Starting tomorrow, the ministry of Restoration of the Nations begins to walk in the fullness of it's original vision: ministering to the total needs of the young men of impoverished nations. Not only are we to teach vocational skills in order that young men can be employed and thus sustain themselves and their families; but we will teach them basic life skills that should have been taught to them by their parents or other family members. More importantly, we want to fulfill God's command to "go into the world and disciple the nations". To us, discipleship is more than preaching God's Word. It is a process of investing yourself into the life of a person, walking out the love of Jesus into their every day life.
We were given the vision that we would have young men living at our school facilities. These boys would be from places that were too far for them to travel to and from the school. They would be boys that may have been abandoned by one or both of their parents. They also may be boys who have lived part of their lives on the streets but wanting to make a change.
Right now, we do not have the facilities that we had envisioned to house such boys. But God has made it plain that we are not to wait. He has orchestrated events where 3 young men, all the age of eighteen, need what we have to offer. So, these young men are coming to live in our home. We have spent the last couple of weeks preparing our home to receive these boys. There is still much work to be done but we are far enough along that the boys no longer have to wait. It's by divine appointment that we have these boys.
Many months ago, we heard about a man, Pastor Dennis, who had a rehab center. We tried to find out more information about him but the people we talked with were not familiar with him or his program. Recently, we acquired a new next door neighbor who just happened to know the man and within hours had a meeting set up for us with him. Timing is everything! When we talked with him, we learned that his first group of men had completed their time at his rehabilitation center. He was concerned as to what would happen to the young men when they left the facility. They needed more training and time to transition themselves into society, but he did not have the means to do this. What we had to offer him was exactly what he felt the boys needed. Into our lives we welcome Eduardo and Elvis.
This is a huge step forward for the ministry and for us personally. We look forward to the building of relationships with the boys as well as imparting to them skills which will lead them into a life that is productive and full of peace, love and joy.