Meet my other girls (last five)

Ten beautiful little girls stole my heart. Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought of them and prayed for them. It just doesn't seem fair that I sit here in comfort behind my door, alarm engaged to keep out anyone that could do harm, while they live without even a door to keep out anyone that might harm – and so much harm does befall these beautiful children. 

Most evenings while we were in Zambia, people could share about their days with the kids, or what was on their hearts. Most evenings I was in tears as God was tugging at my heart with each word spoken.  One of those evenings my friend Tia's husband, Dave, shared. He told of one of Tia's previous trips to Zambia. He told of how she was so overwhelmed with grief for all of the heartache and horror that she was seeing in the lives of God's children, His beloved orphans, that He says He cares so much about. She cried out to God - 'God, how can you, a loving God, let this go on?' She clearly heard God speak to her heart - 'Tia, how can you?' I can tell you that she has worked continuously since that time, making a difference.  God spoke to my heart during this trip as well – he has filled it with the desire, no the NEED, to made a difference.  Oh, how I pray, He doesn’t let me forget. 

Now let me introduce you to 5 more beautiful girls:

Veronica was the first of my girls that gave me a smile.  When I first arrived at Camp Life from our tour of Lusaka, I found my Zambian Partner and she was standing in front of my group of ten girls.  As I was speaking with Febbie, the girls were all looking me over.  As I turned to look at my girls that I would get to know over the week, I noticed Veronica.  She was looking at me curiously, probably wondering what I was going to be like.  As I caught her eye, she gave me the most beautiful smile.  I can still picture it!  Veronica was one of only two of my girls that had been to camp before.  She did not get sponsored before, and I wonder if she truly trusts that God will find her a sponsor this time.  That is not something I asked her about.  There are hundreds of things that I have thought about since leaving that I wish I would have thought to ask.  Veronica lives with her mom and three of her siblings.  Her mom does not currently have work.  When I asked how they get money for food, she told me that her mom sold a radio that they had been given.  She hasn’t been able to go to school, though she would love to go to school and someday grow up to be a nurse.  Thank-you Mary Klement for purchasing these shoes for Veronica!

Lizzy is such a fun little girl.  To hear of the things she endures, and to see the scars that prove it, you would never guess the stories belong to this same little girl.  She was always trying to get into every picture with a smile.  Even when all of the other girls were looking at me with concern the first day, not sure what the week would hold, you could just see her little head popping up with an impish grin.  Lizzy lives with her Mom, her dad has died.  She has 5 siblings.  She is one of the older children in the family.  Perhaps that is why her mom takes her anger and frustration out on Lizzy.  She told me of the times that her mom beats her, yells at her, and tells her she doesn’t want her anymore.  I saw the scars all over her arms and legs of times when she was hurt.  Lizzy’s stories broke my heart, and by the end of the week, I knew I couldn’t just find Lizzy a sponsor, I had to be her sponsor.  When a child’s situation is so bad, their camp counselor (ambassador), that would be me, can recommend that the situation be researched.  If the situation is found to be as represented, FLMI can work to have them removed from the home and placed in the Tree of Life Village.  That is, if they have a sponsor.  I couldn’t take a chance, so Mark and I are going to do what is necessary for this little girl to have a safe environment.  It does cost more - $250 a month, for these kids to live at the Tree of Life, but so very worth it.  To give this little girl, with so much spunk, the opportunity to grow up safe, with a good education, knowing she is loved and knowing that she can make a difference in her country – PRICELESS!  Thank-you to my wonderful brother Doug Klement for purchasing Lizzy's shoes for her!

Sarah is feisty!  So often I found Sarah trying to be in charge of the other girls – in not so nice of a way.  By the end of the week, with lots of unconditional love, Sarah was ready to show the same love.  To see her face change from grumpiness to genuine happiness over the week was amazing.  Sarah’s story is hard, however, so it was so easy to give her unconditional love.  Both of Sarah’s parents were dead.  She never knew her dad, and her mom died when she was young.   She stays with her 18 year old sister, who works as a maid to help with food.   She sleeps on a mat on the ground.  She goes to a Catholic churchJ.   Some days she has to go without a real meal when money is tight.  Sarah does go to a community school, but the school has one teacher for about 150 students, and they have class for about 2 hours a day, if the teacher shows up.  She asked that I pray that God would help with school fees, to have food, and that her sister would be healthy.  She also prayed that she would get her own shoes.  The shoes she was wearing were given to her by someone that out grew them.  Little did she know that God had already answered that last prayer.   It was wonderful to get to hand those shoes to Sarah!  A huge thank-you to my sister, Kitie Hermes, for providing these shoes to Sarah!

My Miracle Mervis was an amazing young lady.  She had been through a horrible ordeal earlier in the year.  She had been taken from her home at night, and brought to a home of a Satanic Cult.  She had rituals performed on her, and has the scars to remember those by.  She doesn’t remember how she escaped, but she found herself rescued about 4 months after she had been taken.  Mervis has been to Camp Life the last several years and knew that God was with her, so she didn’t succumb to all that the Satanists tried to force her to do.  She is so strong and determined.   She has not been sponsored even though she has been to camp 4 years.  I could see this young lady doing amazing things in her future, so I wasn’t going to let another year go by without her being sponsored.  Mark and I will be making sure that Mervis’ fees are paid so that she will get to go to a good school and will always know that we believe in her.  I truly believe that God has a great plan for Mervis!  My prayer is that when she sees the scars that evil men added to her beautiful body, that she will only think of God’s faithfulness!  Thank-you to my wonderful brother Regi Klement for providing Mervis' shoes to her!

Justina, also has a hard story.  She tells us that she is 10, although she looks more like she is 12.  Because she doesn’t know her birthday, I am not sure we will ever know her true age.  She stays with her grandmother, because her mom and dad have both died.  She does not have any brothers or sisters, but an uncle and cousin stay with them as well.  Justina’s grandmother doesn’t treat her well, withholding food from her and telling her she is not wanted.  Her grandmother delves into witchcraft, and Justina has nightmares often.  Justina is not able to go to school, though she really wishes she could.  Again, I couldn’t walk away from this situation, back to my comfortable home knowing that Justina is being so mistreated.  Mark and I have asked FLMI to step in and determine if Justina’s environment is as terrible as it seems.  If it is not, we will sponsor her through the Father’s Heart program, so that she can go to school.  If she is endangered, we will pay the costs to have her moved to The Tree of Life and will support her so that she will get an education and know that she is worthy of being treated with love and respect.  Thank-you to my sweet, and thoughtful brother, Ralph Klement, for providing Justina's shoes to her!!

So… of my 10 beautiful girls, Mark and I are going to sponsor 3.  I don't say that with pride, I just want everyone to know we wouldn't ask others to consider something that we aren't truly invested in ourselves.  My heart will yearn for the moment that I get to see these girls again.  My plan is to return to Zambia next summer, and I will go a couple of days early so that I can visit my beautiful girls that we have sponsored in their homes.  These are my girls forever, and I love them and care about every detail of their lives.  I so look forward to knowing them as they grow into beautiful women of God.  I pray that those people that God is calling to sponsor my other girls will feel the tug on their heart.  To learn more about sponsorship look at a Father’s Heart or call/text/email/facebook message meJ.  To sponsor a child, it is $85 to enroll her in the program and $40 a month after that.  Click on the search by ambassador and type in Margaret Hollinger.  You will see each of these girls.