This is the first thing I ever wrote home about L*** after we met. We were at Masterpiece Ministries http://www.masterpieceministries.org/summer camp for creative teens at Barefoot Republic in Kentucky. http://www.barefootrepublic.org/ My parents dreamt this ministry some 15 years ago and yet I'd never once attended. I'm not an artist, so what could I contribute? What could God have for me to do there? I had been asked to serve in the kitchen before, cooking & catering to the needs of the gluten & dairy free, which is after all, the only art I practice. But it wasn't until our eldest, October (13) was heading into her freshman year of high school, and therefore eligible to attend camp, that I decided to help.
I didn't actually want to go. We were having a busy summer, as it always the case with four children and summer camps. I was tired. I wanted to focus on our adoption. Our first home study visit was three days before camp. I kept thinking, "How am I going to leave 3 of my 4 kids for almost 7 days?! How am I going to leave Tom on his own to manage them and work at the same time. " That was before he sprained his ankle less than 24 hours before my flight with October to Nashville. We had gone for a run while the kids were watching cartoons. I was going to spend the day packing and preparing meals to freeze for their impending independence from Mom. Instead we spent the day at the E.R.
If it wasn't for a particularly equipped friend, Ellie, who texted that she could help with the children, I would flown our daughter out to my parents and come right back. I felt horribly guilty for leaving my husband high and dry. I thought it was God giving into my anxiety ridden pleas, saying, "Don't go. This is your out."
Well, He wasn't. I was about to find out that He definitely was not saying that. He was saying yes to an 8 year long prayer request to give us another child. And I needed to let go of all my crutches as the doctor sized Tom's for him.
On Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 11:16 AM,
Its been possibly the most labor I have ever done on a mission trip in my life. But there is so much happening here I cannot sum it up in short. There are 6 of us feeding 82 people. We are on our feet about 13 hours a day minimum. We wake up by 5:30. Last night I didn't get to bed until 11:30. I got a shower at about 8pm before late night snack.
Part of the reason that happened yesterday is that I spent the afternoon with an orphan from Ukraine named L who speaks no English. She was abandoned at age 6. She is 15 until November. After her 16th birthday she will be turned out to survive on her own. She has the option to attend a trade school but probably won't. Most girls in her situation turn to prostitution. 15% commit suicide.
I have a few days to love on her but then...? She is beautiful and smart and loves babies. She helps me hold Gwynnie and bake. We communicate thru Google Translate on her iPad and my Kindle. It might look funny from a distance. Please cry out to God to save her from the future that surely awaits her. Pray that her host family adopts her so she never has to go back. Last night she walked up to us and said "I Russian L***" with a huge smile on her face. Earlier she said she does not miss her home nor want to return. When I asked what she likes about America she said "all".
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