.
Well, we have a village in Uganda we've started calling Jericho because when Mike and Lori Salley visited last year, the Holy Spirit spoke something over it. God intended to start tearing down walls. And I'm telling you... we've watched Him do exactly that.
And you are a HUGE part of making that happen.
You remember Generous. We shared her story with you. She was the woman known in her village for running a bar and a life of prostitution. The day YOU
helped us dedicate the new water well, she gave her life to Jesus right there beside it. She shut her bar down... and walked away from everything.
And changed from town drunk to town evangelist.
I mean... come on! Only God does that!
And then there was Helen. You remember her story. She was battling stomach cancer, and she let the team pray for her, but she kept Jesus at arm's length. Not yet, she said. But after a fresh
water well was installed and she started drinking clean, healthy water every day, God did what only God can do. He healed her. And that healing is what finally brought her walls down.
There was a mother in that same village taking it all in. Watching Generous transform right in front of her. Hearing what God had done for Helen. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, she whispered something our team passed along to us. Just a quiet prayer from a mom who was starting to believe again.
She thought, "If God can heal Helen... He can change my story too."
Her name is Catherine. And that whisper? I thought... there goes another wall coming down.
Now let me tell you about her boys.
When the team first told me these boys were collecting plastic bottles to earn money, I'll be honest... my mind immediately went to Oregon. We have recycling machines on almost every corner.
I pictured these boys picking up bottles and taking them to some kind of recycling center.
But that is NOT what was happening.
Not even close.
There aren't any garbage trucks in this village. No recycling program. Trash lines the roads and piles up in the ditches with nowhere to go.
And these boys... 14 and 9 years old... were walking in the dirt, sometimes muddy roads, before most of us have had our cup of coffee. Digging through rotting garbage with their bare hands.
Pulling out dirty plastic bottles nobody wanted.
Stuffing them into a sack for hours.
And after all that?
That sack might earn enough money to buy a little rice for their family for that day.
That's it.
I just sat there thinking... can you imagine your 9-year-old doing that?
I keep coming back to that picture. Two little boys having to be more grown-up than they should be. Just trying to make sure their family doesn't go to bed hungry.
And their sister Pauline? She wasn't in school either. She was out with her mother working in other people's gardens for food. Some days they got paid. Some days they got scraps.
This was life for this family. Every single day.
And you know what... we would've never met this family if YOU hadn't helped fund that well.
Now, Pauline is in school where she belongs. And because of your continued
generosity, her younger brother is being added to the program too. This family finally has people walking alongside them, helping and encouraging them.
And all I can say is... thank You, Jesus.
Remember, schools in Uganda aren't free. So, this is a HUGE deal.
And I believe we're just getting started in Jericho.
Catherine whispered a prayer beside that well. And God heard her.
And it's because people like YOU didn't look away.
I'll be honest with you. This story has really messed with me.
If that well hadn't been drilled, we never would've found this family.
I still can't wrap my mind around that encounter I had with the Lord... over 38 years ago. Two simple phrases...
Well ministries. Little orphan children.
That's it. I had no idea what that meant. I had absolutely no idea we'd one day get to do this WITH Him and FOR Him.
And I still can't believe it now.
I know there are SO MANY more families out there crying out to God.
They just need someone to show up.
That someone has been you, our
ElijahStreams family, time and time again.
I know I keep asking you to give. Again, and again. I just can't stop. Because I know what the Lord said then... and I know what He's still saying now.
Because somewhere in Uganda tonight, I believe another mother is whispering a prayer just like Catherine did. And I believe God already has His eye on her.
Derene and I don't really have the words to truly express just how thankful we are for each and every one of you.
We thank God for what He's doing through all of us at ElijahStreams. We don't ever want to take it for granted.
We send our love to each one of you,
