This story will bless your life in a big way . . .
Colton Taylor is the youngest son of Lisa and Darrell Taylor. He and his family a few years ago began going on mission trips to Africa with the Family Legacy Missions organization. On the second trip, Colton, who was 14 years old at the time, felt the call to do something significant for the children there he had come to know.
So, he decided to raise support to build a home for some orphaned children in Zambia. He birthed the idea of Agape House. Colton raised the funds, made plans, and spearheaded this God-breathed idea of a place for genuine agape love and compassion.
Did you catch that earlier? He was and is very young. At 14, he received the vision. Now at 16, he has seen Agape House come to fruition.
Colton is the star quarterback for Memorial High School. Amazing!
Thank you, Colton!
Thank you, Lord, for planting dreams in the hearts of your people.
I asked Colton to write his story so I could share it with you.
NOTE: Check out the link to the Agape House website and watch the video.
My name is Colton Taylor, son of Lisa and Darrell Taylor.
Beginning in 2011, my family and I traveled on several mission trips to Lusaka, Zambia.
There are about 13 million people living in Zambia. Out of those 13 million, six million are under the age of 18. Out of those six million children, one million are orphans. That’s right; one out of every six Zambian children is an orphaned child.
Our purpose on our original trips to Zambia was to participate in a summer camp for orphaned children, called CampLIFE (similar to a Vacation Bible School). Our goal was to teach the children that they are loved, and that they are loved not only by the Americans that come to minister to them, but also by their Savior, Jesus Christ. We work with an organization called Family Legacy Missions International. In addition to CampLIFE, Family Legacy also operates an orphanage in Lusaka called the Tree of LIFE Children’s Village.
The Tree of LIFE is a village of houses located on the outskirts of Lusaka. Each house is home to 12 orphaned children and two housemothers. These children have been rescued from dire circumstances, usually extremely abusive and life-threatening situations in the “compounds” or slums of Lusaka. The children’s village includes play areas and a modern school; a clinic is expected to be built within the next two years. The ultimate goal is to have 50 homes in the Tree of LIFE Children’s Village, housing a total of 600 kids.
During 2012, after spending ten days in Zambia (my second trip there to work with the orphans), and after seeing some of the children rescued and placed in the newly completed houses and hearing their stories, I felt led to begin a project to raise $110,000 to build one of the remaining houses. We named the home Agape House. “Agape” means pure and unconditional love, like that only found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
In the fall of 2012, we organized events to raise money for the house: I sent out letters to more than 100 people; we organized a dinner for 140 people; we held a concert and sold T-shirts with a picture of Agape House on it; and I visited many individuals, businesses and foundations to tell my story. More than 150 people contributed time or money toward building Agape House, and we reached our fundraising goal in July 2013.
Construction of the home began in September of 2013, and the home was completed in December 2013. On December 30, 2013, we (my mom, my dad, my two brothers and I, with help from many friends) moved the twelve orphaned boys and their two housemothers into Agape House. Agape House was the 34th house opened in the Tree of LIFE Children’s Village.
The boys living in Agape House range in age from five to 15 years. Two of the boys are twins and suffer from albinism, four of the boys are HIV positive, one of the boys has epilepsy, and one of the older boys has a skin condition that we are working to diagnose and treat. The boys in most cases are “the least of these.” They are also smart, handsome and joyful; each knows how much he is loved by Jesus Christ.
The boys’ names are George, Gift, Simon, Emmanuel, Andrew, William, Jonah, Crispin, Peter, Moffat, Harrison and Enoch. Their housemothers are Grace and Mwila.
One of the Bible verses on the interior wall of the house is: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” – Hebrews 11:1
Right outside the front door of the house is a plaque that reads:
Agape House
Opened December 2013
“Nothing can separate us from the LOVE of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:39
For more information, pictures and video, visit: www.agapehousezambia.com
For more pictures of Agape House and the wonderful folks associated with it, be sure to watch the slide presentation below!
And don’t miss this amazing video presentation as well!
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