Zambia is calling and we must go!

Got up this morning, thanking God for bringing us closer to our departure date and yet still 30% short of our support raising goal. Vicky, the kids and I gathered to rend our hearts to God about all the things He has done and is continuing to do and to thank Him for his wonderful grace and mercy. As everyone jumped into the days schooling activities, I decided to catch up on what's going on in Zambia and found this waiting for me: Did you hear what I heard? I will tell you what was loud and clear to me. Zambia is calling, the children are calling but most importantly God has called and we must go! You can help make this happen by sending a one time or a recurring gift to help us get to our goal of 100%. We miss them, they miss us, we must go…

Carr Family Update | September, 2015

A recent message at church became a pivotal moment for our family as we are back stateside, gearing up and preparing for another season in Zambia.  The speaker talked about passing through Gethsemane before going to Calvary as it pertains to the specific call upon our lives.  

Jesus and His disciples all went to Gethsemane, but only Jesus went to the cross at Calvary.  At some point He kept His friends and family engaged but then there came the time of going it alone with the hope of His family and friends’ prayer, watchfulness and support.  

We have taken the opportunity to update many of you as to what it is we do and how very much we need your prayer, watchfulness and support.  Our Gethsemane is here in America, this is where we get to talk about the amazing work of Family Legacy Missions International as it engages families with God’s heart for the orphans of Zambia. 

We can say Zambia is like our Calvary, where we keep dying many times to our own selves and desires; we also die to the idea of being close to family and friends.  We love what we do and would do nothing other than serve the orphans and vulnerable children of Zambia.

What is Happening at the Tree of Life Children’s Village?

The 2015 CampLife season is over and for us it is as if a new year has just begun.  Well over 7,000 kids came to Camp and I dare say that about 1/3 of them  are not sponsored, many in this number are in need of serious intervention that will bring them to the homes of the Tree of Life Children’s village. 
Seven new homes were opened between June and July and that equals to over 70 new kids to our village.  There is already a need for child sponsorships and for new homes for the children coming to us as a result of this year’s camp.  We will also need to add more classrooms to our ever growing school population as well as build our hospital.  

As you can see because we have new children, we need more homes, classrooms and our own hospital to treat our village of almost 700 children.  This all points to one thing – time!
Time is vital to us and to this ministry.  We would like nothing more than to be able to get back to Zambia and put our hands to the plow and faithfully and joyfully continue to serve the precious children God is allowing us to work with.  

Many of you have already joined us by sending a one-time or recurring donation.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity.   Many are still praying and asking God if this is where He would have you join Him.  

Can we say yes for you?  

The Bible states in James 1:27 that pure and undefiled religion is to look after the fatherless and the widows.   When you join us in this ministry you are doing just that.  You too are plowing with us; you too are allowing one more child to have a chance to a better future.  We ask you because God has asked us to join Him.

We have to raise 100% of our monthly ministry and family expenses to return to Zambia.  Living in Lusaka is not as inexpensive as one would expect for an African country.  The World Bank estimates that the cost of living in Lusaka is 30-40% higher than Washington, DC. The Zambian economy may be growing at a respectable rate of 6% but that is mostly because Zambia opened the worlds biggest copper mine just as world copper prices were going through the roof. 

Zambia is expensive because the labor market is rigid – a 15% annual increase in wages is customary. Transportation cost bumps up the price of everything else—Zambia is a landlocked country with little domestic manufacturing. The cost of finance is high—banks charge up to 35% and in some instances 100% interest rates.  

Please consider our giving chart below and see where you see yourself:

Needed Monthly Number of supporters needed:

$1,000     2 donors 

$500        4 donors 

$200        10 donors 

$100        20 donors 

$50          30 donors

James 1:27

Preparing for our Descent

    We have been in the States now, four whole months and time feels like it is both flying and standing still at times. We are having such a great visit reconnecting with friends and family. We know our time here is short and I already started packing and preparing to go.  

    There is something about a deadline coming close that puts an urgency to finish the task at hand, sooner rather than later.  As I think about this, I think of how many of us go thru life thinking our deadline is no where near and we can continue as we wish. We can "drink and be merry" as the Bible puts it. We go on as if life is forever and we are eternal. The truth is that our days are numbered and we are not promised tomorrow. I am praying God will help me live life with an urgency. People are dying, governments  are collapsing, families are being torn apart. What are we going to do about it? If it's to pray, let's do it with fervor. If its to teach, smile, hug, laugh, just be for someone? Let's do it, but do it well, with God's love and passion. Our God is truly greater and more powerful and doesn't NEED us, but WANTS us to join Him.  It is truly a provilege to serve the one true God.

Angels unaware

I was just getting ready to update the blog and saw that I never published this post. I really hope it blesses you all. Have a great day!!

It is week three of what we hope to make a new Carr Family tradition.  It is a very simple thing, we go a specific house each week and bring pizza and hang out.  Sometimes we play games, last week, we taught the children "the cup game". The one you sing, "Jesus loves me" and drum to. It was super fun!

This week was a bit different, since  every house is different our visits always change.  So, we went to Chelstone and met the children there. They were all sweet but the one who caught our attention was, Lydia.  She is five and was malnourished for most of her life until a few months ago when she came to Tree of Life.  She is so very sweet. 

 

Lydia came to us during CAMPLIFE this past summer, our doctor on duty was in one of the communities and when a mother came with a sick boy. Unfortunately, nothing could be done with the boy and he died, but he saw Lydia on her mother's back looking spaced and very thin. He immediately said he needed to see her. After speaking with the mom and taking her to the clinic she was weighed at about 17 pounds and four years old. She was severely malnourished and was not making eye contact with anyone.  Our doctor friend, Brad Guffey, said she was a few days away from dying.

She was taken to UTH hospital and after obtaining medical consent from the mother she was admitted in the malnourished ward. The doctors there made every effort to bring her back to health and gave her fortified milk, she would only be released when she gained over 10 pounds. 

To make the long story short, God did a miraculous thing for Lydia, she was only released another gaining four pounds because the hospital needed the bed. Well, she was then taken to our transitional home but only after getting full custody from the family, not a small task.

She was given the fortified milk plus a peanut butter mix she was to eat and drink all day.  After many tests, it was found out she is HIV positive, has both tuberculosis and epilepsy. The tuberculosis was thought to have gone to her brain resulting in her inactivity to relate to others and many other symptoms.  

Her story sounds dim and hopeless but we serve a mighty God who loves to defy science and man.  When we saw her in December, she looked chubby and had the sweetest disposition.  Last week, she was taken to the clinic and weighed at 42 pounds!! 

She took her first steps with our friend Ashleigh and even learned to smile, a simple gesture not even her muscles were used to.

She is a totally different child, all thanks to God!

On our way home, I was talking to the children and Simeon said, "Mom, is meeting Lydia like talking with an angel?"

I said, "yes my boy, she is our little angel!"

Made Me Glad...

I am not sure where to begin. 

I am tired.

Car died twice today.  We were on our way to swim practice, it died.  On our way back, it died again.

Lord, please help.

The song that keeps playing in my mind over and over again is 

"You have made me glad, 

And I'll say of The Lord

You are my shield, my strength

My portion, Deliverer

My fortress, strong tower

My very present help in time of need"

I am not glad,or at least I do not show this outward happy, go lucky kind of glad.

But I guess inside I am resolved. That He truly is my shield, my fortress, my strength and Deliverer.

God you truly are the only one I can run to in my time of frustration and need.

Prayers are truly appreciated.

Sunrise

I got up early one morning to watch the sunrise. It was super early so I went online to check the time the sun rises here in Lusaka. Having plenty of time, I sat and started my devotions. As I was reading and watching, I saw a pink speck of light! I got excited and got my pillow and blanket and went outside on the veranda. The sky got brighter and brighter but there was still no sun.  A few minutes went by and it was evident that morning had come and the sun was not there.  It was a cloudy morning so I figured the sun came up behind the clouds. As you can see this is my first attempt and being from a city I obviously have no idea how this works. So, I thought, "oh well, better luck next time."

I put my head down and resumed my Bible reading.  After finishing my daily selection, I raise my head up and behold, the sun!  It was JUST beginning to come up.  But how does this work, wasn't it already light outside?  Then, God spoke to me...

Lately, I have been wanting more of Him, to see Him more evident and clearly in my life.  I've been looking and although I see evidence that He is there (the bright morning sky) I still don't see Him or so I think.   He said that He is so big, so powerful, so bright, darkness is no where near Him when He appears.  His light shines so bright that even though He may seem a ways off, you can see evidence He is already there.  There is plenty of evidence that shows He has already come.  The Bible promises He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Although I didn't have a watch on to see the time was still early and sunrise was still some minutes away, the light that was there was evidence the sun was coming up.  Sometimes all we have to do to truly see Him, is get our faces into His Book.  We have to want Him, to seek Him.  The Bible says that we will find Him when we have searched for Him with our whole heart. The light is evidence the sun is coming.

Would you help keep us in Zambia?

                                                      Warren and Mary

It has been a while since I posted anything. I apologize about that, I admit I'm not such a great blogger. We get busy with ministry and life and forget to update you all.  Of all the things Warren does, father, administrator, teacher, preacher, boss, he loves being there for the children most. It is amazing to watch as the children run to the car as we drive in or are about to leave the TOL children's village. They come, some with questions, others with complaints, but some just come because they like to be near him.   There is this little girl, her name is Mapalo, and her goal in life is to come and get as many hugs from "Uncle Warren" as possible.  This means the world to us all. We recently moved to be nearer  to the ministry and in the short week we've been here, we've been able to walk down to the village and play tag and soccer with the children, play at the playground, or just sit, talk and visit with them.  On our way home, the children always say what an awesome time they had.

Some of you would like it if we said our work here is done and we get to go back to the States, but the truth is that our work here feels like it is just begun. The ratio of children to working adults here in Zambia is 13:1. That means there are 13 children to every working adult. A lot of these children are single or double orphans or are in extreme vulnerable situations at home. We know that we are only scratching the surface of the need in Zambia. We do not look forward to being great, we do not even want our names mentioned, all we want to do is help. Would you come and help? That is the question God asked of us when we first considered missions. We said yes, and will continue to say yes and obey as He leads us.  

It has been thru God's provision and your prayers and generous giving that we've been able to stay. Would you consider continuing your prayer and financial support? We need your prayers to lift up our hands as we face our day to day battles, prayers for protection and wisdom. We also need your continued financial support. If you would like to know more as to how to give, please message us at wavi_carr@yahoo.com. We also need to stay connected with you, please email us and give us your prayer request and family updates, we would love to keep in touch with you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and may our God supply all you need through Christ Jesus.

Much love!

The Carr Family