Page 8 - Fall 2021

From Zambian
orphanage to
Warrior Stadium
Samson Stearns’ passion makes him a powerhouse player
Selfless. Tough. Resilient.
These words all come to mind when thinking of a warrior. They are also used by the Oconee County High School football coaches to describe Samson Stearns, a junior fullback on the team.
As a starter on the field and a leader in the locker room, Samson is truly an asset to the team.
“When someone is a real kind, caring, charismatic person, that overshadows their toughness sometimes,” said Travis Noland, head football coach at OCHS. “But I think he is a very resilient, tough person who can handle a lot of adversity very well because the younger part of his life was full of that.”
Behind the wide smile and bubbly personality is a person who has experienced hardships some of us can only imagine.
After his mother died from Malaria shortly after his birth, Samson was brought to a Zambian orphanage by his father who died in 2008. Samson was left with no parents, no possessions, and no plan for the future. God had a plan.
On the other side of the world, Dave Stearns and his daughter, Lydia, began packing for a missionary trip to Africa.
Dave intended for the trip to be an eye-opening experience for his daughter, who could help those in need while growing in her faith. However, Dave did not anticipate how the experience would change his life.
Samson Stearns, who lived in a Zambian orphanage for the first couple years of his life, was adopted by Oconee residents Shelley and Dave Stearns.
sNancy Belle Hansford is a freelance writer in Watkinsville and the owner of Watkinsville Wines. PAGE 6 | OCONEE THE MAGAZINE | FALL 2021
By Nancy Belle Hansford
Nancy Belle Hansford