Today I'd like to introduce you to one of the main reasons Abba's House is still in operation today. This is Tarren Salter. She is our staff manager and is basically the running force behind Abba's House at the moment. But what's more, her story is one of God's favor and His amazing ability to bless anyone willing to serve Him in what they do. I first met Tarren when my friends bought a farm in Loerie and moved about 35 minutes away from town. I visited the farm often to see my friends and play with their newly adopted twins. While there, I met Tarren who was working as a "domestic worker" (aka: maid) for the two homes on the farm: the one my friends lived in and the one they rented to a man who was living there before they bought the farm. But Tarren was more than just a domestic. I quickly was impressed with her ability to notice small things and think of ways to make life easier for the people she worked with. And, what's more, I saw her absolute heart for children when she interacted with my friends three children. I quickly saw so much potential hidden in this woman and wondered how God could use her for more.
Fast forward a few months and I was now the renter living in the second home. I had finally agreed to God to try and help the children in need I saw all around me by sacrificing my lovely, peaceful live in the town and move onto a farm that could support a God-sized dream. Over the course of those months, though, I came to learn more about Tarren. Tarren had had an important job at a large chain store in South Africa. She was supporting her family and making a true career out of her work. But something happened that caused her to test her integrity. A family member put her in a position where she felt like her only choice was to leave that job and stand up for what she believed in. She choose to take the risk of losing her stability and financial support in exchange for doing what was right. That's how she found herself working for homes on different farms around our area. As my friends and I started the journey of getting Abba's House opened and all of the important paperwork sorted, I began to talk to Tarren (and my friend) about "stealing" her for the baby house. She was more than keen and as soon as our first baby was placed with us, she was there. In fact, my friend and I even stopped at her house on the way home with our first baby because we knew how excited she would be to see him. She was my first employee at Abba's House. As a mom of a young daughter (who went to the school I was volunteer-teaching at twice a week), I chose to work the night shifts with our little baby while Tarren rescued me for the day shift. Part of my "stealing" her from my friend included having her twin boys join us for the day shifts so that she could do her work from home job and know that her boys were still cared for. So Tarren cared for three babies, which quickly jumped to five babies as Abba's House grew.
Fast forward to summer of 2023. We survived covid. We'd helped so many children in need. And we'd survived our friend moving away, leaving us to run the farm on our own (with our buddy Tyrone). I saw Tarren's willingness to grow, her ability to change and adapt to the ways I wanted our children "raised" as compared to what she knew, and her amazing heart for God and passion for serving Him in everything she did. So I asked Tarren if she'd be interested in becoming a part of a newly formed management team (as well as a member of our soon-to-be formed NPO Board of Directors). She immediately said yes. Little did I know how much the survival of Abba's House would depend on this decision from both of us. As you know, my dad passed away in October of that same year, leading to me returning to America and getting stuck for now 10 months and counting. And, who do you think has been doing everything I can't do every single day? Tarren! Tarren has met with every social worker for every child in our custody. Tarren has gone to every court appearance and spoken up for each of our children's best interests. Tarren has scheduled and gone to every doctor's appointment and specialist appointment for each of our children. Tarren has organized every staff member's schedule and managed each situation that come up with working with a team of now 10 housemothers. Tarren has handled firings, hirings, trainings, and more with our staff. Tarren is speaking up for us as a Board of Directors member (our NPO now up and running). Tarren has kept up with and organized all of the necessary paperwork for not only our children but our staff as well. And Tarren has kept up with a full inventory list and supplies list for every little thing we need to keep Abba's House running. But that's not enough for Tarren. Tarren has recently seen a need for our ministry to have our own social worker to represent our children and their needs correctly in the court system. She is now researching ways to learn more and eventually become a social worker for Abba's House.
Her dedication. Her flexibility. Her passion. Her strength. Her resilience. It all combines to show the amazing person God knew we would need at Abba's House! And it shows just how faithful He is when we choose to continue doing the right thing, every day, little by little. Tarren is amazing! And we thank God for her every single day! Thank you, Tarren, for being willing, for being faithful, for being... you! You are a blessing!
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