Statesboro teen Ava Hiller loves the English/Irish pop “boy band” One Direction so much, she saved and saved to raise enough money to attend one of their concerts.

Then, she discovered something even more important than her teenage passion; an orphan named Blessing.

The 15-year-old gave up her concert dreams in order to help the tiny 7-year-old Zambian girl have a better life, but her rewards for compassionate generosity went way beyond her dreams.

The daughter of Dr. James and Wendy Hiller was experiencing growing pains including questions about life and God, said her father.  So, when her mother, sister Claire Hiller, and Ava decided to go on a mission trio to Zambia, the family thought the experience would be a good one for the teen.

In typical teenage girl fashion, Ava continued to save up for the One Direction concert, which would be costly as she would have to travel to a northern or western state, as the band didn’t have a concert scheduled in the South, Dr. Hiller said. But when Ava met Blessing, along with several other Zambian orphans, suddenly she discovered something more important.

The mission, through the international effort of Family Legacy and Grace Community Church in Statesboro, led the Hiller women to an area where “there are 12 and a half children for every adult” due to the AIDS/HIV epidemic and other diseases, Dr. Hiller said.

Each person on the trip was assigned 10 orphans, whom they came to know, and with whom they shared spiritual thoughts and the word of God.

“There were ghettoes where the orphans might eat once a day and lived in the dirt,” he said.

Ava and others spent time with the orphans on a daily basis.

“You realize how little they have and how much you have,” she said.

Meeting ‘Blessing’

All the orphans touched her heart, but the one small girl named Blessing caught a special spot.

The orphans were all named after virtues and other pleasant things.

“They all had names like that because we couldn’t pronounce their real names,” she said.

One of the daily activities was to single out a child and ask questions meant to inspire and give insight. One of the questions was “Who do you think loves you?”

When asked this question, Blessing – whom Ava said “loves to cling and be held and to draw,” looked at the American teen and said “only you.”

Those words changed Ava Hiller’s world.

She became emotional as she described the way of life in the Zambian village.

Blessing “lives with relatives who don’t want her there. She has to work to stay there. She said the only person she ever felt loved by was me.”

Drawing was something new for the kids, who had even never had their own crayons.

Wendy Hiller wasn’t sure how her daughter would handle the mission trip.

“When we arrived in Africa, we were all apprehensive and anxious, not knowing what to expect.  And I was especially concerned about Ava, as she is more shy and introverted than my other two kids,” she said.

“We had a group meeting our first night there, the day before ‘our kids’ arrived,” she said. “The leader explained how he knew how the first timers were nervous, and maybe even a little scared about the whole deal.  He encouraged us to go to our rooms that night and pray - pray specifically for compassion, and that God would give us a ‘heart like His...a heart for these orphans.’  So, I did.  I especially prayed this for my kids, to please give them the compassion they needed for these girls.”

It was after returning from the trip, when Wendy Hiller found herself in Costa Rica on another planned trip for yoga training. As she became oriented, she was exploring the facility, which had rooms named “Bliss, Peace, Harmony, etc.”

“As I am handed a nice cold, freshly hand-made, all-natural, fruit smoothie to sip on, I am escorted to my room,” she said. “I pass each room, reading the names posted on the door. I arrive at my room, and there it is ... carved in big wooden letters, the name of my room – ‘Compassion.’ I immediately felt at ease, and knew God had a hand in this whole journey, and that all was gonna be all right.”

Yet, God wasn’t finished talking to the Hillers, she said.

One Direction concert

Ava had given up her savings for the One Direction concert, instead using the money to sponsor Blessing so the orphan could “go to school and eat every day,” she said.

The mission trip to Zambia had given the teen many answers about life that she had sought, and while she was and is still a wildly passionate One Direction fan, making a difference in Blessing’s life was way more important.

Wendy Hiller, proud of her daughter’s spiritual love and compassion, shared her story with several on her Costa Rica trip, including one woman who “just so happened to have connections to the band,” Jim Hiller said.

Those “connections” led to the band’s sending Ava two seventh-row tickets to a concert in Chicago, thus making the teenager’s dream come true.

“Those tickets were selling for $2,000 apiece on StubHub,” he said.

“I’ve loved One Direction for years,” Ava said, excitement over the memory of the concert still evident in her voice. “I love their music, and my favorite (band member) is Harry Styles. I can relate to their music. It’s not like other music.”

The band is quite popular with younger fans, with hits like “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Live While We’re Young” and “”Story of My Life” recorded on Simon Cowell’s record label Syco Records. The band was named Billboard’s “Top New Artist” in 2012.

The surprise from her favorite band “really shocked me,” she said. “This had to have been done by God. Whatever I give, He gives back to me.”

The concert experience was over the top, but her experience in meeting Blessing and her fellow orphans was life-changing, she said.

‘God is there’

“When you look into her eyes, you could see God," she said, voice cracking as she cried, recalling what she had seen in Zambia. “You see God is there, and that definitely makes a difference.”

Ava Hiller hopes her experience will prompt others to sponsor orphans in Zambia. She has been talking to classmates, persuading them to help, she said.

To help, access Internet website familylegacy.com, and click on “Our ministries,” she said. Also, Ava Hiller’s channel on YouTube.com, labeled “Zambia, Africa” can further share her experience, she said.

The experience “truly reconfirmed her belief in God and how he works in our life, something that she had struggled a bit with prior to the mission trip,” Jim Hiller said.

Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.