Have you ever met someone that captivated your soul and sent chills of humility racing down your spine? I have. Enter the life of Pastor Jacob Gbateh and his wife, Fatu. This family runs Pure Life Evangelical Ministries in Lungi, a community in Sierra Leone, Africa. G Phillip May Ministries, located in Pennsylvania, USA, aided in a successful church planting there years ago. I witnessed a testimony that was visible without words; this ministry is undoubtedly in the hands of the Lord and new miracles are being showered on this impoverished land. The relationship between two men, one of a first world country and one of a third, has been crafted into a radiant manifestation of God’s grace. It is an unblemished portrait of unity between our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone and us in the small towns of Pennsylvania. God’s vision far surpasses ours.
What adds to the uniqueness of the Gbateh family is that they currently parent 23 orphans along with their three biological sons. In a culture where a single individual severely struggles to meet his or her own needs, it is farfetched to imagine adding not one or two, but 20 children under one’s care.
We arrived the first morning of our weeklong trip to minister and fellowship with the Gbatah family and members of Pure Life Evangelical Ministries. We were greeted eagerly with several muddy hands and the whitest smiles I have ever seen. I have always heard about the smiles, but seeing it in the flesh facilitated a more tangible sensation. They were simply beautiful.
We entered the Gbateh’s home and I immediately observed the 3 bedrooms that were about the size of a large walk-in closet with three or four mats laid out for the orphans. I then turned my attention to the children, who had followed us in, and wondered how they could all fit in this home but they do; they have to. It is better to find a place in a godly home under the care of a passionate, steadfast and sensitive man than to be on the street. It was a moment when I could taste the unmistakable calling on Pastor Jacob’s life to raise up orphans in the name of Jesus Christ. We need a place to take care of these children. We need children brought up in the palm of God’s hand by providing the countless needs, from the basic essentials necessary for sustaining life to the fostering of children in a godly environment. . We need them to grow into soldiers for the cause of Christ in Sierra Leone.
A day in the life of one of these orphans looks like this: one meal a day, consisting of mainly rice. Breakfast is a rarity, although if they don’t have food to provide for latter parts of a day, Jacob will attempt to make something for them before school. Their need for food is overwhelmingly noticeable. One meal a day is not adequate. This is obvious as I glance around and see numerous protruding bellies from malnourishment. Let me provide a little background information on how Pastor Jacob runs his home, which is distinctly different from neighboring communities. I watched the fire in his eyes and listened to the authenticity in his voice as he explained, “One thing I am teaching the children is not to go to neighbors and beg. They need to believe that God will provide. And, whether or not they have food, they are home. We have a God who can do all things. We can sleep, wake up and we might not have food…but I know that by evening, somehow God will provide.” He carries an insurmountable faith and his reliance on God is a witness in itself. His faith has provided a gifted strength to hold fast to the gospel and surrender his and the children’s lives to the Lord. His pursuit is especially worthwhile to us, as we rest in our companionship because we’re working towards the same goal: to win more for the kingdom. Our blessings need to be shared selflessly and used to accentuate their blessings. Their devotion to this ministry and to the Lord is reason enough.
Talk about a spitfire! I took special notice to one little girl, or miniature superwoman, I should say. One glance at her told me I was in for a treat, and by treat I mean a sassy and tasteful personality that would make you laugh uncontrollably, but inevitably wear you out; she would pick on us all day. Oh, the stories I could share, like how we daily gave her gum per her request, or demand I could say: “GUMMY!” Then she would approach us again for another piece “for her friend,” with a saintly smile only to stick the next two in her pocket. I adored her. As Pastor Jacob described her daily demeanor, “As long as you play with her, you’re okay.” We experienced the tiring joy in that mission each day.
Esther is four years old. Pastor Jacob gave her that name. He adopted her in 2006 the week she was born. He was on his way to the hospital to do routine prayer rounds with patients. He, by the wondrous work of the Lord, ran into a doctor who approached Jacob with his predicament. The doctor explained that Esther had no father and her mother, being impregnated and then abandoned with nothing to her name, had snuck out of the hospital in the night to avoid the bill for services, leaving Esther without a guardian or caretaker at her birth. After the doctor explained the situation to Pastor, Jacob asked their permission to take Esther and care for her. The doctor was appreciative and willingly put Esther in the arms of Jacob and offered free medical treatment for her in her first year. Fatu, Jacob’s wife, was by his side and agreed to nurture this child as her own. This would be the tenth orphan to come into the Gbatah home.
Esther was the apple of the Gbateh’s eye; she was the first girl in the orphan family of ten, 13 including Jacob and Fatu’s sons. They were thrilled at the prospect of providing physical, emotional and spiritual care to this precious soul. During her first few years, she was frequently affected by malaria and struggled to maintain her wellbeing.
Esther is currently in Nursery 1, more or less comparable to kindergarten. She loves people. She loves to eat sweets. She loves to eat, period. As Jacob chuckles to himself, “When she wakes up, she wants food. If you don’t give her food, she won’t talk to you! She is too much.” She is one spunky girl, and as I listened to Pastor Jacob, I can see her on the ground, smiling slyly, scraping the side of our dinner plates from that day. She’s as happy as can be. All of those qualities can be seen as something deeper than a mini-woman on the prowl: “She’s a survivor; she won’t quit,” Jacob explains.
It is exhilarating to dream of the potential this strong-willed, spirit-filled young girl will be able to accomplish with the assistance of Orphan’s Promise. It is children like this, under the care of a willing, empathetic Pastor that a transformed community is possible. Each of these children needs an education for a hopeful future. In our culture, it would equate to approximately $1.67 a month to educate a child for a year. However, for the Lungi community, the only educational institute is founded and run by Muslims. God has called us to build and support a Christian school in this community. God has provided the land on which to construct this project, all for His glory. Now it’s a matter of following through by heightening awareness around the world about these fruitful opportunities for an investment in a child’s life that hardly taints our daily standard of living. To put it in perspective, the effort and monetary supply we could contribute in one day is an investment that will drastically change the daily life of a child for a year.
In the midst of poverty, hunger and a disturbing quality of life, praise God for the opportunity to be one vessel of aid to these diligent and loving people. Every person counts. Call it cliché, but it’s as clear as any absolute; God put a pressing on our soul, and as believers, winning even just one for the kingdom is our most valuable profession on earth. And pertaining specifically to these children and this divine-designed, handcrafted opportunity, what better than to invest where young soldiers are being cultivated into Christ followers, who will then ultimately have a lasting impact in the country of Sierra Leone, Africa.
Nothing is by happenstance; it is a work of His hands. It is not an accident that Pastor Phil of Pennsylvania developed a heart a decade ago to serve in Sierra Leone; not an accident God bringing Phil and Jacob together; not an accident that God planted a church; not an accident that from young until adult, Jacob had a pressing to raise children up in the Lord. It’s not an accident that through the interwoven reality of global networking, Orphan’s Promise captured the essence of this vision and, it’s not an accident that you’re reading about it now.
We pray a hedge of protection over the people of this God-thirsty community.
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