Your Help Is Urgently Needed

I originally intended to continue to update you on the progress Beka and Anna have been making on the toddler house and their creative ways to support their work.  You were expecting to hear about chickens and "Holy cows," which certainly play a vital role in reaching their goal.  However, it has been revealed to me that there are more urgent needs pressing to the forefront, needs that concern Wongani and the future that awaits him and the family back in Washington who are anxious to meet him.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11 

In the last post, you learned that Wongani was brought out of conditions that promised him no hope.  If he had been left there, the best he could expect would be a life of abject poverty, untreated illness, hunger, and despair.  But it is clear to all of us who have heard and read Beka Feth's story that God had other plans, and they would be plans to prosper Wongani and to give him hope for a bright future.  Through this child, the LORD would bring His light to other children in Malawi who are born into the same dark conditions in which Wongani found himself.

God does not make empty promises.  He never starts something He does not finish.  Man may try and throw irons into the cogs of his efficiency, but God's will is always fulfilled and completed to perfection.  He also never toys with our emotions, expecting us to put away the love He has given us for others and the things He would have us do.  Beka intimately knows that kind of love.  She found it in Malawi, it deepened with the discovery of Wongani, and grew into the dream of building Wongani's Hope.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness."  ~ James 1:2-3

Two more trials have been thrown into Beka's path and one threatens the relationship she has already established with Wongani.  He never knew his real mother, but Beka has joyfully  stepped into that role and provided everything he would never have gotten from the family that was raising him.  When they agreed to allow Beka to adopt Wongani and signed the foster papers that would let him go home with her, it was only the first step of a long and arduous process that none of them completely understood.

To Wongani's uneducated and traditional-driven family, it was simple:  say "yes" and relinquish him into Beka's care.  And to Beka it also seemed simple:  take him home, give him the love and attention he needed, and put the adoption wheels into motion.  The logical and reasonable side of our thinking made it look simple to us, too.  But within just a few weeks, barriers were being erected to divert and discourage Beka.  Instead of moving closer to being able to finally and officially call Wongani her son, Beka discovered the difficulty of the process when a maze of bureaucracy and foreign legalities overrides any compassion, sensibility, and reason.

To make matters worse, Beka has once again been stricken with malaria and has been on a quinine regimen to combat the disease.  However, her determination and resolve to see the adoption process completed has not stopped her, no more than it did the last time when she met Titus.  Beka reports that she is feeling better, but that she is tired most of the time.  She  is praying she will soon be "100%" -  and hoping she never has to deal with malaria again.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."  ~ Romans 8:28

These are the trials Beka is facing today.  Last week, she was told by the Social Welfare office that she would be required to travel to Lilongwe to continue the adoption process.  Because of the distance, the long bus ride, her illness, and the time she would be away from him, Beka decided to take Wongani with her.  At this time, they are still in Lilongwe meeting with the officials who have the power to determine Wongani's future with her.

What Beka has been told by those in charge has not been good news.  A number of possible disqualifications has been presented to her:

1.  She doesn't meet the age requirement that specifies she must be 21 years older than the child she wishes to adopt.  Beka is 22 and only 18 years older than Wongani.

2.  She is a single woman.

3.  It is uncommon for Malawi courts to award custody of a male child to a person of the opposite sex.

4.  She must hire an attorney to represent her and petition the court for adoption, but has been told the outcome may be difficult because of the reasons listed above.

Beka accepts and respects the laws that have been established in Malawi, knowing that they have been put in place to protect children from being harmed or exploited.  She also understands the difficulty the court would have deciding against these laws.  However, the biggest obstacle at this moment is that Beka cannot afford the high cost of an attorney.  It has become an unplanned extravagance that has placed her in a position of having to make choices she did not expect or want to be forced to make.

Should she spend the money she does not have and continue to pursue Wongani's adoption before coming back home to the United States? 

Or should she try and find a person to leave Wongani with, come back home and try to earn enough money to hire the attorney when she returns to Malawi?

One would think that if she has to come home without Wongani, she could leave him with Anna.  But there are legalities that could possibly prevent that, too.  Beka has been legally designated his foster parent and with that come great responsibilities.  Even if the law allowed it, leaving him with Anna may not bode well with the courts.

It also seems unnecessary to mention how devastating it would be for Wongani to suddenly have Beka gone from his life, even for just a few months.  As my niece, Katy (a registered nurse and mother of four young children), said, "he's not an infant."  He is four years old, and to find himself once again abandoned could have lasting consequences.   The bond that has been created between Beka and Wongani is no less intimate than if he were her biological child.  Beka is his mother and Wongani Beka's son, even if it has not legally been established, and to separate them at this point would not be logical or healthy for either one of them. 

Beka is clinging to her faith and trusting that the LORD will intervene.  But it has been difficult for her.  I reminded her the other day to think about all that He has already done for her, and to rest in the truth that He will continue with His plans and bring them to completion.  Who of you that has read her story are in disagreement over His tender care and providence with which He has poured out upon her?  Who would question or doubt God's presence in their lives and His purpose for them?  Who of us would not wonder why He is allowing these things to occur just when she thought she had broken through the last barrier?

Beka is no different than we would be if it were happening to us.  What Beka needs to remember is how much God has worked in her life.  And so do we.  As I mentioned above, God always finishes what He starts, regardless of man's efforts to thwart His will.  And He's not done with Beka, Wongani, or Wongani's Hope.

"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." ~ 2Cor 9:7-8

This is where you come into God's plans.  We know that He can accomplish anything He sets out to do, with or without our help.  But He prefers that our hearts show a willingness to be a part of His work.  For some of us, there is no wavering or second guessing, and we immediately dive into the task set before us.  For others, they may overlook the possibilities and benefits and see the necessity to sit back and wait until God has proven He is in it.  There is nothing wrong with being cautious with the gifts we have to give, but I am forced to ask how much more proof does He need to give us that Beka is in His will?

If the first part of her story was not enough, was the second?  The third?  Or, how about God sending Titus? 

To me, there is no clearer and convincing evidence that God meant for Beka Feth to meet Wongani and that Wongani was to become her son in order that, together, they could establish Wongani's Hope which would also bring hope to the children of Malawi.

Beka looked forward with desire and confidence that God would bring all of it to fruition.  She has been a faithful and willing player, unmindful of her own needs, and trusting Him with every step she has taken.

She hasn't asked for our financial help, only our prayers.  Beka believes that God is in control of every minute detail, even over the laws and courts of men.  The attorney she has been talking to gave her a glimmer of hope the other day.  Because of the "special circumstances" regarding Wongani, he told her there is a chance the courts will decide in her favor.  But in order for her argument to be presented to them, she needs the funds to secure legal representation - money she does not have.

So, I will ask the difficult question for Beka:  would you please help?  Will you pray about her situation and consider making a donation?  The amount isn't important - whatever your heart compels you to give - because I believe the LORD will increase whatever comes and it will meet exactly what she is needing. 

All donations can be made by check to Mabton Grace Brethren Church, P.O. Box 216, Mabton, Wash., 98935.  Simply write "Beka" on the "For" line at the bottom of your check to insure that it goes to her.  Beka's sister, Mandy, has established an account for her and every dime is placed in it to further Beka's work in Malawi.

Also, if you are drawn to encourage others to help, share this website with your church, family, and friends so that the world will come to know and love Beka Feth as we do.  I know they won't be disappointed.

I understand that times are tough and our money is being stretched thin.  So if you are unable to give a gift at this time, please continue to pray for Beka and Wongani.  Your prayers are what they covet the most.

And for Beka and Wongani, I will also extend a heartfelt and sincere "THANK YOU!" for your gift and your prayers.

"But just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also.  I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also.  For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.  I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it.  But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.  For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.  For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality— at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality; as it is written, 'HE WHO gathered MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND HE WHO gathered LITTLE HAD NO LACK.' "  ~  2Cor 8:7-15 NASB

In Christ's and Beka's Service, 

Karen