Beautiful Things

She was just a little girl when it happened. It was a day like any other when her uncle came to her family’s home in Freetown, and gave his heart-wrenching report.

The rebels had come.

From his hiding place in his home, he watched them brutally murder his entire family. He somehow escaped his village, and found refuge in the home of his extended family.

The war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002) birthed pain, destruction, and poverty in the lives of each of the country’s citizens.

Her family was no different than any other. Her father was forced to leave them in search for work, but found little to provide for his family throughout the years of the war. The joy and unity they once shared as a family somehow disappeared as they struggled to survive.

And no one dared to mention the pain that was bottled up somewhere deep inside their hearts.

Two weeks ago, she let it out. With a straight face, and eyes focused away from my own, this woman I’ve come to love shared with me about “that day.”

My response to her was simply, “Let’s ask Jesus what He has to say to you about this memory.”

After praying, she replied with a straight face, “He said He was with me.”

"Ok, let’s ask Him to reveal to you where He was exactly.”

She closed her eyes as she mentally went back in time, and placed herself in the room where her uncle walked in with the bad news. And with all the boldness in her heart, she asked Jesus to reveal Himself.

A smile formed on her face as she said, “He was praying for me.”

Oh, how sweet our Jesus is. He was praying for her!

It didn’t change what happened. However, the presence of Jesus created beauty even in the most painful places of her heart.

For too long, she (like many other Sierra Leoneans) has lived with the belief that the war was God’s will. Believing this made it seem holier – or humble, even – to accept and live with all the pain the war created in her heart.

Why do believers believe that God steals, kills and destroys? Isn’t that what Jesus said about our enemy?

Death was never God’s intention. From the beginning, life has always been His plan. The enemy is the one who came into the beauty of the Garden, and whispered the lies that led to death. But the story doesn’t stop there. Jesus beat death, remember? It is finished.

Life wins.

It wasn’t long before she was forgiving the rebels, and repenting of believing that God was the culprit of all her pain. Now she is walking in the belief that every good and perfect gift comes from God.

She then started noticing all the life around her. Corn. Greens. Potatoes. Mango trees. All around her, life was coming up from the same ground where innocent blood was shed ten years prior. God has turned the very things meant for evil into good. 

One of the songs that I’ve played and re-played since being here is called, “Beautiful Things,” by Gungor. I've declared its words over this nation, and I will continue to fight to see them come true.

All this pain

I wonder if I’ll ever find my way

I wonder if my life could really change at all

All this earth

Could all that is lost ever be found

Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

All around

Hope is springing up from this old ground

Out of chaos, life is being found in You

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of the dust

You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new

You are making me new

A Day in the Life of Maribeth

Last week, I got to spend a couple days in Brigitte, and one day in the village where the orphanage is currently located, which is about thirty minutes down the road from Brigitte, where I was staying.

However, “thirty minutes down the road” is a little different than what you might be thinking. It’s not as easy as hopping in the car, and arriving at your destination thirty minutes later.

Here, you walk along the road until a motorcycle taxi is available. After travelling by motorcycle to one village junction, you find a taxi to cram into with at least 5 other people (you pay by the seat, so people squish in order to reduce individual cost). The taxi (which may or may not break down along the way) drops everyone off at another particular junction, and then you find one more motorcycle taxi to take you to your final destination.

And there you have it. A thirty minute trip to the orphanage.  

And that’s how I got to start my day … without coffee.

Physically, there’s not much about this place that makes me want to kick back and make myself at home. It’s hot. It’s loud. It’s busy. And, to say the least, getting anywhere is usually a bit inconvenient. I find myself in need of a break pretty regularly.

Spiritually, however, this place is RIPE. It makes it a little more fun to be in such a physically draining place when I get to partner with the Lord in all He is doing here.

While in the village where the current orphanage is located, I got to meet with the headmaster of the school where the kids attend. He wants me to do a training for his teachers.

At first I thought, “I don’t know if I have what it takes to do a training.” But after observing their classes, looking at a few of their (few) materials, I decided that it would be a shame if I didn’t share with them what I’ve had the privilege of learning through my degree at Auburn and through some teaching experience. And now it looks like I’ll be doing a training for a couple of different schools in the area within the next few weeks. The schools here will be the first to tell you that they are in need of a lot.

After meeting with the headmaster, I walked to the orphanage with Frank, the Director. On the way, we met his neighbor who had a broken leg. She hasn’t been able to do much except sit on the front porch with it propped up for 2 whole months.

So I prayed for her. She still felt pain after I prayed, so I prayed again. This time, she said as soon as I placed my hand on her knee, she felt something pop. After the prayer, she said it felt better.

I then told her family that since they were believers, they held within them the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Eph. 1:19-20), and that they can continue to lay hands on her and pray for her full recovery.

Now, she’s walking on it. Praise Jesus. By His wounds, we are healed.

Later that day, I got to do some inner healing prayer with two of the adults who help out at the orphanage. I got to watch the Lord bring healing to broken places in their hearts, so now they will be ministering to these children out of a place of freedom in their hearts, where there once was unforgiveness, shame, and bondage.

It’s so beautiful to see freedom released.

As the kids got home from school that day, it was play time. What a joy! I got to read to them Max Lucado’s “You Are Special,” and then I taught them the cupid shuffle.

Two of my favorite things: Reading to kids and Dancing.

I felt alive. With all the wonderful things that had happened that day, I had pretty much forgotten about all the inconveniences of my “thirty minute trip” to the orphanage that morning.

But by that time, it was time for my “thirty minute trip” back to where I was staying.

Oh Lord, help me.

Look and be Amazed

During my first couple of weeks here in Sierra Leone, the Lord has gently leaned in and said to me, “Look and be amazed.”

All I have to do is look, really. He is doing something that many would not even believe if they heard it. But I’ve seen it, and it truly is amazing.

I have had the privilege of spending my first few days here with a wonderful team of people I go to church with in Atlanta, including my “papa” in the faith, and 2 girls I’m friends with. The team left to go back home on Monday, but while they were here last week, we had a conference at the church in Brigitte.

Brigitte is the village that the orphanage is being built in, and where I’ll eventually move to. There are about 1,500 people living in Brigitte, and most are a part of a tribe of people called “Timne.” Most of the Timne people, both Christian and Muslim, have dabbled in witchcraft. Some more than others. One of the pastors here said that about 99% of the Timne tribe have demonic attachments.

These are the people the Lord has called me to love.

The good news is that a foundation of freedom and healing has been laid in Brigitte already. This past week, we partnered with the Lord in setting people free of demonic attachments, physical illnesses, sinful habits, and patterns that only led to death.

One woman brought her daughter to us every day for prayer. Her daughter was 2 years old, and looked like a newborn. She had very little strength or ability to move, and had never even crawled before. So we prayed every day for the Lord to release His healing power over this child. By the end of the week, she was crawling.

Her proud mother went back and told her neighbors about what the Lord had done for her daughter. She was just one of many who spread the news of the Lord’s goodness and healing power to her community. 

These neighbors made their way into church for the very first time, and wanted us to pray for them, too. They wanted God to heal them like He had healed their neighbors. They not only received the healing touch of God, but they also received Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

When the Good News of Jesus enters into a community, people are attracted to it, and find themselves wanting to be around the people who carry the presence of the Lord.

One of my favorite moments of the trip so far was when a woman brought her children to us so that we could pray for God to bless them. I prayed for each of them individually, blessing each of them with a specific verse that I felt the Lord speaking over them.

When I finished praying for the 4 children, I turned around, and saw about 10 more kids who had come to receive a blessing. So I continued asking the Lord for a specific verse to pray over each child. After blessing 15-20 kids, it was time for me to go, but I still had about 10 more kids to go. They just kept coming. In blessing the children, I got a small taste of what my purpose is in being here.

I got another taste one day while we were stopped at a gas station. I was sitting in the back seat, thinking about how tired I was (just being honest). Before I knew it, a man had come over and stuck his baby through the open window right in front of me. It was as if the man had come over to my window expecting me to pray for his child.

So, of course, I placed my hand on the baby, and prayed blessings on her spirit to know the Lord. The man seemed pleased, and walked away with his baby. As we left the station, he waved goodbye with a big smile on his face.

Even as I’m writing, I’m thinking, “Was that even real?” That’s when I’m sure that it was totally the Lord.

I guess when the Lord said, “Look and be amazed,” He really meant it.

“Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” – Habakkuk 1:5

I'M MOVING TO AFRICA!

I had a dream the other night where I was at the airport frantically filling out papers, trying to get everything ready before my plane was supposed to leave. I felt so scattered and hurried, and then Jesus and the Holy Spirit came on the scene, and informed me that Jesus was coming with me. He didn’t have everything together yet, either, so the Holy Spirit was helping us get everything worked out.

What if I told you that my dream is coming true?

Last week, I was emailing with our missionary contact in Sierra Leone, asking him a few of the many questions I have about living in Africa. He was asking me questions, too, and wanted to know when I was planning on moving back over there. Then he said, “Please don’t say in the fall. Elections are in November, and it’s not safe to be here then.” He told me that he takes his family back to the States every time the elections happen, because it can get pretty dangerous when/if riots break out.

When he told me this, it threw me off a little bit as I started thinking about the timing of it all. It doesn’t make sense for me to make a 3 week trip beginning next week, come back here, then go back to Sierra Leone, and then come back again when the elections happen, and then go back again after the elections are over. (Whew!)

What DOES make sense is for me to go over there, stay until the elections, come back home for the Holidays, then go back over to Sierra Leone for good.

So that’s what I’m going to do. I’m moving to Sierra Leone on Wednesday.

And that’s why I feel like my dream is coming true. I feel pretty scattered right now, as I’m trying to get everything done before I leave. But the good news is that Jesus is coming with me, and Holy Spirit is helping us get everything together before we leave.

The presence of the Lord is always Good News.

I plan on living with our missionary contact and his family for the next 4 months as I adjust to life in Africa, learn the language (Creole), get to know the people, and get settled in my role there. I will then come home in September, before everything gets messy in Sierra Leone, and then go back for good in January-ish.

They should be laying the foundation of the orphanage in the next few weeks, and it should be completed by the end of the year. When I move back to Sierra Leone in January, I’ll plan to live in the orphanage, and raise the children who live there.

Even though this is so sudden, and I feel a little scattered, I KNOW that it’s right. I'm excited about coming into the calling on my life to be a mother to the nations ... starting next week!

Right now, I have enough funds to get me started over the next few weeks. But I’m going to need all the support I can get as I begin life in Sierra Leone. If you’re interested in supporting me financially as I live in Sierra Leone, here’s how:

You can write a check to “Lifegate International,” and put “Maribeth Ward – Africa” in the memo line, and send it to:

Lifegate International
1860 Ridgedale Dr.
Snellville, GA 30078

Or you can go to www.lifegateinternational.com, and use their paypal account to make a donation. If you donate online, be sure to email lifegateinternational@comcast.net to let them know that you want your donation to go to me, because there’s not a place to specify where you want the donation to go on the website.

Your donations will all go to me directly, and they will be tax deductible.

Please please please be praying for me as I make this big transition. And pray for my family as they adjust to the idea of me living so far away. And pray that the Good News of Jesus permeates the country of Sierra Leone.

I praise God for each of you. Be blessed.

The Other Side

Does the Bible ever become so real to you that you can actually feel yourself in one of the stories? Recently, I’ve been feeling as if I’m one of the disciples who went fishing all night long and didn’t catch a thing. I can feel their weariness, their disappointment, and their desire to keep trying just in case they might catch something.

For the past few months, I’ve been wondering when I would have some tangible fruit to show for my labor. I’ve been making plans to start a children’s home here in Atlanta, and like the disciples, I’ve been coming up with nothing in my net – no home and no kids.

So I decided to stop striving to make something happen, and see what the Lord would do. So I began fasting from some things and praying during the lent season, and I was ready for the Lord to do anything.

One day after I began my fast, I was babysitting for a good friend of mine who has 6 kids. As we were talking about children’s homes and all of my dreams, she said,

“Maribeth, if you start raising kids here in the States, you’re going to get stuck here. And you don’t need to get stuck here. Your heart is so rare that you need to be with the worst of the worst. The kids here have a foster care system and an education system helping them out. There are kids in the world who don’t have anything. That’s where you need to be.”

She’s right. I’ve never wanted to get stuck here. In fact, I’ve known for quite some time that I was called to the nations. I’ve just gotten really comfortable doing ministry here in Atlanta with kids who I already know that are dealing with the same junk (sexual abuse, neglect, violence, etc.) as any other kid around the world.

In that moment, as I was talking to my friend, I felt as if Jesus had shown up on the scene, telling me to cast my net on the other side (of the world).

This came as no surprise to me, seeing as how the entire time I was praying about starting a children’s home here, I was also asking the Lord about the nations – Sierra Leone, in particular, which is on the west coast of Africa.

Last May, I went on a trip to Sierra Leone with a group led by my “papa” in the faith, who has a ministry called Lifegate International (www.lifegateinternational.com). When I came back, I knew that I knew that I was supposed to move there and work with the kids in one of the villages named Brigette.

I had thought that I would get a home started here, pass it off to the right people, and then go to Sierra Leone when the time was right. But apparently the time is right already. When I heard that they are building an orphanage in Brigette, I had a “duh” moment, where I felt confirmation about moving there.

So I’m taking a short vision trip next month to Sierra Leone to get a few things in order before moving there. I plan to leave on May 17, and scout it out for the next three weeks, so that I will be able to share with friends and family, and anyone who may want to support me about what life would look like for me there.

I’ve been saving up a few donations that people have randomly given me here and there, and so I am starting off my Africa scouting adventure with $800. That means I only need $2000 more to make this initial trip happen. Let me know (maribethward@yahoo.com) if you want to be a part of this financially – I plan to buy my plane ticket in one week (April 23).

So here I am, casting my net on the other side of the boat, so eager to see what kind of catch I’ll get. Praise the Lord, who establishes my steps, lights my path, and makes it straight.

Mama Heart

“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:19

First of all, I would like to thank so many of you for all the ways you have supported me as an inner city missionary in Atlanta. The Lord has been doing great things through the ministry of NightLight Atlanta, and it is such a joy to get to be a part of what He is doing.

Children are learning to love in an environment based on violence and fear. Women are leaving lives of prostitution, and entering into the Kingdom of God. People are experiencing His hope, and salvation. Jesus is so good!

As much as I love my current job, I have decided to step down from my position with
NightLight Atlanta as the Director of Prevention Programming, because the Lord has made it clear that He is about to launch me into my calling to be a mother to the orphans.

For as long as I can remember, I have dreamed of becoming a mother. Many people have spoken prophesies and encouragement over me about my “mama heart,” and about the Lord’s call on my life to be a mother. Motherhood is what I was created for.

Even though I don’t know exactly what it will all look like yet, I know that this is the time for me to start making transitions so that I’m available to do whatever the Lord has planned for me. This is my last month working for NightLight.

I dream of having orphanages all over the world. I want kids everywhere to know that they have a good Dad … and a good Mama, and I want them to have abundant life filled with hope. The Lord has told me that I will be the mother of many nations, and I believe Him. I have a feeling that my life as a missionary mama overseas will start sooner rather than later, but until the Lord speaks clearly about when and where to go, I plan on being in Atlanta for a little while longer.

I have been making plans with a few friends to move into the area of town where my kids live, and have an open home, where the kids are welcome anytime. I foresee them planting a garden in the backyard, having worship nights, dance parties, neighborhood dinners, movie nights, and more. I often think about how the name, Maribeth, means “blessed house.” That’s my identity, and it’s exactly what I want this home to be for the kids.

I plan on moving into the “blessed house” in February or March. I know that this open home will be just the beginning of a movement here in Atlanta. The kids that the Lord has entrusted to me will hopefully become the leaders of whatever ministry is birthed through me soon.

I have also been looking into adoption. The Lord made it clear to me that this is top priority in my life, so I am currently going through training to become an adoptive parent. I don’t know if the Lord’s intentions for me going through this are for me to get some really good training, or if He has a certain child, or certain children in mind for me to adopt as my own. Who knows? By this time next year, there might be a couple of little ones calling me “Mama.”

So please, be praying for me as I continue to say yes to the Lord’s voice. I would love to have you support me through this journey. Ask me how things are going. Come and visit the kids. Pray that the Kingdom comes. I know that the dreams the Lord has placed on my heart will require the entire Body of Christ to play their part, whatever that may look like.

I will let you know specifics along the way, and keep you updated about ways you can be involved, and ways that you can support me and the kids that the Lord entrusts to me. The seeds you sew into the ministry the Lord gives me – whatever that may look like – are producing and will continue to produce great fruit. We will all share in the harvest and the reward.

I praise God for each of you, and all of your prayers and encouragement!

Dreams Redeemed

One afternoon, a few friends and I decided to drive around and pray for the area of town where the kids live. After driving around for a bit, we pulled into the hotel where we do our Prevention Program, and some of the teenagers who live there climbed into the car with us, saying that they wanted to pray, too.

As we were praying for them, and speaking life over them, more kids came. And pretty soon, they were praying for each other.

That is the kind of stuff that I live for.

One girl spoke up, and said that she had been having nightmares. She started describing some of the things that had haunted her dreams, and it became obvious that a spirit of death had been trying to take over this 10 year old’s subconscious dream world.

I knew that God desired to give His daughter good dreams – straight from His heart to hers. There’s something about our good Father that loves to reveal the mysteries of His heart to His children through dreams. Just ask Joseph.

I asked her if she wanted God to give her good dreams, instead. And of course, she said yes.

So I went to my car, and grabbed some anointing oil. Yes, I did say anointing oil. I've decided to carry that stuff around with me these days. I mean, you’ve gotta have the essentials with you at all times – your wallet, your keys, some chewing gum, and your anointing oil. It comes in handy sometimes.

Anointing oil was used throughout the Bible to make something holy. So as a priest of the Lord, I prayed for her and anointed her, and in doing so, declared her “holy.” Her dreams are now set apart for God alone. They are no longer a place for the enemy to have a destructive party.

Just today, she was telling her Sunday school teacher that I prayed for her to stop having bad dreams a few weeks ago, and now she doesn’t have nightmares anymore. Now, she only has good dreams.

Man, God is so good at being good!

And all I have to say is that it’s great to be His priest. I get to usher people into His goodness, out of the darkness, and into His wonderful light.

“… for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” – I Peter 2:9