When friends go crazy for Jesus

In my earlier post this week I mentioned that being crazy for Jesus, can lead to ....well ... crazy things... like hearing God call you to Africa ... and then actually moving to Africa. 

 

 Let's be specific, Sierra Leone.  These are our friends, the Orrange Family.  

Brent, Courtney, Brooklyn and Sam

 

Last Wednesday, while my girls were stressing out about the first day of school, Courtney, Brooklyn and Sam were boarding a plane and MOVING to Freetown, Sierra Leone.  (Brent went ahead of them a few weeks before).  For the last fifteen (or more) years Courtney has been very open about her and Brent's calling to work with women and children affected by human trafficking.  Courtney was the first person I knew who had a clear calling on her life.  While most of my friends over the past 15 years have flowed from wanting to save endangered monkeys, to working with the homeless, to selling beads of a co-op in South America, to concerns over melting icebergs, Courtney has not.  Together with Brent, the two of them have plodded along in laying the foundation they needed to make last Wednesday happen. 

So what exactly are they doing in Freetown?  They are going to work with a newly opened aftercare center for women and children survivors of human trafficking.  They're hard core.  This is not easy, or pretty, or light.  They are going to love and restore and redeem those that the world has injured and abused in the most grievous of ways.

   Their website elaborates on their plans:

     "We have been asked to join an anti-trafficking group in the capital, Freetown, and serve as          mentors to the leadership team as they start this new program. We will be supporting Sierra Leonean leaders as they create solutions to human trafficking in their country. We are projecting that this will take about 3-4 years, and that is the amount of time we are initially signing up for. At the end of that time we are expecting national leadership will have the skills and confidence to lead without our support."

They are following the example of the Good Shepard.  They are going to find those lost sheep and save them from the wolves, to restore them to the flock, and show them their great and beautiful worth in the eyes of their Heavenly Father. 

While that all sounds awesome, and inspiring, and worthy of an emotional symphony soundtrack, the truth is they are also leaving a whole lot behind and planning on getting their hands dirty to get this done.

They are leaving running clean water, a nice suburban neighborhood,  grandparents, air conditioning, schools, Target, safety, friends, their church.... their life.   There's a whole lot of it that must be flat out hard and terrifying when you are 8 and 7 or thirty-something. 

So friends, I am sharing the Orrange family with you all in hopes that you will share in Momma Anderson's zeal and Grandpa Anderson's faithfulness, and join my family in praying for them.  They are taking on a mighty work - please take some time to read about human trafficking on their website.  The numbers are hard to imagine.  The need is astronomical. 

In talking about ministry work the other day my friend Tara said, "there are kings in the land."  God has blessed some of us as kings and queens on this earth so that we can bless others.  (Not feeling like a king or queen these days?  The average American family earns $46,326 a year, which puts them in the top 3% of earners in the world.  I'll let you do the math and figure out if you think you are a king or queen on this earth.)

In addition to prayer coverage, please prayerfully consider supporting the Orrange family's ministry.  When Pete and I first read their support  materials we saw that they were asking contributors to commit to $30 a month.  Pete said it perfectly when he said, "That's nothing. That is one lunch at Panera."  Even looking at the annual amount of $360 - it's just a big trip to Costco. 

It's our crumbs, but through the grace of God the Orranges are going to accomplish great things with them.