A Calling for Orphan Children

The Beginning

Israel and I met in October 2005 in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. Israel worked with the “Great Commission Movement of Nigeria” as a missionary since 1998 and I had been around the world during the exact same seven years. This time on a mission trip to Nigeria.

We soon realized that we had more in common…
On April 29^th 2007 we got married in Jos, and knew even then that God had given us a calling and commission to take care of orphans.

One puzzle piece in the journey of this calling was a Bible verse from Lamentations 4:4:
    "The tongue of the infant clings
     To the roof of its mouth for thirst;
     The young children ask for bread,
     But no one breaks it for them."

Five months after the wedding we were able to buy about five hektars of bush land in Kisabandi, not far from the city of Jos. There was nothing on that land at that point, no building, no water, no electricity. In May 2008 we moved into a little mud roundhouse that we had built. From there we began the building of the 'House of Refuge'. Also our first daughter Jairah was born there in 2009!

We both felt challenged by God not to do any fundraising at all, but trust him with everything in building that big house. Instead he gave us the promise to bring people to us who would help us with the realization of that project. And that’s exactly how it happened. Individuals and families from all over the world, a Christian community (the Reichenberg Fellowship in Reichelsheim, with whom I had spent a year in 1998/99) and a Foundation (the Neumayer Foundation close to Stuttgart) helped us. It still took til the end of 2011 until we could move from our roundhouse to the big house.

The family grows from three to thirteen

In May 2012 we took in the first little boy, Selnan, from Jos, two years old at the time. Three months later came two little girls from Bauchi, the next State north of us, Melody and Ruth, five and six years old. Two weeks later our second daughter, Noa, was born and shortly afterwards we took in two boys, Elkanah and Shem, both nine years old, from another northern State, Gombe. Then in Feburary 2013 we were able to pick two sisters, Noro and Sele, eight and three years, from a village south of Jos. Then it took almost a year til we were able to take in the last boy, Kephas, from a slum only half an hour from us in Jos.

Originally we had wanted to take in twelve children, but it became clear very quickly that we wouldn’t be able to live as a family with more than ten kids, our own included.
Each one of the eight kids had experienced trauma, some very severe. Some had suffered neglect or abuse, some came to us malnourished or sick.

It’s so beautiful and amazing for us to see how wonderfully they develop, how they heal and grow, and in spite of the challenges that we also face with them, are a great joy to us! They experience how precious each one of them is, how important their lives are for God and that there is hope and future for their lives. They can get to know Jesus and build up trust, that has been damaged so severely in their young lives.

The older five children, Ruth, Melody, Noro, Elkanah and Shem go to school in Jos, the little ones, Sele, Selnan and Kephas go to kinder garden. Not one of the kids was able to speak English when they first came (English is the one common language in Nigeria that is needed for any kind of education), let alone read or write. They have all progressed immensely since then.

There are around 450 tribes in Nigeria and ever more languages. Our children come from five different tribes, most of them speak the “lingua franca” of the North, Hausa, but also their own tribal languages. In our house four languages are heard every day, three more from time to time.

Everyday Life

Again, the provision for the children is in God’s hands. He takes care of them, according to his promise,
through people, on whose hearts he has put this work. We don’t have a system of one to one sponsors, but whoever wants to help, gives for the whole family. Over and over we are deeply moved as we witness how God’s heart reveals itself towards this big family, from time to time, when it is necessary, even through miracles.

To give one example: Throughout the years there were times when we had problems with our water supply. In 2010 the American Ministry 'Back2Back' financed a borehole for us and later somebody fundraised for a solar pump for it. The control panel of this pump broke in July 2014 and we couldn’t afford a new one right away. So we had to pump water from a well, but the pump we used there also broke over and over and cost especially Israel a lot of nerves and time. One day he looked into the 8000 liters water tank to see how much water was left. It was just enough to cover the bottom of the tank. Nevertheless, for another FOUR days 13 people bathed themselves, laundry and dishes were washed, toilets flushed etc. and the water flowed and flowed!!!

Our only neighbors out there are Fulani, a Muslim tribe, which consists mostly of cowherds and shepherds. All over the country one can see them moving around with their big herds of white cows. About eighty of them live in simple huts of grass or mud just a stone’s throw from our house. Unfortunately they have a terrible reputation, because again and again there have been killings, even massacres, committed by them especially in the villages South of Jos (we are West of Jos) and in many other places. We have lived side by side with them now for seven years, buy milk from the women every day and the chief comes to visit and chat with Israel. In spite of never having had any trouble with them we know that our trust can be in God alone in this vulnerable position. We have always felt a special peace on our land, and many visitors have told us that they feel so peaceful there as well.

Our eight children can grow up here like in a normal family, without having to worry that they will be passed on or put into an orphanage. When they are done with secondary school they can choose a further education which corresponds with their interests, gifts and callings.

That’s how things are end of 2014. Whoever is interested in the development of this big family can write to info@starsministry.de and ask for the Newsletter which I write every 3-4 months!