How Beautiful is the Love of Christ...

Well this past weekend was so exciting for many reasons....

1. One of my best friends got engaged to a guy that is so wonderful! Garrett is like a brother to me and I couldn't be more happy for them! I was so thrilled that I got to be a part of their first of many celebrations! God is so good and has been the center of their relationship from the very beginning. I can't wait to see how God uses them to further His name!! Anyways, they will be getting married some time in the Spring and I am so honored to be a part of their Big Day!

* The Bride-to-be...future Mrs. Stephanie Peters!!

* All the girls at Steph's Engagement Party!

* My dear friends are getting married!

2. I have been working on the LIFEWAY KIDS. Basically I am reading through recommendations of children who have been through our Camp LIFE Program in the summer and who need to be taken our of their current living situation and put into one of 6 other homes we have in Lusaka. These homes each have 8-10 kids with some of our Zambian staff as house parents. Each child gets to attend school, have full meals, and be discipled daily. My sweet Emma is one example of many children who are given the chance to begin a new life! Anyways, I spoke with Holly on the phone, since she is in Zambia working on things, and she told me we have 10 openings for NEW Kids to come into the homes!! PRAISE THE LORD!! Ten more children will be rescued!! So...please be in prayer over the new kids. I am so thankful that the Lord provided spots because the stories of these kids are horrific and I cried over each one!

3. God has been faithful! He is providing what is needed for the moment. As I have sent out support letters He is gradually supplying my daily need. As of today, I have received 10% of the amount needed in monthly pledges and several one time gifts that are meeting my immediate needs. Thank you so much for all of you who have given! God is doing what He said He would do as being my Jehovah-Jireh -- "the Lord who provides". I am so humbled and honored to be where I am!! THANK YOU!

4. Learning the Love of Christ. (The meaning of my title of this post) God is definitely taking me on a journey with understanding more and more of who He is. I begin studying the Song of Solomon a couple weeks ago. I have studied it several times throughout college, but I decided to do it again. Mike Bickle is the one who teaches and breaks down every verse in order to understand the meaning, see the significance, apply yourself to it, and most importantly embrace the beauty and love that our Lord God, the bridegroom, has for us! I am only on Session #5 and I love it! I love how the Lord constantly pursues us with His word and moves our hearts to love Him more and more! God is taking me through a process that only He can lead me through and I couldn't be more excited about what is to come!

That's it for now! Hope you all are doing great!! Keep praying for my dad, he hasn't progressed that much. He really needs to gain weight and he doesn't really have a desire to eat. I don't mean to end on a negative note, but just thought you should know.

Thanks again for staying up-to-date on my life!!

Loving Jesus with all my heart,

Joy

The Days are flying by...

HEY!!! I can't believe that it's already been 2 weeks since my last update. I have been trying to make time to give you some good updates and NOW the time has come..haha..

Here's my Dad and I when I went home a few weeks back!
He's doing good, but just needs to put some pounds on!! :)

Okay so over the past couple of weeks I have finally adjusted my schedule and I'm finally on a good routine with work, hanging with friends, etc. One of those things has been going back to my high school (Keller) and watching Volleyball matches. I have loved it! It's hard to watch though and not want to jump on the court, but I had my time I guess.... plus, I am so out of shape anyways. Last Friday, Oct. 17, I went to a match and afterwards I was able to sit and talk with my Coaches about life. It was so great! I loved hearing how they were really doing and the ups and downs of the year. It really makes me want to coach!! :)

Another fun event that happened was the Kanakuk Reunion for Alumni the weekend of the Texas/OU game. Which by the way, those Texas Longhorns are looking good huh? :) #1...yay! Anyways, it is always refreshing to see kamp friends! This is a picture of some of the girls I got to hang out with. We went to lunch at McCalisters...Also, if you haven't been watching college football you are missing out!! If you didn't know already, I am a HUGE TEXAS FAN!! And if you get a chance to watch UT play, you need to! They always put on an exciting game!! I try to find a way to watch the games on the weekend!

Lastly, I wanted to show you where I live. This is my aunt and uncles house in Hurst, Texas. I have about a 20 minute commute to work. It's not bad if I can get on the road right before or after the traffic.

Isn't it cute?? :)

So that's it for now....I have multiple upcoming events here in the next few weeks that I will certainly give updates on!! I won't really have an open weekend until Thanksgiving though so that's a bummer but it's fun! I will take lots of pictures and try to be better about posting them.

Hope you have a great week!! By the way, some of the Family Legacy staff is over in Zambia right now and I am going to try to get them to send me a video of some kids to give you a fresh look at what's happening right now!

Be Blessed my friends!

Loving Jesus with all that I am,
Joy

News from Zambia...

I am so excited to give you all an update on my kids that you all now know!!

~Maggie~
Well this is very exciting news!! This morning when I got to work I received an email from Paul Mulenga (He is one of my favorite Zambians, who actually worked with me a lot when I was there). He got to know all 5 of the kids: Maggie, Peter, Susan, Joseph and Junior. Anyways, I have been talking back and forth with him on the phone on how things are going over there. He told me last week that he was going to go visit my kids in Kamanga and then let me know an update on them. Soo...email I got was all about the kids. I immediately picked up the phone and called him. It is always so refreshing to hear the voices of Zambians! He told me that all of the kids are doing well. They all thought that I was going to be with him because I always had been when I came to Kamanga but not this time. He said that they were sad, but that he told them that I had been asking about them and praying for them. Paul said Maggie is now going to school!! If you remember, Maggie was just a street kid when I first meet her. Her mother told her that she couldn't go to school because she wanted Maggie to be a street kid. So many questions are asked "WHY?" but to tell you the truth, I don't know why she would want her daughter to not be educated. However, God has really been working in the lives of Maggie and her mom. Her mother came to know Christ on the last day I was there and NOW Maggie's mom is supportive of her going to school. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! My little girl is not on the streets anymore, she is in school. Praise the Lord for sponsorships! I feel so privileged to be able to help her go to school and begin to get educated.

As for the other ones, Paul said that they were all doing well. Not much change in their health, but doing okay. The parents seem like they are continuing to change in a positive way. The only sad part Paul said was that Maggie and Peter's Dad has been really sick and is going to the hospital soon. He said to be praying for him and the family. Paul also told me that he was going to talk with Teddy, one of the head administrators with Family Legacy in Zambia and make sure that these kids were being discipled and taken care of. What refreshing news to hear that my kids are doing good!! God is so good and He is watching over them every moment!!

Maggie

Susan

Peter, Junior, and Joseph

~Emma~
When I spoke with Paul, Holly and I asked about Emma. He said that he went to see her at the Lifeway Homes. When he got there, Emma came up to him and while giving him a big hug said, "Thank you Paul. Thank you so much for all that you have done! I am so happy and I'm so glad that I am here!" When I heard this, I almost cried. Knowing that Emma is doing so well and loving her "new home" and her "new life" humbles me so much! Praise the Lord for how He is constantly restoring her and all of the kids.

Emma (middle) with all her "new" sisters at Lifeway.

As for other testimonies that have been happening here at Family Legacy...we just found a little girl Margret after many weeks of trying to track her down! I got an email from our Zambian office and along with it was a precious picture of her and her grandma as well as a letter written to her American counselor. The sweet words of Zambian children are priceless and move me to tears. The Lord is really on the move and I am so humbled to be able to stand and watch Him do His work and rescue these children 1-by-1.

If any of you are interested in coming to Camp LIFE next summer or want to Sponsor a Child please contact me or look at the website: www.legacymissions.org

I will continue to keep you updated on new things that are happening! Also, I wanted to let you all know that the past week has been so much better on managing time at work, meeting up with friends, etc. God has been teaching me so much lately and I am so excited about this year! The Lord is already giving me glimpses of what is in store over the next few months. (Don't worry, I'll keep you updated on that as well!)

Thanks again for staying updated on my life and what God is doing!! You all are such a sweet blessing in my life!

Passionately His,
Joy