Amson Center...

by Pastor Jerry Theckston

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We were at Amson Center today and it was so wonderful! The kids were great!  I had a meeting with the faculty and asked them to share with us why they were there. All of them have the same heart - to help the children learn how to live lives that honor God, morally, spiritually and with purpose!

The kids in the classrooms had prepared songs for us and wanted to touch and hug and express their affection over and over again! I think Sierra and I died and went to heaven! 

It was so moving to help serve lunch and know that they are getting this full meal, at least once a day! There is such respect and gratitude for food that it shames my own complacency!  Lord help me to keep learning and to grow up in a way that honors Your gracious provision and is mindful of all those who suffer want!!

After feeding the kids, we walked through the aftermath of the epic flooding they have faced this past month! This whole area was packed with little shacks that held what very little people owned - bedding, pots and pans, a few pieces of clothing!  Now their houses are completely gone, along with everything they owned!

Many were killed in these flash floods and the ones that were left were just sitting near where their homes used to be- they had no food, no clothing, no work! 

As we walked by, they were polite but desperate and asked us for any food we could give, at least for their children, who were crying with hunger pains! I prayed on the spot and told Enos we must do something!

I am running pretty low on funds at this point of the trip, but our host family in Novomoskovsk, Ukraine gave a $200 gift for Africa!  It was enough to buy quite a lot of staple provisions - which they then promised to go around and help others with what God had provided for them! Enos’s sister, Michelle was the one who went on an emergency run to find all these things in a matter of a couple hours - and peoples’ gratitude knew no bounds!

Some of the kids with nothing to do for many days and starving!

Flooding left nothing for thousands of families!

Lunch is the bright light of the day- can you imagine telling them we are not going to do this any more?

Lunch, it was a joy to help with the serving! It is such a joy just to be with them!

The school has a pretty heavy duty curriculum which is monitored by the State, but always it focuses everything on Jesus!   If you can read the blackboard you can see the content of this lesson!