Heart Country, Motherland, Homeland.

I am back in Florida! I left London early on the 28th and spent a week at my family reunion in Minnesota, then arrived mid-thunderstorm in Orlando this past Sunday.

My last month at IJM UK was filled with monthly reports, developing business operations procedures, and preparing for summer conferences. It was especially busy as I caught up after spending a week in Ukraine three weeks before finishing my internship. I am so grateful I could go to Ukraine, and though it was a short trip, so much happened that I want to share with you. You can read my blog post about the trip here.

After returning from Ukraine, my job at IJM switched from completing my usual tasks to teaching others how to do them and to writing procedures for the next intern. One of my goals at the beginning of this internship was to help IJM with something that would continue serving them after I left. One of my main projects has been creating procedures for IJM UK's new database -- how to enter new contacts, record receipts, send thank you letters, and pull reports. Though I never envisioned myself as a database manual content writer, I'm thankful and confident that anyone following after me at IJM UK will have a good foundation through the manual in understanding IJM's database (and a few fun Star Wars references to help them while they read!).

As I mentioned in previous updates, my day of solitude at IJM was the 25th of June- two days before my internship ended. Thank you to everyone who prayed for my time of solitude; it was all that I hoped it would be. I went to Frinton-on-Sea, a nearby seaside town, and spent the day walking the beach, praying, writing, and reading over all my journal entries since the beginning of my time in England. It is humbling and beautiful to see God's hand on your life. As I read through my prayers, joys, and struggles this past year, I was overwhelmed by God's unwavering faithfulness. I did not regret a single decision I had trusted to the Lord. He had brought me to a good land and taught me to thrive. He proved to me that I have no excuse, because in everything He has equipped me to stand. He stopped the hands of oppressors and gave liberty to captives. He made me a blessing to the people around me when I had nothing to give. He blessed me with incredible experiences I never thought I would have. I can testify to the words of Psalm 37 in my own life.

I am so grateful for the beautiful people I met in the UK and for my time there. It was hard to say goodbye, but also lovely to see my immediate and extended family again! I am back in Florida for the time being, discovering what He has planned next.

Frail Contributions

Today I went for a cycle down a path that runs along a river near where I live.  I wanted to clear my head before sitting down and writing this update.  After winding along the river, past clumps of trees, over a few hills, I stumbled upon the ruins of a chapel built in the 14th century, 1320, to be exact.  Some of the bricks used to build it actually came from remains of a Roman settlement!  I sat in the open crevice of what used to be a window, no longer filled with stained glass, and fought to visualize the nearly 700 years of history to which this structure had borne witness.  Before I was born, before my grandparents were born, before radios, before central heating, before electricity, before the United States of America, before the English Reformation, before Gutenberg... over 255,000 sun rises ago... 

It was quite humbling.  I felt my smallness in the vast expanse of time.  Surrounded by ancient stones, under an ancient sun, in an ancient country, I realized why so many poets and philosophers despaired of significance, why Keats insisted his tombstone read, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." 

God is so vast, "He sees all the children of man" (Psalm 33:13).  He sees every single person ever born, every war, every moment of human suffering, every plague, every genocide, every abuse... and yet He still cares intimately for each one of us and is aware of every tear we cry -- "You Yourself have recorded my wanderings.  Put my tears in Your bottle.  Are they not in Your records?" (Psalm 56:8 HCSV).

I've been thinking quite* a bit about scale, time, and perspective this past month.  It has been an especially busy month at IJM.  In the last weekend of February alone, we had almost 200 people attend our benefit dinner in London, a church leaders conference, and speaking engagements at 7 church services in one day!  Gary Haugen came and spoke at each one of these events (despite being sick!), and we were deeply blessed and encouraged by his time with us.

At the church leader's conference, Gary spoke about the boring side of justice work... not what I or anyone at the conference was expecting, but what we, or at least I, desperately needed to hear.  Gary emphasized that justice is an attitude of the heart, not one-off actions.  Yes, it does involve glorious and exciting moments of breaking chains, gathering people from the dark, forsaken corners of oppression and releasing them into the light of freedom, busting down brothel doors, and defending human dignity in courtrooms; but thousands more moments are filled with endless piles of paperwork, years of driving for miles everyday to a court room where a judge doesn't show up, hours of sitting with victims too afraid to seek help... so many of IJM's cases are only successful by the grace of God and the relentless, patient obedience of people who never stop to question, "is this even worth it?"

The boring side of justice work I can absolutely relate to.  As incredible as my time here with IJM UK has been, the actual daily tasks I do are -to be brutally honest- boring.  Hours and hours of meticulous, difficult, never ending tasks. I've wrestled with feeling guilty for finding the work boring.  Hearing Gary openly admit that justice work often is boring, and that's okay, relieved me. I realized that being joyful in my work doesn't mean finding joy in every single task, it means choosing to be bored for the sake of joy.  

After the IJM Benefit, one of our partners made a profound remark that has widened my perspective on the work that I do.  He said, "In eternity to come, we will look back on these events, I am sure, and shed tears of joy as we see what the Lord has made of our frail contributions."

I have made many frail (VERY frail) contributions to IJM and the work of justice, contributions that honestly do not amount to much by any earthly standard. But my focus has been all wrong. In the grand but very real story of redemption God is writing for humanity, are not all our contributions frail?  And yet God has proven to be a God who uses weak, foolish, inadequate, insignificant contributions to write His story, and for all of eternity, we will rejoice with tears of joy over what the Lord has done with our frail contributions.

Last Friday we had our quarterly day of prayer -- a day we put aside our work at the office and worship and pray together.  During one session, we each spent some time alone with the Lord while writing a timeline of our life.  It was a powerful time for me to reflect on how the Lord has provided for me through every stage of life, how He has been gracious in my struggles, how He has used my suffering for good things, and how He has prepared me for every season.  So many of you have been a formative part of my timeline, and I am truly grateful for the ways you have prepared me for this part of my journey. Thank you!





*Funny story about the word "quite."  In the US, "quite" has a positive connotation.  If something is quite good, it is especially, particularly, pointedly good.  I happen to use the word quite a lot in conversation.  A few days ago, after leaving an event with my British housemate, I commented that the event was "quite lovely!"  My housemate then admitted to me she never can tell if I've actually enjoyed something or if I'm just being polite, because in the UK people use the word with a negative connotation.  If you don't have anything nice to say about something, you'd describe it as quite good, just to be nice.  I have probably offended or confused a hundred people since coming to the UK just by using that one word! And here I was thinking we spoke the same language... haha.

Ukraine

As many of you know, when I was accepted for this internship with IJM UK, I hoped to spend my Christmas holiday in Ukraine, as returning to the States for Christmas would be more expensive, Hope For Orphans was planning two orphan camps during that time, and Ukraine is my home-away-from-home.  Well, all the details fell into place, and I just recently returned to England after spending 3 beautiful weeks in Ukraine with the HFO team.

There are many, many stories to tell, so I thought using some pictures would help give a richer explanation of my experiences!  Here we go...

After sharing about my experiences in Ukraine at Fordham (my church here in England),someone decided to go with me!  Duncan accompanied me for the first orphan camp, and he is eager to bring a team from the UK to volunteer with HFO this summer.

English Master Class

As the only native English-speaking members of the HFO team, Duncan and I were incredibly blessed to speak with quite a few kids who could communicate rather well in English and were eager to learn more.  We taught an English master class in the afternoons, which helped us bond with the kids and (hopefully) encouraged them in their English studies.  We picked up a few Russian phrases as well!

The boy most eager to practice English, especially slang phrases, was Denise, who was also in my small group.

Denise is 15.  He was brought to the orphanage by his mom when he was 7, and vividly remembers the fear, pain, and rejection he experienced his first night in the orphanage.  He doesn't have siblings, but wishes he did and asked me loads of questions about mine- like if my brothers protected me even though I was the oldest.

I've never met an orphan so eager to engage in conversation.  Usually, it takes a few days for the kids to warm up to us and trust that we really are there because we care about them and want to get to know them.  From day one, Denise asked me loads of questions and constantly checked to make sure his English was correct.  "Tell me a story from your life," he would often ask me, and he was always by my side during Bible lessons and our evening program to translate as much as he could for me.

Thankfully, Denise has a VK (Ukrainian Facebook) account, so we have been able to talk every day since I've been back in the UK!  I get to greet him every morning and wish him goodnight.

Talking with Denise has given me deeper, more sobering insight into the hopelessness of daily life in an orphanage, but I am so thankful for the opportunity to stay in contact with him and experience a sliver of God's heart for him.  He believes in God, but carries much anger and bitterness he is not yet willing to release to Jesus.  Please pray God breathes new life into Denise; that Denise would know the immeasurable riches available to him in Christ and the steadfast hope of the Gospel.

After the first camp was over, Duncan returned to England and I spent a few days in Kyiv with the HFO team.  I love these people.  They have taught me so much about faith, service, love, and the heart of God.  I am deeply grateful for each moment I spend with them!

                         

The first camp team

Ice skating! 

About to see the Nutcracker ballet at the opera house

For the second camp, we were joined by a fabulous American team from Northland!  It was such a joy being re-united with old friends, meeting new ones, and simply being around fellow Americans (though the Ukrainian team adopted me as an official member of the Ukrainian team, which was fine by me!)

We went to Gordenya for the second camp, which marked the first time I have ever returned to the same orphanage for camp.  Even though it was two years ago, I reconnected with kids I had met before, and they remembered me!

Kolya in 2012 and 2014!

There was also a girl at camp named Nastia who I had met two years ago. It was amazing to witness how she has grown and changed and her heart has softened.  Two years ago, Nastia was very violent, angry, and hard to communicate with, but by the end of camp, she met Jesus, and she is truly changed.

Nastia's mother was imprisoned 13 years ago after killing someone who was attacking a pregnant woman.  Nastia's prayer for the past three years has been that she would be reunited with her mom, and now, Nastia just found out her mother is being released from prison early, and wants to have Nastya back by the summer. Nastya was thrilled by the news, but also afraid.  She said she would miss being at camp with HFO in the summer, and hugged each team member every time she saw one of us. I'm not sure if life will be better for her with her mom, but I'm encouraged by the girl she has become over the years, and I believe the love of Christ she has been shown by HfO will go with her and be an example to her mom. 

God is truly using HFO to change kids lives, and I am blessed and grateful to participate!  I hope to continue sharing stories like this with you for years to come.  Thank you for making my time in Ukraine this winter possible!

Joy & Thanksgiving

Last week I had the opportunity to go to a drinks reception for IJM UK at a law firm in London.  (Wait, did I just say that? Posh law firm event + London + IJM + ME? I still can't get over what a blessing this adventure has been!)  The event was hosted by a gentleman who had just joined the law firm and had previously been a legal fellow with IJM Cebu.  He shared with a group of his friends and colleagues about IJM's casework, Project Lantern, and his personal experiences with the Cebu team.  He said what impacted him the most while serving with IJM was the team's incredible joy.  In the midst of horrendous exploitation and abuse, IJM is truly motivated by joy.

I have found this true with everyone I have encountered at IJM.  These people confront overwhelming darkness with incorruptible joy. In earthly terms, the odds are always against them, the job is always impossible, and the onslaught of evil ever relentless; but they are set aglow in the knowledge that Jesus has already won the battle and has sent them in His power to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captives.  On one particularly stressful morning at work, the IJM UK director came into the office with a smile on his face and asked us, "Who's ready to free slaves today?" And the worry and stress I felt instantly vanished.  I am so thankful to take part (small as it is) in this incredible work.

Speaking of thankfulness, we had an amazing Thanksgiving celebration last night at church!  Loaded with traditional dishes, Psalms of thanksgiving, and fellowship with lovely people, last night was a blessing indeed.  I am deeply thankful for this church community and the way they have embraced me, encouraged me, inspired me, and enlightened me.  They certainly went all out to make us Americans feel at home!  

The Americans, the beautiful dinner table, and -of course- the scrumptious turkey! Unfortunately my camera died before everyone else arrived.

And now we look to the future... Christmas in Ukraine!  I am thrilled to say I am officially going back to Ukraine to serve with Hope for Orphans during two orphan camps from Dec. 22nd to Jan. 12th.  It is largely due to your generous support that I am able to so this.  Thank you!!  As many of you know, this country and ministry has captured my heart and it is a joy and privilege for me to return to a place and people I consider my second home and family.

My church here in the UK invited me to share about HfO during an evening service, and now someone from the church will be going with me to the first camp!  I am astounded at the response of this community to the needs of Ukrainian orphans.  Many people are now praying for these kids and want to help.  Someone even paid for my return flight from Ukraine.  I'm humbled and astounded that I got to take part in connecting this community here in the UK with HfO.  God really does have plans beyond what we could ask or even imagine.

May the Lord bless each one of you, and may He fill you with His joy!

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." -Romans 15:13

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."

Can we just take a moment to glory in the loveliness of this season? It is gorgeous in Colchester, and this FL girl is enjoying a proper Autumn in October! Not only is it already October, IT IS NEARLY NOVEMBER!  The month has whizzed by, but I will try to recap as many important bits as possible.

The season isn't the only thing to be excited about, there are tons of exciting things going on at IJM!

IJM has just established a new field office in the Dominican Republic.  Tragically, the DR has become a hot spot for sex tourism, and when IJM started investigating the depth of sexual exploitation in the DR early this year, they found girls as young as 10 being sold for sex.  Please pray for this new office and team as they break ground and begin rescuing young girls from brothels, placing them in healthy aftercare centers, prosecuting perpetrators, and training local law enforcement to protect vulnerable children in this country.  Please pray that the government and IJM will work together in unity, and that talented and dedicated locals fill needed positions in this new field office.

In Kenya, we are celebrating another step toward freedom for Michael, an 83 yr old grandfather who was wrongly convicted of violent robbery three years ago.  IJM Kenya was able to help Michael receive release from prison, and then early this month, Michael's appeal trial finally took place.  An IJM Kenya lawyer was able to explain why Michael's conviction should be overturned, and the court will make its ruling on December 10th.  Please pray the court recognizes Michael's innocence and clears his name!

Earlier this month, IJM Kolkata teamed with local police to rescue a young woman who was being sold for sex. After she was rescued, this incredible young woman told IJM she wanted to help other women find freedom as well.  Click here for the details of her journey from rescued to rescuer.

There are many, many more individual stories of rescue and justice that I could share with you, so if you are interested, sign up for IJM UK's monthly prayer updates!  Email prayer@ijmuk.org indicating you would like to become a prayer partner, and we will start emailing stories your way!

In the UK office, we just launched the Stop It Together Campaign in Parliament!  The UK has excellent laws against the sexual exploitation of children in other countries by British citizens, but these laws are not enforced as often as they are disobeyed.  IJM UK is therefore petitioning the government to make sure these laws are carried out and that children all over the world are protected. Please pray loads of people sign the petition, and that Parliament takes action in response.

As we move into November, we will be using a new database in the UK office that will be a useful tool for organizing, reporting, and communicating more efficiently.  This is very exciting, but also daunting.  Please pray all of us in the office, especially those building the database, are able to make the transition smoothly and learn quickly how best to utilize this new system.  Most of my responsibilities relate to this database, so I would be especially grateful for your prayers as I have many new things to learn.

On a personal note, here are some things the Lord has been teaching me over the past month:

Weakness is beautiful.  God does indeed use the weak things of this world to shame the strong -- so no one can boast in His presence.  In knowing my weakness, and owning it, I experience God's "immeasurably more;" I get closer to His heart.

I've been reading Invitation to Solitude and Silence by Ruth Haley Barton, and spending time in silence with Jesus every morning before work.  In the book, Ruth writes, "in silence there is the potential for each of us to "know that I am God" with such certainty that the competing powers of evil and sin and the ego-self can no longer hold us in their grip." And I am finding that to be absolutely true. As I consciously enter into silence before God, I'm first struck with the uncomfortable truth that I am helpless. I can offer nothing to Him that could entice Him into communion with me. Met with my own vulnerability in this way, I am positioned to see God as clearly as possible- and He is most beautiful. I lose sight of myself in light of the richness of His love and mercy and righteousness and power and steadfastness. Those moments have everything to do with Him and nothing to do with me, and I find the strongholds in my life weaken and give way.

In other news, I found a church home at All Saints Fordham.  I am so thankful for this warm, honest, and Truth hungry community, and I look forward to settling in with them for this year.
(Funny story, the first night we visited Fordham, someone asked how long the church had been meeting, and the reply was, "over 400 years!"  Obviously, the church has changed a bit over the years, but it was amazing to be in a church service that has been gathering together for more years than our country has existed!

Socially, I've been out and about far more than I expected, which has been a great blessing.  Two weeks ago I went to a literary festival in Wivenhoe, last week I went apple-picking and hung out with some new friends for an evening of homemade Mexican food, and yesterday I spent the day in London!

Well, hopefully this long post makes up for the lack of updates I've been sending :).
Thank you all for your incredible support.  I am stunned with gratefulness that I get to be here and take part of restoration so vividly.  You have given me an opportunity that will change my life forever.

P.S. If you're a pictures person, you can follow my year in the UK on Instagram!  Find me at wildwall_flower

Travel Mercies

I've never cared for the phrase "travel mercies."  It made me think God has a jar of mercies and He would plop them down on us like globs of honey, or something.  But let me tell you, after these last two weeks, I am singing the "Hallelujah for Travel Mercies" chorus!

If you know me, you've probably figured out I was born without an internal navigation system.  Seriously.  You could spin me in a circle and I would be utterly lost.  So you can imagine how terrified I was at the imposing future of metros and buses and planes (oh my!) I would be forced to confront in my journey across the pond.

Well, God does indeed give generously in the travel mercies department, because there is no other way to explain the incredibly smooth (and dare I almost say, delightful?) journey I have had to the UK!  God has worked out every tiny detail, and I am immensely grateful!

Praise the Lord with me, for:
     1) All my flights were on time, easy to find, and didn't lose my luggage.
     2) I shared a flight to D.C. with a fellow intern.
     3) A very gracious IJM staff member picked me up from the airport, helped with my massive luggage, and drove me to where I lived while in D.C.
     4) I rarely had to figure out the metro alone because I lived with a fellow intern.
     5) When I did have to figure out the metro alone and find a random FedX office, it was a breeze!  Bonus points: I even gave metro directions to tourists!
     6) I happened to run into friends I was looking for at the Smithsonian (none of us had phones, so it was pretty much impossible to figure out how to find each other).
     7) Another very nice IJM staff member gave me a ride to the airport after training week.
     8) I happened to be on a flight with another intern!
     9) Who then offered to drive me to my UK residence (almost 2 hours away) so that I didn't have to take the bus!
    10) I now have a year long bus pass and am starting to navigate this new town.

And those, my friends, are traveling mercies!  I write jokingly, but I truly am so very grateful!  God is directing my every step.  He hems me in, before and behind.

How did this all start?

Here's a message about my journey towards IJM and an understanding of social justice, which I shared yesterday at The Vine of Greater Orlando:

My journey with International Justice Mission actually begins in Sri Lanka of all places.  I went to Sri Lanka in 2009 on a mission trip with Northland to serve at a summer camp for orphans.  Honestly, I went to Sri Lanka to escape more so than to serve.  I was into my second year of college and tired of trying to figure out who I was and what I was supposed to do with my life, and I really just wanted to get away and experience something new and take my focus off myself for a while.  Well, in Sri Lanka, I met a team from Ukraine who leads an orphan ministry in Ukraine called Hope for Orphans.  I completely fell in love with the Ukrainian team and so every summer since then, I have spent quite a bit of time serving with Hope for Orphans, and it was through these experiences that I began to understand the horror and reality of sex trafficking.

Sex trafficking is a deeply rooted problem in Ukraine, especially for Ukrainian orphans because they are vulnerable and unprotected.  There are approximately 200,000 children residing in orphanages in Ukraine, and they are viewed as a burden on society.  Sometimes orphanage directors actually inform traffickers when children are going to age out of the orphanage, (orphans are usually forced out of their orphanage at age 16) and the traffickers pick up girls directly from the orphanage.  This is easily done because few people know or care about what happens to these children.

In Ukraine last summer, this reality hit me in a very personal way.  At an orphan camp in the Carpathian mountains, I met a 13yr old girl named Sveta.  We met on the very first day of camp.  I was attempting to practice speaking Russian, and she was doing a much better job practicing speaking English.  We soon became good friends.  One day, she showed me a few small things she owned that were very valuable to her.  One of these things was a photograph of a little girl about 7 years old with short, straight brown hair.  Sveta told me the little girl in the picture was her best friend, Masha.  Sveta explained to me that a few years ago, a man came to the orphanage and told Masha she was beautiful.  Masha was afraid of the man and said he was crazy.  The man took Masha, four other girls, and one boy, and Sveta hasn’t seen Masha since.

Now, I don’t know what happened to Masha, and I don’t want to assume she was picked up by a trafficker, because I don't know that.  But, being face-to-face with the mere possibility of that and knowing that is the reality for so many little girls completely wrecked my heart.  I had to do something about it.  God gave me the great privilege of meeting Sveta and dozens of other children who He cherishes and grieves for and wants to use us to save and restore.

But it’s not just in Ukraine that people are exploited, this happens all over the world and even in our own back yards.  As God motivated me to seek out ways I could defend the orphan, He opened my heart to injustice all over the world and led me to International Justice Mission.  This summer, a friend of mine who went to Sri Lanka and Ukraine with me told me her sister works with IJM UK and they were looking for interns, so I applied and was accepted at the end of July.

IJM seeks to rescue thousands, protect millions, and prove that justice for the poor is possible.  They do this through a four-fold purpose of: victim relief, perpetrator accountability, victim aftercare, and structural transformation/abuse prevention. This is all accomplished through casework, education, and mobilization.

As a business operations intern in the London office, my focus will be education and mobilization- educating communities in the UK and abroad about oppression, and mobilizing churches to seek justice.  I will maintain donor correspondence- write thank you letters and updates from the field offices, conduct research, collect and organize data, organize awareness and training events, represent IJM at conferences, and anything else that is needed in the office.  It’s a small office- there are only 4 interns and 12 staff- so I will keep very busy and involved.

Since IJM is a nonprofit organization, my internship is a voluntary position. The Lord has shown me a need, given me a passion, and through this internship with International Justice Mission, He has provided a specific way He can use us to do something about it.

Social justice is a very popular movement in society today, and that’s a good thing, but, as I’ve learned the hard way, it can also be a very dangerous thing if our motivation isn’t the Lord.  Scripture is flooded with verses that speak of God’s passion for justice, the whole book of Isaiah speaks of the justice and righteousness of the Lord, but I want to bring to the surface Isaiah 26:10 which says, “If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the Lord.”  Justice ultimately matters because through it we see the majesty of the Lord.  People matter and deserve dignity because they bear the image of God.  God is just.  We are not.  Our understanding and pursuit of justice must be rooted in Him. 

Last summer in Ukraine, I met many orphans with horrific stories, and I began to doubt God’s goodness.  I could not understand how God could be sovereign and loving and yet let these children continue to suffer.  God was breaking my heart for what breaks His, but instead of leaning into Him and recognizing that, I became bitter and angry.  I allowed my weak understanding of justice to overshadow my knowledge of the Lord.  Gradually, God showed me that any empathy or love I had for these kids came from Him, and any small sense of justice I had gained was a gift from Him.  When we engage the deep suffering of the world, we must engage an even deeper knowledge of God’s goodness.

It is a good thing for us to pursue justice.  The Lord spoke through the prophet Micah that we are to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.”  But I’ve realized we cannot do justice unless we love mercy- because who are we to judge?  We are not blameless, and it is only by the grace of God that we have any love or understanding of justice- and we cannot do justice or love mercy if we are not walking humbly with the God of justice and mercy.  It all comes down to Him.

The last thing I would like to say is this – There are nearly 30 million men, women, and children trapped in slavery right now, more than any other time in history.  That is a deep, deep tragedy, and we are sent by Jesus as He was sent to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to proclaim liberty to the captive.  But an even deeper tragedy is that every single person who does not know Christ is a slave to sin, and that number far exceeds 30 million.  Jesus sent us not only to bring freedom to the physical captive, but to every captive. And that starts right here – with the captive driving the car behind you on the way home, the captive serving you lunch, the captive in the cubicle next to you or the house next to you.  We hear of horrific injustice in the world and we desire to do something about it, and we should do something about it, but justice must start in our own hearts, our own homes, our own communities.  So let us press into the Lord, and proclaim His mercy and justice to the world.  And may we see “justice flow like water, and righteousness like an unfailing stream” (Amos 5:24).