One of Many

I know it will just get tougher as we approach a move date, but knowing and actually experiencing are two different things.

I'm not an overly emotional person, but my heart received its first of what will be many moments of sadness to come.

We spoke with our relator earlier this week and made the decision that the time has come to put the house on the market. So the sign is going up today....

We are not completely funded, it's trickling in, but we still need others to join us on this journey with God. But...the timing in the market is right and ultimately we do not want to be unable to go once we are completely funded because we can't sell our house...so we are preparing for our transitional home until we set foot on Zambia.

It wasn't the idea of putting the house on the market that got me teary-eyed. We've been planning this for many months now. It's the afterwards....

Our home has always been open to anyone who wanted to just hang out. As a matter of fact, we have as many as sometimes 8 kids in our home at one time just playing. This is our life. We are a house of kids. This day was no different. The girls' friends came over to swim, just as they always do in the summer. I have the honor of playing lifeguard.

Right to Left: Alyson, Kamdyn, Kaden & Brittan

But on this day, I watched it differently. They stood on the spa and did one of the same old games they always do: "1, 2, 3 Jump" then they look to see who jumped. Of course, no one does until someone just gets too tired of standing there and jumps in. Then they all laugh. You see it enough times and you just become immune to any humor in it, but they don't.

1, 2, 3 Jump!

 I didn't find humor. I felt a great sadness and started to cry. As they sat there laughing at one another, memories flooded my mind instead.

I remember each of them not being able to or just learning to swim and now they race each other from one end to the other. 

Or just how they come up with little silly games that always seem to make no sense but their imagination running faster than they can keep up.

I think of how close Brittan, our 6-year-old and Kaden (5 years old) are; they are pretty close to inseparable. The biggest complaint of the other kids in the cul-de-sac is that they will only play with each other and no one else. I think if they could be joined at the hip, they would be. They rarely argue and Peter and I always watch them in awe about how they just function as one.

Brittan and Kaden out for an afternoon drive.

Brittan and Kaden, best buds.

Or Kamdyn and Alyson, our 7-year-old, who fight like sisters but are the best of friends. There are many arguments their mom and I have had to mediate with the two of them and they have learned to compromise, becoming closer friends each time and learning to work with others.

Brittan, Alyson and Kamdyn after Crazy Hair day at VBS

The list could go on. We've watched all our kids grow up together up to this point. We've each seen each child as babies and grow to become friends.

It hurts....After I watched all this, I went over to talk to their mom about putting these pictures up...I wanted permission of course. When I told her about the sign, we both had to not look at each other as we were beginning to tear up.

It's not that we don't want to necessarily cry, but we want to cherish each moment with happiness over the next few months.

Just the thought of not looking out my front door and seeing the kids playing together, or going over to talk to them tugs at my heart. Even mine and Stacy's (that's their mom) newest endeavor of morning coffee as I've bought a simple French Press to use in Zambia and have an 18-flavor sample of coffee packets to see if we like any. Each morning I've made the coffee, gotten her a cup and we've shared our opinions.

After almost 13 years in this house, we have to start saying good-bye. Even now I choke up writing this. I love them.

So it begins, one of many. I won't be able to blog about all of these good-byes that are coming but many more are to come.

Our Amazing Interns

Each year Every Orphan's Hope is blessed to have interns that are nothing short of amazing. God always provides us with individuals who have such servant hearts and in the past years I have been honored to work with them.

This year is no different. Although this is the first year that I haven't been directly involved with them, I did have the opportunity to spend a few days with them and was reminded why I love interns. Their perspective is so fresh and their servant hearts apparent for all to see.

With this said, I want to share their blogs with you and encourage you to read them while they are and have been serving in Zambia. They give an inside look of the orphans not only within our My Father's House homes but also those within the villages. In addition, I love these two blogs as they have been doing a debunk of the misconceptions of Africa. It's extremely entertaining.

I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I have.

Rebecca's Blog: A Heart for Africa

Molly's Blog: Only the Bare Necessities

Official Support Letter

Just a quick note to share some very exciting news with you!

Thank you for prayerfully and financially supporting us as we served these past four summers in Zambia. Each year, God has been so faithful to us, and so have you. We have asked God to lead us in a direction that would allow us to serve and develop a deeper relationship with Him and He has answered our prayer.

God is growing our faith in ways we never imagined! As the needs of Every Orphan’s Hope grow and change in Zambia, we have seen God uniquely grow our faith and change our desires as well. We are faithfully responding to God’s invitation and calling to serve as orphan care missionaries. Our decision to obediently say “yes” came after much prayer. We are wholeheartedly committed to Christ and this journey of faith that He has for our family.

Serving as orphan care missionaries in Zambia will be full-time ministries for both of us. As orphan care missionaries our job will entail but not be limited to:

-          Outreach: Reaching orphans with the gospel of Christ primarily through the Camp Hope ministry and other types of community/local church-based activities.

-          Discipleship: Mentoring the orphans through the My Father’s House homes, Camp Hope participants and other orphans through community and church-based outreach programs.

-          Practical Help: Included would be maintenance of the My Father’s House homes, administrative support and organization.

In the past, you have graciously committed to our serving in Zambia with one-time donations. We are now coming to you with a different request. We ask that you join us as committed financial partners in this work the Lord has called us to accomplish through Every Orphan’s Hope.  

Will you join us as partners with what God is doing in Zambia? We thank you in advance for prayerfully considering how we can partner together for the sake of the Gospel of Christ and the orphans in Zambia.

We’ll follow up with you soon and look forward to sharing more details as well as answering any questions about our journey and our ministry!

In His Service,

Peter & Cheryl Greif

How can you join us in God’s work in Zambia?

VISIT:

Consider visiting us in Zambia! Quit laughing, you may have a desire to one day visit your sponsored child or just serve in the off season. We would love to have you come stay with us and serve alongside us.

PRAY:

For us, our extended family that we leave here in the states as this is a huge transition for each of us. Also that all the work we do here in our preparations and then serving in Zambia will always reflect God’s glory.

GIVE:

By your giving, you will be providing for us our daily living expenses. We anxiously wait to see God’s provision and see him saying, “Yes, I will provide for you!” Giving toward our Daily Bread through Every Orphan’s Hope will continue to confirm His desire for us to serve in Zambia as orphan care missionaries.

In order to give toward our Daily Bread:

Visit the Every Orphan’s Hope website http://everyorphan.org/

Click on the “Donate” tab at the top of the page.

Chose the selection “Peter & Cheryl Greif Daily Bread.”

Fill in your donation amount and frequency, along with your contact and payment information.

Although one-time donations are appreciated, by committing to a monthly pledge, you create a stability that enables us to focus more on serving and less on fundraising. Knowing that we will have a commitment throughout the year will also enable to set an official departure date.

Our initial commitment to Every Orphan’s Hope will be 3-year term which will be reviewed annually.

Follow us:

Facebook: Peter-Cheryl Greif

Blog: greifsinzambia.blogspot.com