Hello 2014!

It's a New Year! New adventures await us!

I have so many things to share with you! What a year 2013 was for our family!

I apologize, haven't been faithful to blogging this year, but it has been a wonderful one! 

Here is a ultra fast 2013 catch up!

In February we were blessed with the birth of our 5th child,  Jedidiah John. He is such a gift!

Both my husband & I we able to travel to Sierra Leone last year! His trip was in June and I was able to go in November. 

My heart is full of stories and honestly don't know how to begin. So, we will start with what is happening with us now & I will slowly try to catch you up on stories from last year. 

We have some exciting, very exciting news!! 

Our big 'little' family is looking forward to 2014 and what The Lord has planned for us! 

Our family (all 7 of us!) will be spending most of May & June in Sierra Leone.

We will be partnering with missionary friends who live there, focusing on our Church's partnership goals, working with orphans, widows & street children. Justin will be doing construction work at the school for special needs children & Margaret's Orphan home, where we have spent most of our time serving during past trips. 

We don't know what the future holds but we are trusting The Lord and moving forward on this journey one step at a time. Whatever The Lord has for us, we are saying Yes!!!  Our family is taking this leap of faith into the arms of our Mighty God, following in obedience believing this is the next step for us in missions.

We want to thank all of you for the amazing amount of support you have already given us and ask that you please continue to pray with and for us! Sierra Leone is not going to be an easy place to get to or live with our unique family age and dynamic; and it is going to take a great big pile of miracles to make this happen but we are praying & trusting! We are so excited for this adventure and all of it's unknowns that can only be accomplished by our Mighty Creator and very thankful to be a part of it. 

We will be transitioning this blog into 'our family' blog, where you will be able to read thoughts and happenings from all of us. Hopefully I will have those updates done soon! 

Our family on mission, what an amazing adventure! Both Justin & I and the children are very excited about this opportunity and the kids will have things to share as well!

Here we go!!!!!!

Chris, along with Justin

Zeke, Gideon, Levi, Isabel & Jedi

St. George

St. George is a refuge for orphans and street children. When we arrived at St. George we were greeted by 12 beautiful smiling faces.  In June a mission team from our church had spend some time here doing bible studies and at that time there were quite a few more kids.  We found out that just a few weeks before our arrival in Sierra Leone most of these children had been placed in homes of family members or foster care. We hope and pray that this will bring the stability and security of a family that will mold them into the leaders their country needs.

While there the June team left funds that would supply rice until the end of this year, we got to deliver the November parcel.  We also brought t-shirts for these kids made by the children from our church, Memorial Baptist in Jefferson City, Missouri. 

These shirts said LOVED on the front, and on the back a hand print with different scriptures on them that teach us about love.  We pray that these children come to know they are loved!  Loved by a God who is the Father to the Fatherless and loved by a group of people from the other side of the world. They were so excited to have the hugs and greetings we brought with us. We also were able to leave some clothes, shoes and toys for these sweet children. They gathered together to share some of their heart breaking stories with us and sang for us with pure joy.  Their voices and smiles will be in our hearts for a long time to come.

Margaret's Kids

Ibrahim

Chris had a list of people she had met and grown to love on her trip in May and through her I had grown anxious to meet all of them. Some of these people were Margret and her kids. The first time we went to the small house that they all call home Margret wasn’t there but most of the kids were. They were so excited to see that Chris had come back, and that I wanted to come and meet them.  Okay, these kids have got to be the best group around. The way they, work together, live together, take care of one another is beyond any group of siblings I have ever encountered.  When we arrived several kids were on the porch of the little house and upon hearing the commotion more appeared.  I was quickly embraced as an old friend and ushered into the home for a tour.  People so proud of the little they have and excited to invite me to see and experience it with them. Shortly after introductions and the tour of the area I was whisked away by some of the boys beckoning me to play football with them.  It sure didn’t take long for them to latch onto me like we had met many times before.  So there I am, first day in Africa, playing football (soccer) with a group of half barefoot boys on a rocky patch of ground.  Boys filled with so much joy as they play together one would never guess or imagine what they have been through and what their eyes have seen.  These kids live with greater hope and joy than most of the people I will ever meet.  We sometimes hesitate to share their hard stories, please don't focus on where they came from, but the Hope of Jesus that lives in their hearts and smiles.



Peter was also with the kids
found in 2004 first taken in
by Margaret.
His favorite football team is
Barcelona!



Hawa was small when rebels invaded
and killed her mother, In 2004 she
was among the 15 children found in
an old building that Margaret took in.



Martin was found in a trash heap.
He has multiple disabilities and cannot speak.
He unfortunately has been in alot of pain
and suffering lately, but this letter
from a little girl named Abigail,
It made him so happy! He was smiling!



Issac's parents were killed in the war
He was abandoned by an aunt
at a junction in the road.
He loves math & soccer!

Chris and I had brought letters for these orphans from the Children’s ministry at Memorial.  We were also able to give some clothes and shoes that were sent with us. The next day we returned and delivered these simple letters and gifts, they brought so much joy and appreciation to these kids who were excited to hear that someone on the other side of the world was thinking about and praying for them. The truth is these children are the ones who can share with all of us lessons of God’s love, goodness, peace and faithfulness. Chris and I have resolved to get to know these kids, their faces and names. So that next time we see them, when Peter or Joseph run up to me with a ball asking to play, I will be able to call them by name.   



Mariama was so proud of
these new cute shoes!



All these boys are wonderful. Omaru in the middle
is amazing,  it is his main responsibility
to care for Martin!



To be known and loved! Yeama



Picking teams for football,
I'm Justin, the one with the nice shoes.