Wait For Me

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was our Wait for Me event on Saturday. Around 450 children elected to attend the concert at King of Kings church where the message of sexual abstinence was clearly told. It is Living Hope’s firm belief that sexual abstinence (before a Biblical marriage) alone can stop the spread of HIV and AIDS in South Africa and the world. We had a number of dramas and songs, African dancing and generally a great time. At the end one of the volunteers told her story of premarital sex and its consequences, for her pregnancy and then an abortion, to demonstrate the importance of abstinence to the children. They were spellbound by her message and over 100 went forwards for prayer and counselling afterwards. This was a fantastic response but revealed more than ever before the reality of the situation. Of those who went forwards over 10 (all girls) had been raped by strangers or family members, all bar a few asked for prayer for family situations and 4 said they had been or were pregnant. This saddened our hearts but in a strange way we are pleased we now know children by name and their situation so we can respond directly and personally to them in the coming months and years. For me,

I am so proud of the children from Redhill who went forwards and more widely for those who committed to attend the concert by their own choice even in the face of fierce taunting from their friends back home.

Do pray for the kids who came, that they would have fully received and understood the message we taught and they would indeed commit to the abstinence pledge we offered them too.