Hope in the Middle of the Storm

by Linda Allan

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rain pounding hard against the window above my bed. The wind howled. A torrential storm was raging outside as I lay safe and warm in my bed. I wondered how awful and frightening must it be to be a child waiting out this storm living in a mokuku (tin shack). My heart sank as I realized that I wasn’t in “Kansas”/West Chester anymore. I’m in South Africa. There will be no buses pulling up to school tomorrow filled with dry kids protected in raincoats and armed with umbrellas. I worried for the children and the fear they must be experiencing - let alone trying to stay dry in their leaky homes. My heart sank as I realized that the day I had been dreaming of for weeks may not happen. No one would venture out in the storm that was raging outside my window. My dream came crashing down on me...my dream of seeing and loving on the children of Mosaic. I prayed “Jesus, please stop the storm!” You may not believe me, I even had a hard time believing at first, but the rain that was pounding against the window over my bed instantly ceased! The wind didn’t just die down, it stopped dead! I lay there holding my breath wondering if this truly was happening: a true answer to my prayer or was it just a pause in the storm. Silence.....God truly heard my plea in the middle of the storm. God gave me a miracle or a God wink of sorts letting me know loud and clear that He is there in the middle of the storms. Not just the storm that raged outside my window but the storm of poverty and pain that rages every day here in Africa. God is here. God cares more then we can imagine. God didn’t make this mess, man and his greed set all of this in motion long ago. But God will prevail over it one child at a time, one good work at a time, one storm at a time.

I woke this morning to the sound of birds singing outside my window, to the sound of hope. I wondered, if God cares for me so much that He would hear my prayer in the middle of the night how much more must He love those beautiful children that I will meet today. Our good Father who has planted Mosaic here in this place to help these children, these families. Our God who sent a ragtag group of 11 weekend warriors half way round the world to help pull off a big renovation project. Our God who is so big He can make anything happen. Our God, the God of hope, chose me to witness His awesomeness this week. His miracles in the midst of the storms. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us today!

Lynne just gave me a weather report for today....the clouds will part and the sun will shine. You know that 100 degree heat that we have dealt with all week? God blew that away with the storm to a lovely 63 degrees and sun! Our Father is so good!

Make yours an amazing day! God bless!Linda :)