From Renay on our sponsorship journey.  Summed it up for the whole family.

Crazy Orphan People

About 90 days ago we returned home from Zambia, Africa. We had spent a week there, each of us with 10 precious Children. We loved on them, got to know them and taught them about the love that Jesus has for them. We had one task when we returned home, to find “sponsors” for these children. Greer, the leader of Family Legacy, told us to become “those Crazy Orphan people”.

We took the challenge 100%.

This journey has proven to be an emotional one. We have experienced the gamut of emotions trying to advocate for our new children in Christ. Joy, despair, disappointment, surprise, amazement, being grateful, rejection, comfort, delight, defeat, blessed. We have felt all of these and more along the way.

There were times when we thought everyone we knew would line up to become a sponsor as soon as we shared our experience with them. They did not.

There were times when we were certain that the majority of our kids would go without. They are not.

• We never stopped…
• Never stopped praying.
• Never stopped talking.
• Never gave in to not being 100% sponsored across the board!
• We never gave up.

The process has been amazing. One by one, God has put the right person in our path. One by one our children have become sponsored. One by one, we are making an impact in that child’s life, in the lives of those around them, on the culture of Zambia, and the future for that great country.

We are thrilled to announce: We WILL be 100%.

I want to share that in EVERY instance, every time the call came in, or the text came through, or it just happened on the sponsor page…I wept. I am so deeply moved EVERY time. I feel so blessed to be the one chosen to represent those 10 girls from the compounds of Lusaka.

Greer told us before we went that God would select the children for us.  No one knew who they would be until we got there. I believe that with all that I am. Those children took my heart forever.

Kent and Hannah would say the same for their kids as well.

Thank You

So, I want to personally say thank you to everyone that listened to our story. Thank you to everyone for your support. Whether it was financially, spiritually, for your Prayers, for being a friend, for donating items, I say thanks. Thank you for sharing our story with others. Thank you for buying a t-shirt to help fund raise for our next trip. Thank you for bearing with us as we became “those crazy orphan people”. And for those that God led to sponsorship – you know who you are – THANK YOU for partnering with us on this journey.

What is the Next Step

The next part of the journey is going to be amazing!

On our next trip back to Zambia (only 39 weeks to go), we will be reunited with our kids. We will have the opportunity to show them pictures of their “family” back home. We will take gifts – something they do not receive often. We will strengthen our bond and our relationship with them.

We will teach them about God’s grace for them. The next trip will be very different than the first because this time we already know our kids!

We can’t wait to get back to them.

In closing, please keep all of the Zambian orphans in your prayers. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to return. Big things are happening around our next trip that I am not able to share right now, but please keep that in your prayers, just that God’s will be done. He is no doubt working in us and through us. We are trying to heed Greer’s advice. He told us “do not get in the way of God’s miracle”. We are trying.

If you have not heard enough – we are still thrilled to talk about it!!

It has become who we are.