We are writing to you from the other side of the world. Right now we are standing in a loading dock in China, watching a shipping container fill up with everything our children in Sierra Leone have been waiting for. The container is almost full, and it is bound for the orphanage in Bo Town.
Why We Are in China
This trip has a very specific purpose. We came to pay off the balances on everything we had ordered and to personally oversee the loading of the container, item by item. There is a great peace in seeing it with our own eyes, knowing exactly what is going on the truck and that it is packed with care. The workers have done their best to fit every last piece into the space we have.
If you have been walking with us for a while, you already know this is part of a longer journey. We invite you to revisit our earlier update on the milestone shipment we prepared from Atlanta, and the honest look we shared at the ongoing challenges still facing the home. This container is our answer to those very needs.
What We Loaded
For anyone who has followed the construction, this list will feel like a prayer answered. Onto this container we loaded the exterior security doors and the interior doors, along with the bathroom stall doors that our home has needed for so long. We packed kitchen appliances, including a stove and an oven, so that nutritious meals can finally be prepared indoors. We also loaded a generator to back up our solar power system, giving the children steady electricity even when the sun and the grid cannot. Alongside these larger items we packed kitchen cabinets to finish the heart of the home. For the children themselves we loaded school backpacks and school shoes, belts, slippers, and toothbrushes, the everyday essentials that carry them through school and daily life at the orphanage.
You can watch the container being packed in the short videos below. It is a joy to see months of work being lifted, one piece at a time, onto the truck that will carry it to our children.
Answering the Needs We Told You About
Not long ago we shared with you the reality of living inside a home that was still under construction. We spoke about temporary doors that were not secure, a kitchen waiting to be finished, and bathrooms that still needed proper fittings. Those were not easy words to write, yet you responded with generosity and prayer. Everything on this container speaks directly to those needs. The secure doors will bring true safety and privacy. The kitchen appliances will turn bare concrete counters into a working kitchen. The generator will protect the light we worked so hard to bring.
A Prayer Request for the Final Items
We also want to invite you into a specific prayer. A few of the items we still need are treated as dangerous goods for international shipping, and they require special approval from the authorities in China before they can travel to Sierra Leone. These include the roof sealant we need to make the orphanage roof watertight, the paint for the building, and the solar lights whose lithium batteries make them difficult to ship. Would you stand with us in prayer that we would find favor and clearance to send these items home to the children?
Building the Legacy Together
The container will sit here for four or five more days, and then we begin our own journey home while it begins its journey to Sierra Leone. A few items did not fit this time, and we are already praying and planning for a way to bring them over as well. Every door, every appliance, and every bag on that truck is possible because of you. When it arrives and the children walk through secure doors into a finished home, that will be your gift to them.
Thank you for standing with us across every mile and every time zone. Together we are building this home, and together we are building a future for these precious children.
