Hello! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
This past month I had the privilege of working with Legacy of Hope. Legacy of Hope is a remarkable ministry who has a huge heart for the abandoned and abused children/teens of Honduras. Their aim is to see as many children as possible placed into loving Jesus filled homes to be raised in a family environment. Believe it or not, the amazing couple (Matt and Marianne Spangler) who run this ministry are from my favorite place on the planet ….LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA! When I found out that I was placed with a family from my hometown for Christmas I couldn’t have been more grateful! Beside the fact that I was able to learn from and spend time with this incredible family, I also received the benefits of having some classic Lancaster County foods for the Holidays. (This included Cracker Pudding, which, to my shock, my teammates informed me is only eaten in Pennsylvania and is not a normal dessert) What a wonderful treat!
Matt and Marianne have welcomed 9 children into their home and now are the parents of 11 children. There are 2 other homes that are part of this ministry -10 other children are being raised with the same love and family environment. I was privileged to spend the month helping serve one of the “mothers” of those homes, Rachel. Rachel is 22-years-old and is raising 4 toddlers and 2 babies on her own. I admit, the first week I was there to help ….I was convinced I would never ever have children. I was completely shocked and overwhelmed with the responsibility Rachel had taken on and how she gave everything she had to serving these little children as her own. I was only her helper and I ended each day exhausted with the responsibilities of being a “mommy”. So many diapers, so much swaddling, book reading, baby noise making, lifting up and down, food prep, clean up, the list goes on and on. I didn’t know how she did it day in and day out (even though the little cuties were adorable to say the least!), but as time went on the Lord began to show me how when He places a passion in your heart He will give you the strength to do it. He has equipped us all for the gifts that He has given us and I was able to spend 4 weeks watching Rachel live out her calling; what a beautiful thing. Rachel, you’re an amazing servant of the Lord and I am so honored to have spent time learning from you.
I continued to be blown away by the ministry as each day went by. I saw right before my eyes Legacy of Hope answering the Lords call to take care of the orphaned. I was able to see the ministry receive a phone call about an abandoned baby who had been left in a cemetery and was covered in ants. There was no way to know how long the baby had been left there, but they believed a few days. Within minutes of receiving this phone call I saw a crib being built, and within a few hours one of the mothers (Sophia -21 years old) accept the baby into her home to raise and take care of this child. Sophia is now the caretaker of 2 toddlers and 2 newborns. Amazing. Without any hesitation she welcomed this precious little girl into her home. I still cant believe that everyday for a month I was able to hug, play with, and say “Jesus loves you” to these amazing babies who have truly and honestly touched my heart. Many of them are still in the foster care system as are being raised by these amazing amazing people. Will you please join me in praying that they would be protected by the Lord and would be able to remain in these safe and loving homes? I can’t explain to you how it feels to know such beautiful, sweet as honey children and to leave them not knowing their future is secured. Believing Jesus will answer these prayers.
Much love and joy to you all!
Cherish
