Dear ,
Springtime in Romania...what an amazing thing! In the blink of an eye, the hills turn green, the flowers bloom, and all living things come out of hibernation. Suddenly the hills are covered with sheep grazing, their young nearby, running and jumping without a care. Their faithful guardian, the shepherd, stands watch.
"When
he saw  the
crowds, he felt sorry for them because they were hurting and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:36 (New Century
Version)
What would it mean for sheep to be without a shepherd? To be without a shepherd means that the sheep are vulnerable to predators, the elements, injuries, and getting lost. Sheep just can't prosper without a shepherd.
Earlier this month, during the Easter season, we had the opportunity to spend some time with some shepherd-less sheep; our young friends, the adult orphans. We traveled to Braila and took them to a special meeting for youth, to church on Sunday, and on a picnic on Monday. The more time we spend with them, the more Matthew 9:36 rings true.. "hurting and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd". They have no sense of direction, no means of protection, and no idea about God's shepherd heart toward them. Prayer before lunch
 | Leslie talking with some girls
 | Going to the shelter after church
 | An interesting thing about sheep is that, when they get lost, they panic. They will run to any place they can to hide, then they begin to cry out, Stephanie with girls from the shelter
 | which of course attracts predators. They will begin to shake so fiercely that they cannot walk. This explains the passage in Luke 15:4-5:
"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep but
loses one of them. Then he will leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the
open field and go out and look for the lost sheep until he finds it. And when he finds it, he
happily puts it on his shoulders
and goes home."
This passage does not say a lost lamb, it says a lost sheep. This is an adult that is unable to walk, not a tired lamb that needs to be carried.
We continue to pray for the doors to open that we may carry home the lost sheep. They are trembling, crying out for help, but so afraid that they don't seem to be able to move on their own. May the Holy Spirit of God continue to work in their lives and help us to build trusting sheep-shepherd relationships in order that the lost sheep will gladly rest on the shoulders of the shepherd as they are taken home.
Going for Him,
Stephanie and Leslie
P.S. Please pray with us for the small groups of adult orphan girls that will begin coming May 8th for one week periods. We will have a kind of "camp" with them and use this time for building relationships and planting seeds.
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