IT'S 24-7 THING

Spoken For International Youth Outreach conducts an orphan outreach each Christmas season in Penza, Russia . The most recent trip was December 27 – January 5, when several 121’ers, including Loyd and Kirby Sawyers, joined others from various churches to celebrate the birth of Christ half a world away. Like any mission venture God ordains, there was much more to the story than just the time spent actually participating in the trip.

Pre-trip

In the spring of 2005, Loyd Sawyers was going about his normal business, auctioneering and telling people about Jesus every chance he had. About that time, his daughter, Kirby, approached him with the idea of her going to Penza, Russia for a couple of weeks in the summer as part of the Spoken For orphanage outreach. And that’s how it all began… Kirby did go that summer, and the Christmas after that and the summer after that. She had been bitten by the “ Penza bug” and it was now in her system for good.

When she got back to the metroplex at the end of her trip last summer, Kirby had a serious conversation with her dad. She wanted so badly for him to experience what she had discovered, that she said, “Dad, if you will go on the next Christmas trip, I will stay home so that you can.”

Loyd knew what a real sacrifice his girl was offering so he began to think seriously about going. Still, he didn’t want to go for the wrong reasons. God continued to get his attention. Loyd recalled a time in August 2005 when Ruslan Werntz (who is from Penza) was sharing in his life group. At one point, Ruslan looked at Loyd and said, “You need to go to Penza .” It was one of those passing moments that God filed away to be recalled at just the right moment.

Still struggling with the decision, last October Loyd called Scott Werntz (leader of Spoken For) for advice. He said, “Scott, I don’t want to go just because it would be a neat experience with Kirby during her senior year, or because it sounds like a good thing to do. I only want to go if God wants me to go.”

Scott replied, “Just move forward toward going and if God doesn’t want you to go, He will stop it.” So that is exactly what he did. The deadline for purchasing plane tickets was less than two weeks away and Loyd had no passport and no birth certificate for getting a passport. Through a series of incredible circumstances, the birth certificate, passport and a visa were obtained in the nick of time. When he received his itinerary in email, he knew for sure that God had cleared the path and wanted him to go.

The Trip

As the trip approached, Loyd says, “I was like a kid anticipating a birthday present. You know it’s coming and you know it’s going to be good, but you have no idea what it is.”

When Loyd realized he was indeed going on the trip, he asked God to allow him to see everything involved in the trip and not focus only on the orphanages. God answered that prayer with a resounding, “You got it!” There were opportunities for service 24x7. Within the team of Americans, Loyd got to pray with some for their health issues, meet & hang out with a teenage boy every morning at 6:15, and generally love up on his fellow forty-two team members. Beyond the team, he had chances to share his special brand of “howdy” with Russian believers and non-believers, translators, orphanage directors, workers, children, and youth.

Loyd was especially touched by the orphans. Realizing how greatly they treasure small, simple things – hugs, a piece of candy, a wink & a nod – brought tears to his eyes. As the trip progressed, one aspect that he treasured was getting to work side-by-side with Kirby and watch God work uniquely through each of them in the very different ways they are wired. Kirby often played with a child one-on-one, feeding relationships she has built over the last two years. Loyd, operating in his gift of “never met a stranger”, constantly brought laughter to many, as he shared from his heart for the crowd.

Then there were the moments of observing in awe the glory of God’s creativity. One such moment came in the middle of the night on the train from Moscow to Penza. As he stared out the window of the little train compartment at the beautiful Russian countryside and the night sky, Loyd was struck by the realization that he was looking at the same stars that we look at right here in Texas. Another time of reveling in God’s creation was emerging from the store after dark and being greeted by a flurry of the biggest, fluffiest snow flakes he had ever seen.

Post-trip

In the true spirit of “no rest for the weary”, Loyd dutifully and joyfully attended his early Saturday morning life group, despite returning home after midnight Friday. The day didn’t stop there – God had people for him to counsel in the afternoon. The next day entailed pre-church prayer and, of course, both services at 121. Loyd says that his eight days in Penza were very important, but not necessarily because he was in Penza, but because he was looking for God’s opportunities for him to serve all day, every day, right where he was. He had no idea what his assignments from God would be during his time in Penza, but he went, watched, and responded, just as he does in Texas. He encourages every believer to do the same and to be open-minded because whatever you think it will be like when you step out and follow, it probably won’t!

::Loyd and Kirby Sawyers as told to Lori Bond

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