Seventeen years ago, Greg Buzek was working as a Product Development Manager making anti-theft devices. They were the type of devices designed to deactivate if merchandise left a store without being purchased. Greg made a very good living at this, but found himself completely unfulfilled inside. Something wasn't quite right in his life.

It was at a casual lunch one day with the Pastor from his church, when the first seeds would be planted. Pastor Kelly Lyons worked with small groups and missions at the church, and he needed help. He asked Greg to work in missions, and although Greg was engaged in the talk, internally, he was full of fear:

"I’m a business guy, I have nothing to offer."
Before he got back to his desk that afternoon, he was fired from his job!
"Okay Lord, you have my attention."

But now what?
It kept coming back to helping the people of Liberia. Yet, Greg knew nothing about Liberia. So Greg prayed about this big decision in his life, "Lord, All I know about Liberia is that Chet’s over there, and he’s had malaria three times, been shot at, had an AK47 pointed at his chest from an 8-year-old - If I need to go to Liberia, you’ll need to make it real clear to me".

As Greg was driving home, he sees a man pushing his car up the road. Something tells him to stop and help the guy out. When Greg gets out of the car, he notices a bumper sticker that might as well have been a red-neon lit sign that said:

“I Support Liberia”
What are the chances? This man was from Liberia. As the two men were talking, the stranger explains to Greg that Liberia is in real bad shape and going into a Civil War. Greg explains that he has had it on his heart to go to Liberia, the stranger tells Greg he is nuts!

Greg Buzek was still not excited about this crazy idea of going to Liberia, but the evidence was starting to stack up against him.

Chuck Smith, the Senior Pastor, explained to Greg "Beware of signs and wonders. Make sure you have scriptures backing up whatever you believe God is calling you to do".

Just days later, in his studies, the first scripture presented was Genesis: 12:1; Get thee out of thy country. The next five scriptures all has a similar message.

Greg Buzek's life was about to change and would never be the same again...

The story continues on the Brink of Greatness Podcast…
The Next Leap Forward
Broken families, illness, poverty; there are over 143 million orphans around the globe. A few startling facts from UNICEF tell a story... 

A Child dies every 5.2 seconds, that is over 16,000 children every single day. In the New York Foster care system, 60% of the children who age out end up in a homeless situation. More children age out of care systems in one week than are adopted in an entire year. The stats could go on forever, but they all end in one conclusion:

Far too many children are suffering unnecessarily; disease, famine, lack of resources, crime, trafficking. If we are to put a dent in this worldwide problem, it will take an army of many, but it starts with one!

Greg Buzek recognized this need and through his faith and trust, he took the leap forward to make that difference. Retail Orphan Initiative was born to raise awareness and provide real-life solutions by combining the resources of many with the art of streamlining to that critical moment of need. They not only do this in over 24 countries, but they also focus efforts in the United States. 

Retail Orphan Initiative has interacted in over 188 Projects, raising millions of dollars, rescued 1,200 girls, helped support 1,412 Adoptions, built 19 schools, worked on brining clean water to communities. It's an impressive list of accomplishments that change on a daily basis depending on the need.