Religion that God our father finds pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in their distress
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27
Dear Kinley and Emery,
In October of this year, I got to go on a trip to the country of South Africa for 12 days. At the time, Kinley, you were only 5 months old, and Emery, you weren't even set to be born for another three months! Your poor mom was left home alone not only very pregnant but also taking care of her young baby (and let me tell you Kinster, you weren't easy! ha). Though she knew how hard it was going to be for her without me there to help her, she truly wanted me to go. You see, this was more than just a mission trip for me...instead, it was an ongoing part of what I want the legacy of my life to be about....looking after orphans in their distress. As I write to you today, I have a very important prayer for my daughters.
First, I want to briefly tell both of you how fighting to better the lives of orphaned children became so important in my life. In the Summer of 2008, your mom and I decided to take part in a Global Mission Trip to Brazil. At the time our lives were going very well. I was doing well in business and your mom was not only a respected teacher but was also becoming a leader in Missions ministry at our church. We both loved to travel and this was an exciting opportunity to work for God. While there, we got to spend a week loving on children from some of the more impoverished areas of Rio de Janeiro. We ran vacation bible schools where we taught young children about how much God loves them, and we emphasized how Jesus is the bridge that carries each of us to eternity. These kids were incredible. Though they had very little in material possessions, they had huge smiles and even bigger hearts. As your mom and I held countless kids in our arms, we began to see that though they didn't look like us or even speak our language, we felt a genuine love and compassion for each of them. It was on this trip that we first began to realize that we wanted to someday adopt children into our family. You see, it was this trip that helped lead us to you, Kinley. :-) We know that God brought us to Brazil to start us down the road that eventually placed you in our arms. How amazing is His plan.
What was also instrumental for me in the experience was one evening in which we got to meet a group of 18-25 year olds called "The Radicals". This group of young people were actually native Brazilians that were either getting ready to leave or were just recently returning from 4 year stints as missionaries to Africa. The night we met them, we got to hear their testimonies of the amazing things God was doing through each of them. We met one young girl who was working in a poor rural community in which nearly all of the mothers in the village that had given birth to children were HIV positive. As a side effect, these mothers were not producing breast milk and everyday babies were dying of starvation simply because their mothers were sick. This young girl took it upon herself to relentlessly petition Nestle, a baby formula provider, and was eventually successful in getting a formula sponsorship for several villages. As she told her story of hundreds of lives saved and tremendous impact made, I was amazed at how she gave all glory to God. She humbly said that she was blessed to be a part of His plan to be used to care for the most vulnerable.
I have to tell you girls, her story hit me incredibly hard. Coming into that night I had felt pretty good about my life, and I had always felt my growing career and big paycheck meant that I was leading a successful life. When I heard her story I was overwhelmed by the incredible need in Africa, and was also overwhelmed at the impact she was making with her life. She truly was successful. I suddenly realized I knew nothing of success. The feeling was so overwhelming that I literally cried for hours that night. As your mom and I talked, I knew that God was telling me that some things in life are more important than others - and nothing is more important to God than those who are suffering. I felt like I had been blind for so long and I could finally see. I thanked God for revealing his truth. I began to pray intensely for His direction, and I started to beg for the opportunity to be used by Him.
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| Had so much fun with these guys |
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| Rio was an amazing city |
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I love making children smile. I'll make a complete fool of
myself to make a kid happy. I love it. |
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| I still remember Maria saying, "I want to adopt someday." |
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| Samara was such a sweet little girl. |
For months I sought out guidance, and slowly God revealed his heart to me. I remember the first time I read James 1:27, and I remember re-reading over and over again the words "pure and faultless"as it related to caring for orphans. I also remember reading about Africa, and my heart dropping when I read "by the end of 2011, there will be 20 million children orphaned because of AIDS in Africa." I began to think about how instrumental my parents had been in my life. I thought about all the ways my dad and mom had shaped me, molded me, and loved me into the man I had become. My heart began to break for each child left in Africa without parents. Why them? Why are 10 year olds left to raise their brothers and sisters, yet I was blessed with loving parents? I could not get past the thought of these children being left hungry, vulnerable, and alone. In my mind I could think of nothing more tragic. God truly was revealing his heart to me, and as he did his work my heart quickly began to belong to them...orphaned children.
God later provided a professional opportunity for me to work for an organization that helped orphaned children all over Southern Africa. For a year and a half I worked for Helping Hands In Africa and I got to be part of helping raise funds that went directly to church communities in Africa that ran feeding projects, AIDS home based care, preschools, learning centers, grief counseling, etc. I got to go to Africa fives times, and I got to be a part of an organization that helps thousands of these children every day see the light of Christ and realize they are not alone. It truly was one of the greatest joys of my life and an experience that left me forever changed.
This brings me back to my trip in October - the trip that got me thinking about you girls. On this trip I got to lead a group of 15 people (including your Aunt Kasey) from our church to go and love on these children. Helping Hands identified 25 of the most vulnerable children in two villages (Top and Rooigrand) and our team got to invest in these kids in the most amazing ways. Every day we taught them a lesson about why they are special to God. They are special because God made them. They are special because they have talent. They are special because God has a plan for their lives. They are special! We did everything we could to give them hope in the face of desperate circumstances. We held them. We laughed with them. We ate with them. We cried with them. We loved them. We cared for the sick. We prayed for the needy. We did everything we could. And you know what, girls? They did more for us then we ever could have done for them. They changed all fifteen of us forever. They did it with their smiles. They did with their hugs. They did it by simply being precious children. On our last day with them as the tears streamed down our faces simply because we didn't want to leave, they wiped the tears away and just smiled at us. They whispered to each of us, "Thank you, I love you," and they squeezed off the most amazing hugs. They gave us hope, and they reminded us that God is big enough and strong enough to show up even in the darkest of situations. They showed us that their future is not yet written and their fate is not yet sealed. They stole our hearts.
You see girls...this trip changed me forever...just like the trip to Brazil had done before that. I see the faces of children like Omphile, or Thadanka, or Sara...they are burned in my brain. Now even though so many of them have seen unspeakable tragedy in their lives, God's love flowed through them so much that they were able to change me forever. What breaks my heart still is that I know that there are 20 million more of these children, each with names, faces, smiles, and dreams that are just as special as the 25 I got to hug in October. As I think about each of them and the obstacles they are up against in life, the promise that I make to myself and to God is that I will never stop praying, never stop giving, and never stop fighting to help give them the best life that I can.
My prayer is that both of you...my precious girls...will do the same.
I pray that God will develop in both of you a heart of compassion for those who are suffering. I pray that someday both of you will go to Africa with your mom and I, and that when you do your heart will be broken (because we all should pray that our hearts are broken by the things that break the heart of God). I pray that in life you always will work to love "the least of these" in Jesus' name. I pray that in the end you know that success comes in loving God and loving people (Matthew 22:37-39), and not in "being polluted by the world." I pray that my two precious girls never have to endure the loss of their parents at a young age like these girls, and I thank God everyday for the privilege of being your father. I pray that you both develop hearts for God that define your actions and decision making. I pray that you cherish each other and know that families are a gift from God. I pray for you Kinley. I pray for you Emery. I pray for all the blessings that a father could ever hope for his daughters. And...I pray for 20 million children just like you that have lost their parents. Will you join me, princesses? Will you love these children with me? I pray that you will. I pray...
With much love for my beautiful daughters,
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| Love those smiles. |
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| One of the most beautiful little girls I've ever seen. |
