I love my job!!!!

Yes, I do love my job at Visiting Orphans. The Lord fulfilled one of the desires of my heart when He orchestrated this whole thing. He's such an awesome daddy! And He knows our giftings and the things that we're passionate about. It's so funny - some of my favorite things about my job while I'm in the office are things most people wouldn't really like and with my creative background in design - most people would be surprised to know that I like. I like to be organized so sometimes I created spreadsheets and hand them out to all the employees. For example - I think it's helpful to have a spreadsheet with all our 2011 trips listed by month. We have so many trips next year, it's hard for me to keep track. So I enjoy putting together things that'll make it easier for me and in turn, hopefully easier for others in the office. I love when I have to order brochures or supplies and I get a coupon and it saves VO a bunch of money. I love working on budgets for future trips and figuring out itineraries for our teams. I love working with travel agents to find flights for our teams. I love getting phone calls or emails from ministries or individuals we've never worked with who just found us online or heard about us through word of mouth. I love that we don't have to have a big marketing budget to spread the word about mission trips to love on orphans! It's so awesome to see how the Lord is so much bigger than any ad campaign and it excites me everytime I get a call and the voice on the other line says "we have a group of 15, can you plan a trip for us?". I used to be in advertising and while I never disliked it - I was no longer passionate about it for the past couple of years I was in it. The more my eyes were opened to missions and how I could help children around the world - the less I even cared about selling products to the general public. I continued to do my job to the best of my ability because I feel that's what we're called to do - to work in all things as if we're working unto the Lord. But my heart just wasn't in it anymore. And I kept praying for the Lord to direct me and show me how I could do something to serve Him more directly and to be able to use the giftings He's given me to do it. I am in awe of how perfectly He answered my prayers. But I'm also very aware that He put that desire in their in the first place because it wasn't too many years ago where that wasn't even a thought or desire at all. 

Another huge part of my job that I love is traveling and leading teams on our trips. I'm excited to leave for Haiti on Saturday and love on the kids there and to bring a whole bunch of much needed supplies to the 2 orphanages we will visit there. I'm excited to meet our team in person. We've been having weekly conference calls for over a month and I already know they are amazing women. Can't wait to share this journey with them. I will be blogging almost every day since we have wifi at the Guest House where we're staying. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for our team of 6!

Another really exciting thing that is going on right now is that I've been talking to Shepherd's Field Children's Village in China. www.chinaorphans.org  They are an American run Children's Home that has taken in thousands of kids over the years that other orphanages couldn't handle because of severe medical issues and special needs. Many of the kids have gotten surgeries to correct or help with various medical needs. They've found sponsors for the kids which provides them with one-on-one care, among other things, and over 800 kids have been adopted into forever families. The more I learn about them, the more excited I get about Visiting Orphans partnering with them for future teams. And if you read any of my previous blogs - there was little girl in Chifeng, China that stole my heart when I was there last April. I named her Jordan but her Chinese name is Zheng Tian Luan. I'm not totally sure what her condition is although I think it may be Arthrogryposis (just my uneducated medical guess) cause she couldn't bend her joints in her arms and had a hard time using her hands to grasp. I mentioned her to Tim at Shepherd's Field and he said they would love to know more about her and potentially be able to help her. My heart leaped with joy when he said that! I contacted our China contact and asked her to contact the Chifeng SWI to inquire if they would be open to partnering with Shepherd's Field to send Jordan there to get surgery and medical help specific to her needs. And this week, I got an exciting email that they are happy to let her go to Shepherd's Field and actually have sent one other kid there before. They gave us the number for S.F. to contact them directly and start the process. Obviously this is just the beginning stages right now but this is exactly why I really, really, really love my job. Sure, I love creating spreadsheets and planning trips but what I love the absolute most - is being able to connect people and ministries together to change the lives of children in a positive way. My hope and prayer is that not only will this precious little girl be able to get the best medical care - but that she would also be able to be adopted into her forever family! I can't wait to see what the Lord does with all this! I know He put her on my heart on that trip last spring for a reason. Now, that's exciting stuff!!!! 

I can only imagine what else He's up to that I don't even see yet. And Haiti... so excited to see what He has in store there!