So What Now?????

What a blessing today has been! As we officially announced joining the ministry of Every Orphan's Hope, it has generated a number of questions that need answering. What better way to do it then in this blog.

So the biggest question has been, when do you leave?
Since October, we have been in prayer and then preparing our hearts, home and family for this day. We have spent time visiting with family to prepare them for this announcement and we have done some major house cleaning so we could pack our home in the least amount of time when it was time to go.

There has never been a date on the table as to when we leave and that has been a bit difficult for family, friends and even ourselves to swallow. We are responding to God's leading and each moment we have proceeded in this journey has been upon His prompting, not ours. When we have tried to move ahead of Him, and set a date we realized quickly that was our will, not His, and we adjusted our will to His.

As with everything, there is a process and yesterday was the first of this process. We announced that we are committing to this ministry and letting God take complete control over every aspect of our lives...yes, every aspect, including our finances, which comes to the next big question, financial support.

So what does this look like financially?
After much prayer and visiting with the staff of Every Orphan's Hope, we have agreed to take part in every aspect of the ministry and that includes fundraising. Every Orphan's Hope is a 503(c) nonprofit organization, which means all of their finances come from individuals like you and me to join alongside them to support them. Individuals within the ministry do their part to bring awareness to others about the orphan crisis that is present in Zambia; we are joining with them to do the same. As Every Orphan's Hope has an operating budget, we will be part of that budget and have committed to raise at least $100,000 each year for the ministry. This will provide for our living expenses and ministry expenses while we serve in Zambia.

How much have you raised to date?
As of today, nothing. We have just started by announcing and letting you know there is a need. From there, you decide where God is leading you.

Will Peter still work in his current employment?
Only until we get ready to leave. We have continually prayed about this and each time we have felt God's leading us to follow Him completely. Once we move to Zambia, we will be full-time missionaries serving the ministry as needed. So currently he is working, but from the time we leave, our income will stop, which is why we will be solely dependent on individuals walking alongside Every Orphan's Hope.

What about moving, what are you going to do?
We have decided to sell our home–it's that simple. We know that many of you who read this may be groaning here and we have listened to everyone's advice, but we don't believe we can focus on what God is asking us to do if we have something that distracts us at home. So, we have taken our personal belongings to the point of what we would like to bring and are planning on getting a 20-ft. container to pack our items in. Now if you noticed, we said we are planning on this...if we feel God's leading to go and sell our items and just go with only our bags, then we will do that. Each step we take will not be done without prayer.

Is the $100,000 you raise part of your moving expenses?
Nope. We believe selling our house will cover moving expenses, outside of the taxes we need to set aside for it. With a container to move our items and airfare, we are looking at about an additional $15,000.

So what does that $100,000 cover?
We are going to Zambia with servant hearts. Although part of those funds will provide for our family (about $60,000) the rest will enable us to do the job we are being led to do. There are many things we can do that do not require funds, but the home repairs and administrative costs of Camp Hope will be part of our operating budget.

How long will you be there?
As of now, we are signing a 3-year commitment, but we are not saying that is all. Each step of this journey, God has led us and as we pray and listen closely to Him and receive confirmation, that will determine what happens after our commitment is over. If God wants us there longer, we will do that and if His will is for us to come home, we will do that, too.

What about your girls and their schooling?
When both of our girls were born, Peter began meeting other pilots that homeschooled. I was completely against the idea but he thought it was great. To tell you the truth, I was more about myself and getting my advanced degree in History to attain that dream of a university professor. In 2009, when I began to listen to God's urging to serve part time in Zambia, I knew that God was changing me. It was after that trip in 2010 that I felt His leading to homeschool, so we have been doing that for the last 2 years and will continue to do it. Although it is not necessary, it has been beneficial that I was an elementary and middle school teacher for 10 years prior to their birth.

What about your dog?
Right now, we are planning on taking him, but we actually have a waiting list of individuals that have offered to make him their own. If he doesn't go, we will give him to a family that is best for him.

Will Every Orphan's Hope provide a home for you?
That is part of our living expenses. About two weeks before we leave, Peter will go and find us a home to rent/lease for our time that we are living there. Rental property doesn't stay on the market long there, so we will know where we are moving right before we leave.

Where will you live in Zambia?
Currently, the plan is for us to live in Lusaka, which is the capital of Zambia, although we will travel to Chongwe (about 45 minutes outside of the capital) throughout the weekdays where the Village of Hope is located.

Will you have amenities like here?
Sort of...We will have Internet, running water (that's not to say it's constant, sometimes it does turn off), and electricity (although there are often rolling brown outs). There are grocery stores. We will sell our vehicles here and buy a vehicle there since they drive on the other side of the road.

So what can I do? How can I help?
First and foremost, pray. See how God is leading you to become involved with us. In missionary work, I have heard there are 3 parts: some pray for others; some are able to financially support; and others go. We have found, through the years, each is essential and neither is less important than the other. See how God is leading you to join alongside us and then commit, whether it be as a prayer partner, financially or both. Sorry, you can't go with us, that one's not on the table.
 
If you do decide to commit beyond prayer, then please visit our "How Can I Help?" page or click on the Donate button on any of our pages.

I'm sure there are a number of questions I have not answered, but these are the ones we have encountered thus far.

Please visit the Every Orphan's Hope website to learn more about what they do and their financial integrity.

Memories of Daliso

As Camp Hope 2013 is approaching, I can't help being reminiscent of previous camps. My first mission trip to Zambia through Every Orphan's Hope will always hold special memories for me, not just because it was the first time I served God, but because there was one special young man whom I have never been able to forget–Daliso.

When I met him, he gave me a very common greeting that you see from some of the boys when they are trying to "be cool" but there's more to it than that. It's like they're saying "hello" but at the same time they're saying, "I'm still not so sure about you. I don't know you, so I'm not going to let you too close." It's like a subtle head nod but with the chin going up and the eyebrows raised slightly. Those of you who have seen this know exactly what I'm talking about. So, back to Daliso...this is the greeting I got, no words, just the chin nod.

As the first day of Camp Hope began, my partner teacher, Christi and I started with our class. We found out quickly that Daliso was a handful, to say the least. He wouldn't talk to us, but loved to cause disruption among the other kids in the group. Having been a teacher of upper elementary and middle school children, he was my favorite type of kid. I've always had such a heart for that student who is the trouble maker in class and liked to make them my project. I found out early in my teaching career that it was those kids that would turn into some of my favorite students. Ultimately, they just needed someone to believe in them, too. Their heart was good, but past experiences had given them a tough exterior.

Daliso had that tough exterior, he wasn't going to make our class easy. The first day when Camp Hope ended, the staff and adult volunteers gave an apple and orange to each child that attended. Daliso got his, then he "tricked" another younger child to let him see his and then he ran off with it. Christi was watching what he did and as this other little child was crying she found Daliso and made him return the fruit to the child. Although what he did was wrong, thankfully our training reminded us that there was no telling when the last time he had eaten was and many of these children don't know when their next meal will be. It's not uncommon for the stronger to take from the weaker, sadly...all too often this is the life of an orphan. That ended our first day of camp. Even now I laugh at it, knowing how this story continues. I came up to him while Christi was reprimanding him and just watched but didn't say anything else.

The next day, Daliso was my new friend. I saw him in the morning and whatever he expected was not what he got. I went up to him, said, "Good morning," and sat next to him. I stayed with him as much as possible just talking to him. Now, he hadn't said one word to us yet but only talked to his friends in Nyanja. When I would ask him questions, he would just give me that same head nod with the eyebrow raised, acknowledging my words but not giving me anything else. Throughout that day, I learned a few things about Daliso that broke my heart. The most significant was that Daliso was a young boy of about 10 (he didn't know his exact age) and he couldn't read or write. He had never had anyone to support him for his schooling. He didn't tell me this, but as we were allowing children to find passages in the Bible we gave them. He would often just sit and look at it, turn the pages, and wait until either I or Christi came around to show him where to go. Christi was also a teacher, so she and I discovered quickly that half of our kids had been in school and the other half had never had any education. Daliso was curious during this day, he watched a lot and did the crafts, but as the other kids began to get comfortable, pray with us and talk about their lives, by the end of the second day, still no words from Daliso.

The third day...still the same. No words at all.

And then came Thursday, I pray that as I grow older and my memory fades, this day never does. That morning when we arrived at camp, many of us just hung out with the kids as we were waiting for the other children to arrive. Daliso came up to me and pulled out of his pocket this small toy man to show me. This gained much attention from the other kids and although I encouraged him to let them see it, you could see he was very protective of this toy. It wasn't shiny or anything our children would ever think as a "cool" toy, but to him it was a treasure. As he stood near me, I watched him take it out, look at it, then put it back in his pocket. Then, he would take a piece of wire he found and start bending it. This process would continue for quite awhile and I discovered that he was using the toy man as a model to create a wire man. Once he saw my amazement at his creativity, he began to smile. I remember looking at him when he was done and said, "All he needs now are some clothes." He disappeared for awhile and when he came back he had some wax paper he found on the ground. He was tearing pieces off and wrapping it around the man for clothes. Then after he was done, he handed it to me. I tried to give it back and when he shook his head I realized he had been making the gift for me all along. What a  great day we had. We had presented the gospel story the day before and as many children met with myself and Christi asking to accept Christ, Daliso watched from afar, but he kept me in his sight. I had made a friend.

That night after camp, we all came back to watch the international Jesus movie and had a dance party. Daliso was there and he had the best smile ever. Still no words, but he grabbed my hand for me to come over and dance with other girls from our class. After dancing, we watched the movie and he sat close to me. At the end of the movie, he hugged me goodbye and ran home. What a great day we had. His heart was changing, he knew that I was his friend, and the tough exterior was no longer present.

The next morning when we showed up at Camp Hope, Daliso was waiting for me by the gate. As soon as I walked in he said, "Teacher, the movie last night about Jesus."

"Yes" I said.

"Teacher, he didn't do anything wrong."

"That's right, Daliso," I said.

He stood there for a moment, then he said, "Teacher....that made me cry. That's not right."

All I could say is, "It makes me cry too," and I hugged him.

This was the first words he had said to any of us all week, and this is what he chose to talk about..WOW!

He went off to play and I went with the other teachers to get ready for the day. Now, many would say I missed an opportunity, but if I learned anything about Daliso that week, it is that he had to come to things on his terms, not mine. I had seen his heart changing each day and so my only prayer that morning when I woke up was that God would continue to stir his heart and that by the end of the day he would be a child of God.

Later that morning, as I sat in the dirt praying with another young girl who wanted to accept Christ as her Savior, it happened. I looked up and Daliso was no longer with the class but he was standing 5 feet away, looking at the ground, moving the dirt with his foot. I can still see this, he wanted to talk to me but he wasn't sure. I will never know what he was thinking. Was he thinking that Jesus was for everyone else but not him? Did Daliso think that he wasn't good enough?

As I got ready to walk back to the class with a young girl, I gave her a hug, told her that I would see her in a moment and walked up to Daliso. He still didn't look at me but only his feet as he pushed the dirt back and forth.

"Daliso, did you want to see me?"

All I got was a head nod, again.

Then he said, "I want Jesus" and he patted on his heart.

God answered my prayer, he belonged to the Lord. I don't think I will ever forget visiting with him about accepting Christ...praying with him, hugging him, and him accepting my hug.

It was at the end of camp on that final day that I truly began to understand what Camp Hope was really about and what Every Orphan's Hope did on those days. Don't get me wrong, I knew what we were doing there, but sometimes when you have to explain it to others, I often hear, "Oh...so it's like a VBS?" Sure, the format is like a VBS, but Camp Hope is more.

As the end of the day began to approach, kids in all the groups started realizing that this was it. The teachers were going home and the camp was coming to an end. It was impossible to not look around and see tears in the eyes of teachers and children, alike. You get so close to these children in such a short time; they enter into your heart in a way you could never imagine. You have given many of them something they may have never felt–a hug with unconditional love. It can be heart-breaking to leave. We got on the bus and the tears poured out. I couldn't stop them. I would look at some of the kids in my class and they were crying, too. It hurt in a way I never imagined.

Then I saw something I never expected...Daliso. The bus was pulling out and driving down the street when Daliso came running after it calling out, "Teacher, teacher!" When I looked at him, he wasn't crying though and it wasn't a run out desperation. He was waving and smiling, the biggest smile I had ever seen on him. He was happy. Even as I write this, I can't help but smile and my heart warms. And it's when I got home that when I tried to understand what I had learned, in the end I came back to Daliso.

He became a new creation in Christ. The young man who wasn't going to let anyone touch his heart, whose tough exterior couldn't be broken felt the love of Christ. He smiled and waved and he had something no one could take away from him–Christ. I believe as he ran after the bus he knew that, for him, it wasn't an end but just a beginning. That is Camp Hope–new creations. Every year after that I've seen this happen with other short-term missionaries and my mind always flows back to him.

I still pray for Daliso and I haven't forgotten his prayer. He wanted to go to school and learn to read, something we take for granted every day. That's what he wanted. I also still have the gift he gave me, and I pick it up often to remember...to remember how God can change a heart when nothing else can, to remember that Christ brings hope to all when there is nothing else, and to remember that Camp Hope changes lives.

As Every Orphan's Hope is raising funds to send 500 orphans to Camp Hope this summer, please consider visiting their site to send a child to camp. The gift you give is immeasurable.

Preparing for Zambia: 23 May

As a family, we have never expected a move like this. Peter and I are planners to the last detail; we even went to Disney World with an agenda and a map laid out so we could make the most of our 4-day visit with our girls who were 4 and 5 at the time. Some would call us a bit extreme in our planning. To buy a new appliance of any sort takes hours of research on the Internet and then more hours of looking at it in the stores. There are no quick decisions that are done between the two of us. We have some of the funniest stories about how eccentric we can be, but we freely admit and laugh at ourselves often. Now with this said, there are many times in our lives that one of us has been an anchor as the other one of us is running full speed ahead. We are thankful to God that he put us together in a way that we compliment each other like this or either nothing would get done or we would be doing everything without rhyme or reason. If you know us well, you can probably figure out who is the typical anchor.

With all  this said, as we have grown with God, our lives have changed completely. When the Bible says we will become a new creation, it wasn't kidding, although shedding off the old creation–that's a process in itself. As a family, we have decided to follow God's leading to move to Zambia and serve full time with Every Orphan's Hope. Some have seen this as an irresponsible decision, but if you have been walking along with us from the beginning of this journey that started over 4 years ago, you know that this has been far from reckless. God has led us to serve at a deeper level each year in Zambia, and as we entered this portion of serving full time, it wasn't without much prayer.

Many don't know, but we actually started joking around in 2011 after Peter's first trip to Zambia that "ONE DAY" we would serve full time when the previous full-time missionaries decided to "retire." We even talked about how we would love to have a house that would be big enough to house the interns when they came to serve, as we both enjoyed mentoring them over the past two years. "One day" just showed up a little quicker than we had anticipated and the joke became a serious prayer as to whether or not we were following our timing or God's timing. We have decided to follow God's timing...which, at times, has made no sense to our family, friends and even ourselves. We still return daily to the same prayer, "God, is this still the path you want us on?" On some days when we are shedding off our old selves and tying to yield to His will, it's hard to follow this path, we find our comfort in Him, our Lord, Jesus.

Preparing is difficult. We started by preparing our hearts, which was difficult as we told family and close friends. This preparation is an ongoing process as some days it seems fine and then other days, it is met with tears through strained conversations with our oldest daughter, siblings and parents. To say that we will miss each of them immensely would be an understatement; many times no one wants to talk about the elephant in the room, but it never leaves. So slowly, we've all started facing it head on; there's no other way. The more it was tiptoed around, the more it hurt; but no matter how painful, we have tried our best to keep everyone in the loop as to what was happening in our preparation stage. I don't think our hearts will fully be prepared before we leave, but we have had some wonderful mentors in our lives that have pointed out to us time and again that God loves our family and friends more than we do, and if we believe His ways are perfect, well, He's got them covered.

Looking at our girls, that's hard too. Will they like Zambia? They are young but they have a family they have grown up with right across the street since they were born. Often, there isn't a day that goes by where they don't play together. Over the years, they have created many games from "Mermaid Adventure" in our swimming pool to the one time they took a huge cardboard box from a couch we had bought and made their own clubhouse with it. That cardboard box got much mileage and the decorator in all of them came out as they made couches, a make-believe TV and a stove top. It was a sad day when we (the parents) decided to throw it out. Thinking of our girls not growing up with them as we prepare to move brings quite a tug at our hearts. Everyone moves, we get it, and it's not the end of the world. But it's hard to prepare your hearts and the hearts of two girls of 6 and 7 who know only of life in the United States, and as a whole their lives have been predictable. They have never been in need of anything, so what does it look like for them as we leave a man-made financial security and fully rely on God to provide and move the hearts of others to join along with us. Peter and I struggle at times with that too, but here is what we do know. He has always provided us with what we need and He has given to us abundantly, so He will provide in this too.

So in preparing our hearts, where are we...well, today is a good day. The girls have started to talk about Zambia with excitement and as they have had the opportunity to meet our Zambian director, Mama Margaret, well, they just love her. This morning, Alyson woke up and asked for us to make nshima, red sauce and chicken for lunch (Zambian meal). When I told her I really couldn't do that today and I needed to get the directions again before I made it, she told me to ask Mama Margaret to come over and help. She was floored when I told her she had already returned to Zambia. Then, she was a little upset when she realized she might not get that meal again until we moved there. Brittan, well, she has such a playful heart and will just go with the flow. As for Peter and I, most days are good but the shedding process can be painful at times. So we focus on the new creation God is turning us into and try to ignore the old selves that we know will continue to creep inside and give us doubt.

We pray each of you also find peace in the Lord as He grows you into the creation He desires you to be.

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (ESV)