Over the past year, we have had the opportunity to introduce you to some of the people working behind the scenes with The Raining Season. This month, we have the honor to introduce you to board member, Megan Garrett. Megan has worn a number of hats for The Raining Season over the years. Megan joked that she has basically been everything but a janitor for TRS. Megan began as the Child Advocacy Coordinator and then worked as the Donations Coordinator for several years. In addition to those roles, Megan also worked as the Adoption Coordinator for several years when The Raining Season was doing adoptions in-house. Megan settled into her newest role as a board member about a year ago. Her experience in various roles with TRS, as well as the amount of time she has spent in-country, have made her a true asset to The Raining Season Board.
Megan and her family live in Nashville, Tennessee. She and her husband, Josh, were married in 2013. Like so many who become involved with The Raining Season, the children and staff become family. With TRS as part of her family, it is no surprise that Megan and Josh decided to get married in Sierra Leone! Megan described it as one of her favorite memories with The Raining Season, and we don’t disagree. Megan shared, “I would have to say my favorite TRS story was when Josh and I were married there in 2013! Pastor Daniel married us near the ocean on beach day. Osseh walked me down the aisle, we ate lobster with our TRS family, and when we returned to the center the kids had prepared a song and dance to celebrate and Auntie Marie made us TWO cakes - chocolate and vanilla! We certainly felt the love that day and I’m so glad we chose to include our Sierra Leonean family in our celebration. In fact, it wouldn’t have been much of a celebration without them!” Megan and her husband, Josh, have six children. Their children range from ages 13 to 1. Their oldest four children are biological siblings adopted from Sierra Leone that resided at the center under The Raining Season’s care. While Megan is busy with her duties as a board member and mom to six, she is also a singer/songwriter and owns a skincare business.
By all of the roles Megan has had at The Raining Season, it is no surprise that she has been a part of the organization for quite some time. She first became involved with The Raining Season before adoptions were processing. Several years ago, The Raining Season operated under a program called “Forever Families.” Forever Families were designed to create a family relationship for kids at the center. It included weekly Skype calls and the promise to travel and visit once a year. Megan began as a forever family for her twins but as you can see, they ended up doing a little more than just that. Over the years, Megan has traveled to Sierra Leone seven times.
While Megan’s favorite memory with The Raining Season is being married in Sierra Leone by Pastor Daniel, there are many other memories that have stood out to her over the years. She has stood by and seen the beautiful moments as well as some of the hardest times. She has been in-county for intakes of new children and ceremonies before adopted children leave to travel to the U.S. and join their forever families. She witnessed times where The Raining Season didn’t know if they were going to be able to pay the rent. She also witnessed moments of abundance, impossible grief, and unimaginable joy. Over the years, Megan has had the opportunity to watch the Sierra Leonean staff blossom into their roles at the center. She shared, “It makes me all sorts of happy to see the center being run so well by an all Sierra Leonean staff and seeing the pride that they take in that!”
The vision of The Raining Season continues to focus on how to best serve the children who enter our center. Megan’s vision for The Raining Season aligns closely with this. Megan shared that, “I am very excited to watch the Roots Project progress as several of our children grow and become the incredible young adults they are destined to be. Adoption is not the answer for every child, but family certainly is. Setting them up to thrive in an environment where they feel loved and supported is so important, and Ally and Charles are doing a phenomenal job right now. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for the Roots project!”
Megan, thank you for the many hats you have worn. We are grateful that you continue to serve alongside us.
Many blessings,
The Raining Season