I remember vividly the day I saw the video of the girls
moving into Lulu Place two years ago.
The procession of singing and dancing made my heart leap and my eyes
leak. It was like watching a glimpse of
heaven. Their celebration was so free and uninhibited. I
wondered if I would have felt free enough to join them or if it would have made
me uncomfortable (ha!), but I was absolutely drawn in by it. I wanted to share in their joy.
And that is when I knew, I really want to go there someday.
My heart has always been stirred for the orphan, situational
and true. Foster care has opened my eyes
to the fact that even though some children have parents who are living, they
may not have parents who can care for them.
When that happens, they become a situational orphan. They need someone to step in for the short
term or long term to give them a family.
I am a firm believer that this should be the right of every child, everywhere. No child should be without the love of a
family.
When Lulu Place opened my heart resonated with their mission
and what they want to provide for these girls.
Adoption is not always possible and not every country has the
infrastructure to provide foster care, ensure the safety of children, and provide
services to biological families to help them get back on their feet. With
the support of His Voice Global, Rift Valley Fellowship is providing this type
of support on a micro level. They not
only provide a safe and loving environment for the girls who live there, but
they also love their families. They
continually offer support and opportunities for their moms to leave
prostitution and make their living another way.
But if I am going to be completely honest, I got on the
plane with a heart in need of encouragement that change is possible for the
addict and parent living this sort of lifestyle.
Foster care has left me a little jaded in some areas and I
hate that.
I was hoping that God would overwhelm me with miracle
stories of His restoration and redemption.
I don’t want to be jaded, I want
to believe that all things are possible with God.
On the first day of the women’s conference I heard a woman get
up and share her testimony. She had one
of her daughters, who lives at Lulu Place, come up and stand next to her. She shared about the life she used to live
and the desperation she felt when her daughter was born. She already had other children and felt overwhelmed
by the reality of needing to care for another baby. In her desperation she attempted to end her
baby’s life. She shared the details of
those moments and I was caught off guard by her honesty and willingness to
share such a vulnerable part of her story.
I also couldn’t imagine being a daughter, standing next to my mom,
hearing those details about the first days of my life. She was visibly emotional, as anyone would be.
But the reason she could stand up there that
day and tell her story is because it didn’t end in despair or murder. God entered their story and a miracle
happened. He did not let her mom succeed
in her attempt to end her daughter’s life.
He saved that baby and she is now 14 years old. She was one of the sweetest, most
affectionate, girls I had the chance to interact with at Lulu Place. Her mom’s life has changed too. She has left prostitution and is part of the
Women of Courage ministry at RVF. She is
caring for her other children, living in a home at the IDP camp with the
support of HVG and RVF, and working toward independence through making
beautiful goods as an artisan and cleaning houses. She is doing so well and gave testimony
before all the women at the conference that God had changed her life.
An actual picture of redemption
and restoration was right before my very eyes.
I found her daughter
when testimony time was over. I put my
hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. I said, “You are a miracle. I have a little girl who is a miracle
too. God has protected both of you and
loves you so deeply. He has big plans
for your life and He has big plans for my little girl. I will hold you in my heart because you
remind me of her. You stay in school and
keep learning. Keep loving God and following
Him. I’m so excited to see what His
plans are for you.”
She smiled and I could tell her heart was swelling with
joy. She absorbed those words like a
sponge. Every time she came up and
wanted a hug or to lay her head on my shoulder I felt like I was getting to be
a teeny tiny part of God’s continual healing in her life. I feel like God is using healthy love and
affection in her life now to give back what she lacked when she was
little. I’m so glad that she is in a
safe place to seek that out and receive it.
Her heart is still tender toward God and others when it could have long
been hardened by now.
What a miracle.
After the first day of the women’s conference we took a day
off because Kenya was holding their primaries for their presidential
election in August. Unsure of what that
day might hold, we paused the conference and decided to spend the day at Lulu
Place. Obviously, not one single person
on our team objected to the change of plans.
Along with the Lulu girls, they had also invited their siblings, moms,
and the Way of Hope boys to join us.
There were probably 40 kids total, plus adults.
After lunch, we split up into stations and
played games with the kids. It was crazy
and chaotic! Kids are kids in every
culture. We had toddlers and teenagers,
and every age in between. The language
barrier made it a little challenging with giving instructions, but I almost
doubt it mattered much. Kids get
overcome with excitement even when they understand you perfectly. It was fun and stretching. I was at the parachute station with my
friend, Melissa, and when we ran out of ways to make that fun the traditional
way we rolled it up and turned our station into a make shift limbo/hurdle
line. They loved it and we survived!
After that we split up into craft stations. I had the big idea to make play dough. After we had gone through our first round of
activities I was questioning this decision now.
It turned out to be super fun, though. At first, the kids were very confused when
they saw the flour and salt on the table.
They thought they were coming to our station to make food, and excited
about it. When I started to pour in a cup of salt some of them said, “NOOOO!” They thought I was ruining it! I had a moment of guilt for using something
so precious to them for something fun and silly. Esther wanted us to do this with them
though. Their bellies were filled and
this was a day of God’s abundance. They
loved it. It was so fun to watch them
play with it and see what they created.
There were a few boys that stood out to me all day. They were young teenagers who walked about
four miles to get to Lulu Place that day.
They came because they knew Amber, Danielle, and all the women who work
for RVF. They knew it would be a fun day
and that they would be fed a meal. They
knew these things because they lived at Way of Hope until recently. The boys are currently staying in the same
building as RVF in the middle of Maai Mahiu.
They have land purchased to build a home for the boys, but have been
waiting for the remaining $32,000 to come in so they can begin building. They have waited so that they do not have to
take out any loans, which I really respect.
The hard part about the current situation is that the boys have no yard
to play in or space between them and the streets. Most of them have been living on the streets
before coming to live at Way of Hope.
They have had to fend for themselves for so long that it’s more
comfortable. Having a safe and loving
place to call home is what they want deep down, but it’s hard when it comes
with rules you aren’t used to and going to school.
As soon as they leave the walls of Way of Hope the streets
beckon them to come back to their “freedom.”
It sounds so much like the way our enemy tries to convince us that we
can do a better job of securing our own good and happiness without God. From the outside, we can see so clearly that
what is being offered to them at Way of Hope is SO MUCH BETTER than what is
offered to them on the streets. How
could they choose that for their future?
Why are they self-sabotaging?
It was an echo of foster care…
How many kids the world over struggle with this?
It’s not just the rules that they are having a
hard time with; it’s their worthiness to
receive love.
I saw how some of the boys wanted to play it cool when they
first arrived, but they couldn’t help themselves as the day wore on. They were like 9 year old boys on the inside,
longing to be carefree. They just wanted
to be kids for a little while. They
played all the games, they danced, they made sidewalk chalk drawings and
play dough alligators. It was an escape
from their current reality. I know they
had to really want to be there because of the sheer distance they walked that
day. One of the boys was making the
coolest stuff with his play dough and drew beautiful pictures with the sidewalk
chalk. He is talented and smart.
As a mother who wants her son to live to
his potential my emotions almost got the best of me when I watched him, knowing
that he is choosing to live on the streets and not go to school.
I wanted to speak words to him that a mother should be
saying. Words that can carry their
weight with trust already established because of the nurturing she has given
him his whole life. A mother and father
should be saying these words to him, but they can’t. So, feeling nudged by the Spirit I just said
the words I thought I needed to say and hoped that he would hear them, not from
me, but from a Heavenly Father who holds all the trust and security this young
man needs in his life. I encouraged him in the incredible talents I
saw, encouraged him to go back to Way of Hope and go to school…and while I
talked he just looked at the ground. I
know I’m not the only one who spoke similar words of encouragement to him and
the other boys that day.
What felt crystal clear to me in that moment was that he
doesn’t believe he can go back and he doesn’t believe he’s worth it. I felt so sad, but I could tell something
significant was going on. God was
speaking to him and stirring in his heart.
I feel like God was whispering this to him all day long…“Even though you have walked away from the
good I’m offering you, I still love you.
I’m still pursuing you.”
God is not finished with him, or any of those young men.
Our whole team came away from that day both heavy hearted,
but also with a sense of determination to see the money get raised for Way of
Hope.
We need to get these boys out of the city.
Pastor Isaac has said the same thing for a long time. They are going to keep leaving and going back
to the streets until they get Way of Hope built. It’s so beneficial for them to have a new
environment, space, and a different culture surrounding them that will
help them break away from life on the streets.
On our last day of the trip we sat and brainstormed ways
that each of us, in our unique lives and spheres of influence, could help see
the $32,000 get raised a.s.a.p. I
thought, if all seven of us (not including Amber and Danielle because they are
always raising support for His Voice) split it up, that would be so
manageable. There were some creative
ideas being thrown around and it was exciting to dream together, and I felt
such faith that God was about to do something big. I had a lump in my throat throughout most of
the meeting.
How amazing is it that we got plucked out of our little
lives all over the U.S. and God brought us together to do something together
that we couldn’t have dreamed of just weeks earlier. Our lives all look so different, but we were
together in Kenya in April 2017 because God cares about the people of Maai Mahiu
so much and is moving our hearts and resources to demonstrate His love for them. What a privilege to be plucked out of my life
to be a part of what He is doing.
The sweetest times in
my life are hands down the ones that are not about me, when I get to be a part
of what God is doing in the lives of other people and be a blessing to
them. There is nothing as fun or freeing,
faith building, or joy giving.
What a sweet reminder to bring home to real life.
During that meeting I also began to not feel well. In fact, I ended up being sick for the next
24 hours on our journey home.
Miserable. Shortly after
returning home three of our kids came down with strep. A few days after we seemed to be getting over
that I came down with bronchitis.
Several days into my antibiotic I now have a bad sinus infection.
It has felt like an onslaught of sickness and problems
around the house since coming home. I
have wanted to tell you the stories before life moves on and I forget. It has just felt so hard to put fingers to
the keyboard because I haven’t felt well.
I have felt it starting to slip through my fingers.
It is now Mother’s Day and I home alone. I sent Jeff and the kids on to spend the day
with his side of the family. This isn’t how
I would have imagined or preferred to spend today, but I trust God wanted me to
get alone with Him. He has created space
for me to sit down with uninterrupted time, thanks to my sinus infection. He can use all things...
I have wondered if you would still want to know about my
trip. I am writing it down for my own
memory, but also because I believe this still matters. The stories still need to be told. So many of you contributed to my going on
this trip and I felt you with me as I went.
This was for your faith to be encouraged too. Thank you for your obedience to give
sacrificially and to pray for us while we were there. Who knows, you may have been on your knees
for us when we were having specific conversations with the ladies or kids, or
when we were pushing our van out of the mud less than 150 feet away from a
lion. Whenever you prayed, if you did,
it mattered. Thank you for going on this
trip with me.
What I have been MOST excited to tell you is this…
The day after we got home Danielle texted us and said that a
new donor to His Voice called her to have a conversation and by the end of it, Way of
Hope WAS FULLY FUNDED. They wrote a check for the full amount. Building can begin.
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| Image taken from His Voice Global's Facebook page. |
Before we could even use our awesome ideas God said, “I’ve got this. Remember I own the cattle on a thousand hills.”
I’m in tears again just being reminded that God sees us in
our struggles and He loves us more deeply than we can imagine. He can bring help from across the street or
the other side of the globe. The boys in
Maai Mahiu have no idea what rescue is coming for them and just how much their
Heavenly Father cares about them.
So, I guess we’re off the hook now. No more funds are needed!
Just kidding. Once
Way of Hope is built and furnished there will be monthly operational
costs. They will need food, cooks,
clothes, security guards, staff to run the home, water, electricity, school tuition,
etc. The total monthly operational costs
are about $3000, which is crazy cheap given how much is being accomplished. At the same time this is a big deal and this
monthly support will need to be raised in order for the home to stay open for
the boys.
As Jeff and I have thought about how we can help as a family
we have decided we would like to help raise the first month of operational
costs after Way of Hope opens. We have
some ideas up our sleeves so be looking for some pool parties with “concessions”
and pop up lemonade stands in our neighborhood this summer. Woot!
Another way that I feel especially compelled to see this
dream come true is to host a big celebration in honor of Leah’s adoption(iversary). Do you know that we still haven’t done
that? We are quickly approaching our
first anniversary of that special day. I
have felt for an entire year that we didn’t celebrate that day and what it
meant for the life our family adequately.
We went out for Mexican food with our friends and family, but I have
wanted to throw a big party for a whole year.
It’s like we had a wedding with no reception or a baby with no baby
shower (which is actually kind of true).
This just doesn’t feel right to me.
This NEEDS to be celebrated.
I think it will mean even more to me now after the year we
have walked together. God has done
miracles in my heart and in Leah’s life over the last year and my heart is
ready to celebrate it all in a fullness I could not have known a year ago. As the day approaches I will share more about
this in detail, but we would love for people who love her to give to Way of
Hope in her honor.
Knowing Leah and being a part of her story helped me see
those boys and girls, and their moms, with eyes that know what a miracle it is
to be protected and rescued by a God who loves all of us from America to
Africa. In all of our brokenness and
hopeless situations, He sees us and He cares.
I looked into the faces of “Leahs” who found their rescue later than she
did, and some women like Leah’s bio mom who have found their rescue before she
has, but I have indeed been reminded that none of us are outside of His reach.
Thanks for helping me go.
I hope this experience is not lost on me, but even more than that, I
hope it’s only the beginning of something bigger He plans to do. Maybe you need to go next or maybe He will
nudge your heart to obey in another way, but I hope God uses this in your life
too.
He is our way of hope, forever. Never forget that.
Much love to you all.
So thankful for you.
