Ruth Turner has just sent us this update from South Africa:
First of all, I would like to thank everyone massively for
their prayers, knowing I have a church family in prayer behind me and that I’m
not doing this alone is sometimes what gets me through the day!! It was so
interesting when Ruth (Paton) said that you have just had “I can do all things through Christ Jesus
who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4: 13) as your memory verse as that describes exactly the
season I’m in. When I came back to Footprints I wanted a really nice Scripture
wall art sticker for my wall. I found the one I liked but I didn’t leave enough
time to order it from good old Amazon. The only one that would arrive on time
before leaving the UK was Philippians 4 v 13, which, although I love it, was not
my first choice. It's funny though how God knows exactly what we need, as it’s been so
prophetic for the season I’m in!
Strength. It’s come to mean so much more to me than it
previously had. Does it mean having endless energy to be on the go
constantly? Does it mean emotionally
being steadfast? Does it describe our physical state? It may entail all of the
above. However, for me personally, it's come to mean having a firm and secure
trust in the hand that holds me. He is my strength and my song. Its not about
striving, or going at one hundred miles an hour, its knowing that He is my
refuge, my fortress, my rock on whom I stand, and because of that, I can do all
things.
Why has this been a season of finding strength? I’m going to
be real, I absolutely love being here, and doing life with these children whom I'm not sure I could love anymore than I do if they were my own, but I got to
the place where I was just exhausted. I live in a house with 7 boys, and take
part in the life of 27 on a daily basis. From morning till night there are
children clamouring for attention whether its because one has fallen over and
needs a plaster, another has chewing gum stuck in her hair (this happened to me
a few days ago!) a third wants to sit and read a story and a fourth wants to play a
game of cards, a fifth needs his nappy changed and a sixth thinks its an
amazing idea to try and rewire the toaster whilst it is still plugged in (do
not try this one at home kids!!) Often they all appear at the same time! We
have a lot less volunteers here than normal, when I arrived last year there
were 17, we currently have 6. I woke up the other morning and I literally
prayed, Jesus give me strength!! I listened to a sermon, from Bethel I think it
was, and God spoke clearly to me from it. The sermon was about Moses being
asked to go and speak to Pharaoh and when he was doubting, God telling him, "But 'I am'”. That’s when I heard God speaking to me, whispering, I have put you
here, so you CAN. I felt His gentle, non-condemning prod, making me realise
that if I am doubting whether I can do this, then I am doubting Him, because He
is the one who has brought me here. Has God always been faithful to me? Yes.
Has He always provided for me? Yes. Can I trust Him? Yes. So instead of
focusing on my tiredness, I am focusing on Him who has said, you can,
because I AM. I hope that may be encouragement to some of you. We can,
because of who He is. I have strength because the one who is strong has got me.
These are a couple of stories Ruth sent to be shared as part of our All Age talk on Sunday 9th July:
We had a missionary stay with us, for about 8 months, who had
only partial sight, she was amazing. Whilst she was here her sight deteriorated
badly and she had to have an operation to stop her from going blind. For a week
after the operation she could not see, she had patches over her eyes. The
children were brilliant with her, going to talk to her, getting her her meals,
leading her over the house, and obviously praying for her. The operation was to
stop her from going completely blind, but it no way was additional recovery of
sight expected. The miraculous happened, and not only did she regain her sight
(that was not a given) but she received more sight than before the operation,
being only one level below being able to legally drive!!! This lady, my friend, does not yet have
complete sight, and she is now not here with us in South Africa, but back in
her home country, yet our children still pray for her, and believe that one day
she will see completely. I also told our
children about how when I was in Mozambique, a girl who lived in my house
prayed for a man they met in the Bush who was completely blind, his eyes
were white. She watched as Jesus turned his eyes from white, to gray to brown,
and he was able to see perfectly. The man was of a Muslim before he was touched by Jesus, afterwards, he gave his life to the One who
helped him see the truth.
The Powerful Prayers
of a 3 year old
This testimony is about a girl, Helen, from Scotland who came to Footprints
for a couple of weeks. She is very athletic, but about 15 years ago she had a
blood clot in her leg which traveled to her lung and almost killed her. Ever
since then she has suffered from clotting and pain in her leg when she
exercises. I knew none of this whilst she stayed with us until the last day or
two. Our youngest child had just turned 3. Like many 3 year olds he
likes to crawl around and under tables, so I thought nothing of it when I often
saw him climb under the dinner table. This lady finished
her trip in South Africa and went home, and I met up with her when I was back. It was then that she told me that
this little boy had been sitting under the table, massaging her leg in the exact spot
where the problem was. After a few times of this happening, she asked him what
he was doing, and he replied “praying to Jesus”!! By the time Helen left
footprints, the pain was 90-95% gone!!! That little 3 year old had clearly heard
Jesus telling him to go and pray for Helen’s leg, and so with the complete
trust and faith of a tiny child, that's exactly what he did. I told this
testimony to our Footprints family a couple of weeks ago, the same little boy was there as I
told it, sitting on another child's lap, sucking his dummy. It struck me, not
for the first time, why Jesus said we are to be like little children! They are
so powerful, so faith-filled, so able to hear God’s voice!!!
Prayer Points
As I said, I so value your prayers, so please join me in praying for these things:
- Protection. I have no doubt that we have massive angels guarding our property but I would very much appreciate prayers for protection for us and the children. The level of crime in this area has increased. Twice this last week I have been lying in my bed when I’ve heard quite a lot of gun fire due to armed robberies in the area.
- The incidence of child kidnapping in South Africa is massively on the increase. Horrifically children are being kidnapped for their organs, which come at a high price (they are often used in witchcraft). The police, not too far from here have found houses full of children that have been taken purely for this purpose. Please pray that the enemies plans will be thwarted, and for safety and protection for the children of South Africa.
- We have started a support group in Munsieville, the white squatter camp, it's being going really great but those women really need our prayers. Specifically for health and against fear.
- That I will feel refreshed and filled up completely in Him!
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