exciting news...part 1

so, a few posts back, i mentioned that i had some exciting news to share!  are you ready?  here it is...

i am changing jobs!  i have accepted a position with children of the nations as the local florida office community coordinator!

i haven't started my job yet, and i know you probably have questions about what my job entails!  i'll have to tell you about that soon!  but first, let me start at the beginning... 

if you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know that i love my current job as a child life specialist.  but, when God sent me to sierra leone in 2010, my whole world/heart changed (you can read about my first trip starting here).  i fell in love with these faces...and many more...

beautiful girls...sweet smiles and bright eyes!

with this love, came a responsibility for the things i saw, learned, experienced while i was in sierra leone.  this new "knowledge" brought with it a calling...it just took me a little while to figure out what God was asking of me.  God kept reminding me of a couple of verses...

the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. 

~isaiah 61:1  

religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

~james 1:27

it took me two years, a ton of prayer, conversations, and  many confirmations from God, but i have i finally "jumped" into God's plan for me.  thank goodness for God's grace! 

let me tell you a little about children of the nations!  cotn provides holistic, Christ-centered care to orphaned and destitute children in africa and the caribbean.  the children are cared for physically, mentally, emotionally and most importantly, spiritually.  cotn is able to provide this care through two different ways...

the children's home program....

marie -- shy, but so full of love

i don't know when or why she came to the children's home, but because of this place, marie has a stable, loving home, with brothers and sisters and a house mother.  she does chores just like any other 12 year old, she is learning at school, and she is dreaming about what she wants to be when she grows up!  because of the children's home program, marie is being cared for!

and then there is the village partnership program...

2010 - theresa (right), me & a new friend in the village of mokpangumba

i began sponsoring theresa when i met her in her village in 2010.  (read a little more about my sponsorship journey here.)  for a year i wrote letters, sent little gifts and prayed for her!  then, when i returned to sierra leone in 2011, i saw her again...

2011 - me & theresa

i was able to see how much she has grown.  we read together.  we sang songs together.  we blew bubbles.  we laughed.  because of the village partnership program, my heart is bigger and theresa is receiving amazing care!  

there are many other children who are being cared for because of God's work through cotn (and many more who still need sponsors)!  and there are so many other stories i could share!  i'll stop here for now...but know there is more to come!  i haven't even gotten to the details about my future work with cotn...i can't wait to share more about this crazy adventure!

until then...happy monday!

ps - learn more about cotn!
ppss - check out my staff page!