Nearly a Child Bride: Zahara McCoy’s Rescue Story I was going to get married off when ((music playing)) I turned 13. That really scared me as [clears throat] a young girl. I felt that innately something was wrong about that. I ((music playing)) really wanted to stay in school, but at that point, education was no longer a priority. ((music playing)) Survival was. >> After Zahara McCoy's birth parents died during the AIDS pandemic in Uganda, she went to live with her aunt and ((music playing)) school became out of the question. Zahara begged God to rescue her from becoming a child ((music playing)) bride. Find out how God answered her prayers on this episode of GPS. God, people stories. It's an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. I'm Jim Girtland. Zahara ((music playing)) was able to escape a dark future because of a stranger from the other side of the world who wanted to share the love of God that they had come to know. Billy Graham often spoke about that very thing. Now the gospel of Christ has no meaning unless it is applied to our fellow man who hurts and is in need. And Jesus said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul and strength and mind and thy neighbor as thyself." We'll hear more from Billy Graham later in this episode. If you'd like to know more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and how it can change your life right now, visit our website. It's find peacewithgod.net. That'sind peacewithgod.net. And the fastest way to get there is always through the link in our show notes. >> GPS >> God >> people stories. >> Zahara McCoy ((music playing)) was born in Uganda where growing up she says she experienced what she calls a very typical village life. She would gather water with her friends from the village, make little dolls out of banana fibers and climb mango trees. She also went to church regularly with her mom. >> My mother was Christian. So from a very early on age we'll go to church and church in the you know Uganda is you know you go and you praise and it's very high energy very you know praise and worship is you dance you shout you you you're very free with the Lord when it comes to the Ugandan kind of church or African churches. >> At the age of eight Zahara realized she was ready for everyone in her village to know that she followed Jesus. >> I love singing. I love being part of the Sunday school program. But it never really occurred to me how serious it is that you can declare. It's not it's not that you don't believe. It's declaring and and putting out in the open that I do follow Jesus. He's my you know is my Christ my savior. And so there was a sermon that was given when I was eight. And I remember looking at my mom and said I'm going to go give my life to Christ. >> But just a few months after Zahara made her profession of faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized, her mom became very very ill. I came home from school and found a group of people at our house and they were carrying a body out. It was my mother and she was she had foam in her mouth. >> Zahara had no idea that her mother had been sick. She was rushed to a hospital where she was resuscitated. While there, Zahara's mother tested positive for AIDS. That was the same sickness that took her father's life years before. She was very afraid because when she received that test back and it said it was positive back then that meant a death sentence and we had seen people who it was not the most dignified disease. You know when it when you had it it would eat you away to look like a skeleton. And someone with pride someone who we viewed as the sole breadwin of our household. She worked hard sustained me and my brothers. I believe she did not want to go down that [clears throat] way. >> Zahara's mother decided to fight for her life. And together, Zahara and her mom prayed for her healing at a gathering known as Overnight Church. >> Overnight church is when you go all night long, 7 days a week, and pray from 700 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. And I remember going there, the first few weeks, it was just like a I was, you know, a child. You're tired. You're not quite sure why we doing this. When Zahara's mom's health started to deteriorate, Zahara's attitude toward overnight church changed. >> I was running to church and I was weeping in church overnight and it was endless prayer. I mean, you take a break for maybe some water or something, but it was concrete pleading out. That's when I started realizing my relationship to the Lord. During this season of uncertainty with her mom's illness, Zahara happened to pass by a school that had a group of people outside. They were from an organization that was meeting orphans to enroll them in their child sponsorship program. >> The AIDS pandemic was sweeping subsaharan Africa. So, it was very common for children like who are losing parents to be in a school trying to figure out what next. And there were many little small what they call community- based organizations that were enlisting orphans to help them stay in school at that time. >> After seeing this, Zahara knew she needed to talk to her mom about her future. >> My mom had completely deteriorated. She was no longer moving, no longer speaking. So it it was one of those things where you saw death knocking at your front door and you're just waiting for when. So I had a conversation with my mother. She was nonvocal at that point and I just remember asking her should I enlist my name? Am I going to be an orphan [snorts] and without words her eyes welled up with tears and um she kind of basically cried and then looked away from me which was a confirmation that yes Zahara you will be an orphan. >> Zahara went back to that school the next day to ask to be on the list. When she was told the people with the list had left, Zahara was determined to find out where they were. So, she set out and walked 16 miles to their location. >> I was very, very desperate to get on that list. I got there, spoke to the woman, and I asked her, "Hey, where is that list? I need to be on there." And I I know I don't meet the criteria now, but if you were to come to my house and see the condition my mom is in, you'll understand why I need to be on that list. She accepted and took me back home and was able to meet my mother. And the words she said to me were, "Okay, Zahara, I understand. We'll be in touch." >> A few weeks later, Zahara's mother passed away. Zahara was now an orphan at the age of 10. The shock and trauma of losing her mom caused her to completely forget about the organization and their list. >> Everything I knew overnight changed. I lost not only my mother but I lost my uh childhood safety, stability and any future that I had dreamed of. In my culture, when you are a child without parents, let alone a young girl without parents, you become very your or your your future becomes very fragile. >> Zahara's only option at the time was to move in with her aunt [snorts] who had six children of her own. >> I really felt that I was a burden. um not that they said that but I felt like it was one other mouth to feed and um shared everything from the basic you know needs of underwear to choosing when you can have a meal what kind of meal you have is it lunch is going to be breakfast it's going to be dinner we really lived in scarcity and I felt like the only way I could stay in that household is by making myself of value to her >> to help earn her keep Zahara cared for the other children and became the house help. They all live together in one small room. >> We shared one space room divided up in a curtain and the children would sleep on one side and the adults would sleep on the other side. And I chose the far end of the wall on the mat to sleep on because in those evenings, that's when I had my time with God and [snorts] it was my time to petition my case to him. With so much uncertainty in her life, Zahara turned to God for help. >> I was just crying out to him, saying, "God, what is my life going to be like? Is this it for me? Could you make me somebody?" I felt like a complete nobody. Like no one cared. No one would come and rescue me. >> Zahara's fears increased when she started to hear whispers about her becoming a child bride. When I was communicated to that I would get married off when I turned 13. That really scared me. As a young girl, I felt that innately something was wrong about that. I really wanted to stay in school, but at that point, education was no longer a priority. Survival was. >> Zahara had to drop out of school to help her aunt's household stay afloat. Losing an opportunity for education in her culture just upped the odds that she would become a child bride. This was a very common thing. Um, just go and live with somebody and start bearing them children. I've seen what the results of that look like. It is one of the most darkest option of a future someone can have because I saw friends that I knew slowly just absolutely lose themselves, become subsidiary to somebody else's needs and wants and completely their confidence beat down. you have a responsibility of children that you don't can't even support provide for you know meals but you continue bearing children >> that's not what Zahara wanted for her future her prayers for rescue became more urgent Zahara needed God to answer her prayers now >> 9 months passed nothing 10 months nothing and one day a group of people came knocked on our door and asked for my name said is Sahara live here and my aunt said, "Oh, yes, she does." And they said, "Well, we're here to let her know that she now has a sponsor." >> God had finally answered Zahara's prayers for rescue. Through child sponsorship, Zahara was going to be able to go back to school, and that meant she would no longer be at risk for becoming a child bride. >> He heard my cries. Even if I was a young child, whispered, cried quietly. He heard them loud as loud as anybody else's. and he answered them. And I just remember thinking, "Wow, I now have my childhood back. I can now attend school like the rest." And not only that, but it actually meant that I now have this what they call a safety net around me because I can no longer be married off as soon as I turned 13. >> Being back in school bought Sahara some time. Even in the discussions of getting married at 13, that could be delayed because a child who's educated in my community meant that you could come back and change your whole community, meant that you could become somebody. So, they were not willing to give you up to a marriage if you were in school. It was a lifeline for me. >> The day after Zahara learned of her sponsorship, she was up and ready for school at the crack of dawn. Dressed in her sponsored uniform, she made sure she had done all her chores and helped dress her cousins. There was no way she was going to miss this second chance at receiving an education. >> That was the beginning of a new life for me. My prayers were answered through sponsorship. And it was through someone who didn't even know anything about me. >> A woman had chosen to sponsor Zahara. She lived on the other side of the world from Uganda. >> Maryanne McCoy chose me and from that I learned what it means to be chosen by God. I actually really truly understand what that means to be chosen, to be loved, to be protected. And he used a human being to show me that. >> But God went a step further to show Zahora that she was loved. Maryanne traveled to meet Zahora. She saw that Zahara was at the top of her class and asked her if she would like to be adopted and continue her higher education in the United States. >> I never forget moving from Uganda, you know, where lights or candles or the lamp is what we use. The village life is very dark. Once it's dark, it's dark [laughter] to now going to the airport. Everything is big. lights, perfumes, people moving busy and um I just remember thinking, "Oh my gosh, I am not in my village anymore." >> In America, Zahara was shocked and amazed over even the simplest things like reflectors on the roads. Everything seemed brighter and bigger. I couldn't imagine trying to reconcile the two worlds, you know, my small little village to [snorts] now a grand I would call it city because I came right into San Francisco. And um not only that, when we arrived home, I was introduced to our new home and introduced to my own bedroom, my own closet. I came from absolutely nothing to everything as far as material. Zahara felt as if she'd woken up from a dream and her entire life had transformed while she was asleep. >> I remember thinking this is this is what it means when God says I'll answer your prayers. It's not in increments. It's in entirety, right? And so it's like when God blesses you, he doesn't just kind of do it and then stop there. He just goes all out for you. And he does that to remind you how special you are to him. And to me, coming from sharing literally everything to the basic needs to wondering where your next meal will come from to now a refrigerator full of stuff, right? I was just I I was trying to reconcile those two worlds and just was blown away at how much God reassured me. After Zahara graduated from high school in 2013, she took friends to her home country of Uganda and together they did community service projects. God used the trip to break Zahara's heart for what breaks his. >> It really confronted me in ways I had I've been removed from for a long time. But then there was an action behind that. He did not only speak to me to break my heart, but it was a real conviction that there is something that can be done about it. Zahara and her friends visited a household made up of five children. The oldest was 15 and the youngest was just two. >> And the youngest was very close with me. I was just kind of sitting around me just tugging at me and I just loved her so much. And I remember thinking, okay, this is really sad. Like I just don't understand why there's so much unfairness and brokenness in the world. [snorts] And the little girl said to me, you know, Zahara, I just want to show you something. Can you come with me? The little girl's name was Mercy. She led Zahara into the yard to show her her parents' tombstone. >> I just broke down, fell on my knees, and it all came back to me. I remember thinking to God, why? How does this work? She [snorts] would never have a love or understand, experience true parental love, which is the connection to you, unconditional love. what you show us here. Our earthly parents are your true affection of how much you love us. And now she too would never experience that. Why God? >> For a long time, Zahara had held in her feelings about orphanhood in the context of African culture. Now she wept that mercy would never have a chance to know the love, protection, and stability that a parent provides. And once I all settled down, I remember hearing God's voice and he said, "Zahara, I did not take you out of Uganda for you to just come back." I said, "Why her? Why now?" And he said, "Well, I want you to be to her what Maryanne McCoy was to you." >> From that day on, Zahara sponsored Mercy. From there, I started taking on the role and understanding of being the bridge between the two cultures, reconciling what's broken in Africa and the generosity and work of so many people, God's people who want to intercept and come in and speak on his behalf, who are open to their calling, to be able to share and demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ to those who are broken. Zahara returned from the trip to study international affairs and global health with a dream of helping alleviate the brokenness in Uganda. To that end, after graduating, she took a year-long internship in Uganda to learn about the complexities of assisting developing nations. >> I was the cultural leazison for that organization that I was with for one year. And that's when I was pulled into the same organization I was part of. I was child number one. They were going through their own leadership changes at that time in Uganda. >> Eventually, Zahara became the CEO of that organization, Children of Grace, which helps rescue vulnerable children through sponsorships. Currently, there are 750 children enrolled from nursery school to university or trade school. >> All our programs are deeply enhanced and designed to speak life into from a standpoint of Jesus Christ and what he means to you as a child. For Zahara, she knows just how important it is to have faith instilled in you at a young age and for people to step up and help others in need. >> I'm here to tell people that I'm a living, breathing testimony of what God can do using ordinary people if they are only willing to listen and open their hearts and respond. And you don't have to be much or have much to do something. My position in regards to what God has done in ((music playing)) my life is if not you, who else? Because he used a complete stranger ((music playing)) to absolutely turn around my entire life and give me a chance at a new one. If you've been listening to Zahara's ((music playing)) story today and would like to have a relationship with the same loving savior that Zahara knows, you can and you can right now. Visit our website, find peacewithgod.net. That's find peacewithgod.net. And when you're there, click on begin a relationship with Jesus. That's at find peacewithgod.net. There's also a link in our show notes. In just a minute, you'll hear a final word from Zahara about the spiritual impact she felt from her adoption. >> You're listening to GPS, God, People, Stories, ((music playing)) a podcast production of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. >> Now, the gospel of Christ has no meaning unless it is applied to our fellow man who hurts and is in need. Billy Graham. >> And Jesus said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and soul, and strength and mind, and thy neighbor, as thyself." Jesus believed in the worth of the individual. And Jesus spent most of his time with individuals, ((music playing)) not just great crowds. The Bible teaches that God loves you as an individual. Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. And the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross. And while he was on the cross, he was thinking about you because he was God. ((music playing)) He could look down the centuries and call you by name on that cross and say, "I love you. I will forgive you ((music playing)) if you will come to me." A question for you. Have you been adopted yet? That is, have you been adopted into God's kingdom? If you've never trusted Jesus with your life and you'd like to know more about who he is and the sacrifice he made for you, we have resources ready and available for you right now at our website, find peacewithgod.net. It is a place where you can learn what it means to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. And if you already know him, it is a place to go to grow deeper in your walk with Jesus Christ. The website again is find peacewithgod.net and there's always a link to that website in our show notes. Our guest on this episode of GPS is Zahara McCoy who was adopted from Uganda by a childhood sponsor in the United States. Throughout her life, she has prayed and God has answered, showing his protection and provision for her. Here's what she had to say about the impact of her adoption beyond just a new last name. Adoption did not only change my last name, but it truly helped me learn who God is at the core. Not only as my creator, but as my father. Someone who intentionally knows my name, knows my heart, what scares me, knows what my future holds, and he wants to curve that out personally for me. And if he does that for me, I mean, who else? Who else? And so my story has been a journey of just seeing God's love, mercy, grace through an individual, through sponsorship, my sponsor who then turned my mom. >> We're grateful Sahara joined us on this episode. She is the CEO of Children of Grace. She's also now a wife and mother of three. If you want to hear more powerful God stories like this one that Zahara has shared with us, simply subscribe to GPS through your podcast app or on YouTube. In the middle of life, GPS will show up in the middle of the week every other Wednesday. I'm Jim Kirkland and this is GPS, ((music playing)) God People Stories. It's an outreach of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. ((music playing)) Always good news. Hey, hey, hey.