May Adoption Family – Good To Be Crazy

Guest Blog- Good To Be Crazy We are Team Owens. Our family is passionate about Africa, orphan advocacy, overseas mission work, adoption and living simply. We prayed that the Lord would break our hearts for the things that break His – and by His grace, that’s been done. Our family’s heartbeat is for serving and loving “the least of these.” Five years ago, we were the average American family of four. There was a Daddy, a stay-at-home Mommy, a little girl and a baby boy. Life was happy and sweet and our plates were full.  We knew and loved the Lord and we were content in our safe and comfortable Christian lives – we attended church, led Bible studies, gave generously and sometimes served the homeless in our community.  But over time, the Lord began to open our eyes to more. He broke our hearts for Africa, for hurting orphans, for lonely widows and especially for the beautiful country of Uganda. He gave us the courage to step out of our comfort zones, to take risks for the sake of His name and to start storing up treasure in heaven, rather than here on Earth.  As the Lord started to change our hearts, He also brought together a group of friends to rally around Dan and me. He broke their hearts for similar causes and together, we all formed the ministry now known as SixtyFeet. We moved forward in obedience and then stepped back to watch God work. We were not disappointed. Every day, the ministry of SixtyFeet becomes more and more a part of our family’s life. Together, we pray for the work of SixtyFeet and the children we serve. We work as a family to raise money for SixtyFeet through the Cupcake Kids, our national fundraising arm. And in December of 2010, we grew our family through adoption and added Hannah and Joseph – two children from Uganda and former residents of one of the facilities SixtyFeet serves.
Forever we’ll be thankful to the Lord for opening our eyes and giving us the courage to abandon our own plans in order to embrace His. Better is one day in His courts than thousands elsewhere.
Team Owens is truly blessed. All glory and thanks to God.

The Story

According to the most recent estimates, there are approximately 2.5 million orphans in Uganda, over a million of whom are a direct result of AIDS.  Roughly 1 in 6 children in Uganda under the age of 17 is an orphan.  Deep in the bush outside Kampala is a place where some of these abandoned, unloved and neglected children are kept. And this is where our story begins…

Not long ago a woman was on her way out of Kampala and drove past a dilapidated old sign that read “M”: Rehabilitation Center for Children. She was drawn to learn more about the place and so she turned down a long, winding dirt road until she came to the end. To her horror, she found rooms of children locked up, young kids chained to windows, and even a 10 day old, malnourished and living in her own urine. She saw hundreds of children with little food and no supervision.

Sixty Feet was born out of a desire to participate in God’s work at “M”, to come along side those already involved in the lives of the children, to share the love of Jesus Christ in a meaningful way, and to care for orphans that are otherwise treated as common prisoners. In short, Sixty Feet is a response to the Gospel.We are just regular people who responded to a call on our lives. We are submitted to the authority of Christ and to His will for this ministry. We exist for His glory and to serve His purposes as long as He would have us do so.This is our story, and we pray that soon…. it may be your story too.

We have 3 more spots open for my June Uganda Visiting Orphans mission trip- we will serve at both “M” and “M2” prisons.  Apply today here.