When God Writes the Story

Don and I did not come to Mozambique of our own accord. It was never our dream to move 8,000 miles across the ocean to a country we had never seen, with a culture we did not know, a language we could not speak, and not a single familiar face waiting for us. It certainly was not our dream to struggle and fight simply to survive as we have had to do over the past fifteen years. 

If we had known fifteen years ago what we know today, we might never have stepped onto that plane. 

But we came because God called us. 

No one willingly leaves behind everything they have worked for and achieved to move to a place like Mozambique, now ranked as the second poorest country in the world. Even beyond the poverty, everyday life here presents challenges that are difficult to explain unless you've experienced them yourself. Reliable healthcare is limited, the material things that make life comfortable are lacking, and nearly every task takes more time, patience, and perseverance than you can imagine. It is also one of the most difficult places in the world to do business. 

Yet we know that we know that WE KNOW God called us here and has a plan. Because of that, we have stayed. 

For fifteen years, He has faithfully carried us through every challenge, every disappointment, every setback, and every victory. There have been many moments when we wondered how we would keep going, but God has never failed us. He has always been faithful. 

Those of you who have visited us understand when I say that it is impossible to fully explain life and ministry here. I still remember my father's words after his visit in 2015. As he was leaving, he said, "I can go home and show people the pictures and tell them the stories, but they won't truly understand. You have to come here and walk beside you to get it." 

He was absolutely right. 

As we approach the fifteenth anniversary of our arrival in Mozambique on July 28, I find myself looking back and seeing God's fingerprints over every part of this journey. During my devotional time this morning, He reminded me of something He has shown Don and me over and over again through the years. We are simply the vessels through which He chooses to work. 

Time and time again, God has repeatedly shown Don and me something beautiful through His Word. We will read a passage we've read dozens of times before, and suddenly it's as though He's saying, "This is what I'm doing." 

James 1:27 is one of those passages: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction." 

How many times have we all read that verse? How many times have I read that verse without really seeing it? But one day, after the Sunshine Homes Project was already established, pairing a vulnerable widow with six orphaned children to create a forever family, we read it again. 

And suddenly we both stopped. 

Whoa! 

This wasn't our idea. 

It was God's. 

Lately I've been reading through the Psalms again, something I have done countless times throughout my life. Today I came to Psalm 113, and the final verse says: 

"He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children." 

I cannot tell you how many times I have simply read past those words. But today, they struck me in a completely new way. This time I couldn’t read past it. 

Once again, God reminded me that the Sunshine Homes Project is His project. He is the Author. He is the Mastermind. And in that moment, I felt the incredible weight and privilege of realizing that He has invited me to participate in fulfilling the very promises He has made in His Word. 

Some of our mothers have biological children of their own. Others never had that opportunity. 

I immediately thought of Monica. 

Years ago, Monica's husband abandoned her because she was unable to have children. She was left alone, rejected, and vulnerable. Today, she is the joyful mother of six beautiful daughters through the Sunshine Homes Project. She faithfully loved and cared for the first five girls God entrusted to her, and then He completed her family by bringing three-month-old baby Kiana into her home. 

Watching Monica become a mother has been one of the greatest privileges of our ministry. God gave the barren woman a home and made her the joyful mother of children. He kept His promise. 

And again… it hit me. 

The Sunshine Homes Project was never our idea. It was never our vision or our ministry to build. God simply invited us to participate in what He was already planning to do. Long before we ever arrived in Mozambique, He knew every widow who would need a family, every orphan who would need a mother, and every home He intended to create. We are simply watching Him fulfill His Word. 

As I look back over these fifteen years, I see God's fingerprints everywhere. Every home that has been built, every child who has found a family, every mother whose life has been restored, every miracle we've witnessed… none of it belongs to us. It belongs to Him. 

What an incredible privilege that the Creator of the universe invites ordinary people to participate in His extraordinary work. He could accomplish every bit of it without us, yet in His grace He allows us to join Him. Our prayer is that we will continue to faithfully say "yes" whenever He calls, remembering that this has always been His story, His project, His glory, and His Kingdom. We are simply blessed to be the hands and feet through which He chooses to love His children.