Children Talking to Children about Children

During a visit with Geoffrey and Suzanne Richter, missionaries in Burkina Faso who are home on furlough,  God granted us a rather spontaneous opportunity to participate in the missions focus of the Oak Hills VBS.  It was the coolest thing, as this is a church who has poured into Burkina for the last ten years.  The interest and the passion for Burkina Faso are high.  

Mainly what the Lord asked of us was to let Emily and Titus's video about Africa ignite an interest in a couple hundred other little kids.  The VBS kids really connected with Emily and Titus's stories about Africa and the orphans with lots of oooohs and aaaaahs at the pictures.  Nothing us grown-ups could have said would have been as delightful as children hearing children!  Once again, God is demonstrating we are not a couple of missionaries dragging our three kids around the world.  We are a family of FIVE missionaries.

Our kids had a blast being "behind the scenes" in the VBS extravaganza. Philip and I were so encouraged by the seeds of missions planted in the hearts of the youth.  As the missionary from Brazil told the kids: You don't have to go far away to be a missionary.  You don't have to grow up to be a missionary.  In fact, if you're not a missionary right where you are, going overseas won't make you one!

Let me introduce you.....

As a reader of this post, you are a part of the team pouring God's love and enthusiasm into missions, and we thank God for you.  It's fun to hear that some of you have encountered each other in unexpected places and discovered your mutual interest in God's work in West Africa! 

 

We thought it'd be fun to introduce you to some of the other members of this team.  First, let me introduce you to the Warning, Colburn, and Perez families.  Several years ago, this family adopted us into their large and loving extended family.  Now these girls have the uncanny ability to know when Sara is needing encouragement, even from states away and when she hasn't said a word.

What we love about these families is they are serving God's children anywhere and everywhere.  When we were in Kentucky in June, they took us to a CASA (foster care advocacy) banquet and in July they had us walking across the dam in support of children with autism.  If you have a Front Row t-shirt or a West African bracelet, chances are you've already been in contact with this family because they are behind the scenes in all of that.  We are talking generations of support here.......

 How awesome is that?!

 

Another family we'd love for you to meet is the Williams family.  These friends are serving as our mouthpiece to our church family in Kentucky.  The day they agreed to be our official communication partners, they started getting questions about our family's plans.....before we'd even left town for the first time!  Seems to us they are PERFECT for this role.  On top of this, they are attentive friends and supporters of missions in many places.

So many people are a part of this Front Row Burkina team, and this work wouldn't happen if God were not pulling us all together!  Again, we are the blessed ones to know each and every one of you and how God is weaving West Africa into the stories of your lives.  Thank you!

Front Row Right Here

One aspect of being Front Row is we are front row right now for what God is doing among His people in the States. 

As in The Chronicles of Narnia:

"Look!  Look!  Look!" cried Lucy.

"Where? What?" asked everyone.

"The Lion," said Lucy.  "Aslan himself.  Did you see?" Her face had changed completely and her eyes shone.

We have seen Jesus in the Cracker Barrel waitress who gave us this envelope of change, in a friend in a wheelchair who thanked us for letting him be a part of something so glorious, in a recent immigrant who handed Philip cash saying, "I read your brochure and I want to be on your team," in a youth group in Texas initiating their own fundraisers on our behalf, in the couple considering changing their anniversary trip destination to West Africa.  Each of these interactions leave us with the lingering awareness we just saw Jesus.  Isn't it great to be front row?!

The Giving Birthdays

Birthday parties are always fun, but our friends are finding a way to make them even more fun: let the kids learn that Jesus wasn't kidding when he said it is better to give than to receive.  The idea is that instead of bringing a gift for the birthday child, the guests are invited to bring a donation to bless children who are truly in need.  Our kids' friends have given to children's homes, orphans, and local children's programs through their birthday parties.  A few have used their birthday parties to send our family to Africa!

Noah and Colin had a swimming party last week for their ninth birthday.  Titus informed me, "They are not little kids anymore!"  It seems nine is the age to be these days.

 

Back in April, Baby Avie turned one with a "Jesus Loves the Little Children" themed party and her guests donated to From Daniel's Tears.  Such a cute idea!

 

There was another birthday in which the guests donated to our missions fund, but I don't have any pictures because we don't even know the family who hosted it.  How amazing is that?  For a child to give up presents at his party to send a family he has never met to Africa! 

 

We praise God for parents teaching generosity at such a young age.