lost are found | stella

if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? and when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. when he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, 'rejoice with me because i have found my lost sheep.'

luke 15:4,5&6

looking into the eyes of this young zimbabwean woman, one would never know what she has had to endure. but in the winter of 2008, stella was lost and afraid...an alien in a country about which she knew very little.

stella...forced to flee her country because of the political and social unrest wreaking havoc on her people...arrived in south africa...

homeless.

foodless.

friendless.

added to this was the weight she was carrying concerning the baby in her womb. unsure of what other options she had...stella contemplated suicide.

stella was lost.

but the arms of the good shepherd found her. she was found at her most desperate and lifeless place.  in her desperation...stella was met with...

grace.

truth.

love.

and as a result...she found a Savior. and the response in both heaven and on earth was a celebration of great rejoicing. 

stella now beams with excitement...because she has been found...she has been rescued by the love of Jesus. it is a love that thrives on giving second...third...and fourth chances...

even to seventy times seven.

when the shepherd finds his sheep...he doesn't simply lead it back to the others...but he carries it...and rejoices all the way.  jesus is still carrying stella. he will continue to carry stella...and rejoice in the new life she has been given.

for though she was once lost...stella is now found.