A Mother's Day Gift that Keeps on Giving

With Mother's Day quickly approaching, I typed an email to our Zambian staff, asking how we could best serve our Mamas at Every Orphan's Hope. We have so many supporters that not only have a heart for the orphan but also have a love for the widow. We call these supporters 1:27s - people that not only hear the Word, but do what it says. They look after orphans and widows.

Many times I find questions in my inbox asking what we recommend sending overseas to bless the Mamas as well as the children. While we have great ideas for what to send the kids, I thought I'd pass the question on so that we could ask the Mamas personally what they would like to receive. Oh, what I would have given to be the one to ask them the question and to see their faces light up with possibilities! It must be similar to how we feel when Christmas is around the corner and we are asked to come up with a Santa List... the endless, fun possibilities!

So Mary-Ann, our Lusaka house coordinator, talked to all of the Mamas and had Humphrey, our IT/transportation manger, email us this response:

First of all thank you for every thing and for the work you are doing, Mary-Ann talked to all the mamas about the kind of gifts they would want they all agreed on sewing machines, they will also need fabric, scissors, and different type of thread. having sewing machines in the homes will help a lot even to the girls then they will know how to sew that will be a great achievement.

Thank to all willing sponsors may the good Lord Bless them.

Thank you.

Humphrey

The email touched my heart in so many ways! Maybe it's because my own mother is a seamstress and I've seen the joy sewing has brought to our home growing up. Or maybe it's because I know these little girls will also get to learn from their Mamas, as I did from mine, how to sew a straight seam and how to mend pants. These Mamas and girls will now have a skill set that can develop and be practiced over a lifetime. A skill set that one day could even bring in some income if necessary and bless the next generation to follow. A gift that will keep on giving for years to come.

Some of you have a passion for sewing, knitting, needlework, etc. We would love to hear how you've used your passion to bless others. Maybe you belong to a sewing circle or a quilt club. Or do you have friends that are passionate about these things too? Now is the time to share what EOH is doing and to bless our Mamas as Mother's Day is approaching. For only $150, we can purchase a sewing machine for a Mama and an entire house. With 11 finished homes, 1 under construction and 2 more planned for the near future, we would love to have enough funds to buy a sewing machine for each house. Also we are collecting thread, scissors, needles and any other sewing accessories that can make this wish come true.

So as Mother's Day approaches and we turn our attention to the special women in our lives, pray about gifts that keep on giving. Our own mothers have given us life, endless love and skill sets which shape who we are today. Let us show this same love by gifting these Mamas and blessing them.

Have a blessed and happy Mother's Day from the team here at Every Orphan's Hope!

Now that I have seen, I am responsible

With Zambia only a week away and the trip fresh on my mind, Brooke Fraser's song fills my head and heart tonight. Something about these trips grips you- grabs a hold of your heart and won't let go. I know full well that I will leave part of me in Zambia next week. 

But the best part of this trip is that I know I get to come back and visit these kids again this summer. Not once have I been able to travel BACK to the places I've left my heart and you're always left wondering how they are - how those 3, now 6 year olds are. Are they learning their letters? Learning how to write and spell their names? It hurts not knowing how they have grown up - they are frozen at 3 years old and forever precious.


But these kids in Zambia will be different. I'm ready to build a relationship. I've already started memorizing all 80 of their names, making their faces familiar in my mind. And next week, as I meet them, I'll get to say "this summer, when I come back..." 

I'll also find one sweet child to sponsor next week. Jake and I are really excited about adding one of these sweet orphans to our family. I'm not sure if it will be a boy or girl, but either way, we can't wait! And at the office, we have been setting up new, exciting tools through Facebook to stay connected to the kids while in the States, so Jake and I will be able to really build a relationship with them through photos, video, and updates. Here is one of the 10 houses I will be visiting next week:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/My-Fathers-House-C4/176879455741018

As I go, I want to remember what really matters. Once I have seen, I am responsible. These children and their stories I will carry with me wherever I go. Please follow me as I'm there... I'll be updating this blog as much as possible from the ground there.

Brooke Fraser - Albertine

Zambia!

The date is set! February 2nd I will be leaving our home in Dallas and flying across the world to Zambia, Africa for 12 days! This new country already has touched my heart, as it is home to the 80 orphans whose names and faces I have learned in the last 3 weeks. I can't wait to meet them face to face. To sit in the dirt with them, to laugh and play, to let them braid my crazy, weird, straight American hair. What a joy it will be to put real live faces with the names I have already come to care about. I have read their stories- now I want to live their lives with them.

 

The best part is that I get to keep coming back and visiting twice a year. In my other travels, I knew I was saying goodbye for a long time, if not forever. Here in Zambia, I can't wait to build lasting relationships... heck, I see some of my best friends here in the States only twice a year!

I'll also be praying and looking for a few children that God really lays on my heart, as I have family members that would like to sponsor a little girl. And Jake and I want to sponsor a child as well. I'm afraid I'll come back to the States asking Jake to sponsor 25 children, but that's what makes me so excited about this "job"... I get to serve these orphans all year long, 8-5, 5 days a week! Could it get any better??

In the weeks ahead I hope to share some of what we'll be doing in Zambia. We have SO much to do in preparation. And once I'm there, I'll also use this blog to update my friends and family about our travels. I can't wait! Thanks for following along!

Check out everyorphan.org to learn more.

These last 10 days have been nothing short of wonderful. What a joy it is to hear stories, to look at pictures and to learn names. Names of children that I get to meet face to face in only a month! I really want to pinch myself sometimes. This "job" continues to bring such joy and it's only just begun!

This week our dear friends Mike and Cindy are in Haiti! As you may know, Haiti hits close to home for me because I was there 4 months after the earthquake in 2010. I can still see mass graves and destroyed buildings in my head. Yet I also remember the heart of those at Mission of Hope and the positive changes they were bringing to the people of Haiti. Mike and Cindy are blessed to go serve at the same Mission of Hope I visited 19 months ago. Check out my experience here. 

I so wish they could update us on their trip but I'll just have to wait patiently until they get home this weekend. As the week has progressed, I think of them often and say prayers for their trip, safety and the experience of a lifetime they are having. These trips define your life. I hope it leaves them changed... that their hearts won't ever be the same and it's just the beginning of their giving... giving of themselves to those in need.

We are all called so differently.. some of us to other countries, to the workplace, to our own homes and neighbors... yet we are all called to give. And with that giving comes joy. The joy I can't wait to see on Mike and Cindy's faces once they are back on American soil and we can take them to dinner to hear all about their trip. Nothing compares to sharing these stories with your loved ones and friends. Nothing compares to the joy of giving.

Big news!

Well folks, I have some exciting news to announce and news that will probably change the future of this blog a little bit. As of this week, I have started what I like to call  a "dream job". I've been volunteering with an organization called Every Orphan's Hope for several weeks and in mid November they asked me to join them full time, starting in December. I seriously had tears in my eyes when the invitation was given and couldn't have been happier to accept. After all, I'm doing what I love and I get to come to work every day knowing that my efforts are making a difference half way around the world. And you know what is the craziest blessing of all?? I'm REQUIRED and PAID to travel to Zambia twice a year as part of my job description! Could it get any better than that? What an answer to prayer this job has become!

So what do I do on a daily basis? Well I'm in the process of working that out but I'll be in charge of donor and sponsor relations. I get to give sponsors updates on their children, communicate with the homes in Zambia to receive those updates, and ultimately make sure that our sponsors have the relationship they desire with the children that they have come to love. I get to be on the front lines and see these relationships develop and I can't wait! I also have been given the freedom to do a little business development, which is another thing I'm very passionate about.

This blog will stay true to its history... I'm here to bring to light, what others are doing around the world and in our country too. Yet, now I will also have a front seat to wonderful stores from Zambia and will love to share those with you too. Hold on to your seats.... this girl is pumped about this new opportunity and won't let it leave me unchanged!

If you want to learn more about Every Orphan's Hope, check out this video:

http://vimeo.com/30296319