Gift was one of the 14 girls I had the privilege to meet at Camp LIFE. All of my girls were from an area of town called Chawama. I met my group of girls on Monday, and got to know them throughout the week. A large part of my time at camp was spent in "blessing times" with each of the girls. Gift was one of my happiest kids all week, and our blessing time did not come until Thursday. She is 11 years old and has survived both of her parents. She lived with her mother's cousin, and much like many of the kids that had lost their parents, she was considered a burden to the family because they had difficulty providing enough food for themselves, and to them she was just another mouth to feed. After her parent's death, she first lived with her Grandmother, but after a short while she moved in with her mother's cousin. This year was not Gift's first time at Camp LIFE, and I am happy to report that she had put her faith in God during a previous year of Camp LIFE. She had a light about her that was unusual given her circumstance, and it wasn't until Thursday that I caught a glimpse into the pain and suffering she dealt with on a daily basis.
Many of you know that Casey and I went to Africa this past summer to love on orphans. What you may not know is that our lives were radically changed as a result of that journey. Our hearts never came home, and God was about to rock our world! In the 6 months since we have been back, God has been laying out a direction for our lives that is amazing, exciting, terrifying, and humbling all at the same time.
Our journey to this point actually started well before we ever stepped foot on African soil. In December 2009, Casey and I really began to feel like we were intended to eventually take part in full time missionary work. At the beginning of January 2010, we met with our pastor, Brian, to discuss this realization and request prayers for guidance on how this would take shape. We told Brian that we did not know any of the seemingly important questions, like when and where we would go, or what we would be doing, or how it was going to be possible. All that we knew was that our hearts were both on the same page about wanting to serve God with our lives. Brian told us that he and some great prayer warriors at our church would begin praying for God to show us His will and purpose for our lives.
