Thursday 27 June 2013

love, Harmony

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




Friday 21 June 2013

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.


Thursday 20 June 2013

"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



Tuesday 18 June 2013

our true princess

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



Monday 17 June 2013

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.

Sunday 16 June 2013

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


Wednesday 5 June 2013

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."





Sunday 2 June 2013