Strength in Numbers

Though her son and daughter are now in their late twenties, Randi continues to have a passion for caring for children. Ever since listening to a Saddleback Church sermon from a visiting Rwandan pastor who highlighted the orphan crisis in Rwanda, Randi has been actively involved in the church’s Orphan Care Initiative, originally donating to orphans in Rwanda and now in the Orange County area as well.

The latter was initially a challenge, as Randi does not live in Southern California, but even the lengthy distance between her home and a Saddleback campus didn’t prevent fellow church members from working with her in showing God’s love and mercy to others.

Randi resides with her husband Jim in Alameda, Calif., a town along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay, and is a member of Saddleback’s online campus. Formerly an elder at a presbyterian church in Alameda, Randi's first interaction with Saddleback came when her former church took part in the 40 Days of Purpose, a 40 day campaign launched by Saddleback that originally took place in 2002 before making a return in 2005.

Randi's small group didn’t stop meeting once the 40 days were over though. She continued to lead the group for the next six years — moving it to a local assisted living facility in the process. Eventually Randi became a member of Saddleback’s online campus, but the absence of a physical Saddleback community within her proximity was well noticeable.

“In the years after I became a member, I kept asking for a Bay Area campus,” Randi said.

Though it may have taken an extended period of time, Randi's request was heard, as meeting took place earlier this year in the nearby town of Emeryville with the purpose of establishing a long-awaited Bay Area campus. At the meeting, she proposed to take the first steps in building a physical Saddleback community in the area.

“At the meeting I reached out to some others about starting a Saddleback small group in the East Bay, and one other woman named Lelia  expressed interest,” Randi said.

Like Randi, Lelia didn’t originally come from an pre-existing Saddleback campus. Lelia was drawn to the Saddleback community after reading senior pastor Rick Warren’s bestselling book The Purpose Driven Life.

Even though only two people were on board, that didn’t matter to Randi and Lelia. The two began meeting mid-day every Wednesday in Alameda earlier this year, taking part in Saddleback’s Miracle of Mercy series. As part of the series, each small group was encouraged to put mercy into action through “mercy projects.” That was when the two were inspired to make an impact more locally than Rwanda.

With the combination of the series’ message and Randi's involvement in the orphan care project, the small group felt God was calling them to assemble a pair of orphan care Mercy Packs, large packages with basic necessities that would be distributed to one orphan each in Southern California who had been removed from their homes for their own safety.

“It’s a tragedy that kids have to go through this situation. As believers, we are called to take care of children wherever they are,” Randi said.

The two encountered a hurdle however in that Mercy Packs needed to be brought to and sent out from a Saddleback campus, but no campus been established yet in the Bay Area.

“We had no idea how we were going to accomplish sending out the packs since we are in the Bay Area and Lake Forest is over 300 miles south of us,” Randi said.

But God didn’t let any distance stop Randi and Lelia from carrying out his will. After praying for a window to open up, Randi decided to reach out to a friend that attended the Lake Forest campus, Mona.The two had met when Randi made a visit to the campus in 2009. When Randi contacted Mona, she could not be any more delighted at her response.

“I called Mona and it turned out that her small group was also wanting to send out Mercy Packs to Orphan Care,” Randi said.

Randi and Lelia were beyond thankful. Through the gift of community, God had provided the two-person East Bay small group with an avenue to make the mercy packs a reality. The two sent Target giftcards to Mona's small group that could be used to buy the necessary contents for the Mercy Packs. Mona's small group then put together the mercy packs and sent them out from the Lake Forest campus on behalf of Randi and Lelia.

Several months later, Randi continues to have an ever-growing appreciation for the community of believers that God wants each and every one of us to dwell in.

“To borrow a phrase from Pastor Rick, ‘God intended you to experience life with other people.' It’s really special how our group has people all from different church backgrounds that are now brought together thanks to The Purpose Driven Life and Saddleback,” Randi said.

Today, the community of believers is continuing to grow around Randi. A third woman has now joined Randi and Lelia in their small group, and Randi's hope of a Bay Area campus is set to become a reality, as Saddleback will host a weekend service in Oakland on July 31.

Through community, God was able to provide Randi with the means to effectively provide for others, even when it seemed hard to accomplish.  Like the mantra of the Golden State Warriors, the Bay Area’s NBA team that plays just miles away from Randi's Alameda home, there truly is strength in numbers. Without others by our side, we all face an uphill climb, but through relationships with fellow believers, God can do miracles, no matter what distance may exist between two individuals.