a testimony about Martin

in january, we took in 3 children. (see earlier blog entitled "3 of our kids"). The middle boy, Martin, was very broken in the heart. He would fight with all the kids all the time, constantly pinching and slapping them for no reason, and then he would cry. I always saw him crying, his nose permanently snotty. It's no mystery, considering the pain of abandonment he's endured, that he would act out in this way, just angry at the world. he wouldn't take much, either, and i rarely saw him smile. over the last few months, the Lord has been healing him. Martin now fights much less, if ever, and i often see im engaging in friendly play with the other kids. i don't see him crying as often. he speaks a lot more as well. a few days ago, as i was sitting with children, out of nowhere he says "Is Jesus good?" and then "Is Jesus God?" i was so excited! i shared the Gospel with him, and when my Arabic ran out, i called an elder boy over to help translate. we hugged on him and told him Jesus is so so good and loves him.

God's presence resides at Iris. sure we have issues. there are conflicts, people don't always treat each other lovingly, kids don't always (rarely) play nice. but God IS here. from simply being at Iris, being in a place where Jesus is honored and lifted up, Martin's heart is being healed