T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E
you take my baby?” With the Rayfield’s willingness to step up, they have opened up their home to two foster children and four children who were living on the streets. The Rayfields have become “Mimi and Papaw” to grandchildren in their own biological family, but they have also been willing to start over, caring daily for children who are in need. Their most recent addition is a six-month-old baby girl named Journey. Journey’s mom was first introduced to Karen six years ago. “I had gotten a call from a lady who thought one of her workers was homeless,” Karen said. “I came and met the mom at midnight when her shift started. The mom came into Grace House, and in the process, I ended up with custody of one of her sons. I kept up a relationship with her and six years later she found out she was pregnant again. She called and said she was going to have an abortion. I told her if she wouldn’t have an abortion, I would help her raise the baby. So now we have Journey.” Karen is on staff in the Children’s Ministry at Church on the Rock, and Artie came out of retirement and went back to work to help support the new additions to their family. He sees his role as helping any way he can to support Karen and help raise the children. He said, “Pastor John was teasing me one day and asked, ‘What are you going to do with all these kids?’ And I said, ‘Well, Pastor, she said the Lord told her to bring these kids to the house. The Lord didn’t tell me that! But I trust God, and I trust her.’” To the Rayfields, seeing lives restored reminds them of their own story, and gives them perseverance through the tough days. “The brokenness these moms experience can be messy. But when they see your heart, and if you stay for the long haul, they know they can depend on you,” Karen explained. “When the girls come to me, they see Jesus through my eyes. But by the time they leave and are out on their own, they know Him for themselves. It’s always my goal to reestablish the family. So once the family is back together, I still want to be their ‘Mimi.’ I want to have fun with the kids and be able to say, ‘Go back home to your momma!’ And I hope to God these women get there.”
Artie and Karen Rayfield with Journey.
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C OMM U N I T Y & C U L T U R E
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