Lynette, I have meant to send you this for a month or so, but just did not take the time to sit down and do this until now. I wanted to give you a little more detail on my KA and share how I have been so blessed to be part of it!

It really is amazing how God wove things together "behind the scenes" for me and my Assignment while I prayed about what He would have me do... I still spent precious time trying to make things happen on my own, and one of the biggest things I learned through this KA experience was to just let God take care of the details and He'd lead me to the right place at the right time! I knew my Assignment would be about making "house into home" and while all signs seemed to point to doing something with Beaches Habitat, all my efforts to contact someone there had failed to that point.

Here's the first cool thing that God worked out... providing direct contact with the family He intended for me to help. I only had to mention to you what I hoped to do, when I called you about not being able to attend the KA "Half-Way" evening at your home. Because you shared my "hope to" dream with the group that night, Kathy Fehling called me the next day to let me know she could introduce me to a Habitat home recipient who might be able to use my help. Kathy was already involved with Beaches Habitat through building a home, and had been able to develop a relationship with the new homeowner, a single Mom with 4 children, one of whom had spina bifida. You already know how Kathy's Assignment was underway for this family.... providing a bookcase and age-appropriate books for each member of the family when they moved into their new home.

The second issue God worked out was the perfect timing for my KA project. The reason I couldn't attend the get-together at your home was because I was working on a staging project all that week in an anticipation of hosting two open house events for the owner, one on June 14th, the other on June 16th. I also knew I would be out of town Father's Day weekend (June 21st) and leaving at the very end of June for a month-long trip to Canada. Stay with me here... I did not see any way I would be able to do meaningful work on KA until after I returned from visiting my parents at the end of July. BUT, God knew otherwise! Within 2 hours of the last open house event, I met Kay, the young mom that Kathy Fehling had wanted to introduce me to. After talking with her that evening, I knew that this was the family I should help with getting settled into their new home! What I didn't know but quickly learned, was that the dedication of her new home would be on Saturday, June 27th, just a week and a half away, and that she literally had nothing but a car trunk full of decorative items that she would be bringing to her new home. She and her family were sleeping on air mattresses, and their other furniture had been damaged or ruined by a major termite infestation at their then-present home. How would I help this family with only a few days before the dedication date (minus the weekend I would be away), no furniture to help move in, only a trunk full of Kay's belongings, and a $100 bill??? My Assignment was going to be much bigger than I had thought!

Another thing God had orchestrated was allowing my path to cross with Kay's through Kathy Fehling. Kay shared with Kathy and I the evening we first met that she had been abused at a very young age, removed from her family and placed into foster care. She moved so often - over 20 times in one year alone! - and by the age of 14, was legally emancipated from her family and out on her own. She shared how she had made some mistakes and bad decisions along the way, but now at the age of 30 and with 4 children, she wanted to provide a stable home for them, a place where they had a sense of belonging and family, something Kay never had as a child. I so admired her spirit and strong desire to reach her goals, and she was doing what she could to help provide... I mentioned earlier that one of her children has spina bifida. Kay shared with us that evening that while she was pregnant with this baby, her doctor told her that she would be better off having an abortion. He explained that there were doctors in Florida who would perform a late-term abortion, and that she should seriously consider having one because of the additional "burden" a special needs child would bring to her life, a child that would most likely never be able to walk. Kay told him at that very moment her unborn baby was kicking inside her womb... not elbowing her, not bumping with her tiny head, but kicking with her feet! Kay knew that this little life inside her was supposed to be born, and thought that if this tiny baby could kick like that, she would certainly be able to walk some day! By this time, we shared hugs and tears... I knew that this was the very family God intended for me to help all along!

So... through an e-mail to a small group of people and a few phone calls, God provided everything I needed to furnish Kay's home in just a few short days, further indication of what He had been doing to prepare others' hearts to respond to my requests. I received the donations of furniture that fit perfectly into this small home, including bedroom furniture for every member of the family. Others gave items that fit in with the things Kay had... and there were folks who donated money so I could buy the things that were missing. As if this wasn't enough, He sent me helpers in the most unlikely and unexpected ways... I could not have accomplished my KA in time for the house dedication without these wonderful friends who gave so much of their physical help and precious time. I am in awe of what God did when I was willing to let Him take care of the details!

And one more thing... Kay expressed to me several times how she was so overwhelmed by the kindness and love shown to her and her family. I was able to share God's love with her, that "We love, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19) I continue to pray for Kay and her family, that God continues to place people in their path who show and share His love for them.

Thank you for letting me share this long KA story that really happened for me over just a few short days, but that God had made plans for over a very long time... There's even more I could share with you, but just know that while God chose us to participate in being a blessing to others, we have been immeasurably blessed through what God has done for us in each of our Kingdom Assignments!

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday morning to celebrate all of God's goodness!

With a grateful heart, Sharon Hawes