the title

why "tilting balance?" 
Our intention is to engage conversation.

what do we balance in life?  
busy schedules... 
perceptions...
opinions... 
norms of social acceptance...  


We rarely challenge things that that might disturb our comfort zones. 


We decided to do just that - shake the balance of maintaining and release ourselves into God's heart for the orphaned child.  


BUT...  
it doesn't make sense for a mechanic to leave his job during a recession and travel with his family to another continent to help the hopeless. Can his wife, a physically handicapped mom (who doctors claim should not even be alive) make a home among the poor in Kenya and enjoy rich friendships? Will his children, who've been adopted from difficult places, process this new life with healthy perspectives? 


And what about the generations of victimized, young, widowed moms and orphaned children whom this family is going to serve? Can they truly experience redemptive destinies? Can they be empowered to find their rightful places in families, in communities, in the body of Christ? 


Is all this just too hard to do?  Does it tilt the balance of expectations?  Can we tilt into discomfort to bring comfort to those who have been forgotten?

Our vision is to cause a rumble under the well-manicured, but wobbly pedestals we've built our lives upon. We want to tilt the balance of preserving what has no eternal value to caring for those whom the world views as worthless. We want to tilt the balance of favor only for the wealthy and bring justice to those who have none.  We want to see mercy tilt the balance of condemnation and control towards those who are lost. 


We want to receive the invitation to embrace God's differences by falling from our balancing act and landing completely in His Grace.

packing up a life

Today my sister came over and we packed up the hutch, the place to display all the things with sentimental value. We wrapped Mark's grandma's china in newspaper and reminisced about other pieces from our beloved Nana. i gathered together souvenirs from other mission trips. After packing 4 boxes to pass to another generation, and more boxes loaded for the pending yard sale, my sister headed home and i wandered outside to welcome the evening air.

While watching the sunset reflect off the mountains, i tried to relate my past to the future. i realized how little i knew about my ancestors. i thought about how little my children know about their birth families. i connected all this to the calling. We're going to live among children who are truly abandoned at birth. Attachments severed before they even had opportunity to emerge.

i'm wondering what we have to offer them?

i'm praying we help nurture them to know their heavenly Father who will never leave or forsake them.

i'm believing they will be given families who will embrace their futures and provide for them a sense of belonging.

i'm packing up a life here to unpack destinies in Kenya.

Taleah surrounded by our suitcases in our small room during our first month long visit to Kenya.