Two years ago, I stepped on African soil, not realizing how my life will be forever changed: as I walked down a hill, trying not to slip and fall in the "mud", into what is known as the Mathere Slums in Nairobi, Kenya; as I came face to face with what reality means for kids in Africa and all around the world; as I saw 8 year old girls carrying babies on their hips; as I held a beautiful little girl with eyes full of hurt, despair, and hopelessness, trying so hard to simply get a smile from her. I lay awake that night crying because I was so broken for these children who have had their childhood ripped from their hands and replaced by lifelong hurts and scars. That night was when I realized that doing nothing is not an option anymore.
One year ago, after months of searching, closed doors, and tears, I was back in Kenya. But how quickly I learned I couldn’t heal these children’s broken hearts with my own broken heart. I can’t fully show them God’s love if I haven’t accepted the love he has for me. I can’t give something I don’t have. One year ago, I began my journey to freedom from lies and bondage that held me captive for years, allowing God to romance my heart and make it whole. As a result, I was able to help others accept the love and freedom from the Father because I knew how important it is.
Today, I am holding children in Kolkata, India who have known the darkest of nights. They know what it means to be scared and starving. They know what it means to be abused by people who are supposed to protect them and to be abandoned by people who are supposed to love them. They know what their reality is far more then we like to believe or accept our own… and they are only four years old. Yet I am watching the Fathers love shed light into the darkest of stories and transforming it into something beautiful. I am watching laughter break through their walls of feeling forgotten and worthless. I am watching these kids find healing, love, truth, power, and freedom from us by simply being what God has called us to be: his hands and feet. These kid’s lives are being changed daily and it will affect how they will live the rest of their life. As they are finding life, I also couldn’t feel more alive myself. There is no place I would rather be. This is home.
One year from now, I hope to be still on the mission field. I hope to be in the nations breaking chains off people’s feet and setting the captives free. I hope to be holding yet another child who desperately needs to have someone tell them that they are loved and worth far more then they even realize. I hope to be exposing the lies that us as humans so easily believe about ourselves, reveal the truth about who God says they are, and then empower them to walk in the authority and power we have through Christ. I hope to be on the World Race program with Adventures in Missions, going to 11 different and desperately hurting countries in 11 months. That’s where I hope to be.
But as much as my heart longs to go and do this, I can’t unless someone else will choose to send me. I have to raise $20,000 within the next year in order to go. Trust me… I wouldn’t be asking for this if I had the money to send myself. Just as I walked through the journey from brokenness to wholeness, I long to walk with others around the world who are desperate for the freedom that Christ offers us all. So would you consider partnering with me to bring hope to the hopeless? If so, you can click on the "support me" tab and it will direct you on how you can donate. You can also contact me if you have any questions or comments at [email protected]
