Isaac And Brittany .com

Street boys here are kind of like migrant workers in the States. They often broke the law to get where they are (totally different comparing delinquency to illegal immigration I know but bear with me) They are looked on as less than people by the majority of the population, as 'undesireables'. They serve in the country as cheap labor (washing cars to carrying boards on thier heads.) They live in temporary housing and are often hasseled by authorities. Here they are put temporarily in jails, prisions over and over again for petty offences. If a serious crime has happened in the area. The police will often arrest as many as they can as a response. Some are there by choice but many are orphans or just stuck without any way to get out of the cycle they are in. Some of the biggest problems they face are drug addiction, prostitution, homelessness, and sickness. Saturday night one of them stole a lady's purse and so the police came and tore down four of thier buisnesses (small shops) and many of thier shelters. Sierra Leone doesnt know what to do with them. They are the cause of many of the problems. But the current response of the government isnt helping too much and in a lot of cases is making the situation worse. We some of them and hold a small church service once a week, but that is nothing. I know from my experience that in the case of addiction spiritual help is the most effective. We want to focus on that but if we dont help meet thier physical needs we are missing the boat. Our plan now is to start a 'rescue house' where 5-6 of the guys will come who are serious about wanting to leave the streets. We will provide them with basics as well as a curfew and pretty strict expectations. Brittany has had a lot of imput about this as she is a Social worker and did her internship at a homeless shelter. We are working closely with a Sierra Leonean name Sylvester who is fresh out of college as a social worker. He works with these guys tirelessly. They call him the 'father of the street boys'. He will be the one living with them and doing most of the programming. We will offer them counseling, opportunities to learn a trade, and a Bible school because we beleive that some are 'called' as pastors.
Please help, We visited 60 of them in the jails yesterday. Brought them food and water. The other ones we visited dont have any place to stay. We cant help all of them now. The fact is that this really is a crisis right now in Sierra Leone. It is one though that God has a plan for. He will raise these guys up as the farmers, pastors, and leaders in Sierra Leone. We want to start the house within next month. Pray, give, see with His eyes. These guys are children of God, he sees thier fear and sadness as they go to bed. I really feel, however,that this crisis is actually a huge opportunity for God to do some great things here. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Rom 8:28

*REPEAT OF EMAIL* Friday night we saw the promise of Jesus to heal the sick and raise the dead with our own eyes. Samuel who when I first met him said, to my face, that he hated white people and was adimently opposed to the church we started in his 'house' (he stays in the unfinished building that we meet in). Since then we have seen the Lord reconcile him and his brother, him and I, and him and the Lord. I came to the place where we hold service (his house) Friday night to find him sick with malaria. He had been sick since Sunday he had taken tons of medication and nothing was helping. He told Mr Manna that morning that he thought he was going to die. (I learned afterwards) When I got there I didnt realize how serious the situation was. I prayed for him for a few minutes and he decided that he would get up and come and lie down on a mat during the prayer meeting. We prayed and at the end I decided to pray for everyone. As I went around the room I got to where he was lying down. Manna was sitting next to him and called me. I looked down and Samuel was fighting and kicking in agony. I knelt on the ground and began to pray with manna for him. We prayed for about 20 minutes. At times his pulse and breathing were so low that I was really afraid. Its not like America here there are no quick/emergency response systems in place,no 911 to dial. He began to breath normally again though and so I got up and closed the prayer meeting. After talking with some of the people there I turned back to where he was lying to check on him. Manna was talking with him and so I asked what happened. Manna turned back to ask him and I heard 'Samuel...Samuel...SAMUEL...SAMUEL!!!...PASTOR COME HERE!' I thought he had died as he was totally unresponsive, foam at the mouth, no breath, eyes rolled back. He felt cold. I thought 'should I do CPR?' I dont really know it though, I was afraid. I realized that I believe in prayer more than CPR and I began to pray. A boldness inside me rose up. The Lord had spoken to me previously that he wants to use Samuel in a big way. How could that happen if he died? I KNEW it was not the Lords will for him to die. So I prayed. I prayed loud and with fervency. Samuel began to move a little, but still he didnt seem to be breathing (I think he must have been, just shallow breaths) In my spirit I heard the Lord say, 'Tell him not to be afraid, tell him I have saved his life today.' As I said 'Samuel Jesus has saved your life today' He let out one big cough and began to breath loudly. I prayed against the spirit of death and then the Lord started speaking to me about Samuel. 'Your going to be a prophet to the nations...' the electricity (fire) in the room was really intense. Brittany said that it filled the whole room. Then from out of my spirit came the words. 'Samuel get up, In the name of Jesus, get up!' The very moment I spoke he rose and the power of God just enveloped us. As he stood up I gave him a hug. He asked immediatly for water. He gave his life to the Lord and laid down to sleep. The next day I saw him. The light in his eyes was amazing. He said 'God did a wonderful thing last night' I looked at him amazed myself as he stood before me in full health. 'Yea He did Samuel, and He is going to use you in a big way.'I can still feel the chills when I tell the story. I dont know if Samuel had actually died when the Lord healed him, but I know that we serve a God who conquered death on the Cross, we just saw it happen before my eyes!