Why?

Several people have asked me why I am choosing to leave the families that I work with and hold dear to me heart. The truth is it's the hardest decision I have had to make. My boss always asks how long it takes to build a 5 year relationship, it's 5 years. I have been building relationships for about 4 years now and am still scratching the surface of those friendships.

I have been stretched, challenged, and broken in just the right place to experience God's healing power and mercy. It has only been by God's favor that I have the relationships with the kids and families that we work with. I have rejoiced with a mother who chose life and God’s provision for her family; and have mourned with a mother who aborted her child because the idea of having another mouth to feed was unbearable. I have loved on the three year old who walks the streets unsupervised until dusk; and have sat with the boy who has been victimized for being the wrong skin color in a city where justice does not role like streams of water but is cut off in a broken system in a broken world. I have watched 6 year old girls curse and fight each other just like their moms were doing the day before in the street; and sat in the homes where drugs are done in front of the children with no consideration of the side affects it would have on their child’s brain development.

The same God that has been present in all of this is the same God that is living and breathing and fighting for his loved ones in Africa. He is calling me to speak up for his family in Africa just like he is doing here in Galveston. It will be hard to leave but I know it's the right decision.