Faith the size of a mustard seed.

I am OVERJOYED to announce that I will be getting to spend 2 whole months in Zambia this summer! As most of you know, this is a dream come true for me. Since the moment I stepped foot in Zambia back in 2008, I’ve desired nothing more but to return again and again. And now, I’ve graduated college and have been working for Family Legacy for nearly a year.

This year for me has been filled with child sponsorships, playing a role in the development of our Community Resource Centers and helping create deep relationships between the children at the Tree of Life Children’s Village and their sponsors. Although my time has been spent in the states since August, it is the daily work I do that ensures transforming stories of the children in Zambia. This next story is one that has personally touched me the most.

Joseph walks the streets looking for food in the piles of trash that littered the ground. His bare feet land on sharp cans, plastic, rocks, and paper. His clothes are dirty, ripped and too small for his growing body. It’s the same shirt he has worn for the past 3 years. His thin frame reflects the truth of poverty. It reflects the truth of being the youngest in a house of 11. He lifts his jacket sleeves to reveal the malicious burns that adorn his arms. The embarrassment in his eyes proves the severity of his pain, physically and emotionally. The tears that flood his cheeks tell a story too cruel to fathom. His very own grandmother had thrown a boiling pot of hot water all over his body. Why would she do that? Honestly, it doesn’t matter. The fact is, she had the audacity to purposely abuse her grandson. The good news is, it doesn’t end there. He is now in our sponsorship program and has the care and guidance of a Discipleship Leader, a safe place to run to in case he gets locked out of his home at night, and an education that will grow him to be a leader of his generation. God does not forget about the least of these.

I tell this story to say that when you make the commitment to support me, you ultimately set off a chain reaction of eternally significant events. There are many more Joseph’s living in Zambia today – all waiting for just ONE of us to hear their story and take action.

Your support means more to me than I could ever express on paper or in words. Your contributions and prayers ensure that children and families are forever changed by the power of the gospel and forever changing the world in which they live. Joseph’s life will never be the same, and it is because somebody stood up and said “enough is enough”. Enough has been stolen from this young boy’s life, and this is where it ENDS. This summer I know we will meet countless orphaned children, where we learn their story and we say enough is enough! I invite you to be a part of their story and their testimony, one we don’t know yet, but God already has it in the works!

A few weeks ago, I was challenged to thank God every day for the things that I am not yet aware of. So I took that challenge and every morning as I wake up, I thank God for the day He has given me. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but He does. I realized as time went by, that I stopped worrying about how I would be able to pay my bills because I have an All-Powerful God taking care of me.

Currently, I only have 40% of what I need to continue working with Family Legacy. I have the strictest budget set in place and I have faith God will provide. With that being said, I have exciting news to share with you all. An anonymous donor has offered to give me $200 a month as long as it can be MATCHED! This is an incredible gift! I want to take full advantage of their generosity and ask you to partner with me to increase my monthly support by $400. Even if you can only afford to support me at $15, $25, or $50 a month, that is now doubled to $30, $50, and $100 each month! I humbly ask that you will prayerfully consider giving monthly toward my support account so I can meet the $200 matching gift and continue serving children just like Joseph. All donations are tax- deductible.

“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

A mustard seed is about 1/20th of an inch. That’s 1.27 millimeters. That’s the size of faith God asks for. And yet, we often times think that’s too much. Now is the time to sow those seeds, even if it’s as small as a mustard seed. So I’ve written this letter in faith. Faith that God knows exactly how to provide for me. God will take that faith and move mountains. May God richly bless you for your support into the lives of the countless Zambian orphans. I am eternally grateful for YOU!