the fatherless

Years ago, God drew Righ and I to children that were not born of us.  Little ones and older ones.

Through this we were drawn to a ministry in downtown Knoxville by friends of ours, Todd and Susan. They invited us to join them for an afternoon of fun and loving on inner city kids.  Some lived in the surrounding neighborhood and some lived in the shelter.  Each one brought their own story.  Their own heartache.  And each one grabbed our hearts.

The next two years we spent one Saturday a month at Water Angel Ministries sharing the love of Jesus.  People would say we were a blessing, but in reality the blessing was all ours as we ministered to hurting little ones alongside our biological 8, 7 and 1 year old children.

 

Then, one summer God decided to step it up a bit.  He sent us to Cumberland, KY, to minister alongside Club 180 for a week of summer camp. Wow!  We had no idea what God would do that week!! I still stand in awe and amazement of what He laid out before us.  He brought us to a group of 5th-8th grade students (which is not where we would have chosen), but it was exactly where He wanted us.  And He used us because we said YES. And we loved every minute of it.  Those kids took our hearts and stole them.  And He broke us. Again.

 

Over the next year, God brought children with a recurring theme into our lives.  Fatherless.  Living right here in the US, fatherless.  Hurting.  Needing to be loved.  And He called on us.  We opened our arms and our home and we loved them.  We watched our biological children learn to love and sacrifice as our home became their home.

We watched God bring two very special teenage boys into our lives that would forever change us.  They became our boys.  And they became brothers to our children.  We watched them learn to love and our hearts were broken.  Broken for the pain they had suffered.  And broken for what God was calling us to.

We watched him bring a group of teenage boys from Appalachian KY into our family that would forever change us, too.

Through all of this, God gave Righ a vision of a camp.  A camp to reach children for Christ.  A camp just outside our back door in the woods for children to come, be loved, experience a family and receive the love of Jesus through simple, simple Biblical truths.  The vision was so clear….full of obstacles and incredible outdoor elements.  A vision full of God’s children loving and experiencing His creation as they learned of a Savior who loves them so immensely that they cannot even begin to fathom it.  A vision of children learning they truly are not fatherless because they have a Heavenly Father who will never forsake them.

 

And now He is building it.  Camp Zion.  A safe haven for His children.

As I walked down into camp this morning and looked at the beauty God has bestowed upon us down there, it was breathtaking.  Righ and our oldest son, Keenan, spent two days clearing out fallen down trees and paving the way for it to be usable.  I envisioned children playing, laughing and just being kids down there.  And my heart was broken again.  Broken for God’s children.

Join us on this path to care for the fatherless around the world and right here in the US.  We are just a family following Him, trusting Him, and saying YES each time.  Join us as He builds Camp Zion. Come and be a part of His story.

 

Psalm 126:1-3 – When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.  Then, our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”  The Lord has done great things for us, we are glad.