Mission-minded husband and wife team heading to Africa
by Kathy Tretter Special from the Ferdinand News
Lydia Rohleder traveled to Haiti two years ago to work in an orphanage.
It changed her life.
Her tasks were somewhat mundane, building bunk beds, cleaning and the like.
But the orphaned Haitian children and the almost unimaginable need — these moved the petite young lady with the winning smile in ways she had not imagined before making this journey.
As a result, Lydia had an epiphany: “I feel this [missionary work] is what I am here to do.”
Some who are exposed to such destitution return home and the memories fade.
Not so for Lydia.
In the intervening two years, Lydia Rohleder became Mrs. Jordan Saylor.
Fortunately, her new husband shares her passion to help make the world a better place.
For a long time the newlyweds prayed for clarity, asking God to direct them.
Then they happened across a book about the Village of Joy Orphanage in Pemba on the north coast of Mozambique, Africa. Home to around one thousand children who have lost their parents through Civil War and the AIDS epidemic among other horrors, the orphanage is overseen by Iris Ministries.
In addition to caring for these parentless children, Iris Ministries offers an international, three-month mission training program. People from all over the world with a passion to help gather in Mozambique.
This was the answer Lydia and Jordan had been seeking.
They could help those in need while at the same time learn HOW to be missionaries.
The Saylors, ages 20 and 23, attend Rivers of Life Church in Huntingburg and their spiritual family agreed to serve as sponsors.
They hope to depart for Mozambique around October 1 for a 10-week to three-month training session coupled with missionary work.
Lydia and Jordan will live with hundreds of orphans while learning how to minister cross-culturally, become practically equipped for the physical challenges of third-world nations and take extended evangelistic outreach trips into local bush areas, spreading the Gospel. They will also help in the school, build wells in impoverished villages where there is no clean, secure water source and basically do what they can to help.
As Lydia explains, “Whatever the need is, we will supply it.”
But first, they must raise enough money to pay for the trip.
Their families are helping with fund-raising. Lydia has been making jewelry with her mother-in-law, Melody Saylor and selling it along the Jasper RiverWalk or on-line (the Saylors have a blog: www.thesayloradventure.blogspot.com with details).
Details are on the blog, and fund-raising info will be added as time progresses, but for those who aren’t blog-savvy, a check can be mailed to River of Life Church (be sure to note this is a donation for Jordan and Lydia Saylor’s mission trip) to PO Box 66, Huntingburg, IN 47542.
