Insert excited person dance here!

The past few months since I've been back from Zambia have been insane! I could probably write a whole book about all the stuff that has taken place but I wanted to give you all a cliff notes version of what's happening in the life of Azlyn McCarthy!

EXCITING NEWS: So I have the craziest, most exciting news to share with you all. Since returning from Zambia, I have had this passion and drive for overseas missions that I couldn't possibly ignore. The population group that God has so heavily laid upon my heart is orphans with special needs. In my mind, I figured that I would get into some entry-level mission work with orphans and eventually end up with the population group I so deeply desired to minister to. So I started doing research and long story short I found a very unique opportunity in Central African Republic (CAR). I met someone from Marshalltown who runs an orphanage from the states by equipping local people in CAR to take care of orphans and eventually find parents for them or help them transition into society. The orphanage is called Jonathan's House! Carter, the director of the ministry, told me that he is looking to expand the orphanage to meet the needs of a more diverse population... Namely orphans with special needs. 

I would love to share more in depth about how this all came to be and would gladly meet with you to do so if you'd like to hear more! 

PRAYER REQUESTS: 

-CAR as a whole. This country is not in a very good place right now and there are many needs to meet over there and not a lot of people willing to help meet them. 

-Jonathan's House. After a recent crisis in a nearby village, Jonathan's house will be taking in some new orphans here very soon. They are picking up the most vulnerable orphans, including some with very serious medical conditions. Please pray for the transition of these new kiddos. 

-Exploratory trip. I'm way excited to say that I will be headed over to CAR (Lord willing) at the beginning of August with the director of the orphanage, two prospective parents for a couple of the orphans there, and a good friend named Sara who is in grad school for special needs education. This is an absolutely phenomenal opportunity and I can't wait. I will be using this trip to feel out whether or not this will be where God wants me for more of a long term basis and will also be doing some assessments on the kiddos at the orphanage to see what kind of needs they have. This is going to be an excellent trip - please pray for safety and health for all of us in our travels. 

-Financial needs. This trip will cost about $3,000. I don't have all the information on how people can donate to this cause but if you would like to donate, please let me know and I will get that information to you when I have it. 

-Direction. I would love some prayer for direction and clarity from God about whether or not this is where he wants me to be. If he were to call me over there I would likely be there for 3-5 years and the plan would be to train and equip the locals to care for orphans with special needs and essentially work myself out of a job! No clue what comes after that but who really needs to know what happens that far in advance, anyway? ;)

Okay I think that's it! Hoping everything was clear there. Thank you soooo much in advance for your prayer support. I am aware that I'm fully I'll-equipped to take on such a huge task but I am trusting in a God much bigger than my abilities or inabilities! Praise Him for that. :)

Five life lessons I learned from my Grandma

Since I've been back in the Cedar Valley, I have gotten the chance to go visit my grandma every Tuesday afternoon. I mow the lawn, she buys me subway, we sort through old stuff she wants to get rid of, I do my laundry. Though she would deny that this is truth, I have gained more wisdom, joy, and sense of belonging in the Tuesdays we've spent together than I could ever explain. There are countless lessons that she has taught me in my 23 years of life but I want to share just five. 

1. Your "yes" should always be "yes". This is something I have always sucked at. I commit to things and don't follow through with them. In my time spent with grandma, I realize the hurt that flakiness can cause. If I tell my grandma I'm going to come over to see her, I make sure to do it, because if I don't, I know it makes her feel unloved and unimportant. I've encorporated this idea into the rest of my relationships as well and although I know that emergencies come up, people get sick, other more exciting opportunities come up, I believe we should always try our best to let our "yes" be "yes". 

2. When you are honest in your relationships, things tend to get messy. For years before I started spending time with Grandma, we had a pleasant relationship. I would see her only a few times per year and mostly talked about how my life was going. Since I've spent more time with her (and even lived with her for a semester), we have been forced to be honest with each other. She will tell me when I upset her and I will do the same. She has found out a lot about the junk in my life and I've found out about hers... It's a little messy. 

3. Messy isn't always a bad thing. As Grams and I confronted each other, I began to learn more about her perspective. I've learned about her childhood, her likes and dislikes, her family, and more. Though we have extremely different opinions on a lot of things, I find my relationship with her to be one of the closest and deepest relationships I have. That's pretty darn cool!

4. EVERYONE has a story that needs to be heard. Seriously, everyone. Take time to listen to someone's story today. Chances are, they need to tell it and chances are, you need to hear it. 

5. Always be sure to stop and smell the roses... Or watch the birds. Something I love about Grams is that she can be pretty slow-moving at times, which allows for extra opportunities to see beauty in this world that most people are moving to fast to see. One Tuesday I spent with her I was trying to mow the lawn and get a bunch of other things done but the mower wasn't working and I wasn't able to do what I needed to do. I was getting frustrated until I saw Grandma looking out the window and motioning me to come over to see what she was looking at. A baby Cardinal had fallen out of a tree and she had been watching as the baby's mom and dad tried to get it to safety. We seriously watched this bird family for over an hour. It was so beautiful! I would've completely missed it if I would've mowed the lawn and kept busy with all I had planned. That moment reminded me to stop sometimes and take in the beauty of the world around me

Now, I guarantee when my grandma reads this, she will tell me I'm exaggerating on how wise she is, say she's not a big deal, maybe even accuse me of making all this up... But to be honest, I don't really care! Bottom line is, my grandma has influenced my life in amazing ways and I feel like everyone should know that! Grams, you are the best. Thank you for everything. 

Now, stop reading and go call your grandma. Ask her about her childhood. Tell her she's awesome. I guarantee you will make her day! You'll probably make your own day, too :)