A Little Bit of Reality

We went by last night to visit the children and take pictures of them in order to get medical assessments. As beautiful as these children are and all of the wonderful pictures that they take, these next group of pictures show the reality that these children face. Most are malnourished and are in very poor health.

I want to show you the reality of some of the lives of these children as well as show you more pictures of this trip.

The children just cling to me to get any ounce of affection that they can.

Even in the horrible conditions in which they live, they have the most beautiful smiles that sometimes shine through.

These children are just beautiful.

This little one could not move when we arrived. After just two days of interaction with her she was standing, swaying when music would play and smiling.

The children just kept coming and coming.....I think 90 something in all.

These are a few of the village children.

A harsh reality of where they use the bathroom.

Lori is a speech therapist and has already made progress with this little one.

They pull their water up from the well which is too impure to drink.

Kelly has loved on this little one the whole time. They are truly bonded.

Adama was scared when Erica first approached.

Erica broke through her timidness and got her more comfortable with all of us light skinned people. She is the cutest baby!!!

This is such a sweet picture of them bonding. A true Momma's heart.

Tina's daughter, Emily met up with some of her birth family for the first time in 5 years. The above picture is all of them waiting for them to arrive. It was quite emotional and such a special day for them.

Emily, with her birthmom after 5 years.

The two mothers meet again.

Emily's birth father was very loving and happy to see her. They were very sweet.

I feel this picture is a foreshadowing of how God is using Emily to lead her people to their destinies. She is just 14 and carries herself with such maturity and has such a calling on her life. She has grown and blossomed over the past 5 years Into such a beautiful person .

The two families really bonded and had such gratitude toward one another.

Katie met up with a familiar face by chance in the crowd which made them both emotional.
This was a God moment and such a miracle that they saw this little girl.

Peggy, Erica's mother in law has been such a sweet addition to this trip. She has such a mother's heart and cares for all these children so much.

You will see just how emotional this trip is. The emotions are all over the place....up and down. It is all such a wake up call as to how these children live. Sometimes you just have to stop and cry.

They are just so precious and have such destiny if only given the chance which is the most heartbreaking .

Jesse does so great with all the children. She loves them sooo much. She is truly in her element.

Some faces that stay in our minds after we leave. It is very hard to lay down at night knowing that these children sleep on the floor.

Please continue to pray for these children and our mission here to rescue them into a better life. WE are working hard to set up the care center and get it all ready. At that point we need God to relinquish these little ones into our care. We then hope to transfer them into the new center and give them beds, baths, food, nutrition, .......a home, for the first time in their lives. We pray God's favor is with us and his mercy falls on these children and on the people who hold their lives in the balance. We pray they want the best for these little ones and allow us to move them over quickly and with their blessing.

God, help us help them. We feel your prayers and have peace while here in this country.

Pray!!

Need everyone's prayers for the destinies of the children. A lot going on right now that I can't go into but hope to post about later tonight or tomorrow. Just pray for all of us involved and the children right now. Got a lot going on.

A Few Pics of our Day

A couple of the cuties that we are working with.

The little one above was drinking her water after finishing her bowl of rice.....no cup...no utencils.

These are just a few of the beautiful faces that greeted us. They just kept coming out. More and more orphans....it was unbelievably sad to think that these kids don't have anyone to call Mom and Dad. They were so love starved.

They warmed up quite a bit and decided they loved having their picture taken.

They were so adorable.

Here is our group on a stop we made in a village.

A few of the cuties above became my special friends.

This is part of our group just before we took off on the plane.

h

Finally at least one picture that uploaded from the trip. I wanted to post it before it shuts me off. This is at least proof that I am totally in my element.

Working on more.

Finally a post from Sierra Leone!!

We have really been having trouble getting online. I have tried to load a picture on here for over an hour with no success. You can imagine how bad it hurts my soul to post without adding pics of our amazing trip.

The trip over was very smooth. It took a lot to get 10 girls and 30 something bags over here but we did it. We visited the children yesterday and I can't even explain how absolutely precious they all are. They just LOVED having us there. They are so full of love and they are so in need of love. They hang all over you always waiting for a smile or a hug. They had fun braiding my hair and I would look down as they were holding my hands and they would be rubbing their fingers up and down my arms, examining my white skin.

We have seen some very sad things as well with the children that I will have to go into at another time but trust me.....it hurts me so bad to not be able to post any pictures of these precious children.

We went today and checked out the new building which is going to be awesome!! There is so much room for all the children. We are so excited to get it all set up.

Once again, my eyes are opened as I realize how blessed we are in America. Everything is just so hard here. And I mean EVERYTHING (internet). We were with the children yesterday when they got thirsty for water. Two boys that looked about 9 and 10 loaded up two big water buckets and took off out the door through the field until they were out of sight. They came back about 10 minutes later with water for all 86 children to share....just after they had eaten their bowl of plain white rice....and that's it. They were lined up all the way up the hall and out the door waiting for their meal for the day. They had their bowl of rice, then poured the water in the same bowl and drank their water out of it. There is so much here that I can't even explain in a blog post. But let me tell you how sweet it is to see such poor conditions that these kids live in and then to hear them all break out into sweet song about Jesus all in unison. Their hearts and their spirits are just so in tune to God here because it is the only hope they have.

The group of women I am with are all amazing women. I do believe God has each one of us here for all different reasons. We all share the same heart for the orphan and the same passion to try to make a difference. Tina, on our trip adopted a daughter from here 5 years ago and brought her back to visit her family on this trip. She is 14 now and hasn't been here since she was 9. I documented the whole reunion yesterday which was so completely heart wrenching and sweet.

We have lots going on and we are only getting started. We have lots of work ahead of us and lots of little children to help by doing it. I can't wait!! I also can't wait to get some pics up to you all. I guess you will have to be patient. I will keep trying and get them up as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued prayers for everyone one of us here and all that we are doing.

More updates to come.

Love and miss everyone!! Signing off from Sierra Leone.

Kelly

Off to SL .....AND NEW WAITING CHILDREN

I am off tomorrow on my big journey to Sierra Leone. Keep track of this blog for updates. I always welcome your comments.


ALSO.....


I am excited to announce our partnership with Celebrate Children Adoption Agency. I have all kinds of new little ones from Ethiopia added to our OH SITE. There are even babies on the waiting list....I am shocked!! These kids are precious!! Go to the site, then Waiting Children, then Ethiopia, to check them out. Then call the director of CC and ask about them....it can't hurt.

THEY NEED FAMILIES.

Thanks for all your prayers and support and the next blog post will come from across the world.

Two Days Till Sierra Leone!!

Just want to remind everyone to be praying for our trip to Sierra Leone. I leave in two days and will be gone for 16. The building for the children was finally secured and we hopefully have the beds being built as I type. That is the plan anyway. There are many children there right now whose lives are in the balance and are hungry and have no where to lay their heads at night and no one to care for them. We believe that God will direct us to them and allow us to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we start this care center. They have no idea that their lives are getting ready to transform in just a few days. I am excited at what all is in store and I feel honored to be a part of it.

I will be sharing updates and photos on this blog according to the internet availability which I have heard is good. I hope to update each day with the latest happenings.


Many thanks to those of you who have donated toward this trip and those of you who offer your prayers for this trip. They are all greatly appreciated.

Our featured Ordinary Hero

I want to introduce you to our new featured OH on our Ordinary Hero site. I have known Wally Bryan my whole life as he is one of my father's life long friends. He served as mayor in Hopkinsville, Ky and is now striving to make a difference in my hometown of Hopkinsville unlike anything I have seen there before. He started a ministry called Challenge House in that city. He started out himself by seeing the need in the inner city and moved there on his own to live amongst them. He started by refurbishing a home in the community and then moved in. He then realized how his house became a safe place for the children and he would find himself mentoring adults and children alike. He was helping them get jobs, ged's, and giving them resources to grow and the hungry children a place to come for food. He has since had others jump on board to help from individuals, and many different churches, as well as schools around the city. He started out with one Challenge House and is about to refurbish his third. He has found others like himself who have stepped up and moved into the challenge houses to be the light in that community. Great things are happening. Yet he can't do it without support.

The best way for me to explain all that is going on in this ministry is to let you read his latest newsletter for yourself. As you read you will find how the simplest acts of kindness can go so far. We all look for ways for God to use us when in all actuality the needs are right in front of us everyday and we miss them because our eyes are not open.

I encourage everyone in the Hopkinsville area and surrounding areas to get involved with Challenge House. All you others that this hits home with......contact Wally to start a Challenge House in your community. It is an awesome thing.

Stories, observations, and news bites:
Hammer and large nail: Yep---that’s all it took! We can be so wrong in the little things, and in the big ones too. Was this big or little? I really don’t know. With an affectionate voice I speak out to one of my teenage friends, “Juan, pull those pants up so your butt doesn’t show”! He looked bewildered, and then says, “My belt is too large”. He walks over and shows me his belt. Truly it was way over-sized. I had every emotion from embarrassment for both him and me, to gladness that we were about to “fix” the problem. I retrieved a hammer from the toolbox (one of the donations from the Frances Fairleigh Estate), a large nail, and headed to the back yard with Juan. Together we made a new hole in his belt; he smiled as he walked back to the street, pants at his waist! I hope that was relationship-building. A million times I’ve had that thought: “Pull those pants up”. From now on I’ll think twice~~Have you had thoughts like I did?

His brother is the young man who we helped birth a lawn-mowing business. You may remember reading in the May Report about the business venture where the young man gained a bank loan, went to Sears and purchased a new push-mower, and launched his business! Well, just recently the banker notified me that Jalen had repaid the loan in full, and now “owns” the lawn-mower! A pretty positive business experience for a 14 year-old!

Edgewood Baptist Church holds BackYard Bible Clubs at the two Challenge Houses, and both members and kids smile a million smiles!

MLK Elementary School leaders hold two separate events at Challenge House #II: one was Math Bingo, and the other was a follow up to its “Lunch Bunch” reading program held this summer. Parents attended too. Education back to the neighborhood----ummmmmm----a pretty time-tested idea!

August 14th—time 1:00 PM---notice two boys in the street! School Day! Signals go off in my mind! “Hey guys, come on in for a minute. What’s up”? The story goes that one over-slept, and the other is out early for a doctor’s appointment. So one hops in my car and I take him to Hopkinsville Middle School; hopefully the other went to his doctor. Later that night I come to realize that all 4 students in the family overslept and all missed school. Yes, let’s close the “achievement gap”! How is that going to happen when so many miss school for no good reasons? Sadly, I’ve seen this happen a lot for this young school year, and “yes” I do report it to the respective schools. Eyes in the streets! Yet another time-tested idea which is coming back! I’m very impressed with the cooperation between us and our schools.

“Read and Seed” is a tutoring program spawned by New Work Fellowship. Mondays from 4:15 to 5:30 adult women show up to help kids (5th grade and under)with reading, math, homework, and certainly they “seed” into them the love of Christ! “What if”? What if we had other groups come on other days? Such is the Body of Christ! Something kind of special about programs that lead to sustained relationship-building! Think about that~

The Sara Bell Bassett Sunday School Class at First Baptist takes it upon itself to provide pounds and pounds of drinks and snacks for Challenge House kids. I remember I was always hungry when I got home after school. Even an old brain remembers that! I think I remember reading where Jesus fed and shared. A pretty time-tested idea! Thanks be to God! There is something special about Christian hospitality~

Pastor Brad from Restoration House wants to meet with me. That makes me glad. We walk the streets, and what we see makes us sad. Maybe the “sad” will turn to “mad”, and more and more of us will enter this battle for the hearts and souls and minds of the kids and their parents. “We can’t change what we tolerate”; I’ll never forget the impact that quote made on me. Thanks, Pastor. Remember how we felt as we walked the steps of the nasty interior hallway to the second floor of that apartment house? Sickening~

Matthew Harris invites you to attend “Mrs. Smith’s Inner-city/Inter-racial Bible Study Mondays at 10AM. Guaranteed: Come once and you will never forget it!

William McAllister, Resident Facilitator at Challenge House #II, oversees “work for pay” at the house on Bryan Street owned by the neighborhood association. Solid relationships are built. Time-tested idea: work along side of someone and watch friendship bloom!

Forthcoming in a few weeks-Resident-Facilitators at House #I, Aida Vega and Christina Hand, will send their own report, and it will include pictures!

Challenge House #III will be at 123 South Fowler Avenue. I like the one, two, three address! Perfect for Challenge House #III. This House is behind the Subway on West 7th Street, at the corner of West 2nd and South Fowler. Heath and Paige Wilson will become Resident-Facilitators there. This will be a major renovation. I hope that many partnerships will form to raise the funds and carry out the work to bring this House to even more than “its former glory”! The first day I went there, to meet architect John Mahre for his ideas, two little children were standing on the front porch. Before we knew it, two teens were there too, looking for work, and a young mother strolling her baby, stops and talks, and leaves saying “I need my GED”. We can help make that happen!

A major Christian Community Development Association national conference will be held in October in nearby Cincinnati. Would you consider attending? Go to WWW.CCDA.org to read about it.

Thanks for reading this long report, and for your heart for this work here in America, here in Hopkinsville. Maybe someday this concept will travel to other cities. We are in it for the long-haul. We want to become “time-tested”. Thanks be to God!

Wb www.challengehouse.org 270-889-3395

Another Trip To Africa

I am excited to announce that God is on the move again. An unexpected, quick trip to Sierra Leone just came my way and I am leaving in about a week and a half with the group pictured above. Ordinary Hero is partnering with The Raining Season in order to find these orphans sponsorship and help for their basic needs to survive and flourish in all that they can be. The folks with The Raining Season took a mission trip to Sierra Leone in Dec. While there, and as God would have it, they stumbled upon 86 children that were in one building being cared for by one woman. The children were literally starving to death. They rushed one little one to the hospital who was close to death. (After a two month stay, he survived) They asked "Where is your food?" and a little girl grabbed their hand and led them to an empty storehouse and to a well that was run dry. They saw that hubcaps had been used as plates to eat whatever food they could find. They were sleeping on the floor in filthy living conditions that none of us could imagine. While there, they went to the market and loaded up on bags of rice and water. They brought back enough food and water to make sure that the kids would be taken care of while they were there. They knew, however, that it would not be enough.

Erica, the director of The Raining Season, who has an adopted child from Sierra Leone herself, came home from that trip and couldn't sleep for weeks over worrying for those children. She started a campaign to raise money to support the children to supply their basic needs which is what she has been doing for the past 6 months. They have been getting food and medical attention because of donations coming in. Below you will see a before picture of a child that they found while there and then you will see an after picture of the same child after he received nourishment and medical attention for 6 months.
She now has it in her heart to open a care center for the children which will be an orphanage type facility. It will get the children out of the awful living conditions that they are in and it will provide them with food, care givers, beds, education for the first time in their lives. I have been asked to come along to photograph and document this trip. She saw the great things that came from my last trip to Ethiopia and she hopes the same from this trip. I will be photographing these precious children as well as helping get them moved into their new place to call "home" . I then hope to come back and find sponsorship for these children and have hopes for the doors to adoption to open in the future for them just as it has for Erica. There will be a group of about 10 of us going.

I ask for your prayers concerning this trip. Pray for our covering and protection and for God's hand to go before us and along beside us and behind us and guide us and open doors for us. Just as this group stumbled upon these children, there is still more to be stumbled upon. I will be updating this blog from the trip to keep everyone posted and to allow you to feel that you are on the trip with me.

One thing that I would like Ordinary Hero to contribute to this awesome ministry is to furnish them with much needed beds and mattresses. These children have never slept on mattresses before and she has a man building the beds in a bunk style for all of these children. Please consider donating towards the construction of the beds and the purchase of the mattresses. She only has half of the money raised for them and we leave in a week and a half. I would love for OH to come through and support in this way and then allow you to follow along with the pictures that I will be bringing to you from this trip. I would also like to supply vitamins for the children, formula, and much needed medical supplies.
To Donate CLICK HERE.

Also keep my family in your prayers while I am gone. I will be in Africa for 2 weeks...Wow!! My husband is a saint and is taking on 6 kids to allow me to live out my passion and God's will for these children in Africa. Every time I embark on a journey of this nature amazing things come from it and God uses me in ways I could never imagine. I am believing the same for this trip.

I would like each of you to view this AMAZING video by CLICKING HERE!! It is a video from The Raining Season and it documents their trip in Dec when they found these children. You will notice their ribs showing through their skin. These are the very children that we will be going back to help. They are just precious. This is also the group that I will be going with. Keep us all in your prayers and follow along on our journey with us. We leave one week from Saturday.
You can also visit the site of The Raining Season for more info on their ministry.