One More Slice of Pizza, Please!

These past few months have brought a little bit of everything—new beginnings, unexpected challenges, meaningful friendships, and opportunities to serve. From sitting in the grass with a teenager to celebrating one of our kids finding his forever family, from navigating changes at Orphanos to returning to West Cancer Center as a volunteer, God has continued to remind us that sometimes the most important thing we can do is simply show up. As we look ahead, we are grateful for the people God has placed in our lives and for the many ways He continues to work in and through each of these seasons.

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Showing Up

A text came through asking if a Spanish-speaking volunteer was available. One of the teenagers who had just come into foster care didn’t speak English, and communication had been difficult. I was still at work, but I happened to have a 30-minute gap before a meeting and was only a few minutes away, so I jumped in the car and headed over.

When I walked through the door, he was sitting quietly on the couch. The moment I smiled and asked, “Hablas Español, verdad?” his face completely changed. His eyes lit up. You could almost see the relief wash over him. We started talking, and he shared that he was confused about where he was and what the Isaiah 117 House actually was.

He asked if he could get something to eat and take a shower. Another volunteer had kindly shown him where the refrigerator and bathroom were, but without a common language, he still felt unsure about what was happening. I asked what he was hungry for and pulled some spaghetti from the refrigerator while he grabbed a change of clothes from a bag that had just been packed for him from the Giving Room. As he headed off to shower, I let him know I had to run to a meeting but would be back later.

A few hours later, I returned and walked through the gate into the backyard. I found him lying in the grass beside the playhouse, staring up at the sky. I walked over and laid down in the grass next to him. “How was your shower?” I asked. “Did you get something to eat?” A smile crossed his face as he told me everything had gone well. He said it felt good to have clean clothes and a full stomach. Then our conversation drifted beyond the events of the day and into life itself.

He shared that being sixteen is hard right now. School feels pointless to him because all he wants to do is work. His dad’s health isn’t good, and he feels a deep responsibility to help care for him. In his mind, every day spent in a classroom is a day he could be earning money and helping his family.

Then he told me about his dream. First, he wants to save enough money for an old beater car. After that, he wants to buy some land. Then a truck. Eventually, he hopes to start his own business—not just to make money, but to hire people who are struggling and give them opportunities when no one else will.

As we talked, we discussed how easy it can be to become consumed with making money and chasing the next thing. There’s always something more to buy, another goal to reach, another milestone to achieve. I shared that the most important thing in my life is my relationship with God, and that learning to trust Him has actually allowed me to be more generous than I ever imagined. Ironically, some of the greatest blessings in my life have come through giving rather than accumulating. He listened closely.

Before long, it was time for me to leave. We talked briefly about court the next morning, and I told him I would be praying for him. As I drove away, I couldn’t help but think about that conversation in the grass. Sometimes ministry looks a lot less like having all the right answers and a lot more like showing up, speaking someone’s language, sharing a meal, and listening to their story. My prayer is that the seeds planted that day continue to grow and that he keeps searching for the Father who has been pursuing him all along.

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Visiting Memphis

Julian came to Memphis for the first time since he had been removed from his home. It had been over a year since the last incident, which is hard to believe how fast time goes by. Along with their visit, Julian’s mom had agreed to surrender her rights the day before, which will allow Julian’s new family to be able to move forward with adoption. We hadn’t seen him since February, so it was so great to have him and his family spend the afternoon with us.

We were able to order in some food and swap stories about Julian over the past few years. He took his brother and sister around, showing them where he used to stay. He still had his container full of toys that he brought downstairs and soon they were spending hours playing with his cars and his Bluey house. He is doing really well with his family, loves his school, and is on a soccer team in Knoxville as well. We are so glad that he is someplace safe and the incredible amount of love he gets to experience!

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Best Pizza Ever!

I have been mentoring children who are “stuck” in foster care now for a little over 5 years, and have now been with my current teen boy for a few months. I was recently meeting with the priest of a local church who is interested in having their congregation mentor children in foster care, but wanted to hear from someone who is doing it. I had shared with him that there are ups and downs in mentoring, including having them request to foster or adopt them (that happened on my 2nd visit with T*), but that a beautiful friendship can come out of it as well.

This month, T* and I went out to an antique car museum, as he had shared that he loves old cars last month. He checked each screen to see what year it was made and was especially fascinated by the original sticker price! His favorite was the Delorean and its sleek, metal siding. After checking out each car, we decided to go grab pizza.

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We walked downtown near the old trolley route and into Aldo’s Pizza. As we sat down, the first thing he noticed was a sign asking customers to vote for them as the #1 Pizza Place in Memphis. T* shared that he didn’t know if that was true, but that he’d give them a chance after trying it! After placing an order for a pepperoni pizza with double cheese, he started explaining that his #1 rated pizza place was definitely Little Caesar’s and his #2 spot would be Dominoes. He said that he didn’t think Aldo’s could beat them, but might come in at #2 if it was really good.

When the pizza came out, and he took his first cheesy bite, he had a huge smile on his face. He said, “Yep…I think it beat them!” And I said, “Oh, do you think it is better than Dominoes?” “No, I think this is the best pizza I’ve ever had!” he replied.

Towards the end of the afternoon, he began to share more about what life was like before coming into foster care and some of the memories that he had from when he was little. It was beautiful to see him continue to open up.

As I was about to drop him off at his foster home, I asked if he had any places he would like to go to for our next hangout time. He said, “I saw that Aldo’s has a trivia night on Mondays, can we go?” It made me laugh! “I guess you really liked that pizza, huh?” and he just nodded. I guess we have a lot of pizza in our future!

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Trusting God Through Transition

I have been able to continue my role at the Orphanos office in their finance department. It will soon be 10 years in October that I have been in this position! This year has been one of the hardest ones that I have experienced ministry-wise. When my dear friend and manager came to me and shared that she had a terminal illness, it was beyond heartbreaking. We have been working side by side for years, and she has always been my person to go to with any financial question or problem for us to solve. Not only did we become friends, but she has also become family to us, and we have shared so many sweet moments together.

With the uncertain future on the horizon, I threw myself into learning as much of her job as possible and figuring out new financial systems and processes. It has been and continues to be both challenging and overwhelming at times. I have been putting so many extra hours in to make sure that our missionaries and ministries at Orphanos continue to receive the funding to make their ministries possible.

Thankfully, there is now a new finance director who started a few weeks back and it has relieved some of the stress. But please be praying over these next few months with all of the changes and upcoming challenges!

*Orphanos is changing their donor management system at the same time, as the previous one is being phased out. For those of you who are our monthly supporters, the only thing that you will notice is a change from Kindful to Donor Perfect. If you have given by our giving links before, those will be changing and we will share them soon!

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A Young 88-Year-Old

It has now been 3 years since I went through chemotherapy at West Cancer Center. For the first few years, even driving by the building would give me PTSD and the follow up visits every few months weren’t my favorite.

This past year, I have had 5 people who are close to me who were diagnosed with cancer and on different stages of their journey. It prompted me to begin to think about my time at West Cancer Center and the sweet volunteers that were tasked with making a horrible season just a little more comfortable. I reached out at the beginning of the year to begin the process to volunteer. Over the past few months for a few hours on Fridays, I am able to go and volunteer.

One of my favorite memories so far was being tasked with helping a “young lady” who is 88 and still living independently. But the tablet that they use to ask questions is complicated, so I sat with her to input her medical information. We had a ball! From asking her when was her first menstrual cycle to medical information about her mother and grandmother from the early 1900’s, she was baffled at all the questions they asked! There was lots of laughter. Who knew filling out medical paperwork could be fun?

It has been such a blessing to be able to talk with cancer survivors as well as those on terminal journeys, helping to make their days just a little bit brighter.

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Prayer Requests and Praises

Prayer Requests:

1. Richard: He leaves tomorrow to first visit missionary friends in Kenya for a few days and then to walk the Camino de Santiago, which is a 200km walk from Portugal to Spain. Neuropathy in his feet is still a big issue, especially when he reaches the 8-15 mile point of a walk. Please be praying for his pain tolerance and for safety as he is much more prone to tripping due to the lack of feeling in his feet.

2. Ximena: It always seems like Richard is out of the country when big things are happening at home, and this time is no exception. With Orphanos switching software and our kids first marching band competition the day Richard gets back, it will be a lot on her plate over the next few weeks!

   
   

Praises:

1. Inti: He just started boot camp to join the Canadian Armed Forces this week! He's excited and so are we. We really think this is a great step for him, and we are looking forward to his graduation in October!

2. Santiago: In our last update, we asked for prayers for Santi beginning his senior year. It has felt recently like he is a lot more relaxed about what is coming up and is more confident in making some of these big decisions the decisions. So thank you for praying! College applications begin this next month!

3. Marching Band: Our kids have been in marching band now coming up on 4 years and we are so appreciative for the community of friends we have found there. Ximena is heading up uniforms for the 250 kids in the band and is doing amazing!

   
   

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