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. :)
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