We can trust that everything that is good is from God and everything that is hard He uses as training. Behind every green leaf and every child’s smile is a force of Life that longs to communicate with us. What we see, is not what we get; there is a reality that is hidden from our senses and is only accessed by belief. From the seas of the world to the vast Himalayas, they were each originally formed by the spoken Word. Something stemming from nothing; nothing but words.

The fruit of one’s labor that actually counts for something, is immeasurable and is only made known at labor’s conclusion. Divorcing ourselves from temporal values will eventually produce a harvest of right standing and peace. We can trust that our own understanding is inevitably flawed but yet, there is purpose in suffering and a reward for patience. In the horror of poverty there also exists a Hope that can obliterate mountains, it’s a substance that when activated, brings change, new beginnings, and 2nd, 3rd, and 4th chances.

This Life Force is busy looking for ways to intervene through His creation; constantly constructing pathways for his indefinite love. Each day isn’t merely for existence sake but another 24 hours of opportunity for us to indulge in this Love, channel this Force, and believe in this Hope.

The unseen is more real than our hand in front of our face, and more powerful than the collective strength of mankind. Through belief and even unsure faith, there is a government that is near, a system that is coming, that will prove transformative. This new rule will show our current experience something so bland and our faculties so handicapped. Kindness is the cornerstone of the Force that is worthy of all the devotion we are capable of; Mercy is the foundation of His identity. Endurance is the precursor to partaking, and even the most feeble of believers will be included in the outpouring of Grace.

If you struggle to trust, if this mystical worldview seems incomprehensible, if you doubt the unseen realm, and perhaps even mocked those who don’t, I challenge you, simply pursue engaging with this Force, and let Him do the unveiling for you. “You will seek Him and find Him when you seek Him with your whole heart, He will be found by you. “

Trust can be birthed from the most barren of wombs, its conception happens when desire meets relationship. Trust’s offspring is always contentment; it is not with out questions, but it occurs when confidence outweighs uncertainty. It longs for the day when we will know, even as we are fully known.

Psalm 8:2-4 – “Give Justice to the poor and the orphan, uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and the helpless; deliver them from the grasp of the evil people.”

When we first heard of her a YWAM volunteer had met her (Rachel), she lay alone in a small shack on a bed, with no nappy on, lying in her own feces, unable to lift her head she was so weak. This volunteer immediately phoned Baby Safe. She had also met the mother moments after, drunk and completely disinterested in her baby.

Her first thoughts were to get her to the local clinic and the mother agreed to go with her. They sat in the Masi clinic for hours in the waiting room before they were seen. Rachel felt frustrated that the process was so slow but also had the sense that she was involved in helping direct the course of this baby’s life. When they were finally seen, the doctor took one look at the mother and rolled her eyes.

Apparently unknown to us, this woman had quite a reputation in the community, and it was not a good one. Rachel asked to see the baby’s records and began to read a horrific account of child abuse starting at 3 months old when she was admitted to hospital for a fracture in her neck, after been hit over the head with a pan. There was also a note that the mother had already had 4 of her other children removed from her care.
Sadly, there were many similar stories, and to our shock everyone of them had been over looked by doctors and social workers. Our hearts were compelled to see an end to this baby girl’s nightmare. We knew that God had a plan to rescue her.

The next weeks in Masi,  I instructed Rachel on how to advocate for this child, knowing that it would be a long and arduous process. The local social services have very little protocol for removing a abused child. I was in the middle of several other complex cases so I asked Rachel to begin what would become a 7 month fight for this babies freedom. She spent many hours a day in the social workers office. At the time there was only one social worker there and she was in charge of over 500 cases. She was overworked and overwhelmed by her work load, to the point where there was little progress in any of the cases. Rachel thought a case as severe as this would be urgently attended to, she thought the removal would be instant, but she was in for a shock.

To follow were many meetings with the mother and child, many 2nd chances and excuses, and several violent outbreaks by the mother. At one point the mother disappeared with the baby and we couldn’t find her for days. This baby’s life was in serious danger, she was only getting thinner and being fed breastmilk from her alcoholic mother.

Weeks past and Rachel had to leave. We prayed for her a lot.  Baby Safe took on her case and for a while there was no progress, but we continued to pray. In fact, we could never even got this baby’s name accurate, so in team prayer we petitioned for the release of  “the Masi Baby.” On 2 occasions I finally got the social worker and police go to remove her, but each time the mother ran away. The frustration grew… I went to the  social service supervisors and even the Children’s Magistrate demanding intervention.

After four different planned removals, she was finally rescued and placed in our care ( a Baby Safe safety family). As a team we rejoiced in a long fight resulting in victory, all on behalf of a delicate little girl who had no name. One of the big concerns was the she would suffer withdrawls from the alcohol.  After being prayed over and placed in a safety family she was completely fine, and we had finally learned her name (not to be mentioned here). She was 1/3 the weight she should have been and she displayed intense fear at times, but she was now safe.

Her removal was not the end of the fight, to our shock her mother and father were contesting the removal in court and demanding to have the child back. The warfare surrounding her life was great. Things even got so twisted that the Masi social worker was considering returning the child! With the efforts of our foster family and our refusal to back down, we convinced the magistrate of the necessity for her to be placed in long term foster care. Mom and Dad have even been giving the opportunity to visit her, but the few times the mom has even shown up, she has been drunk.

A 2nd year birthday party was thrown by some of the Baby Safe team, along with her foster parents.  She burst through the door with fairy wings on, running, giggling full of Joy! The whole party she was stuffing cake into her mouth, playing with her new toys and making everyone smile. We couldn’t believe how different she looked and acted.

To be honest most of the child welfare cases that we are involved in here don’t come without a similar battle. These lives are of immense value to the Father and Africa’s future will be in their hands. Rachel who originally found this baby and advocated for her was here on a short term mission’s trip, she has since returned to South Africa with her husband to work full time with Baby Safe.

Baby’s body hidden in backpack and dumped. -NLSAA

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Newborn baby boy’s body was hidden in a backpack and dumped. A NEWBORN baby has been found dead, the third in two weeks.A man passing by came across the backpack containing the infant boy’s body, in a field along the M5 and Kromboom Road near Rondebosch East on Monday, police spokesperson Nkululeko Mnyaka said. Just over two weeks ago two babies were dumped within a day of each other, one in the city centre near Parliament, the other in Philippi.

The backpack was found on Monday beside a tree. “(The baby was) wrapped in a white towel with yellow printing, and (placed) inside a plastic bag and then in a blue nylon backpack,” Mnyaka said.

The man found the infant’s umbilical cord was intact. “He took the baby to the nearest house in Sprigg Road, where the SAPS was contacted. We are awaiting the post-mortem results to determine the cause of death.” A docket has been opened on concealment of birth. Anyone with information should contact investigating officer Detective Constable Quinton Hendricks at 021 700 9000 or Crime Stop at 08600 10111. Advice for young parents in distress is available toll-free at 0800 220250. – Staff Writer

Look at this lady!

The world hasn’t just become wicked…it’s always been wicked. The
prize doesn’t always go to the most deserving.During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an ‘ulterior motive’.

She KNEW what the Nazi’s plans were for the Jews
(being German). Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom
of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her
truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids). She also had a dog in
the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let
her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted
nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the
kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she
managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She
was caught, and the Nazi’s broke both her legs, arms and
beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all
the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar,
buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she
tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and
reunited the family. Most had been gassed. Those kids
she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.
Last year Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was
not selected. President Obama won one year before
becoming President for his work as a community organizer
for ACORN and Al Gore won also — for a slide show on
Global Warming. Six million Jews, 20 million Russians,
10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests were
murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated.