Zambia and Moffat

This is Moffat and he is an orphan living in Zambia. A friend of mine named Larry and his family traveled to Zambia last summer with Campus Crusade. They became connected with the orphanage that Moffat lives in and started a partnership with them to help assist their needs. The children of this orphanage are so precious and have captured my heart.

Here is a bit of Moffat's story (written by Larry).

Moffat was born in slums of Lusaka. When he was one week old, a film developed over his right eye and without access to proper medical care, the eye became blind. When he was 8 years old, his father left the family and abandoned him. His mother is ill. I have never met her, and I’m not sure what her illness is, but everyone has described her to me as “sickly”. Moffat’s mother was unable to care for him and he was brought to the orphanage last year. In recent months, it has become evident that Moffat is rapidly losing vision in his left eye. He can barely see, and it is to the point where he cannot read.

In this society, if Moffat goes completely blind, he will have no future. He will have no hope of employment, and will not be able to do anything by himself. The dirt roads in his neighborhood are uneven and full of holes. He won’t be able to walk anywhere and won’t have a seeing eye dog. His education will be over. This may not be avoidable, and this may be God’s plan for Moffat, however, if there is any chance that we can help him, I want to try. We are hoping to bring Moffat to the U.S. for possible eye surgery.

One of the hurdles with this is getting a clear diagnosis to even understand if surgery can possibly correct his problem. Another hurdle is getting the Zambian government’s permission to bring Moffat here. This week has been full for Elina (the director of the orphanage) as she has tried to move the process along. She has taken Moffat to several doctor appointments and tried to get doctors to sign letters giving their approval. Approval must also be received from the Commissioner of Health, the Commissioner of Oaths, and the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs (and probably others). Each of these have been met with various roadblocks and fees (bribes).
If all of this could be worked out, we would like to consider having Moffat return with us at the end of this summer.

Please pray for Moffat!

Egg stand

Last weekend, the boys and I were painting Easter eggs and Alex came up with a unique idea. He enthusiastically said, “Mom I’m going to have an egg stand and sell all these eggs!”. My immediate response, which I kept to myself was, “No one is going to buy those eggs”. I mean, to me they were beautiful because Alex and Jensen painted them, but the average person probably wouldn’t think they were all that special (let alone pay money for them). I’m glad I kept my thoughts to myself.

There was something inside of me that said, DO NOT squelch his ideas. Encourage him and let him do this. So, we made a sign saying, Easter eggs .25 cents. (Alex wanted to sell each egg for $10, but I convinced him to drop the price significantly.)

As soon as we were all set up, someone immediately drove by and stopped. I couldn’t believe it. We had been outside for a mere 30 seconds. He took two eggs and gave the boys a dollar. You should have seen the look on Alex and Jensen’s faces. Absolute delight!

One woman who drove by bought two of the eggs that were cracked and broken. Unbelievable! It made her day to buy two cracked eggs made by a six and four year old. I foresee many an egg stand in our future.

When all was said and done, they sold every single egg and made $6.50. What a precious memory to make! What a reminder to me that God loves us even if we feel like there’s nothing special about us. It is the ordinary, the messy, and the broken to whom He pours out His love!

Homeless?

It looks like the Steffens could possibly be moving by the end of April. I received a really good offer on our house last week. I know it’s not official until closing, but if everything goes as planned, we could be moving soon. That said, we might be homeless for a little while. We still haven’t found a house for us to move into. I have looked at what seems like a million homes, but for one reason or another they haven’t been the right fit for us. Will you pray that the Lord will give wisdom regarding a house for us close to Butler and that He will make it clear?

Speaking of Butler, how about those Dawgs!

Broken

The boys and I just returned from Panama City, Florida. It was Butler’s spring break, and we took a group of CRU students to a conference in Florida. We had a great week with the students!

All three Steffens love the beach for different reasons. I love walking on the beach, watching sunsets, listening to the sound of waves crashing. Jensen loves digging in the sand. Alex loves being under the water any chance he gets. He also loves looking for seashells.

Throughout the week, Alex would grab his bucket and walk up and down the beach looking for treasures. Mind you, Panama City isn’t known for its seashells. That didn’t bother him. He filled his bucket with anything that looked remotely like a seashell. It didn’t even matter if it was broken. I tried to encourage him to look for shells that weren’t broken, but he didn’t listen. I asked him why he liked the broken pieces and his response was, “Mom, they are beautiful, and I like them.”

I’m glad that God doesn’t respond to our brokenness like I did to Alex’s shells. In Romans 5:8, Paul says, “Even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” God sees the broken pieces in all of us and says I love you and I will make you whole! I’m thankful that He doesn’t just toss me aside like the broken seashells that I wanted to throw away. He makes something beautiful out my mess!

A God Who Speaks

It’s been an interesting experience for me to have my house on the market. It’s been stressful, and I’ve found myself wondering if I’m doing the right thing. Is this what you really want Lord? Maybe we should just stay here and not move. Ugh! Indecision! I hate it!

In the midst of indecision, I’m thankful that the Lord is a God who speaks. The other day I felt a bit discouraged and lacking direction. The kids were out of control, and I was tired. I just needed to hear from the Lord. I opened God’s Word and prayed that He would speak and that I would hear from Him. I turned to Proverbs since it’s the book of wisdom and I needed a bit of that.

Chapter 15 Verse 26 says that God tears down the house of the proud, but establishes the boundary of the widow. God spoke. I heard. I’m thankful that God knows exactly where he wants us to live and He will establish our boundaries. Do I know what I am supposed to do? NO! Does God? Yes! Will He lead? Definitely! What is God speaking to you?

The Wait

It’s official. I put my house up for sale.

It’s a decision that has been two years in the making. I work with a college ministry at Butler University called Campus Crusade for Christ or (CRU). The boys and I currently live about 25 to 30 minutes away from campus, which makes it tricky for students to come over. When we move, I envision students coming over for meals, having bible studies and just hanging out while I fold laundry. Life on life ministry, as I call it.

This weekend I had a taste of this kind of ministry when I had the opportunity to speak with some sorority gals about identity and faith. I feel alive and energized. It’s what I love. To me, the move just makes sense.

For now, though, I am waiting on God.

It’s been two weeks, and not a single bite on the house. Doubts creep into my head. Is this what you really want, Lord? So much fear can overtake me while in the waiting. I remember waiting to hear about test results for Erik. Sometimes the waiting was excruciating. Is the cancer back? Will the tests be clear? Will there be tumor growth?

Waiting can be so hard. I hate waiting. I want it now! Can you relate? Jensen (who happens to be the topic of my musing these days) and I had another tear jerker conversation the other day. He said he was sad and missed his daddy. He then told me he missed that he didn’t ever get to play with his daddy. (Big gulp) We talked about heaven and how fun it’s going to be to get to play with daddy for all of eternity. Forever playing with daddy! Can’t wait! Ah, but we have to wait. Stink!

I just don’t want fear, worry and despondency to consume me in the wait. I don’t want to miss out on what God has for me in the wait. There is pain in the wait, but there is life, too. There is intimacy with God in the wait. He is IN the wait!

I don’t know what is in store for the Steffens, but for now I wait.

Rock Band

CRU (aka Campus Crusade) hosted an event at Butler called Friday Night Live. We had a local live band along with a cornhole and euchre tournament. We also had tons of electronical fun with the Wii, Rockband, Dance Revolution and of course, lots of yummy food. I brought the boys and we all had a great time. Here's a picture of Jensen playing Rockband with a little help from Ben, the Butler student. (the picture of Alex didn't turn out so well)