Dreaming of Africa

I often dream of Africa. I dream of meeting the beautiful boys and girls there. I dream of meeting my Lord there through the faces of those little ones who have endured so much and have been blessed by His grace. I have been praying for many months and have waited patiently for the Lord to direct my path and to show me why Africa has been so heavy on my heart.

In the past few years I have come to love an organization called Acres of Love. Acres of Love provides Forever Homes to orphaned and abandoned children. These homes are NOT orphanages...they are home like the ones you and I live in. They are homes with house parents. I love so much about them, I cannot even begin to write it all down. I recently attended a luncheon with the Safari Sisters and got a chance to meet Gerda Audagnotti who (along with her husband) is the founder and CEO/Vice-Chairperson of Acres. What struck me most about meeting her was that as we went through a roll-call of the Forever Homes that Acres has, she could name each child in each of those homes. She loves each one of them as if they were her very own children. I was in AWE. She knew each one of the 118+ children by name, she knew each of their stories, she knew what was going on in each of their lives! The love she has for these children is amazing - she loves them and cares for them because she calls them her own.

Tuesday my husband gave me a tremendous gift. My husband gave me his blessing to go on this amazing trip to meet these beautiful children and see first-hand what Acres of Love is all about. I wasn't able to think much about it all day being that it was Kate's birthday. But, tonight, as I sit here in my quiet house and my husband gone, I am overwhelmed with emotion. I am thankful that the Lord has provided this opportunity for me to go. I am thankful that Jesus gave me an answer to my heart's desire. I am grateful and humbled by my husband's generosity and love to give me his blessing. I will travel next March for 10 days. Would you all please join me in praying for this trip over the next 9 months. Please pray for God to continue to prepare my heart for this trip. Please pray for Jeff's job and all the stress that it brings, that the Lord would ease his burdens and stress by the time next March rolls around.  Please pray for Acres and the children who are blessed by this ministry.  And, finally, please pray for all the women who will be going on this trip. I am so excited and overwhelmed by this and wanted to share with all of you! I hope you will take a few minutes to click on the link and learn more about Acres of Love.

In the meantime and for the next 9 months...I will be dreaming of Africa!