All in the Family: A New Day
This past fall, we saw two journeys end and two new ones begin. After 31 years in ministry with ABCH, former Area Director for Northeast Alabama Ted Embry, and wife Nora, felt God’s call leading them into retirement. True to God’s nature of preparing the way for his children, he had been readying for eight years, Amber Albright, an intern turned social worker in Decatur, to now lead future ministry efforts in the Oxford community.
For the past eight years, Amber Albright served on our Decatur campus with much devotion, love, and passion for the calling the Lord has put on her life. In her time there, she helped countless families and was a part of much program growth.
Some of the most fulfilling things she describes experiencing is being a part of reunifications and adoptions, “Seeing the joy on adoptive parents’ faces and sensing the happiness and relief from the kids, knowing they are now part of a forever family. It’s also wonderful to see children being restored to their (biological) families, to see that work come full circle. To see parents making progress and children happy to go home, knowing they are going back to a safe environment, and we have fulfilled our duty to restore these children and their families.”
Ted Embry with wife, Nora
Ted Embry also began his career in serving children and families as a social worker with us in Mobile in 1985. He later became Director of Social Services, and in 1997, the door opened for him and Nora to break ground in Oxford with a brand new ABCH ministry presence.
“I just had some tremendous opportunities in Mobile that positioned me to be able to respond to greater opportunity when we moved to Oxford, and the trustees identified this geographic area as a void. We needed a presence here. They asked me if Nora and I would move to Calhoun County and begin a new work, and we were eager to do that.”
Ted and Nora each have always felt called to serve children and families. For his part, Ted credits that desire, outside of the universal call to all Christians to this type of ministry, to his own experience as a child growing up in a healthy home with parents that loved him. Knowing that there were children out there who have never experienced what he knew about basic care and parental love, Ted desired to do something about it—with his life. So he dedicated his 31-year career to serving other people, and most of all, to glorifying God.
“Ted cannot go anywhere without seeing someone who he feels compelled to pray for and frequently asks them if he can pray with them right there on the spot,” says Rod Marshall, ABCH President/CEO. “He exemplifies servant leadership.”
Former ABCH President/CEO Paul Miller echoed that sentiment: “For the last thirty-plus years, he has been on a journey that God uniquely prepared for him. Because of Ted's obedience and faithfulness, many children’s and families’ lives have been changed for the better, fellow workers have been encouraged, and God's name has been glorified.”
Ted feels that every child deserves the right to grow up in a healthy family and he wanted to respond to children who don’t have that assurance, “So they can know that God cares, and somebody cares, for them.”
And Amber will continue that legacy of love and care in Oxford.
Amber Albright with husband, Jeffrey, and daughter, Analeigh
When asked about her favorite thing in the ministry, she beams, “The kids, by far. I love Christmas time and seeing their faces, or celebrating their birthday. And in Oxford this year, the community really went above and beyond to ensure that our children had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas, despite their circumstances of having to be away from their families during the holidays. We have the most gracious supporters, and we truly cannot do this without them!
And there are the little things too—getting sponsors for Valentines Day who bring treats, or churches who bring Easter baskets, for example. We get to see how much it means to the kids to simply be remembered. That’s what I love.”
“And when I think about scripture that encourages me in my work,” she says, “One that I often think of is the verse Jeffrey and I focused on at our daughter Analeigh’s adoption, “Every good and perfect gift is from above,” James 1:17. In addition to Analeigh, I think about all the kids that have come through our ministry. In God’s eyes, these children are gifts—precious, lovable, full of value—and what a joy it is to be able to serve them.”
Please join us in praying for both Ted and Amber as they begin these new life seasons!