A Sweet day Day to Celebrate

Today was a very happy one for our family. Anna, who's in a wedding here this weekend, flew in for a long weekend.

She couldn't bring the whole family, but she brought the newest member of our tribe, six-week-old Jillian. The little one had quite a fan club meet her at the airport!

And here was Jillian's reaction to meeting her many aunties and uncles as her Uncle Matthew held her still tiny hand.

Jillian's Auntie Zhenya (on the left), who held her so often during her first week of life when the two of us flew out to help Anna and her family, was immediately able to coax smiles out of her niece.

Uncle Matthew was the first to get to hold this precious gift from God.

As soon as Jillian was born I felt certain that this third girl in Aaron and Anna's family was going to have blue eyes like her sisters. Getting to see this grandtreasure again served only to confirm my suspicion. Such blue eyes, just like her daddy!

Not all of us were able to make the two-hour trip to the airport. Sarah, who has her own cake making business, is supplying cupcakes for the wedding of the family friend who is getting married this weekend. Here she's creating the candy ornaments with which she'll decorate each of the cupcakes.

These aren't just any cupcakes, however. These are cupcakes with a sweet purpose. The money Sarah earns from this job will go straight into the fund she is building to return to Zambia, Lord willing. She hopes to go back to the Kazembe orphanage in 2016 to work for a couple of years this time around.

I just want to finish this post by saying that this day was overflowing with yummy family time, including the joy of watching our children meet their newest niece. The day was extra sweet because 32 years ago today, Mr R proposed to me (and I immediately said YES!!!). We are both profoundly grateful to God for allowing us the wonder of walking the narrow road TOGETHER. There have been so many twists we never expected on July 30, 1983 when we agreed to marry one another.

The first upheaval to our dream life was not just infertility but barrenness. Multiple fertility specialists told us we would NEVER get pregnant. That news turned us toward adoption. And God blessed us above and beyond anything we would have dared to hope for by placing Anna in our arms within a few hours of her birth. Oh, how we thank God for the courage of her birthmother to go through with her pregnancy rather than aborting Anna! And, as it turns out, Anna has been the perfect leader of her 11 siblings. She loves Jesus deeply and seeks to serve Him. She is a blessed influence on the rest of her sisters and brothers. God's plan was so much better than our dream! What a glorious 32 years our journey has been, and today was a sweet day to celebrate.

Sarah's Already Back in the Kitchen!

Yesterday, flour was flying in our kitchen. Despite jet lag and malaria following her five months in Zambia, Sarah has returned to one of her favorite pastimes: baking. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the project which Sarah undertook energized our tired international traveler.

Within the walls of the Kazembe Orphanage, the director, Amy, tutored Sarah in the art of crafting doughnuts.

Although we don't normally deep fat fry around here, the oil was at a rapid boil on our stove yesterday as Sarah dropped in one after another of the round treats.

She had been taught just when to turn the doughnuts...

...and just when to remove them from the pan.

As Sarah busied herself, our two dogs, Sunshine (front) and Bella, kept a hopeful watch from the edge of the kitchen. I'm not sure, but perhaps they hoped that since the doughnuts were so light and fluffy, one or ~ even better two ~ would come floating toward them.

Once Sarah had finished the doughnuts, twists and doughnut holes...

...she prepared to glaze her creations.

I watched amazed that my beloved daughter had learned this intricate baking process in the African bush. Who would have guessed the blessings the Lord had in store for Sarah as she departed America for Zambia?

Sarah has loved to bake since she was about 13. 

Her love of baking and decorating cakes led to her making the wedding cake for Anna, her oldest sister. (If you take a look at the link, we used to identify Sarah as Cassandra on this blog.)

She then repeated the feat for the wedding of her second oldest sister, Alison.

Before leaving for Africa, Sarah had begun building a baking business.

Even while she in Zambia, Sarah received an email asking her to make cupcakes for the wedding of a dear friend who is getting married late this summer. 

When Sarah's work was finished late yesterday, dozens and dozens of doughnuts stood ready for our church's Easter brunch this morning.

In all honesty, I think I'm glad the delicious doughnuts had a designated destination. Otherwise, I might have been tempted to stuff the circular delicacies in my mouth one after another. What a multi-faceted joy it is that Sarah's home! God abounds in lovingkindness!

Sarah's Homecoming from Zambia

Last night our wait for Sarah's return had a small taste of drama to it. A powerful line of thunderstorms built on an extended diagonal between Kansas and northern Minnesota. Sarah's last leg in a long journey home was delayed repeatedly. Eventually, though we got word that her plane was in the air so we headed to the airport, eager to see Sarah.

Everyone was tired by this time, as Sarah's delayed arrival was rescheduled for 11:30 pm. All of our bodies ached to be home in bed. However, none of us would even think of missing the arrival of our beloved Sarah! Meanwhile, an airline employee who recognized our extra-large family informed us that because the thunderstorm line was so long, the plane took an unusual path. It flew up into Canadian airspace and then back down into the U.S. on the other side of the cold front.

Three long-time family friends from our church had come to greet Sarah despite the late hour. So while we waited, I took the opportunity to get a group shot.

And then, finally, passengers were exiting the gate area, and we eagerly watched for Sarah. When she emerged, her daddy got the first hug.

After that the hugs took place in such rapid succession that I didn't even manage to get photos of Sarah's interactions with each of her siblings.

But I assure you that each embrace was joy-filled!

Another passenger offered to take a group photo. With Sarah's return to the U.S., we couldn't resist using the flag as the back drop for the picture.

Then the hugs started all over again!

Older brother John grabbed Sarah's bag and we took a tired but very happy family home. Sarah, the former orphan, had cared for orphans for nearly half a year and was now home wrapped in the love of her family. God abounds in lovingkindness!

Sarah's Coming HOME {plus a God Story}

Yippee!!! Hooray!!! Yahoo!!! We're due to leave for the airport in about 30 minutes to go pick up Sarah. She's been serving for five months as a teacher at the Kazembe Orphanage in Zambia. She left the capital city of Lusaka bound for a short intermediate stop in Dubai on Tuesday night (Zambia time) in the plane pictured.

We're dancing a jig of joy around here! You see we're especially grateful to God! When Sarah landed in Chicago after the flight from Dubai, she told us in a still-stunned voice that she'd been upgraded on the 14-hour flight to BUSINESS CLASS! Isn't God so good? Truly, this is *a God story* because Sarah realized as her departure time in Zambia drew near that she had the unmistakable symptoms of malaria. The malaria strain that mosquitoes carry in that part of Africa is treatable with medicine so she knew she was in no danger. However, she also knew she was going to be miserable with the body aches throughout her travels once she left Zambia. Sure enough, Sarah has suffered through the symptoms of malaria during international travel, but what kindness the Lord has shown her by giving her the unexpected treat of a lay-flat seat in which to sleep in on the lengthy flight. Thank you, God!

God Rocks! Orphanage Disaster Update

Yesterday Sarah played a small role in demolition following the terrible storm that wreaked havoc on the Kazembe Orphanage in Zambia a week ago. 

The older boys took their turns...

...as did Troy, Tom and Amy's son.

A dear friend of our family who has invested his heart this week in working to raise funds for the repairs through our church here in Iowa, was preparing materials yesterday. He saw these pictures and commented,

"I'm not sure if it was planned, but I found the pictures compelling with the scripture reference under the rainbow in the background. Somewhat profound that in the midst of the destruction and rubble, the scripture on the walls stands out and reminds us that the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever which enables us to praise Him despite circumstances!"

My heart aches for these little guys chipping away in the hot African sun.

Despite the devastation, orphanage directors Tom and Amy have not lost heart. God's grace and steadfast love have been clearly evident to them. Here's a link to the amazing God story: You ROCK!

We would ask again that you please consider making a contribution toward the repairs. Tom and Amy believe it will take $18,000 to return the orphanage grounds to their state prior to the storm. That's nearly twenty-thousand dollars they didn't have the night the winds roared and the rain fell in torrents. These on-the-ground orphan advocates are trusting the Lord to provide through friends around the world. Here's a link: Donate to the Kazembe Orphanage.

Let us live these words in honor of the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us:

"Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Reprove the ruthless. Defend the orphan. Plead for the widow." (Isaiah 1:16,17 NASB)

disaster strikes at sarah's orphanage in zambia

The children's bathroom --
the 28 kids had been washing their hands in this facility
just five minutes before the roof was torn off.

Jim woke me yesterday morning softly uttering, "Sarah's okay...".

I sat bolt upright in our bed instantly wide awake. Immediately I began praying for God's grace to handle whatever news my beloved husband was going to give me next about our 20-year-old daughter. We both know that when you allow your children to work in third world nations, you live each day aware that they could be danger at any time.

Sure enough, Jim's next words were, "...There has been a terrible storm and much damage has been done to the orphanage." (To learn about the orphanage click here: 

The classroom in which Sarah teaches

Orphanage director Tom assessing the damage

The sad job of storm cleanup got underway immediately

Social media has it's blessings, and in this case we were able to see pictures of the damage upon rising this morning. Tom and Amy, the couple who run the orphanage recognized their need for both prayer support and financial help as soon as the storm was over. Before going to bed last night, Amy put together a number of photos of the damage and a description of their devastating day and sent out a newsletter. You can find that newsletter at this link: Disaster Strikes at Kazembe Orphanage .

Children from the orphanage and the village retrieving roofing materials from nearby fields

If you would like to would like to help financially, here's a link: Donate to Kazembe Orphanage. Please consider donating. Having watched the operation of the Kazembie Orphanage through Sarah's eye's for four months, Jim and I wholeheartedly endorse the work Tom and Amy are doing to help the fatherless in rural Zambia.

Whether you can donate or not, please pray for Tom and Amy and their life's work; nearly three dozen orphaned children rely on these loving, generous followers of Christ. As we've pointed out many times in our blog, not everyone can adopt, but everyone can participate in orphan care. Prayer really matters in the care of orphaned children! We draw that conclusion straight from the Bible: "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress." (James 1:27)