I belong to a community group at my church. A community group is a number of people who gather weekly to enjoy each other's company while eating dinner together, worshiping the Lord, talking about our lives and doing community outreach together. We are a fairly new group, having started meeting a little over a year ago. In the beginning we spent most of our time praying. We prayed that God would show us His vision for our community. We prayed that He would put together a strong and intentional core group with His focus who were Christ driven to reach both individuals and the community.

We have done ministry in our area but have been waiting for God to be clear on where he wanted us focused. Recently a number of separate events have come together as one (As only God can weave  things together). God had been guiding people individually to the same place. After sharing with each other we were able to agree, that this was where we are to begin our ministry here in Ambler.

Some time ago during a church wide fast, God began to prepare me for new ministry. I have been working with the elderly for over 15 years. I went to school to become a trained Spiritual Director. Going to a Spiritual Director is likened to seeing a counselor. When I meet with someone, my job is to show them where God is present in their life (or most often, to help them discover where God is working on their own). It is often referred to as "Holy Listening" A Spiritual Director prays for their companion regularly and directs them to scripture and truths from God's kingdom, to help them traverse their current and past circumstances. God is the one doing all of the "directing"...in this role I am basically an arrow pointing always to Him. Much like discipling and mentoring, Spiritual direction requires much discipline and love. It is a good skill to have when working with elderly abandoned people.

As I prayed during the church fast and spent time with God in His word, a clear theme began to emerge. As I said, I work with the elderly....but I have volunteered with youth quite often as well. I naturally get along with my daughter's friends and have even discipled people her age. I have wondered what the two, if anything, had in common throughout the years. My best speculation was that both groups are highly vulnerable. During the fast, God took me to scriptures about widows and orphans. Over and over I read about their needs in society....over and over I read about our commands to help them as Christians...and over and over God showed me that He Himself promised to be both their Father and their Husband!

"You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood for you creator will be your Husband; the Lord of Heaven's Armies is his name. He is your Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel, the God of all the earth" - Isaiah 54:5

In John 14:18 God says: "No I will not abandon you as orphans I will come to you."

God began to show me that in this current day and age, there were new kinds of widows and orphans...because of divorce, there were women and children living as widows and orphans. Also, spiritually (because a husband is not leading the home spiritually due to lack of belief) there are spiritual widows and orphans. God quickly allowed me to make the connection to my own life; I was both a widow AND an orphan! Growing up, although I had parents, spiritually I was an orphan, unaware of the existence or love of my Heavenly Father. And at this time I am married to an unbeliever...spiritually a widow, fully aware at this time that God himself is my Husband.

This new definition of my ministry from God was exciting...somehow everything finally made sense! I was supposed to work with widows AND orphans. As time went on God began to show me areas of need in my community regarding this, and areas of need in our nation regarding this. I soon felt a call to go to Malwai on mission, only to find out at the informational meeting that we would be ministering to...you guessed it, widows and orphans. And now, right down the street in Ambler, God was showing me a place called St. Mary's Villa...within the walls of this estate were abandoned ones...abused ones...marginalized ones...Orphans! Literally now I would be working in ministry with both widows and orphans.

St. Mary's Villa is run by the Catholic Church and provides residence and a myriad of programs to
 at- risk inner city children. They are brought to this suburban site to live and be counseled and learn. Many of them have suffered unmentionable abuse. They are forced into a school system with very wealthy upper middle class kids who cant begin to understand where they have come from. They need people to show them patience, love and respect. They need someone to introduce them to Jesus. They need a Holy Father in Heaven.

Our community group will be adopting this group of children for ministry. Our intention is to volunteer in every capacity mentoring and supporting them. We will share our talents, time and love, believing that God has brought us there with both a purpose and a promise to share.

I now know the perfect love of God as my Father and my Husband. He provides...protects... encourages...waits patiently...instructs...teaches...sets boundaries...reprimands, and grows me to maturity with love. It is not enough for me to have found love and freedom in Christ, I need to share this love with others. God has a heart for His abandoned ones. He wants to be their redeemer. He is the only one fit for the job.

Even my Chihuahua Einstein (who I have been raising as a therapy dog for the elderly that I work with) will have a role to play with these children. God has gone far ahead of me on this one...He has been fine tuning every aspect of my life, character and talents to do exactly this ministry, in this place, at this time. I am so excited to get started!


There are countless scriptures that command that we minister to these vulnerable ones in our society...I am humbled that God has allowed me to come along side of the broken on His behalf.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners freed. He sent me to tell those who mourn that the year of the Lord's favor has come." - Isaiah 61:1-2

What an indescribable joy a person has who brings the Good News to those who have not heard it!