A Candle in the Darkness
In finally telling my whole story, I have discovered the other side of my life's tapestry. Where I once saw only knots and tangles, I now see a beautiful picture of God's grace—his deliberate orchestration in a life lovingly entrusted to me. Sure enough, he had heard every scream, felt every blow, and wiped every tear as, through the pain, he crafted me into a tool he could use, redeemed for his glory.
Wess Stafford is president and CEO of Compassion International, a Colorado Springs–based child development organization that sponsors children. This article was adapted from a talk Stafford gave at Woodmen Valley Chapel in July 2009.
Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Christianity Today also posted an article on "A Badly Broken Boarding School" about the Mamou Alliance Academy. Wess Stafford is author of Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most, which is available at ChristianBook.com and other retailers.
Go to ChristianBibleStudies.com for "Redeeming Suffering," a Bible study based on this article.
Previous CT articles on the school include:
Missionary Child Abuse | All God's Children recalls the travails of a West Africa boarding school. (August 18, 2009)
Pain Relief | The Christian & Missionary Alliance apologizes to adults abused as missionary kids in Africa. (July 12, 1999)
Missions: From Trauma to Truth | Once-abused children demand accountability. (April 27, 1998)
The 'Handicap Icon' Gets New Life
Sidelining the Stigma of Mental Illness
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Scott Solary
It's so important for this issue to remain in the collective conversation. The Mamou Alliance Academy was not the only boarding school where abuse happened, but it was the first to have the results of its investigation to go public. To watch excerpts and to learn more about the documentary "All God's Children" please visit: http://www.allgodschildrenthefilm.com "All God's Children" tells the story of the children of Mamou - what they experienced at the school and in the aftermath as they tried to find support, help each other and prevent this from happening to others. - Scott Solary (producer, co-director "All God's Children")
Richard Mayhan
This is really sad and the effects are really difficult to overcome. My prayers are with you and with the cause.
John Clough Memorial
Clough Memorial John,It is amazing how God uses the various childhood experiences of different people to get into His ministry to glorify Him and to be a blessing to others in need of which your' is an example.So is mine.I am an orphan,don't know my parent,brought up by missionaries who made my life comfortable though was in boarding home.I praise God for all those missionaries who were instruments in my life.This helped me to go into children ministry to care for the needy kids in a way our Lord wants us to bring them up.I glorify our Lord for our experiences.My last name indicates how I am named in memory of the hospital where I was brought up.
VIRGINIA KREMER
My heart was broken as I read this article. I am a retired missionary who worked in a European country doing church planting. My original call was to teach missionaries' children and I even had worked out a plan so that the children could get an education and still stay with their parents!!! God seemed to have had another plan, but how I wish I could've been there for that little boy!!! In my childhood I also suffered from abuse. I call my school the ____ Concentration Camp for Children. Those teachers were not missionaries, but how can people who say they love and serve God, stoop to such cruelty to small and helpless children! They remind me of the Nazi death camps of WWll. God does change the suffering into good through the work of Compassion.
Loui se
Hello Mr.Stafford. I did not know you went through so much. This is so sad for you and the other children. What happened to your Mom? Did she ever recover?