News from Zambia...

I am so excited to give you all an update on my kids that you all now know!!

~Maggie~
Well this is very exciting news!! This morning when I got to work I received an email from Paul Mulenga (He is one of my favorite Zambians, who actually worked with me a lot when I was there). He got to know all 5 of the kids: Maggie, Peter, Susan, Joseph and Junior. Anyways, I have been talking back and forth with him on the phone on how things are going over there. He told me last week that he was going to go visit my kids in Kamanga and then let me know an update on them. Soo...email I got was all about the kids. I immediately picked up the phone and called him. It is always so refreshing to hear the voices of Zambians! He told me that all of the kids are doing well. They all thought that I was going to be with him because I always had been when I came to Kamanga but not this time. He said that they were sad, but that he told them that I had been asking about them and praying for them. Paul said Maggie is now going to school!! If you remember, Maggie was just a street kid when I first meet her. Her mother told her that she couldn't go to school because she wanted Maggie to be a street kid. So many questions are asked "WHY?" but to tell you the truth, I don't know why she would want her daughter to not be educated. However, God has really been working in the lives of Maggie and her mom. Her mother came to know Christ on the last day I was there and NOW Maggie's mom is supportive of her going to school. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! My little girl is not on the streets anymore, she is in school. Praise the Lord for sponsorships! I feel so privileged to be able to help her go to school and begin to get educated.

As for the other ones, Paul said that they were all doing well. Not much change in their health, but doing okay. The parents seem like they are continuing to change in a positive way. The only sad part Paul said was that Maggie and Peter's Dad has been really sick and is going to the hospital soon. He said to be praying for him and the family. Paul also told me that he was going to talk with Teddy, one of the head administrators with Family Legacy in Zambia and make sure that these kids were being discipled and taken care of. What refreshing news to hear that my kids are doing good!! God is so good and He is watching over them every moment!!

Maggie

Susan

Peter, Junior, and Joseph

~Emma~
When I spoke with Paul, Holly and I asked about Emma. He said that he went to see her at the Lifeway Homes. When he got there, Emma came up to him and while giving him a big hug said, "Thank you Paul. Thank you so much for all that you have done! I am so happy and I'm so glad that I am here!" When I heard this, I almost cried. Knowing that Emma is doing so well and loving her "new home" and her "new life" humbles me so much! Praise the Lord for how He is constantly restoring her and all of the kids.

Emma (middle) with all her "new" sisters at Lifeway.

As for other testimonies that have been happening here at Family Legacy...we just found a little girl Margret after many weeks of trying to track her down! I got an email from our Zambian office and along with it was a precious picture of her and her grandma as well as a letter written to her American counselor. The sweet words of Zambian children are priceless and move me to tears. The Lord is really on the move and I am so humbled to be able to stand and watch Him do His work and rescue these children 1-by-1.

If any of you are interested in coming to Camp LIFE next summer or want to Sponsor a Child please contact me or look at the website: www.legacymissions.org

I will continue to keep you updated on new things that are happening! Also, I wanted to let you all know that the past week has been so much better on managing time at work, meeting up with friends, etc. God has been teaching me so much lately and I am so excited about this year! The Lord is already giving me glimpses of what is in store over the next few months. (Don't worry, I'll keep you updated on that as well!)

Thanks again for staying updated on my life and what God is doing!! You all are such a sweet blessing in my life!

Passionately His,
Joy

Inexpressible & Glorious Joy

Hey Everyone!!! I am sorry that I have not been able to update y'all on my life. Every time I try to sit down to write, something else comes up or I'm too exhausted. So here is a few weeks later on what has been going on....

Well I have finished 4 weeks at Family Legacy and it sure has gone fast!! I have stayed busy most of the time, but I think now since we have done 2 major projects that things will settle down. In the midst of it all, I have FINALLY finished my newsletter and everything that goes along with that. My goal is to send them out Monday and Tuesday of this week. With that said, if you want a newsletter please write back on a comment or email me. I would love for you to be on my mailing list. (I will be sending a newsletter and a dvd from this summer).

My position with Family Legacy is basically bridging the gap between the kids themselves and Americans. I have had all sorts of questions and emails that I have had to tackle myself and learn alltogether. Everyday I feel so inadaquate to be where I am because I know I can't do what I'm doing with the Lord Jesus by my side. He certain has been my place of refuge as I adjust to a new life living with my aunt and uncle and working more hours than I ever have. One thing that I am trying to do, and you all can help keep me accountable, is to be on a good schedule that is balanced with work, fellowship with friends, church, etc.

One benefit at FLMI is that there is not a certain amount of hours that I have to put in each week so basically you can make your own schedule. With that said, there is so much to do be done so you have to be discipline when you are at work and then be discipline in stopping at the end of the day (which should be around 6 / 6:30pm). With there being so much to do, you tend to feel like you need to stay later, but as Greer and Holly both have said to me, "it will be here tomorrow". Haha. I am looking forward to implimenting these things starting this week. After finishing typing, printing and stuffing my newsletters, my late nights at the office are now no more!! :)

The most encouraging thing about this week was when I got to hang out with some of my dear Kanakuk Friends. Little did I know that a whole group of us all live close to each other. Wednesday night after I left work, I went to Lauren Shoush's apartment and got to see JROB and Alyshia Foster. Oh how we all brought back memories from working at kamp. What a blessing they are to me! And today, Sunday, I drove over to Fort Worth to see one of my campers, Lucy Ryan. We spent the afternoon just hanging out and catching up. I hadn't seen her since before I left for Africa. Fellowshipping with precious friends has been good for my heart! This weekend I realized how important it is to have a good balance of things in your life and to continue to invest in the lives of those you love.

As you read my blog, you probably are thinking that I need to slow down, reprioritize things, get a better schedule, not work so much, etc. As this weekend comes to an end tonight, I do want to tell you that God has been moving in me this weekend. On Saturday night, I went to the movies with my aunt, uncle, and one of their other friends from church. We went to see the movie FIREPROOF. (To give you a little history, I don't go see movies in theaters and I can't remember the last one I went to.) By the way, if you haven't see this movie, you need to! God moved in me in so many ways that I can't really explain it. But there is one thing that I can explain...one of the songs played in the movie is called "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller. If I could choose any song to describe my life right now, it is this one. Some of the lyrics are:

Im waiting

I’m waiting on You, Lord

And I am hopefulI

I’m waiting on You, Lord

Though it is painful

But patiently, I will wait

I will serve you while I'm waiting

I will worship while I'm waiting

I will not faint

I’ll be running the race

Even while I wait

As I was hearing this song played, while the movie continued, I began to cry. They were tears of how I was feeling at the moment. For most of you, you know the status of my dad. He is very weak (40 pounds lighter to say the least) and slowly taking one day at a time in recovery. But along with that, my work consists of long days that I am not with the kids, but I soon will be! Enduring through seasons like this can be tough, but God will be faithful to His word! He will not fade, or let you down, or back off until what He began in you will continue until it is fully complete! The joy of knowing our God and understanding the love He has for you, me, us, is far beyond our understanding, but what's interesting is that HE WANTS US TO KNOW HOW HIGH, HOW WIDE, HOW DEEP, AND HOW LONG HIS LOVE IS FOR US!!!

The title of this post is from 1 Peter 1:8-9 which says,

"Though you have not seen Him, YOU LOVE HIM;

and even though you do not see Him now,

YOU BELIEVE IN HIM & are FILLED WITH AN INEXPRESSIBLE & GLORIOUS JOY,

for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the SALVATION OF YOUR SOULS."

I hope you all are doing well!! Know that even though we can't see our beautiful Lord we still love Him and believe in Him and by us remaining steadfast in those aspects He will reward us with such joy that can't be expressed in words. And this joy that we are expriencing is the goal of our faith...it is our salvation!! Praise the Lord! Amen, Amen, and Amen again!!

Love you all! Please let me know how I can be praying for you!

Living for Jesus,

Joy

Loving where I am...

Well I have been working with Family Legacy for a week now and I have been loving it! It has been a big transition for sure, but whenever you begin a new stage in your life there will always be transitions to go through.

Things have been a bit busy already. I am the Coordinator for the Father's Heart Sponsorship Program and I have the privlidge of communicating with those who are sponsoring children and the children themselves. I absolutely love it!! Being able to work for these children and partner with the Lord as I watch Him rescued 1 child at a time is so humbling. After working a week, it is so much more clear of why I am here and why I have been called to missions.

I'm sure you are wondering where I ended up living...well, my sweet aunt and uncle opened up their home for me to live with them until I find a more permanent place. They live in Hurst, Tx which is only about 20 minutes from my office. I am not sure how long I will be there, but I'm trusting the Lord will show me when I need to know.

I am hoping to get out my support letters next week. I have been working on them plus doing other things as well. (If you want a newsletter then contact me and I'll add you to the list.) We have had a major project that the entire Family Legacy Staff has been working on all week and weekend. We are hoping to be done tomorrow (monday). The project we are working on is to get all the 10,300 kids that we had this summer at Camp Life up online to be sponsored. If you are interested in sponsoring a child go to www.legacymissions.org and click on the Father's Heart Program and then explore to find a child to sponsor for $36 a month. If you would like more information then let me know.

I know this is short, but I wanted to let you know the updates. Please be in prayer for the support I need to raise and for future living situations. THANKS AGAIN for all of the support all of you have given me.

God has been so good and I am constantly in awe

of who He is and what He is doing.

With a Passion for Him,

Joy