A group of 13 from Faith Family Church left Monday afternoon on a trip to South Africa to visit and minister at the Indawo Yethemba (“A Place of Hope”) Children’s Village, an orphanage in Pietermaritzburg, a town not far from Durban, the third largest city in South Africa, located on the Indian Ocean coast. Durban has been considered the epicenter of the AIDS crisis, and according to UNICEF there are over 13 million orphans in sub-Sahara Africa due to AIDS. The children’s village is a response to the crisis and behind the vision is Dr. Robert Graham, founder of the South Africa Children’s Resiliency Project (sacrp.org) Bob came to South Africa 21 years ago to do a basketball camp when the Lord began burdening his heart for these precious children without parents. Now, almost 40 children call him daddy.

The gargantuan task presented by the epidemic of AIDS may make a small orphanage like Indawo Yethemba seem insignificant. But then I’m reminded of the story of the Star Thrower: There had been a violent storm which had hurled thousands of starfish onto the beach, and the tide was now going out. They would soon die if not put back in the water. A man walked up the shore littered with starfish when he noticed a young girl picking them up and flinging them back into the ocean. “Why are you doing this?” the man scoffed. “You cannot possibly save enough to make a difference.” Saddened by his discouraging words, she picked up another starfish, walked to the water and tossed him back in saying, “Well, I made a difference for that one.”

Bob and Joanna Graham are rescuing as many orphans as they can and making a huge difference in their lives.

The storm created by the HIV virus has claimed the lives of millions and left millions more without a family. Bob and Joanna Graham are rescuing as many as they can and making a huge difference in their lives. Instead of the traditional institutional approach, Bob’s philosophy employs older women from Christian churches who dedicate themselves to raising these kids in a Christian home. These ladies have already raised their own children and have made themselves available to serve as “grannies.” The children attend local schools and are growing up in a family atmosphere. While Bob says he can’t take credit for the model, more and more orphanages around the world are beginning to follow it. For example, in Guatemala, where Faith Family Church has had been involved with Hope of Life International, the same model is being put into place.

We’re here for the week to assist in various projects around the compound and to interact with the children. Bob told us to be sure not to coddle these children. They have a wonderful life here with all their needs being met. In fact, Bob admits that they are really spoiled. Yet, when we arrived this evening around 6:00 p.m., some of the children immediately came to the bus and began helping with the luggage. Joanna prepared a wonderful dinner for everyone after which we discussed a strategy for getting things done. We will begin first thing tomorrow morning.

Pray the Lord will make us a blessing to the Grahams, the grannies, and the precious children of Indawo Yethem.

The only problem with Africa is getting here. It’s not an easy trip. We were delayed at Dulles by bad weather for almost two hours, but thankfully had no problems making our connection in Amsterdam. We arrived in Johannesburg late Tuesday and spent the night at a very hospitable bed and breakfast. This morning Bob took the scenic route through the Golden Gate Highlands National Park along the northern border of Lesotho. We were excited to see a number of animals in the wild; a baboon, black wildebeest, elands, springbucks, blesboks, and a few zebras. We thoroughly enjoyed the incredible vistas and often stopped to take photos. It was a wonderful day and the Lord gave us perfect weather for seeing it all. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us and please continue to do so. Pray the Lord will make us a blessing to the Grahams, the grannies, and the precious children of Indawo Yethem.