Update from the Director - Nathan and Joel

28 June 2010 “…He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep….The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore”. ~Psalm 121:3-4, 7-8~
Baby Nathan was not a surprise for us. We knew on Friday that we were to receive him today, and things went just as planned. We welcomed this tiny, healthy 3-week- old baby boy, and he is settling in easily to the love and food and care at AGC Baby Centre. He seems to be taking Jesus at His word and is giving Him many opportunities to watch over him while he sleeps. 
Just as Nathan was arriving at Baby Centre, I was receiving a phone call that there was another baby in town who needed a safe place. We were surprised today to receive baby Joel—a big boy around 9 or 10 months old. We were also surprised to find him extremely clean, in very good health, and with excellent social skills, all of which led us to wonder if perhaps he is more lost than abandoned. During the afternoon, he played a bit with toys, but as nighttime began settling in, Joel began to struggle. It seems it was also a surprise to Joel to find himself surrounded by strangers and out of his routine for going to bed. As I rocked this precious boy who is almost the same age as my own daughter, I wondered if there is a mother somewhere who is missing her son as much as he apparently is missing her. And one more time, my heart was torn up by what the fallen-ness of the world can do to a precious life.
Tonight as all 42 precious babies are laying down their heads and preparing for slumber, there is one among them who is finding sleep to be difficult. As we struggle with Joel and feel his pain, we take comfort from the God who watches over our lives, the God who will keep us from harm, the God who will not sleep the whole night through just to make sure that He has planned our coming and going. Some part of me is praying that while we slumber, the same God who planned Joel and Nathan’s coming here will do a miracle in planning Joel’s going—that maybe the mama he apparently loves so much will be able to trace where he has gone so that they can be reunited. That’s my human will, I know, but no matter what the outcome, I must entrust the lives of Joel and Nathan into the hands of the God who neither slumbers nor sleeps. I can do that, because I know that He watches over our lives and doesn’t want to bring us to harm. Pray with us now that while we slumber, God is able to bring peace and rest to Joel’s life. Pray that we ourselves allow Him to do the same in our lives.
Able to sleep because He doesn’t,
Staci Keter
Director