Happy Birthday Christianna!

Dear friends,

Tuesday, November 12th is a very surreal day for our family.  This year Christianna would have blown out 11 candles on her cake.  Her brother Joshua will blow out two candles on the same day but without hearing her big sister's voice along with his brother and sisters and parents' voices singing "Happy Birthday".  

We remember the beauty, the joy, the delight of each moment with her here on this earth.  Of her sliding down the hill on a makeshift sled, (once breaking her arm!), of her reading and playing with her brothers and sisters, of her pronouncing her love in bold ways for her Savior and for her family.  

This morning we each shared some memories we give thanks for with Christianna:

Acacia: "How she would invent stuff and we would play together with just ordinary items."  

Katriya: "I like playing games with her and her hugs and kisses."

Isaiah: "How she gave me the last kiss and playing cops and robbers with her."

Shamirah: "I liked when she played with me on the trampoline and let me go on her high bunk bed."

Daddy: " I liked when she called me 'Big Daddy' and whispered "love you" after tuck in

Mommy: "I liked when she would lean her head against my shoulder when I was reading to her."

While we have good reason to be overwhelmed with grief, the truth is that the Lord has been faithful to us as we continue to walk through this long and very dark valley.  We are confident of this, He who began this work in us will be faithful to complete it.  We want her birthday to be a day to thank the Lord for the beautiful memories of her life and the promise that when we see her again it will be at the most amazing party in all eternity, the Wedding Feast of the Lamb!

It is only in Christ that we can have a beautiful collision of soul wrenching sorrow and promising joy filled hope.

One day our faith will be sight and on that day the rider of the white horse will put everything right. 

Broken and Blessed,

Rob for the ZamFam

africaschild.info

Celebrating with our family today....

Acacia and Christianna

Mommy and Christianna

Christianna and Oma

Opa and Christianna

Christianna (far left) and Uncle Carl

Christianna and Great Grandma

Opa and fishing girls

Shamirah and Christianna

Daddy and Christianna

sisters

Acacia and Christianna

Aunt Rebecca and Christianna

Great Grandpa and Grandma 

Mommy and Christianna

Acacia and Christianna

Christianna and Joshua

Christianna and Terra

Shamirah and Christianna

Christianna and Katriya

Christianna and Isaiah

Grammy and Christianna and Acacia

Auntie Gretchen and Mutali and Christianna

Great Grandma's tea party

Tulip time with Grammy and Bumpa

Sisters

Christianna and Aumbi

~ She is not sent away, but only sent before; Like unto a Star, which going out of sight, doth not die and vanish, but shineth in another hemisphere: ye see her not, yet she doth shine in another country.~ Samuel Rutherford

Drifting

Her face is still seen everywhere I go
In a world so broken and lost
Her sparkle and charm lingers
I fear that time will start to erase from my soul
Clinging tightly to memories
I will never let go
On eternity's rainbow you now play
Thinking of you
True beauty now in perfect peace
Longing for the day
My faith becomes sight
Christianna Joy I love you

--Big Daddy

there when I need You

LORD you are always there when I need you.
You rule over the heavens.
You are almighty God of me.
You will watch over me
and I will not be afraid to come to you.
Lord I thank you for watching over me
and I thank you for being there when I need you.

LORD I LOVE YOU!

--written by Christianna at age 8

Diagnosis

Hello friends,

We heard this week from the pathologist a final diagnosis for Christianna.  She had "Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy".  Cardio = heart, myo = muscle,  pathy = disease, and hyper = large,  So this is basically a disease of the heart muscle cells that causes them to enlarge, be in disarray and not function properly.  It is caused by a genetic mutation, and often develops in the pre-pubertal stage.  

If you have heard of a young healthy athlete suddenly dying, this is most often what has caused it.  Among people who die suddenly from this disease, most have no or only mild symptoms, and many times it is not related to physical activity at the time of death.  

The cause of sudden death at an early age is usually due to an arrhythmia, or a life threatening heart rhythm, as was the case with Christianna, because the heart cells are not aligned/functioning well, especially around the area of the electrical conduction system in the heart.  

It is usually an inherited, or genetic disease, so although we have no one in either family with known sudden early death, our immediate family will be screened with a heart ultrasound, or echocardiogram.  

By the way, the news had reported she had a thickened heart valve, which was not the case.  Her valves were normal, but her heart in general was enlarged.  

Here is some more information from the Mayo clinic site:

"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a disease in which the heart muscle (myocardium) becomes abnormally thick — or hypertrophied. This thickened heart muscle can make it harder for the heart to pump blood. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may also affect the heart's electrical system.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy often goes undiagnosed, because many of those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy have few, if any, symptoms. In a small number of people with this condition, the thickened heart muscle can cause signs and symptoms, such as shortness of breath and problems in the heart's electrical system resulting in life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias).

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is usually caused by gene mutations. It's thought these mutations cause the heart muscle to grow abnormally thick. People with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy also have an abnormal arrangement of heart muscle fibers. The heart muscle cells become jumbled, known as myofiber disarray. This disarray can contribute to an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) in some people."

Thank you for your continued prayers as we seek the Lord, are thankful for His faithfulness to us, and so deeply resonate with Ms. Hawks who wrote: " I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord.  No tender voice like thine, can peace afford."

much love from our family,

Christa

Baptism

On November 6, 2011, Christianna was baptized by her father.  We recently came across her written testimony she gave at the service.  Another time we are so thankful for God's Spirit at work in her heart!

"I came to know Jesus when I was in first grade and my mom read Bible stories and I wanted to read more and more.  As I got older i wanted to start my own devotions.  Now every morning for 15 minutes before breakfast I spend my own time reading the Bible.

One day I accepted Christ and I felt more joyful and happy and it was easier to be loving and kind to others.  Now I share Christ when my family goes to Zambia and even while we're here and I get to share about our mission to help children with HIV.  I often hold the babies and sing "Jesus Loves Me" to calm them down or feed them when no one is able to.

One day after devotions I started asking to be baptized.  It is important because Jesus was baptized, as a symbol of our sins being washed away.

I love Jesus with all my heart and I want to follow Him more each day." --- Christianna Joy Murphy

Another day

It still seems like a dream that she is gone.  My heart seems to want to call out her name so often as if she will come walking into the room and light up my life once again with her charm and beauty.  We continue to hear stories from others who have been very impacted by the life of our Christianna.  Her impact will be on my heart until I see her on that day when my faith becomes reality and I climb the rainbow to meet her on the other side.  Until then, I pray that I will be the man she saw me as.  Forever her "Big Daddy."

Christianna and Spinji

Tears

The tears like the rain outside gently fall down my cheeks for a brown eyed princess who called me daddy. And like the rain may my tears cause my heart to grow in beauty as the rain feeds the thirsty ground to bring forth its abundance.

No greater compliment

You make me smile

love, Harmony

Here is a short video that her good friend Harmony made from special times shared together over 5 months in Zambia.

love, Terra

Spoken by Terra, our dear friend and co- worker in Zambia, at Christianna's memorial service in Zambia:

"Christianna Joy: A name she really lived into.  As I think about Christianna's Joy and how it was firmly rooted in Christ, I can't help but to long for her vibrancy to live on.  She was a positive thinker and carefree yet in a responsible, logical way.  She understood freedom.  She understood people and how to be a good friend.  She knew that art was worship to God and appreciated all forms of it.  In fact, she herself was an up-tempo symphony that hummed a dancing rhythm in the air and it was contagious.  A rhythm you wanted more of.  Yes, even still we long for more, yet we have to learn from what this beautiful, loving 10 year old taught us.  We must be positive thinkers that worship our God and father no matter what we face.

We have eternity to dance to the heavenly songs with Christianna but we have only one life to create our own song that is vibrant enough to affect others.

We should all choose to live life as big as Christianna and be so filled with God's love that we leave encouragement with those we meet even when not trying.  We should be enjoying the freedom of God's love and the simple joys he gives us everyday, whether it is giving a compliment and watching someone's face light up or seeing flowers dancing in the wind.  I want to soak myself in that mindset.  I thank and praise God for teaching me such a great lesson through Christianna.

"Young Missionary Remembered"

The memorial service for Christianna Joy, was held Saturday under a rainbow of balloons, people dressed in bright colors, memory boxes, displays of a child's treasures, and a white casket covered with messages, stickers, and drawings written in markers by the hundreds of people who came to mourn her loss and celebrate her life. Each story shared, the worshipful dance, and the tears shed, the memories that brought laughter, was a testimony of a 10 yr old girl who loved Jesus, spread joy when she stepped into a room, and loved the orphaned babies in Zambia that she held, fed and entertained.

Her mom, sisters and brothers stood near the horse drawn wagon as she was gently lifed by Dad, Grandpa's, uncles, and cousins. Her Dad had the contentment of giving his daugther one more horse ride. We think of the cemetery as a resting place, but in the twinkling of an eye, we know Christianna will be dancing with Jesus. We look forward to the promise that some day we will all be enjoy that dance with her. Thank you all for your love and prayers. It has meant a great deal to us. We are so thankful to be able to be with our family this past week.

You can see an clip of the memorial service with the Fox17 news link.

http://fox17online.com/2013/06/15/10-year-old-missionary-remembered/#axzz2WLJVNPDZ

our true princess

 "Death cannot stop true love... all it can do is delay it for a while." 

Acacia's Song

Acacia’s Song

by Mary Jo Katerberg

He never said life would be easy

He never said rain wouldn’t fall down on the good and bad

We all will have heartache

When you are feeling weary 

there is a place you can go with all your sorrow

To God most high

So lie down underneath His wing listen to Him whispering

Everything’s gonna be okay

You might not see it clearly because your tears are in the way

But God who loves you will help you find your way

Everything’s gonna be okay

When you choose to look up, as hard as it can be

You might see a rainbow made just for you

An angel smiling down says not yet but real soon you’ll fly on the rainbow with joy again

But for now just lie down underneath His wing

Listen to Him whisper

Everything’s gonna be okay

You might not see it clearly cause your tears are in the way

But God who loves you will help you find your way

Everything’s gonna be okay

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the most High will rest in the shadow of the Almight

I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my strength

In this world we’ll have trouble

He has overcome

Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest

So lie down underneath His wing

Listen to Him whisper

Everything’s gonna be okay

You might not see it clearly cause your tears are in the way

But God who loves you will help you find your way

And everything’s gonna be okay

Thank you, Mary Jo for this gift of peace in song for our daughter.

Christianna's Celebration

I am not yet ready to write about the events of yesterday, but a friend of ours has sent out a dialog of her experience, and I will share some of that here along with some pictures.  I know there is more to come in future days.

"In the next few days some of Christianna's funeral service pictures
will be posted on the blog, Including her white casket placed on
a cart pulled by a fiesty white young horse and drawn to the Graschaap
cemetery, followed by a long line of cars. During the service, both
parents, 13 yr old sister/best friend, Acacia, and both sets of
grandparents shared about their relationships & love for Christianna.
The service included piano playing, violin, ballet, her family, and
then the horse: all the loves of her life. Older sister Acacia joined
the ballet dancers onstage...the littlest sister in her white dress &
blonde curls joined in at the very end. A slide show of photos
covering Christianna's life with lovely & inspiring music concluded
the 2hr. service.

 We were each given a sticker entering the sanctuary, another activity

Christianna loved, and we were asked to wear bright colors of the

rainbow to celebrate her life. The blog explains her connection to

rainbows. Two colorful Balloons were attached to each pew, and before

the funeral the hallway behind Central Wesleyan's sanctuary was full

of flowers, videos, pictures, letters, and people greeting the

parents, etc.

                 
                     The hardest part of the service for me was seeing her parents and 5

siblings walk her decorated-by-children casket down the aisle for the
service, and then walking along side of it back out afterwards. The
parents spoke of their dreams & prayers for walking that aisle with
her instead for her wedding, to the love-of-her-life, the man they've
been praying about for her. Which is what, they said, ultimately
happened...she was the young bride who met Jesus her groom, who
whisked her on to the rest of her journey thru eternity. The best part
of the service for me was a testimonial about two family friends who
had God-given Visions of seeing Christianna in Heaven with Jesus. What
Wonderful affirmations for a hurting family!

Dr. Paul Hontz & his daughter Rev. Christy Lipscomb led the service
which began with Christianna's favorite praise songs.

As usual when I share a story I include more of you who I think would
appreciate it, in this case - a sacred happening. Pray for this dear
family as they come to your mind, though you might not know them
personally.

Thanks, & Christ's Love to you,
DVD
...who will remember how 10 year-old Christianna lived out her name:
Christ's Joy, J-Jesus, O-Others, Y-Yourself: how can we do and be any
less? & Thankfulness for Rev. 21: 1-7

love, Auntie Gretchen

Delight

Written by Meagan, missionary with Namwianga orphanage, and spoken at Christianna's Memorial service held there:

"I think the thing that's so hard to grasp about Christianna's death is that she was the essence of life.  She overflowed with life and joy and spirit and energy.

If you wanted to find Christianna when she was here at the Haven, the first two places you'd look would be up in the tree in the play yard or by the mulberry bush, mouth COVERED in mulberry stains, grinning away.  But when she wasn't there, she was holding and loving on babies, a role that I know was so special to her.

While she was fun and spunky, she had such a depth to her that is so evident by how she lived, even at 10 years old.  Just a couple weeks ago she and Rob showed up to get a count for how many baby dolls she was making for our babies.  She always was thinking of something special to do for them.  I'll always remember her running into their lab, swimsuit on and fresh from the pool, coming to help Christa run some tests on baby Priscilla's blood, not many kids would forgo the pool to do that, but that's who she was.  She had a heart that wanted to be a part of serving and loving God's children.

We have two little boys, one named Oscar and one named Nelson.  I think the picture and voice I'll always remember of Christianna forever in my mind is of her the day before she died.  Christa and I were looking at a baby, and Acacia and Christianna were in the room checking out all the babies.  Christianna said, "I wouldn't probably have named a baby Oscar, but that's the sweetest Oscar I've ever seen.  I probably wouldn't have named a baby Nelson, but that's the sweetest Nelson I've ever seen!" That's just a precious memory to me.

Kahlil Gibran wrote, "When you are sorrowful, look again to your own heart, and you should see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight."

The Murphy family and Christianna are so special to us, and we weep with you because Christianna was pure delight."