Lydia Schaeffer
When Lydia Daisy Schaeffer was nine years old, she ended up in a hospital after she contracted pneumonia. But it was in that hospital that God had ordained a divine appointment for her. There was an 18 year old girl named Janet occupying the room across the hall. Janet would visit Lydia each day and talk to her about Jesus. The night before Lydia was released, Janet led her to the Lord. Lydia describes the change she experienced this way, “After that night, I had a deeper awareness of God's presence in my life. Over the next six years all I could think about was whether or not the decisions I made were pleasing to God.”
Born and raised in Southern California, Lydia remembers her father as the most significant influence in her young life. She refers to him as "the greatest dad a girl could have."
When Lydia was 15, her aunt became a Christian and started attending the Assemblies of God church that was not far from her family's home. She began taking Lydia to church with her and during that time she fully committed her life to the Lord. It was at this church that so many of the questions Lydia had since age nine were answered. Once she committed her life to the Lord she never wavered in her decision to serve Him.
At the age of 18, Lydia took her first missions trip to an orphanage in Mexico. Her eyes were opened in a greater way to the needs of others. She always knew that her life was meant for something more than just living for herself. She began to pray for God to change her heart so that she would care more for others than she did for her own life.
During her college years, while studying for a degree in Education, she began to go on more missions trips. During each trip, she would ask the Lord to show her what her role was to be in the midst of all of the sadness, sickness and poverty that she saw.
As she continued in school and later while teaching elementary school, she kept praying and seeking the Lord for His direction in her life. One thing that she knew for sure, was that God wanted her to remain open to change. She knew that she was not supposed to become so comfortable that she would not be open to a new direction from the Lord.
While living in Southern California, Lydia attended Safe Harbor Church and became involved with Hidden With Christ Ministries. She had traveled with Executive Director Rita Langeland to Tanzania on short-term missions trips on two separate occasions and had seen so much of the poverty first hand. In her own words, she described what happened next. “When Rita told me she wanted to start an orphanage and asked if I would move to Tanzania to help get it started, I knew immediately that I would be moving. It was the very thing the Lord had been preparing my heart to do for so many years.”
After a 17 year career teaching in Christian elementary schools in the U.S., Lydia moved to Tanzania in July of 2006 to begin her missionary journey. She began serving as the Education Director for the newly formed Treasures of Africa Children’s Home and eventually was promoted into the lead position as the TOA Program Director.
Lydia tells about her experience in her own words: “The TOA kids and staff have captured my heart and being here in Tanzania is part of who I am. This place is a huge part of my life. If I don’t see the kids one day I miss them and my heart longs to see them. Being here is such a blessing. Playing with the kids and watching them laugh is the best part of my day. Watching the children grow up and change has been amazing for me. I have seen God do so many things in the lives of the children here. They are growing in their knowledge of God’s love for them and experiencing His love personally. Many of the children were very poor students in school (some had never attended school at all) and now all the children are doing well. Their teachers constantly tell us how well behaved they are and about their excellent work habits. The school headmaster told us that of all the children in the school TOA students are the most well behaved. Hearing reports like this about the children is amazing especially because some of the children were so angry and hurt when they first came to us. God has really done a transformational work in their lives.”
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