Something in Their Eyes

Debbie Willis went missing on a Sunday.

It was September 15th, 1991, during the Kansas State Fair.

She didn't leave a note or pack a bag or take anything with her.

Her husband Eddie took their four children out searching for her.

And the Hutch News posted a picture of them on the front page, the children perched on a fence at Carey Park while their dad stood by.

From left: Eddie Willis (the kids' birth father), Justin (3), Ashley (6), Jeri (10) and Polly (12)
The Hutchinson News file photo, September, 1991

Our community was gripped by the children. There was something in their eyes that caught everyone's attention.

It wasn't just the hollow look of loss because their mother had disappeared. It was more than what they couldn't see.

It was the sorrow of the hundreds of things they had seen in their short lives. Drinking and fighting and striving and lacking and hurting.

And for one of them, culminating in watching their father drive away in his pickup with their mom dragged into the passenger seat . . . and watching out the window until he returned--alone.

Then being paraded out to look for her as if it were a hide and seek game he had cheated at.

Their eyes called to my husband Tracy and me.

Especially when we learned Eddie had been arrested for Debbie's murder.

We already knew God was calling us to adopt. He'd drawn up a little comparison chart for us a year and a half earlier. (1) On one side, He listed the sheep, and on the other side, goats. Under the headings, He listed their actions, which would be His deciding factor when He was separating His supposed followers into the proper categories. And it would also determine the outcome of His reward/punishment system for them.

You would think He would carefully examine their physical characteristics. When I was a child and learned the story of Billy Goat Gruff, or we sang the song "Bill Grogan's Goat," I always envisioned a beard on the chins of the cantankerous goats and horns protruding from their heads. But the sheep in my imagination were docile creatures covered with soft wool.

So maybe that's why I was surprised to learn that Jesus skipped the obvious differences in appearance. Instead, He examined their actions.

Surprised is probably too mild; I was shocked. I'd done a lot of what I considered to be Christian service: teaching in a Christian school, leading worship, sponsoring youth group, writing curriculum and teaching it in children's church, teaching adult Sunday school, hosting Bible studies. . . I was no stranger to work in the Kingdom of God.

But none of these matched the job description of sheep.

See, sheep were known for doing these things: they fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, took in strangers, clothed the naked, visited the sick, and visited people in prison.

None of my "Christian" acts of service made the cut on this list. Everything I was doing was inward, to the church--nothing was outward to a hurting world.

I was shaken to the core.

And when I shared this Scripture with my husband Tracy, he was also deeply moved. We knew God was calling us to something new. Something more.

Something closer to His heart.

He wanted us to truly look into the eyes of hurting people. Not to look away, hoping or assuming someone else would help. He wanted us to treat them like we would treat Him if He were in the same situation.

He wanted us to take in strangers. And we had the unmistakable sense that they would be little ones.

So our adoption journey began. And it led us to our destiny with the children behind the eyes.

God orchestrated events so that we were able to welcome these children into our home on October 26, 1991. They joined our birth children: Sara, 12 at the time; Nathan, 9; and Benjamin, 6. And on Feb. 19, 1995, our long-awaited adoption was final. Then in March, 1996, our Anna was born.

Taken from the Feb. 14, 1997, article from the Hutch News.
Back row: Sara, Jeri, Benjamin, and Nathan
Seated in front: Justin, Polly, Becky, Anna, Tracy, and Ashley

The Lord didn't choose us because we had special qualifications. Nor because He thought we'd do a perfect job parenting these hurting children. He knew we would fall short in many ways.

Yet He chose us--because we were willing. Willing to be sheep who follow the Good Shepherd, knowing we would have to rely on Him every step of the way.

Those early days passed more quickly than we could have imagined. When the last few of our children starting graduating from high school, we began to ask the Lord what our next "assignment" would be.

Our answer came unexpectedly because of a trip to Seattle for a graduation in 2003. We weren't doing anything particularly spiritual; in fact, we went "junkin." At our first rummage sale, we met Stan and Sue Drew, who were selling their "stuff" before returning to Swaziland, Africa, as missionaries.

At first, we thought the connection was cool because the girl graduating (Jubilee Yocum) was heading to South Africa with YWAM (Youth with a Mission), and our son Benjamin was heading to South Africa on a mission trip with Global Expeditions/Teen Mania. We figured Stan and Sue could give them advice about what to expect.

But it went way beyond that. We felt God's nudging to support them financially. And within two years, we also felt a tugging to actually go to Swaziland.

Trust me, I didn't think I was Africa material. Smile. But this sense of calling wouldn't go away. I finally told  my son Benjamin that we were praying about going. His response was that we often pray about things God has already said to do. He already said to go into all the world and preach the Gospel.

(Wow. Gotta love it when your teenagers point out the Truth.)

When I got home, I had an email message waiting for me from Stan and Sue, asking when we were coming.
We had never mentioned the possibility to them. And we didn't feel the need to wait for any further confirmation. We booked our flights for Tracy, Anna (then 10) and I to go to Swaziland in the summer of 2006.

And when we met the children, there was something in their eyes, too. Some had buried parents who had died with AIDS. Some had been chased away from relatives' homesteads, unwanted nuisances as one more mouth to feed. Others had scavenged for food in the forests or stolen from street vendors. Many had been raped because their attackers believed that sex with a virgin would cure their AIDS. Countless had been given the task of caring for younger siblings and cousins who had no adult to provide basic needs.

These were children. Hungry and thirsty, homeless, hurting children. Sometimes naked. Sometimes sick. And trapped in a prison they never earned for themselves.

Not all were orphaned--yet. But all were vulnerable--little lost lambs that the Good Shepherd wanted us to love in His Name.

So we embarked on another journey, and this one would prove to us over and over again that the Good Shepherd's staff is grand enough to meet the cries of every hurting child. But He does it through His people.

Through those who realize they are sheep, too.

Through those who are willing.

And Grand Staff Ministries, Inc. was born.

What do you see when you look into their eyes?

Is Jesus calling you to join us as we love these little ones in His Name?

Not everyone is called to go to Africa. Nor to any other foreign country. At least not physically.

And not everyone is called to adopt children on USA soil, either.

But every single one of us who is a sheep following the Good Shepherd is called to do something. Something in Jesus' list of what sheep do.

Is Jesus asking you to send finances so someone who is thirsty get a drink of clean water, someone who is hungry gets a meal of corn mush, someone who is living in the elements of the African bush has a shelter? A safe place, away from those who would do them harm.

Or maybe He's asking you to volunteer in the office. Perhaps donate your skills with the computer.

It could be He wants you available to really pray in those night hours when one of the little ones is desperate to be rescued from the prison of predators.

All I know is, you are needed. And you are welcome to come alongside us as we serve Jesus by serving those He loves.

Then someday, when we look into His eyes, there will be something about them.

I'm pretty sure it will be pride. His words will match the look He's giving His sheep: 

"Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." (2)

Learn more at www.grandstaffministries.com or at our silent & live auction and free banquet on Sat., April 27, 2013.  It is open to the public while seats are still available.  Call (620) 543-6518.






(1) Taken from Matthew 25:31-46
(2) Matthew 25:21, NKJV
Goat picture from true-wildlife.blogspot.com
Sheep picture from torahinmotion.org