Thrown Away
Missionary Sonja Corbin held four-year-old Enoch in her arms. Her heart went
out to him as she thought about the troubles his little eyes had seen. Enoch was
like so many other children in South Africa—thrown away by his mother.
When he was just an infant, Enoch was abandoned by his mother. He would have
died were it not for the farm workers who found him alone in a farmer’s field. The
farm workers took the baby into their own home and began to care for him. They
thought perhaps his mother had just lost him and would soon come to find her
baby. But she never came.
The farm workers wanted to help the little baby, but they were poor and had
barely enough food for their own children. So they took the baby to the farmer
they worked for. He brought Enoch into his home and applied for government
assistance. Soon he began to receive enough money from the government to care
for Enoch.
But Enoch did not receive that care. Before long, he was locked in a room and
fed only once a day. The rest of the time he was ignored and forgotten. Only a few
years old, Enoch needed love and affection, but all he knew was a cruel, lonely
existence.
Then one day a social worker discovered what was happening. She took Enoch
away from the cruel farmer and kept him in a safe home. Finally, Enoch was
delivered to Sonja at the Jackson’s Ridge Baby Shelter.
Jackson’s Ridge is run by Assembly of God missionaries, Ed and Sonja Corbin.
Jackson’s Ridge is a children’s ministries training center for Africa. It used to be
a farm, but now it is much more. Jackson’s Ridge has kids camps, training seminars,
and the baby shelter. The farm is home to many children who had been in
circumstances similar to Enoch’s. At Jackson’s Ridge, the children live in a beautiful
50-acre setting, with goats, pigs, ducks, and even horses. More importantly,
the children live with a team of loving people who become their family.
By the time Enoch arrived at Jackson’s Ridge, he was already four years old, but
he could not talk well, and he seemed afraid of everyone. During the six months
that Enoch was at Jackson’s Ridge, Sonja took a special interest in him, spending
lots of time with him. She took him swimming and shopping. She took him to an
amusement park. And she took him to church.
Enoch’s life became full of new experiences. The best experience of all was when
he was introduced to Jesus through the Bible stories Sonja read to him each and
every day. Little by little, Enoch began to change. Now he felt happy and safe.
After six months at Jackson’s Ridge, a special surprise came for Enoch. A new
family was ready to adopt him! For the first time in his life, Enoch would have a
mother and father of his own. He would have a real family to love him and care
for him, to watch him grow and guide him along the way.
There was much to do to prepare for the adoption, for Enoch’s new mommy and
daddy lived far away, in Holland. Not only would Enoch move a long distance from
South Africa, he would have to learn a new language.
When the day came for Enoch to say good-bye to Sonja and the others at Jackson’s
Ridge, it was both a sad and a happy day. He was sad to leave the first people
who ever loved him; the people who introduced him to Jesus. But he was happy to
have a family all his own.
Thanks to BGMC, Enoch did not die in that farmer’s field. Thanks to BGMC,
Enoch felt the love of God through loving missionaries. And thanks to BGMC,
Enoch now has a home and a family.
BGMC supplies Jackson’s Ridge with much of the equipment they need to run
their camps and training seminars. BGMC has provided scholarships for kids to
come to camps and for workers to come from all over Africa in order to learn
about children’s ministries. BGMC also provided the funds for the staff at Jackson’s
Ridge to write and produce the first-ever children’s church curriculum for
Africa. Thank you, boys and girls, for giving to BGMC to help reach the children
of Africa.
Information for this story was provided by missionaries Ed and Sonja Corbin
and is used with permission from Assemblies of God World Missions.
©2006 The General Council of the Assemblies of God. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce and adapt lesson components for exclusive use in the local church. Any other use requires written permission.
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