today was an AWESOME day! my life experiences came full circle with the yearnings of my heart.
some of you know I've had a burden on my heart for African children for some time. my heart breaks each and every time I see the living conditions, the wars, the poverty, and the faces of these children. until today I had not found the right way to help.
partner my desire to help African children with the desires of all three of my "boy's" hearts for another family member...mark has thought about adopting for awhile; spencer has always desired a baby sister; and yesterday when connor wrote out his first Christmas list of the season, he said, "I want a nuthr bruthr" and then clarified "or sister."
my full circle moment came at the end of a church service, where we were blessed to see the African Children's Choir at my sister's church. I cried from the moment they burst onto the stage with their huge smiles, exhuberant dancing and most precious voices.
as each child introduced themself and their dream, I jotted down names and careers. jennifer- a doctor; gideon- an engineer; ben- a pilot; rebecca- a dentist; rachel- a social worker...twenty five children, twenty five different names, twenty five individual dreams. while bringing these children home with us in a physical sense wasn't possible (it was made clear they were not up for adoption), we were offered the opportunity to bring these children home. some in the choir still needed to be fully supported financially. for they have dreams of being educated and staying in Africa to change their country.
this is where my full circle moment happened. after I received information about sponsorship, mark asked if "rita" was shown in the sponsorship binder. I looked down my list and couldn't find a child named rita. maybe he meant freda. as I looked through the binder, there she was... Fridah, a 10 year old girl from Uganda, East Africa. as soon as I told mark she needed help, she was ours.
looking into connor and spencer's faces with tears in my eyes, I said "Christmas is coming early this year. you're going to get your sister!" my advent conspiracy moment had come. as one of the volunteer workers went backstage to get Fridah for us, I was almost jumping out of my shoes with excitement! she's absolutely beautiful! and we're so excited to be able to support her!
love expanded our family today.
14 comments:
Kristyn -- You must have the hugest heart ever! How very generous and kind you are. I'm so glad that we've connected through blogging. It's so wonderful to meet people like you who have so much love in your heart.
aaaaahhhhh! I knew you'd get your opportunity to be a blessing to those in Africa, remember that conversation?!! and look here...you all are being blessed back! This is so awesome. Welcome to the family Fridah! Lovely way to kick off the holidays!
Oh my, what a post. First, just the idea that you so put your heart out there to help someone that you felt was in need, and then to have it happen in this way. What a blessing
Kristyn, i can barely type as my eyes are filled with tears. How wonderful of you and your family to open your heats to this child who is so in need of your support. I know that your family will be blessed many times over for all the love and generosity that you are putting out into the world. what a beautiful example you are setting for your boys!
i miss fridah already, and i can't stop thinking about her. in spite of the pinch of activity and margin preparing for the holidays, God gave us the collective desire of our heart. fridah is no more "ours" than birth made the boys "ours". but she was equally gifted to us by God as a deposit directly into our hearts. they are all children of God, securely within the reach of our arms. i love you so much for being joined together with me in the excitement of supporting fridah. we love you, fridah! and we are thinking of you tonight, and every moment from this one forward.
What a beautiful "grand daughter" we have! We will continue to lift her up in prayer as one of ours...a gift from God and a gift from you, Mark and the boys. I'm sorry we didn't meet Fridah, but I know one day we will! Congratulations to all of us! Welcome to the family Fridah...Love MomMom and PopPop
Such a heartwarming post. What a gift to both you and her! :)
how awesome that you opened your heart and home to help.
Oh Kristyn! This just touches me so. How wonderful for your family and Fridah. What a blessing she will be to you all and you to her!
Wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Kristyn! This is just so amazing. You have such a wonderful heart and I am so touched to read this. It is truly inspiring! I look forward to hearing more about Fridah!
Enjoy your weekend!
Suzy
Awesome!!!!!!!!! What a blessing to me to read and what an enormous blessing to Fridah!!
When my brother and I were in junior high, we had an African's Children Choir come to our church. I still cannot believe my mother did this, but two or three of those sweet little boys spent the night with us! We took them out for tacos of all things! Ha! It was such a great memory. They were mesmerized by our little fish tank. I'll never forget their beaming faces. Hugs to you and I'm so thankful your family had room for another. ;)
God bless.
How wonderful!
That's so amazing how God works. What a great advent story!
You have the biggest heart! Our whole family were blessed to see The African's childrens choir at our church too. There wasn't a dry eye in the building. I was crying, my dad was crying, Keith was crying.......... well you get the picture ;-) We were so profoundly moved!
You impress me friend. Such huge generosity of spirit. Truly beautiful and inspiring!
P.s. You and your husbands heart seems to be in perfect accord. Both of you seem to be exceptional with your generosity and compassion. His love for you conveyed through his comments are beautiful too. Seems like you two were made for each other ;-)
xx Jess
Post a Comment