Finally Home

This post is a break from my normal posts, because there was a break in my life. Sat Dec. 8, 2012 My loving grandfather went home to his Lord and Savior. Though his death has been expected for many years now and we prayed desperately for the Lord to end his pain and suffering, his death still saddens us all. And yet the sorrow is mixed with unspeakable joy at the fact that he gets to be singing with the angels in the presence of our Lord and Savior.. I am not able to go home to be with my family. so I grieve and rejoice from a far, but I did send something for my family to read at the memorial service, and for this post that is all I want to put.... So here goes...

21 years ago.. my parents lovingly brought me into this sin filled world. Ever since i can remember Grandpa played a huge role in my life. He was always there at every family gathering with some new passage to share with us or some new words of wisdom. As a little girl it was sometimes hard to sit through his long "sermons" but the older I became the more I learned to appreciate them and actually listen to what he was saying. I can truly say that My grandfather walked with the Lord. you saw it in ever aspect of his life. He only lived to honor his Lord and Savior. He did everything he could to pass along his wisdom to us his grandchildren and to his children. I am eternally grateful for the heritage he left with me, and I know that he is home now, because the Lord was finished using him in this world. Grandpa goes to an eternal rest after being a pilgrim in this land. We are all pilgrims just longing to be home with our savior. Grandpa is singing and dancing and praising his Lord and Savior. He feels no pain, He sheds no tears, and He has no worries.. His life is complete. I do not have a single family memory that is not centered around our holiday gatherings, and though I am far away today and some one else is reading this for me, it is my way of showing my family how much I love and miss them. I loved my Grandpa very dearly and though his death leaves a hole in our family and in our hearts, I can not help but to rejoice that he is in heaven and I know that one day I will join him in absolute perfection!! Grandpa lived to bring others to Christ. to show them that we are all sinners who deserve hell. But there is a good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and cleansed us from them if we only believe in him. He is there ready to receive you, and if you are not saved today, I know my Grandpa would beg for you to turn from your sinful ways and to run to Jesus. Not just because of the chance of Heaven but because there is no purpose in life outside of Christ. He brings perfect joy and perfect peace! No matter what we go through Jesus is there. I know he is there comforting my family now. I love you all. My babies love you all too!!!! our prayers are with you and I am there in spirit! I pray MARINATHA!!! Come Lord Quickly Come!!! I added my favorite song down below, not only because I strive to do this with my life and I pray my family does as well, but because it so clearly describes my Grandpas life. My Grandpa in my mind is a warrior and a faithful soldier to Christ.  Glory be to God... =)

Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold:
Not a mite would I withhold;
Take my intellect, and use
Ev'ry pow'r as Thou shalt choose.
Ev'ry pow'r as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself, and I will be,
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Ever, only, all for Thee."

Count your Blessings

Thanksgiving has come and gone again... it is almost Christmas time and then it will be the beginning of a New Year.. TIme just never seems to slow down... ever.=) Celebrating this year was not like all years before.. my family was miles away. I wasnt even able to call them to wish them a Happy THanksgiving, but though unusual, it was a blessed thanksgiving time. I was able to share it with the friends that I have made here, and it was like being with a second family. I actually was able to celebrate it twice this year. Once on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, with my close friends in Sasolburg. My friend was so thoughtful and he made thanksgiving dinner because he knew that I hadnt been able to celebrate it. It was one of the nicest things ever. My second thanksgiving was spent here at the Baby home, with the Drews and other people from the church. Both times were so fun, and a time to just sit back and thank the  Lord for our many blessings. I am so overwhelmed with how much I have been blessed with. I can never begin to thank the Lord for everything he has given me, but My heart overflows with deep gratitude to him. Not only am I thankful for the big things, such as being here in South Africa, but I am so thankful for the little things that we all overlook so often. My health, salvation. life and breath for another day, his forgiveness of my sins, and I could go on and on.. But the one thing I am thankful for the most was/is my singleness. If I was not single, I would probably not have even been able to come here. Though there have been many times that I have resented being single and even wished and dreamed that my life would be different from what it was. I have learned to rejoice in the blessing that it is to be single. I am able to serve my Lord unhindered and with everything I have. Singleness is not a burden to bear under until it changes, it is a gift, given by the Lord to serve his own purposes. I am thankful for it. I would love to be married as well and serve him in that way. but right now, being single I can see is best and I am so thankful that I am. =)

Miracle of the Moment

"It’s time for letting go All of our” if onlys”, Cause we don’t have a time machine. And even if we did, Would we really want to use it? Would we really want to go change everything? Cause we are who we and where and what we are for now. And this is the only moment We can do anything about." -Steven Curtis Chapman

 So many of us have those moments that we wish we could take back. We wish we had done things differently or we just want to forget something  ever happened.   So we (well, I know I) push them away from our thoughts. We fight them and destroy them in our minds to whatever  danger it causes to ourselves.  How true this is for my life!  There are so many things I wish I could go back and redo.... or choose to never do… but the thought then haunts me, Would I actually change?   I can’t say for certain I would… even having the hindsight I now have.

 Regret is a funny thing. It is defined by dictionary.com as a feeling of sorrow or remorse, a sense of loss.   But, is regret a biblical concept?  Did Jesus regret anything? As Christians should we suffer from regret? I can’t say for sure.  I know that Jesus didn’t regret anything because he was perfect and so he would have nothing to feel regret over.  When a Christian looks at sin that they may regret, that is wrong.  As Christians we are fully forgiven of all our sins no matter how big they were.  So if Christ looks at me and sees Jesus Christ because he has forgiven me, then who am I to look at myself and regret my sinful past? That’s a low view of God’s forgiveness. But at the same time it does no mean that we shouldn't be broken over our sin. We should recognize our selves as sinners and that should break us down. But only so that the Lord can pick us up and remind us that he loves and has forgiven us. We should feel sorrow over dishonoring our Lord and Savior. But that should not rule our lives because it keeps us from serving the Lord and growing in our lives. So I guess what I am trying to say is that what I have learned in life, which is not alot and there is much more to learn is, that my sins are wrong, and I should be broken over them, and run to the Lord for forgivenes. But once they are left at the foot of the cross thats where they stay. He has forgiven me.

Scripture does say much about forgiveness one of which is defining guilty.  We loosely use the word as meaning a feeling when the Bible teaches that it means having committed an offense, violation, cupable.  It is a legal term, we have violated God's moral law.  Regret however, is a feeling, closely tied to being guilty of falling short of a standard.  As we know, feelings can be a blessed thing.  (Christ had emotions and we too emote in various ways.) Our feelings are the mirror as to what lies in our hearts..what we truly want.  They reveal the sins that we may be ignorant of until we react in emotions.  Our conscience is knit to our emotions.  We can sharpen or dull our consciences and it is important that we use only Scripture to do so since it will determine our evaluation of those feelings through what is true to examine ourselves.  1 John 1:9 states that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  When we confess, we agree with God of what He already knows to be true of us.  The regret or remorse over our sin HAS to be righteous though.. If it is not godly sorrow over sinning against a Holy God, then it is not true conviction (nor the following repentance and reconciliation with God).  So when our consciences are sharpened and we sin it will trigger our emotions to experience what you could term regret.  However, the world sees regret as being sorrow and remorse due to the consequences of sin.  (Most often how it affects them and those around them as opposed to it being against God who crushed His Son for us.)  Which is not godly sorrow, its immense love for us to have laid down His life for us that we would go and willfully sin against Him.) Godly sorrow leading to repentance is relational whereas worldly sorrow or regret is consequential.

But going back to 1 John 1:9...He forgives our sins and cleanses us from that weight of filth and lawlessness.  Although we are not under the Law in the sense of our salvation because Christ came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it..we still abide by it, and all of scripture out of a love driven obedience for Him and His Word.  And it is by grace alone that we are able to do so.

Recognizing our depraved state of sinfulness will humble us.  And when we are in sin it will break us down in our pride until we repent.  But of course, it is the Word of God that does that (Heb 4:12).  Scripture says that He forgivesnot being broken over the act of sin that you committed, having wished you didn't grieve God by it.  (Because we are already perfect in disposition we obviously don't lose our salvation, but we are still sinners and we still grieve the Holy Spirit with our sinful actions/thoughts. So we feel sorrow,but we rest in the  knowing that God has removed from us our sins as far as the East is from the West (Ps103:12).  As well as Ps 25:7; Isa. 43:25; Heb 8:12 that He will remember our sins no more.  He actively removes it and doesn't hold it against us.

But we don't regret the past sins in the sense that we don't have sorrow over them any longer.  We are not guilty because they are forgiven in Christ, therefore we shouldn't experience those feelings of guilt.  Those feelings are to convict us.  If we are revisiting old feelings of sorrow over our forgiven sins then we call God a liar when He says that they are forgiven and that His grace abounds (Rom. 5:19-21).  To say that I am pleased with any of my sin in the past would be wrong as well, though.  There is a healthy state of recognizing who we once were, the ways that we have sinned in order to guard ourselves against falling into old habits that tempt us to those sins.  I do not delight in any sin, not of now nor of the past because it was rebelling against God.  I feel bad in the sense that I am a sinner and continually commit sins, the old are the same as the new but it will always directly lead to Christ and how rich His love is for us.  And so remembering sins is inevitable for us and it isn't wrong if controlled and seen through the lens of Scripture. But to dwell on old sins is when it becomes a problem in that we then are as you've more or less stated, robbing God of His glory through His propitious atonement shown through the resurrection of Christ.  Be careful to say that we don't feel regret over our old sins because that can come off as if we are pleased with our sins because God used them for our good. God hates sin, and although He uses it to sanctify us and ultimately for His glory, we must be careful to remember that His goodness does not make our sin okay to commit.  It then falls into where Peter asks, may we continue sinning because grace abounds? Looking at the past in the same manner can imply that we are grateful for our sin that God hates.  We are grateful that our God is so Kind, Gracious, Merciful, Loving, Long-suffering.....that He takes our sin and not only cleanses us from it, but uses it for His purposes.  It may also be good for us, myself included, to remember that EVERYTHING (our sin included) is Father filtered.  He preserves us from an abundance of sin and temptation because in our sin nature we are FULLY capable of heinous sins.  'but who can conceive the frightful lengths to which men would go were God to remove his curbing hand? “Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood” (Rom. 3:14-15). This is the nature of every descendant of Adam.' [AW Pink] Which only reminds me that we truly are no better than anyone else...if it weren't for God's grace we would be the same and even worse considering how much sin of unbelievers he refrains as well.

Love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, goodness, kindness, gentleness and self control are both active and cultivated fruits. We can actively pursue them as well they are grown by the Holy Spirit.  Scripture says we are to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13) There is a responsibility of man's to pursue godliness. (be holy as I am Holy) We are to work out our salvation, not in the sense that we can add to Christ's atonement, but that we work out our sanctification and it is God who does so through us.  That wonderful cohesion of God and man's responsibility together. God works through us! However, certain fruits are not ones that we can cultivate and so they are fully given by Gods grace.  Because the fruits are evidences of faith we can cultivate them by ultimately growing in knowledge of our Truine God through meditation on His Word and reliance on the Holy Spirit through prayer which in turn increases our faith, hope and love.  So when you say that the truth of the Gospel will take hold of our hearts I couldn't have said it better myself.  Searching to create outward acts of the fruits would definitely be Pharisaical. 

  I struggled with that for a long time. The past two years to be exact. I didn’t understand his forgiveness. When it means that Christ has wiped my slate completely clean, that means that I must do the same. I can’t regret, because he has forgiven it.  How amazing a Savior do we have who will forgive all of our sins, so that we no longer have to suffer the punishment for them!

 I know I struggled with punishing myself for my past sins. Now I know I am writing to people who may not even know me or may know me and have no idea what in the world I am talking about. Well almost three years ago I was involved with a young man. We had a pretty serious relationship and with that came sin.  After the break up I couldn’t stand the sight of myself.  Looking at myself brought back painful memories,  as well as judgments.  After the way I was treated through that relationship I started to believe the message that I was trash, that I was nothing and not worthy to be loved by anything.  I saw my sin staring me in the face every time I looked in the mirror.  As a "good Christian girl" I was disgusted with myself.  I hated to look at pictures of myself and I punished myself severely; I even gained weight and had convinced myself I was one of the ugliest persons on earth and no one could have changed my mind about that.  Now some of you are wondering what in the world does this have to do with being in Africa... well I was chasing joy in life, I missed it. The pain of everything and my punishment of myself kept any joy from my life.  My family saw that and tried to help me.  I was a happy person, no doubt about it, but there is a difference between being a happy person and a person who is experiencing true joy. 

Over the past three years the Lord has slowly been cracking through, but here in this place. Here as I sit writing this blog in the kitchen of the Muphamuzi Baby Home, in Pretoria South Africa, I can say the Lord has given me true joy. He has blessed me with a joy that cannot be described with words at all. I can’t explain even how it happened. The more I poured myself into loving these babies and serving him and those around me it’s like something switched in my head and the Lord switched it. The Bible says that there is no true joy or unity apart from Him. He is the only one who can give joy because he is joy, and that is the wondrous truth of the gospel. 

Sometimes I read the truth of what a Christian should be, for example, the fruits of the spirit: to posses love joy patience kindness gentleness self control, etc.  and I want to look at it and say ok... I am going to work on love this week or joy; but when the truth of the gospel takes a hold of you, you look at that verse and you don’t say ok I am going to do this, because we can’t.  As a sinner I cannot keep the fruits of the Spirit on my own. That would be following the law. And as the Bible says we cannot follow the law. So the gospel speaks to our hearts and says you can’t... but I can. I, Yaweh, can help you do those things. How grateful am I for the wonderful gospel:   God sent his son to die for us so that I can have Joy, Peace, Gentleness and Self Control!

So, would I go back... and change?   No... This moment, what is happening in my life now, wouldn’t be happening  if I had not experienced what I did three years ago. And so will I waste my time with “what if’s” or “if only’s”.   No, I am living to honor and serve my Lord and Savior now, because that’s where my life is. "I have the joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart..." Praise the Lord!  I don’t deserve your love. Thank you.

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

Back Home at my church, Grace Community, There is a certain conference put on every year for Pastors, called the Shepherds conference. I was given the privilege of serving for the conference and had some great conversations with brothers in Christ all over the world. One particular pastor asked me what my plans were to do, and I told him. I am heading for South Africa to work with orphans. "Oh" he said "that's hard hard work and it breaks your heart." Unusual answer I thought and I understood partly where he was coming from that yes, it was hard to watch the horrible predicament any orphan might be in, but I didn't fully grasp what he was saying, until a couple of weeks ago. 

As some of you may know and some of you may not know, I love all the babies in our care. Each of them have a special spot in my heart. I will never forget any of the ones that pass through our care, and these babies, have allowed me to feel love for someone again. Something that I have shut off in my life for a while. I am praising the Lord for his gift to me in that regards, because it has been something I have been praying for. He has blessed me in so many ways. There is this quote that is quoted a lot in the states. "It is better to have loved and lost, then to have never loved at all." I use to hate that quote. I always thought Whatever clearly whomever wrote that was never seriously hurt.. But now I think otherwise. A few weeks ago two events happened almost simultaneously that cause our home and myself to say goodbye to some very special people.

My sweet girl, whom I connected too the most was placed back with her birth mother.  We packed her things, took her to the doctor, and then she was gone. Its still weird around the house sometimes, her cot is now empty, and sometimes I can still hear her cry in the night. I have to admit that goodbye was not easy for me at all. I selfishly wanted her to stay with me and for her to never go. I had to remember that she wasn't my baby, even though she responded to me as if I was her mother, and that she belonged to some one as do all of these amazing children. The Lord revealed that selfishness to me and gave me the strength and joy to prepare everything needed to say goodbye. I sent her off with just a kiss.. and I know the Lord protects her as she grows. Now I understood what the Pastor was saying.. Its hard... You love on these kids with everything you have, and then they leave and you know they wont remember you. They are too young. I questioned whether my connecting with her was a bad thing, to which I was told no. I actually will make it easier for her to connect to some one else because we had connected with each other. The Lord is good and yes it was not an easy goodbye to make, but I knew that if I was to learn to love again I was also to learn how to say goodbye again and how to loose again as well.. 

That same week, one of our members went to be with the Lord. She had a heart attack out of no where and on the way to the hospital she died in the car next to her husband. She was  a sweet and kind lady whom  I hadn't known for very long but I had already grown to love her. She left behind two sweet daughters of 16 and 9 years old and a faithful and loving husband. On the Sunday after the whole church had a special time to weep with those who weep, and Alan (the husband) was faithfully standing at his spot in the front of the church praising God with tears flowing down his face. When our family time of prayer happened HE was the first one to pray. I was blown away and continue to be blown away by their faith and trust in the Lord in their time of need.  

Love and Loss are partners. If your gonna love you sometimes might experience loss, and it hurts. I too have loved and lost, and it broke me completely. Because of that I shut off all emotions to protect my self and to never let that happen again. The Lord is tearing down those walls, through these babies. and I praise him and thank him for that every single day. The Lord gives and he takes away but ALWAYS I will CHOOSE.... I love that. WE have to choose to say Blessed be the name of the Lord. That song only works if we CHOOSE to say that and to preach truth to ourselves. Bless him in trials is a choice. Its not something that we do naturally or easily. but the Lord always provides the strength to choose that no matter what. So, I pray that when ever the Lord takes away and gives I pray that he gives me the strength to CHOOSE to bless his name no matter what.. 

Update From the home

I apologize for the length of time that has passed between postings.. My lap top has actually been broken...and I was just able to get it fixed now... Technology has not really worked well for me during my time here, but thats ok because it has opened doors to spending my time wisely and thinking.... Which is something every one needs to do more.. ;) There is most definatly much to catch up on and I will start doing that now..

We have welcomed a new baby girl into the home. Her name means "Success", and she is adjusting slowly into the home. We affectionatly call her Sessy, and she is starting to smile and laugh with us more and more. She has a wonderfully created loud cry when she is hungry or sleepy or just wanting to be held which is normally about 24/7 but we are praising the Lord for bringing this little one into our care..

All the babies are growing like weeds.. We have two of the girls scooting around the house almost crawling which keeps all of us on our toes.. A bumbling two year old who is now talking very well and is very good at copying who is also approaching what we so fondly call the terrible twos.. ;) The two little ones are growing as well. Learning to roll and sit, and bablling along and making happy noises and I know they will progress quickly as well.. The sin in all the babies is becoming more evident as they grow older, which gives myself an opportunity to grow in patience but also in grace. I must always remind my self that they are sinners who need Christ just like I needed Christ as well..

Due to our growing children our needs in the home are also growing.. Food is expensive and Nappies (diapers) are expensive too.. We continue to trust in the Lord for his provision but there is much needed to help these babies grow..

Here is a link to our website and just some ways to get involved if any one is able to help out...
http://1hope4africa.com/component/content/article/98

Prayer Requests:
-That all of us will be strong and patient with our little ones and that we will always be pointing them to Christ
-We will find loving homes for all these babies, and that they will be cleared to be adopted
-The home will be provided for financially
-That we all continue to remain in the mindset of servants whose goal is to glorify the Lord in all we do..

Prisoner of War

"Cause my mind is like a building burning down, I need your Grace to keep me, keep me from the ground, And my heart is just a prisoner of War, A slave to what it wants and what I am fighting for." - Empty my Hands by Tenth Ave North 

I love this song, but this week this  stanza really stood out to me. We are being taught faithfully by our pastor Josh Mack every Sunday in church. These past couple of weeks he has been teaching through Eph. 6. Recently its about our Spiritual battle that we wage every single day. Which will then lead up to the full armor of God that we must put on every single day. I know i so often forget my spiritual armor when I wake up. I choose to ignore the fact that I am daily in a war against my sin and against the devil. This stanza helped give me a good perspective on my heart. Our hearts are deceitful above all else. We learn that in Jeremiah and it is like our heart is a Prisoner of War. We do the things we don't want to do and the things we want to do we don't do. Paul shares about his trouble with that. In the end, we cant listen to our hearts, because they aren't ours to listen too. Unless we scan it with the truth from the Bible that we know and we have our full armor on. 
Its so exciting that the Lord has provided his scripture to teach us and prepare us for this war. Even by listing out the armor he is telling us what will be attacked. Truth, Righteousness, our readiness to evangelize, faith, Salvation, and the Word. We have everything we need to fight our daily battles. and even more we know that the final battle has already been won for us. So as we fight we know that Christ is our conquer and He will always be there for us. 
My heart is a prisoner to my selfish desires, and my sinful self. Only Christ can free and by doing that I must wake up every morning and prepare my self for the battle ahead. To put on that armor I must Put OFF  my old self and that is a daily process. I cant put on when I am already wearing my sin. So often i forget this fact, and how can I fight my sinful desires with out being prepared. =) 
Thankfully the Lord always provides his strength so that I don't need to feel overwhelmed or defeated which I often do. Our Christian walk is HARD and if your not struggling with your walk... I would ask you to search your heart and life, because We are always struggling and fighting our battles. Yes we have victories, but that is only to prepare us for the next battle.. 
SO Fellow believers fight one.. there is hope, there is encouragement, and there is fellowship with other believers who are fighting the same battle you are... =)

Faith, and Children's Songs

 Strange title huh...? but its fitting I promise to what my past couple of weeks have been like here.  Life is moving on the baby home and I am soaking up every minute I have to learn from those more experienced then me and grow. These babies are growing and developing in leaps and bounds. One is walking and now starting to talk with some clarity and it just makes my heart so happy when I say something and he repeats it back to me almost perfectly...He is such a bundle of joy and has really adjusted to his life here well and has started to fuss less and less.. He loves to sing and dance and is always so joyful. My two girls are also developing nicely too the youngest one is rolling every where, you cant take your eyes off of her or she may be under the sofa in the next instant. She just started to pull herself up to a standing position just this evening which is Insane since she isn't crawling yet and only 6 months old... Both the girls make lots of noises with their mouths and make joyful noises unto the Lord all day long.Our tiny baby is adjusting slowly but adjusting... He loves to eat and hates to sleep.. He is gaining weight like nobodies business and is such a cute Roley poly baby boy.. Now... That all sounds awesome and it totally is, but It isn't what is teaching me those three things above. If you noticed I didn't mention one of my darling babies (just saving the best for last you know ;)). Well my baby girl who will be 8 months soon, is sick. She is one that I have become pretty close too and pretty much love this little girl like she is my own baby. I unfortunately cant give details for her sickness.. so all I can say is that she is very sick and it causes her daily pain. Here's where both my faith and children songs come in. She is an overall happy baby when she isn't in pain. And my day is full of me singing lots of songs for her to keep her distracted and busy. Her favorite ones to sing are "If your Happy and You Know It", and "Hes Got the Whole World". Now I am the type of person that has always wanted to protect those who are close to me and it is some thing I have done my whole life. If I could take some ones pain I would. And to watch this little girl be in pain and I cant do anything to help hurts. It reminds me of my complete and her complete helplessness. The only thing that can save her is the Lord. In so many ways and when I was sick and hurting the only one who could save me was the Lord.  The Lord is using this situation to teach me faith. I know that only he holds this little girl in his hands and He is the one who has given her this sickness for her and my good. I must trust him and his goodness. Which isn't easy but faith... only needs to be as small as a mustard seed. I know my Lord is capable of anything and He could heal her if He wanted to. I pray every night that the Lord just continues to do his will in regards to my baby and that he gives me strength to take care of her and to have faith in His goodness.. Today she had a not so great day and I was singing "He's Got the Whole World" and with out even knowing it my heart was comforted. The Lord used this simple children's song to remind me that He holds everything in His hand. It was so encouraging and totally providential that her favorite song is that one. So know when I sing that song to her its full of a whole different meaning to me.. I also sing "This is My Fathers World" to get her to sleep and once again so Ironic that both of those songs work so completely in this situation. 

Please pray for our dear little girl, 1. That we will be able to get her to the Doctor soon, 2. that the Doctor will be able to diagnose her and show us how to help her. and last but not least 3. pray for ease of pain in her little body.. 
All of us here would really appreciate that... 

Faith like a Child

Faith: confidence or trust in a person or thing, belief that is not based on proof, Belief in God, (according to Dictionary.com)

I think that pretty much covers it all. But what does Faith look like in Practice?? Well I can say that I can show you examples in others lives but this is still an area in my life that I work on every day. Thankfully the Lord is good and it is the one thing that in South Africa I find I need to have every day here. I am thousand miles away from the world I know, the people I know, and the life I knew. Things are different here and the challenges I face require me to have faith. One of the biggest obstacles is silly but hard, is the fact that our Wifi is not unlimited. Here in South Africa you have to pay for WiFi and even after you have it, it can be very slow and unreliable. So even the times I have been able to talk to family or Skype, connections have been lost and patience is required. To add to that whole situation, the other day I dropped, accidentally, my Iphone down the toilet!!! I stuck it immediately into rice, but alas, it stopped working. Right now I have some one who is trying to dry it out for me but there is no guarantee that it will work again. As of now, that is my only way of contact to my family.. and my faith is being tested as I wait the diagnosis of my phone. I know the Lord is good and I am practicing rejoicing in his goodness to me while remembering that even if my phone is not fixed God is still good and he will provide.

Being around these babies, show me faith everyday. These kids have faith in us.. They trust us no matter what. No matter if we accidentally hurt them or we don't feed them right away; these kids still have an unwavering and innocent faith in us. This is the kind of faith Christ calls us to have in him!!! An unwavering faith in his goodness and his love! There is no place for being a bitter old lady in the Kingdom of God. Because no matter what has happened in our lives to hurt us or cause us to not trust easily, We are called to faith in Christ no matter what!! like the little children..
Because GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME

In my Shoes

I have written a couple of posts about things that the Lord has been showing me and those will continue to come.. but I think that this post should be to share what my days look like here.. and what exactly I am doing in South Africa. I have already introduced you to our "little sinners" and their pictures are all over my Facebook page. These kids have literally stolen my heart. I love them with everything I have in my heart and my soul. These precious babies that were abandoned at birth. Our establishment is called a place of safety here in South Africa until we get registered. so even now, we hold no orphans in our place, we only carry children that have either been removed from their homes or they were abandoned. Either way, these kids are all so precious in their own special way. So here is a week in Kathryn's life.

Sunday: the best day of the week!! its our day to go to church and to fellowship with fellow believers! We are able to gather and worship our Lord and Savior. Our church shares a church building with another church so our service starts at 13:30 (1:30pm). My morning consists of relaxing in my flat or helping out with the babies. Getting them ready for church.. they are always dressed in their Sunday best!! Transporting us all to the church is always a challenge. Sometimes I will take a baby and will walk the 6 miles or so to church and other times we will take two trips in the car. Either way, I will always have a baby in a carrier to take care of all day long at church. So I am never far away from a child =) Our church service is simple but always convicting. It is harder for me to concentrate, since we have no nursery ALL babies stay in the service until they make noise. So I am getting used to paying attention to the service while also keeping our babies quiet and safe. My favorite time is when they sleep through the whole service, then I am really able to pay attention. =)  We have two services, our second is more like a larger bible study. Then we head on home and relax with the kids get them bathed and in their jammies.. and Sunday is over =)

Mondays:
start early in the AM. I am up at the baby home by 7 am. The Kids are just awaking and getting ready for the day. We have a schedule for each age of babies.. and it consists of play time, eating, and sleeping. Along with my general duties of feeding and playing and comforting and bathing and changing nappies (diapers) I also have cleaning duties as well. So when the kids go down to sleep we are able to tidy up the house and keep it clean for the babies.. that is a normal day in the baby home. Lots of kids laughs smiles, and even tears.. Monday nights are free, I will either have some one over for dinner or go somewhere or I will just relax in my flat (or in the main home where the wifi is ;)).

Tuesdays:
is our shopping day!!!! Heather Drew (the Baby  Home manager) and I will journey to our nearest Checkers and Fruit stop. We shop for the Baby Home groceries as well as for our own individual groceries. She and I also have our meetings on those days. We are going through a book together and are both able to catch up on the week, and share a sweet time of fellowship and getting to know each other better. We return from shopping around noon and then I am on shift at the baby home. Where we repeat Mondays cycle. During the night shifts I bathe the babies and give them their evening feedings and put them to bed.. =) along side our ever faithful Caregivers who rotate during the week. They are the ones who sleep with the babies and are here in the home 24/7. Bedtime is one of my favorite times of days. It is so peaceful when all the babies are sleeping. But the best part of the day is when I rock them to sleep and they are sleeping in my arms.

Wednesdays:
are my Laundry day.. =) This has been something that I have had to get used to here. We have no dryer as most home don't in South Africa. So Everything must be line dried. Old SCHOOL!! =) But at the same time I love it.. its fun. I will spend most of my morning doing Laundry, and maybe have time to take a walk in the neighborhood while my load is washing.. And then once again, I am on shift at 12:30 and I repeat Tuesday cycles... My Wednesdays will change, once the AWANA program starts here that the Clark Family (another family from the states that just moved here for the next year) will be heading up. My evenings will then be spent working there.

Thursdays:
Up in the am again and doing Mondays schedule. Normally by this time we will need the babies clothes cleaned and ironed. Which is a little time consuming since their clothes are sooooo small. But its nice because I get to practice doing all things joyfully =) Every other Thursdays we will have Care group here at the home. Which is a small home bible study. We normally discuss what was taught on Sunday and we get that refresher and are able to share with each other and grow. I enjoy Care group especially since I am not always able to hear everything Josh Mack preaches on Sundays. We also have volunteers come on Thursday nights which has been helpful and also enjoyable as The girls that come are friends of mine.

Fridays:
are my day off =). It is normally spent doing another 1Hope ministry. Which is anything from watching Eliya, so that Heather is able to focus on getting work done, or helping some one move, or hopefully one day being able to actually go and visit the ministry network with other churches. The same volunteers from Thursdays will come again on Fridays.

Saturdays:
I go to our Young Adults group which is our Care group for the college and up age group. It also is normally very small but those who come are truly amazing and I am hopefully starting to form some great friendships.  We are even able to go camping this next weekend with some other churches. It should be an awesome time of fellowship. =) After Young Adults I come back to the baby home and work just the evening times with some more volunteers.

And that is a week in my life. Everything is changing all the time and being flexible is a must!!! Our babies aren't always smiley and joyful so patience is something I learn every day.. =) Our two girls have birthdays soon!! My precious baby turns 7 months tomorrow and our other sweet girl turns 6 months tomorrow as well. our days are filled to the Max and the Lord has given me a joy inexpressible in words. It can only be explained by coming from him.

Ways you can be Praying for our babies and our Home:
1. Praise the Lord for our newest addition to the home. He is settling in nicely. Please pray for his salvation and for him to start sleeping so that our Caregivers can get some rest during the night.
2. Also Praise the Lord for our newest board member. She is a Lawyer, and will truly help work with getting these wonderful children adopted into loving homes
3. Pray that we will find godly loving families for all our babies!!!
4. Pray for our 7 month old.. She has been particularly fussy.. and we are having a Doctor come to check her out. Please pray that we will be able to find out what is wrong with her and help her. also for the Lords healing.
5. Pray for all the kids salvation as we strive to plant seeds and train them in the way they should go.
6. Lastly continue to pray for the Lords provision for the home, in food, baby clothes,, nappies, and also money for the overall running of the home..

Misguided Ghosts

“Let all bitterness, and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted and forgiving one another, even as God for Chris’s sake hath forgiven you.” –Ephesians 4:31-32

            This verse has been quoted over and over again. But I have to say that the meaning of it has never really sunk in until just a couple of days ago. About a year or so ago, I visited the book store at my church and picked up a book by Ken Sande, called “The Peacemaker.” Its main premise is about solving every day conflict in a biblical manner. I started to read it as soon as I got it home, and was blown away by the truths in its pages. I unfortunately was never able to finish. When I was packing to leave for South Africa, I decided out of nowhere to take this book along with me. I picked up where I left off and began to read it again. The Lord had a sovereign plan for me to take this book along, because one of the last chapters was on Forgiveness. This past week as I have been reading through that chapter the Lord has been convicting of ways that I have provided empty forgiveness and have not practiced Eph 4:32 which states to forgive as Christ has forgiven you. What is empty forgiveness? you might ask. That may be a completely new concept to you. This chapter changed my mind set on forgiveness. It starts with introducing us to a couple in counseling. The husband is telling the listener that he has forgiven his wife for her adultery but believes he would never be close to her ever again. Though she has repented of this sin and longs to restore their relationship he says he will never be close to her again. Some of us may be very familiar with this pain. Someone we trusted took advantage of us, or lied to us, or hurt us deeply. How many times have I, though they have repented, been guilty of saying the same thing. Well back to the story lol. The Counselor then looks at the husband and says, “How would you feel if Christ looked at you and said I forgive you son, but will never be close to you again”. The Husband replied that he wouldn’t feel like he was forgiven of that sin. The Consoler then continued to show the Husband, that, that was exactly what he had been doing to his wife. The Story goes on to finish with them working their problems out and restoring their marriage. The point of the story was, how many times do I provide an empty forgiveness?  Is that really forgiving them?

            I don’t know about you but that opened me up to so many questions!! I was slightly confused and curious so I continued to read. I wish I could just put the whole chapter up and say HERE read!!!! Lol but I can’t so I want to try to summarize the points that stood out to me.

1.      I cannot truly forgive others on my own.

My flesh longs to hold on to the hurt done to me. I long to not forgive the way Christ forgives. His forgiveness is a supernatural thing and so I must daily ask for him to help me forgive those who have hurt me in the way that He forgives my sin daily. I can fake forgiveness as much as I like, I can try to forget the hurt, I can even be nice to the person who has hurt me, BUT unless my heart is changed by my Savior I cannot truly forgive someone the way he has forgiven me.

2.      Forgiveness is NOT a feeling….

WOW! Hah I was wrong. It isn’t something that we feel like doing. Or we feel like we did. I shouldn’t forgive because I feel like forgiving. The author describes it as “An act of the will” (pg.206)

3.      Forgiveness is NOT forgetting….

Most people love the saying "forgive and forget". And though I love the sentiment that the saying provides it isn’t an accurate description of what forgiveness is. Ken says this “Forgetting is a passive process in which a matter fades from memory merely with the passing of time. Forgiving is an active process; it involves a conscious choice and deliberate course of action.” (pg206)  When the Bible says that God remembers our sins no more He doesn’t mean that he forgets our sin. No the Lord choices to Remember our sins no more... He actively says I have covered that sin and so he promises that he will not remember But when we practice true forgiveness the blessing is that we often do start to forget that sin, but it is only because we have actively pursued not thinking, dwelling, or recounting that sin.

Still with me?? I know it’s a lot, and it took me some time to sort through it all, but I have been so blessed that I hope this will help someone =)

Ok we continue on…

4.      Forgiveness is NOT excusing……

When I forgive someone I am not telling them that what they have done is ok. Just by the fact that I need to give forgiveness means that a wrong has been committed and that it was inexcusable.

5.      Forgiveness means to let go or release….

Depending on how hurtful the offense was my will to forgive can depend. When someone I trusted hurt me deeply I struggled with forgiveness. Our sinful attitude towards this is to respond by either “withholding forgiveness, by dwelling on the wrong, by being cold and aloof, by giving up on the relationship, by inflicting emotional pain, by gossiping, by lashing back or by seeking revenge against the one who hurt you” (pg207) I know I am guilty of all of these and not only has it affected my relationships but it has affected my relationship with my Savior.

The book creates four promises that Forgiveness stands for.

1.      I will not dwell on this incident

2.      I will not bring up this incident again and use it against you

3.      I will not talk to others about this incident

4.      I will not let this incident stand between us or hinder our relationship

One of the last things that really stood out to me was the fact that Forgiveness is in two parts. There is an attitude of forgiveness and then a granting of forgiveness. When the person that hurt you is unrepentant I cannot grant them forgiveness... I can live in an attitude of forgiveness. This is my commitment to God to forgive them for what they have done. Once a person is repentant it is our job to forgive them, the way Christ has forgiven me.

Whoooo that was long and I have only scratched the surface of it. During this past week, the Lord has brought to light two situations in my life where I have provided empty forgiveness. I have let the pain and the hurt stay. I would not say that I am angry or bitter, but though I have said that I forgive I am guilty of not fully forgiving them. For the first situation, the person is unrepentant, and that means that I can live in an attitude of forgiveness but until they repent, I will never be able to grant it to them. But sinner as I am I have not even granted them that. In the second situation, I have been foolish and though this person has repented and I have said I forgive them, I put a wall up in my heart towards them. Scared to be vulnerable and refusing to let go some of the hurtful things said to me. My heart holds on and though my mouth has said I forgive you it has been empty. I guess I share all of this with you because I want to confess my sin of un forgiveness to my brothers and sisters in Christ. The Lord has changed my heart over this past week.  I can now live in an attitude of forgiveness towards the unrepentant person, and I am striving to fully forgive the other party. The only thing that can help me is to remember that this is only achieved through Christ’s help; and when I think of the debt he paid for me... How can I now withhold forgiveness when I have been forgiven of so much and been called a daughter in Christ.

As I was walking this week an old song popped up on my ipod. It was Misguided Ghosts by Paramore. Though this song has always been my favorite song, How amazing is it that we have our Savior to Guide us. I know I am not walking around in this world with no direction. He has forgiven us and restores our relationship.Don’t my fellow believers deserve that forgiveness from me too?  I pray that this is my prayer and will be yours as well:

“God, I cannot forgive him (her) in my own strength. In fact, I do not want to forgive him at least until he/she has suffered for what they did to me. He/She does not deserve to get off easy. Everything in me wants to hold it against him/her and keep a high wall between us so he/she can never hurt me again. But you Word warns me that un forgiveness will eat away at my soul and build a wall between you and me. More importantly you have shown me that you made the supreme sacrifice giving up your own Son in order to forgive me... Lord please help me to WANT to forgive. Please change my heart and soften it so that I no longer want to hold this against him/her. Change me so that I can forgive and love him/her the way you have forgiven me and loved me” (pg205)

"The PeaceMaker" by Ken Sandi

Meet our Little Sinners

Two weeks have passed here. It is time for you to meet my lovely little babies!!!! =) The first one I will introduce to you is My Man of the House... =)
He not only is the oldest child of the home at 18 months, but he right now is our only boy.. =) He is walking and causing trouble where ever he goes.. =) His name means "We have hope". We all love him to death. He is HIV + and takes his medicine daily. He has a great laugh and a wonderful smile.. Though he takes a while to get used to new things, we have seen him grow in leaps and bounds since being brought into our home.. Please pray for the doors to be opened for his adoption and for him to be put in a loving home..

Our next is a beautiful baby girl of almost 6 months.. She has the most amazing smile. Her name means "Brightness" which is fitting for her beautiful self, because she literally lights up the room when she smiles.  She loves to be lifted in the air and loves all your funny noises that you can make...  She has just started to take porridge and we have seen her gain weight and grow so well.

Last but not least we have our baby of the family. She will be 5 months in a couple weeks... but she was born premature, and for a while they struggled for her to remain healthy. But she also has grown to now be making noises and sitting up straight and laughing. She is our most content baby and doesnt make much noise during the day and is happy to just sit. Her name means "Promise" and she is just such a little bundle of joy.

My Prayer for all of these wonderful babies is that they will find a family that loves them and will care for them but, my biggest desire is for their salvation. In the end, they are all adorable and great but their heart is still a sinners heart, and that is clear every time they scream for food or are disobedient and go where they are not supposed to go. They are our little sinners and need of Salvation. So please pray for their adoption into families as well as their adoption into our Spiritual family.

Something that has stood out this past couple of weeks has been the thought of my own adoption. I was adopted into my Saviors family. My Lord and Savior took me from the sin and death I was in and called me his daughter. Not little girl I saved you, no go have a good time. NO My daughter I love you and I only want the best for you. For every one who has been saved this is the reality of our living. We have been rescued and are called Sons and Daughters of Christ. When I dwell on this truth, I look into these kids eyes and just want them to know, that even if this life only brings heartache and pain, there is One who loves them more, and who has a family waiting for them, if they only receive his gift of Salvation. 

Lessons from Winnie the Pooh

"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, i'll stay there forever." ~Winnie the Pooh 

Yes, Winnie the Pooh my old childhood friend shares this quote that says so much =). I packed my bags and jumped on two different planes and am now sitting here in Pretoria South Africa. Saying goodbye is never an easy thing to do, but it is something I have learned is necessary in life. Goodbyes can act like cleaning. Your heart goes through a cleaning of sorts and opens up new space for new friends, new adventures and new experiences. You never forget the loved ones you said goodbye to; nor does it mean you aren't their friend. All your memories will stay forever and though there may be friends you do never see again, there is a home where we will one day all be reunited forever!! The Lord brings people into your life for your sanctification, and for your growth in him. He will always provide the people we need. 

So, even though saying goodbye was difficult, it was worth the time that I will share here. I continue to think of my friends and family daily and look forward to seeing them again and sharing in our journey together, but until then, know that I love you all... =) and my heart is open to make some wonderful new friendships  

Not about the end, but the Journey......

"Your journey has molded you for the greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think that you have lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. and now is right on time" -Asha Tyson

The next step in planning a trip is to see the end; that is to look and see what the end is. To set goals for yourself and to see what the end might hold. Where do I want to end this adventure?  Because if I see myself in the end at the exact same spot I started, there is really no point in starting. So where do I want to be at the end of this year?  What path am I looking at taking and where does the Lord want me to be spiritually or emotionally by the end of this adventure?  Though I may not know all the answers now, I am hoping that at the end of this I will have a closer view into what the tapestry of my life is being woven .

This trip is only temporary. It is for the 10-12 months that I am prepared to live in South Africa. Over that year, I don't know everything that will happen or all the lessons I will learn, but I do  hope and pray, that through this year I will learn how to be totally dependent on Christ alone; that my trust in him will be continually unwavering. I know he will grow me and stretch me in ways I don't even know how. I pray that he will continue to sanctify me and draw me closer to him. My goal over this next year is to totally and wholly pursue him, while serving and building relationships that will last for years. I may not know what the Lord will throw into my path, but I do know that he does, and he is already preparing me in ways that I may not be aware of. He knows what my year will look like and what will occur. Just as Proverbs says in Proverbs 27:1 "Boast not thyself of tomorrow for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."  I push onwards focusing only on the day I wake up in. The Lord will continue to work and show me what he intends to and I know he will continue to mold me into the woman he wants me to be.  

I am one month out. ONE month!!! That small thought is exciting... frightening.... joyous... and satisfying.

I just spent my last weekend, at RESOLVED. A large conference for college age students that my church has held for the past 8 years. I was poured into by many wise teachers and preachers of the Word of God and in many ways given tools, that will be packed away in my suitcase. I fellowshipped and worshipped alongside my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and my soul is refreshed. I want to share what I learned most from this conference but that is for another blog post. ;)  This was the final Resovled conference ever, and that element was significant to me in that it added one more goodbye to the list of those I have already said, and the ones I have yet to experience in the next month. In the past month I have said goodbye to my life long pet, Cruiser, my childhood home, my first job, and my previous Bible study; it is also significant that the high school I attended, which shaped much of my life, also ended through a merger with another school.  In the next month I will be saying goodbye to my family and friends.  While I will not be returning to any of the things I have said goodbye to already, I know the goodbyes ahead of me will only be temporary.

 The Lord has been so incredible to me, and it still overwhelms me to know that the Lord is allowing this to happen. He is closing these chapters in my life, work, this conference, friends, only to open this new one with my trip. He shows his love to me daily. He saved me, died for my sins, he was crushed for me.... so that I may have this opportunity to worship him through my service to him in South Africa.... WOW! 

I don’t know the author of the quote I began this blog with, but I have found it to be representative of my experience.  The Lord has allowed everything that has happened in my life to happen and it has shaped me into who I am right now. Though I may not know where I will end up by the end of this year, I do know that the Lord is GOOD, ALL THE TIME; and he has plans for me that I may not see or know, but He is in control and I am excited to learn and grow as he reveals to me what he needs for me to see. 

Where the Lord leads......

"So pray this way: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored,may your kingdom come may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven...." -Mathew 6: 9-10

One of the biggest questions I am asked as I prepare for my trip is Why.? Most people are concerned with any questionable motives behind my decision to go. Others are just curious to know why I would want to do something like this. The questions come from both my believing friends to people I work with and non believing coworkers Well I have dedicated this post today to answer that question why.

It isnt a super easy answer and it takes time to explain but it started when I was a little girl. Missionaries would always come to church and I loved to hear their stories, of adventures and ways that the Lord used them to do his work. I knew then, that I hoped one day the Lord would use me to do his work I read and reread biographies on Amy Carmichaell and Gladys Aylward, dreaming that maybe one day I would grow up to emulate their character. But when you're little you have some high hopes that you don't always follow through on. As I grew older I always felt that twinge but never acted upon, I pushed it away thinking I could never do that. eventually that desire to serve the Lord on the missions field slowly faded and I continued to live my life. After going through a pretty dark valley in my high school years, I thought that now I really could never be used by God. But boy was I wrong. The Lord took my life and and drastically changed it about two years ago. He saved me from continuing down a path that didn't honor him.  That summer I visited Japan, and worked with children, and something inside me changed.. I left with a thought, a small seed of a dream starting to form inside of me. I knew that I loved children, all I have ever wanted was to be a mom. But I also knew that I was single, with no upcoming relationship, and no open path to motherhood. I began to think of ways that I would be able to take advantage of being single and still be able to use my talents that the Lord has given me with children. I knew that one day  I would want to open my own orphanage but in California that isnt really an option here due to foster care and other governmental holds. And that is when my thoughts began to shift from local opportunities to other possible options across the globe.

Donovan Drew is an old family friend, and his prayer card has been on my fridge for many years. My mom mentioned what he was doing through his church and told me that I should get in touch with him. I emailed him and that got the ball rolling. I visited South Africa on a missions trip this past summer and I fell in love with the country, the people, and my heart grew in love for the orphaned children down there. I came back strong and with a passion to return. I prayed specifically before my visit and after my visit asking for the Lord to make my path clear. He answered my prayers with specific answers and began opening the door leading me to South Africa and the Muphamuzi Baby home.

Josh and Marda Mack, Grace Church missionaries, are serving down in Pretoria, South Africa. It was their church, One Hope,  that birthed the ground work for the baby home. Donovan and Heather Drew is the couple who will be overseeing the Baby home. They will be living on the premises of the home as will myself and any other interns who join us along this next year.  The path was clear and the ground work laid, I began to follow that path no matter where it took me.. I trusted that no matter what I lost or gained along the way, the Lord had a plan for me and for my life. I have chosen to follow this path which has been clearly shown to me to be of the Lord, and have not once over this past year of saving and toiling regretted that decision in the slightest.

The Lord has brought me through many trials and joy through this past year. All showing me how lean on him and only him for everything.He gave me a contentment that surpassed anything that I could ever attain on my own. He showed me how to be strong. He showed me that no matter what, He will always be able to use you. Even if it isn't on the field. I have had many witnessing opportunities opened to me with coworkers because of my plans, and the Lord has used me to share the gospel with them and I thank Him every day for that chance to shine.  I only pray that, the Lord will be able to use me to glorify his name and  honor him in everything that I do. He gets all the glory for everything that has  happened over this past year. Nothing that has occurred has been in my power or by my power.

There have been many verses the Lord has used to ease my soul or encourage me, but this one has been always near to my heart...

" Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again Rejoice!. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus..." -Phil. 3:4-7



To God be the glory forevery and ever AMEN..

Hello

So, I have been asked by several people to blog.. I am not a very good writer nor am I very good at remembering to actually do stuff like this but I think that this will help get out some information out as to what I will be doing this summer.
This summer I am heading out to Pretoria, South Africa to join a family friend in a baby home. the name of the home is Muphamuzi, which is named after the Josh and Marda Macks newest child. This home will be bringing in abandoned babies and turning them around for adoption in the church. Donovan and Heather Drew is the family I will be working the most closely with but this home is connected to the Macks church. I will be leaving July 26 and will Lord willingly be there for a year. I will be posting every now and then...with updates and will use this to keep in contact with those back home. This journey will be long and exciting and challenging on all different levels. Ready to get this started,,????