Finding Joy

By Shiloh Wolff (Lawton, Oklahoma)

Have you ever been at the right place at the right time?

I had the privilege of experiencing many special moments like this in Africa on a VO trip in October 2011. This trip would change my life forever. I would find JOY in a new and refreshing way that would inspire a recurring theme in my life.

In Kenya, after our second day, our team leader asked us to share some thoughts about what the Lord had been revealing to us. My team members shared and we cried a lot. It was a precious time. I shared my story about losing my mother to cancer in January 2011 and how finding Joy was part of my healing process through my grief. I have been striving for revitalized Joy in my life since then. If you have ever lost a loved one, you can relate to needing to have Joy reignited in your life. Only God can do this. Glory!

The next day we went to a baby cottage called Haven of Hope, run by this beautiful woman named Nellie. She took us on a tour of her lovely home. She had around 30+ children. We went into the baby/toddler room and she started sharing the names of the babies.

Guess who I met?! A little baby girl named JOY! “The Lord has filled my heart with JOY!” The Lord gave me this incredible gift of finding JOY in Kenya, Africa… quite literally. And WOW, was my heart full that day!

We have had a Skype conversation with her and received pictures of my JOY! Our family sponsors two other wonderful children from two other great ministry organizations. HGI is one of the only ones that keep you so personally connected to your child! I am thankful for my JOY the Lord has blessed us with and for HGI and their ministries they continue to support in Africa!