Flag Day

This summer instead of sending the boys to a Day Camp or Daycare, we're having Daddy Day Camp.  It's been awesome so far.  We've done a bundle of projects and fun activities.  Today was Flag Day.

We've had these flags for a couple years...at least since we bought our house... but just never put them up.  We even bought the mounting brackets a year ago.  I decided that today was Flag Day.


This is the BEFORE picture of the front porch.

 

Here "the boys" get started on the back porch.  You will notice that there are two long dial rods and a hockey stick.  We figured that we would use a hockey stick for the Canadian flag as that would be most appropriate.  Please note:  It's a Lemieux stick!

Corban wraps himself in the Ethiopian flag waiting for Daddy to get started.

Almost done!!!  The boys taking ownership of the Ethiopian Flag.

Mommy didn't know this was the project for today.  She came home surprised.  O Canada, my home and native land.....

This picture is just obligitory because of the previous two.  Sorry you have to see my disheveled mug.

It is done!  The new look of our house! (with Tobiah dancing on the porch)

Thank you God for bringing us together from far away places.  We are proud of where we have come from and glad to be together!

Isaiah 43

Isaiah 43 

But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created you, Jacob,
    he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
    I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze. 
 These are verses that we claim for our child.  God has or is creating our child, God knows their name and they are His, even before we know them.  Prior to our child being adopted there are difficult things he/she will be struggling through that we currently don't know about.  God does.  God is there and will see him/her through.  In spite of those difficult circumstances God is seeing a path clear for our child, and will be redeeming their situation.

³ For I am the Lord your God,

    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

    Cush^[a] and Seba in your stead.

⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

    and because I love you,

I will give people in exchange for you,

    nations in exchange for your life.

⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
    I will bring your children from the east
    and gather you from the west. 
This is a verse for us!

⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

    and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring my sons from afar

    and my daughters from the ends of the earth —
Bring our sons from afar?...daughters from the ends of the earth?  We're not making this up!  

⁷ everyone who is called by my name,

    whom I created for my glory,

    whom I formed and made. ”

⁸ Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
    who have ears but are deaf.
⁹ All the nations gather together
    and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold this
    and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
    so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰ “You are my witnesses, ” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.
¹¹ I, even I, am the Lord,
    and apart from me there is no savior.
¹² I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
    I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses, ” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
¹³     Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
    When I act, who can reverse it?”

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

¹⁴ This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
    and bring down as fugitives all the Babylonians,^[b]
    in the ships in which they took pride.
¹⁵ I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    Israel’s Creator, your King. ”

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says—

    he who made a way through the sea,

    a path through the mighty waters,

¹⁷ who drew out the chariots and horses,

    the army and reinforcements together,

and they lay there, never to rise again,

    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

¹⁸ “Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
²⁰ The wild animals honor me,
    the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
²¹     the people I formed for myself
    that they may proclaim my praise. 
vs 18-21 spoke to Aaron particularly, as God is doing a new thing in our lives, pulling us from our comfort zones.  God is going to provide water/a way/money where there is none.  So that we can praise Him, so that the wild animals will not need to.   We want all the praise to go to God for the work He is doing. 

²² “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
    you have not wearied yourselves for^[c] me, Israel.
²³ You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
    nor honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings
    nor wearied you with demands for incense.
²⁴ You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,
    or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
    and wearied me with your offenses.

²⁵ “I, even I, am he who blots out
    your transgressions, for my own sake,
    and remembers your sins no more.
²⁶ Review the past for me,
    let us argue the matter together;
    state the case for your innocence.
²⁷ Your first father sinned;
    those I sent to teach you rebelled against me.
²⁸ So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;
    I consigned Jacob to destruction^[d]
    and Israel to scorn.

The Movie Club: A Goal

So last week I introduced the idea of The Movie Club. 

At first we heard from no one.  Then one.  Then two.

As I type this we're up to 6!  I'm stoked.  But 4 of those have come in the last 24 hours.  Which makes me believe there is more potential than just 6.

When I introduced the Movie Club, I didn't have a goal.  I just put it out there.  X number of people.  Now I want a target to shoot for.  I want to see 20.
 
We have a week and a half until July 1 when I'm
gonna send out the first notice.  Something just tells me that this is an obtainable goal.

To recap (for those who missed the first post) the Movie Club:  We will send you a reminder (via e-mail, text or Facebook) at the beginning of every month for 5 months.  We'll only remind you once.  Payment is on you...we won't hound you.  You can pay via the Donate Button, The Tax Exempt Button, or if you live close enough you can just hand us cash or check.

Our initial thought for the Movie Club was 10 dollars a month....roughly the cost of a movie and some popcorn.  If you wanna vary that, you know that we're flexible.  We already had one person pay all 5 months ahead of time so we don't have to remind them.  Whatever you want.

Already part of the Movie Club? Your new goal is to find someone else to jump on board.

Answers to Help

This was obviously written before it was posted.

Today (Sunday) definitely was an answer to the prayers of 'help' from yesterday.

We were feeling very discouraged yesterday, particularly with fundraising plans.  Some plans of ours, that we were counting on, began to look like they weren't going to happen as we had expected.

So today, these are some of the things that occurred that have encouraged us.

First of all our pastor's sermon was very spot on, for our needs.  He talked about waiting for God despite the circumstances, and not trying to control things ourselves.  We were reminded that God is bigger than our plans. Since He called us to this task, He is going to see a way through it, even when we don't.

Secondly our pastor reminded us that it is okay to admit the truth- that we struggle and doubt, and need God's intervention.  Thank you for praying with us.

Thirdly some friends of ours, stopped by to hear what is going on and encourage us.  We brainstormed, talked through some of what we are doing and what is and isn't working in regards to fundraising.  Some things we were affirmed on and for some we need to branch out.

Fourth we were given a monetary gift.  A gift that was part of a fund, started before Marjorie and I were born!  Forget "I knit you together in your mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13)...this is, "I am knitting your family together before you are even knit together in your mother's womb."  The gift had a story with it, and is now very much apart of our story as well.  This gift was timed (by God) to confirm to us, that yes God has a plan, and He is working it out, just as we heard this am in church.

God is good!  All the time!

The Movie Club

This is my good friend J.  (and yes we're unintentionally wearing the same shirt) (I yes I really needed a hair cut in this picture)

J is another youth pastor here in town.  He and I partner in ministry in so many different ways.  Beyond that, we're just good buds.

J shared with me that he and his wife would like to partner with us by doing the "movie thing".  He was referring to my post about Small Things and Big Things where I said that if a bundle of people would give 10 dollars a month for 5 months, that would add up to a lot.  J and I just went to see the Avengers together so it kind of seemed relevant to both of our lives.

But then he said, "can you remind me every month?"  At first I laughed him off but the more I thought about it the more I realized he was serious and perhaps others needed that kind of reminder.

So here's what I'm proposing.

The Movie Club.  Pretty simple really.

-You commit to donate 10 dollars a month  (one movie with popcorn a month).  You can contact us via e-mail or Facebook and we will remind you at the beginning of every month.  We're not going to harp on you if we don't get your payment, we'll only remind you once.  When 5 months is over, we'll stop reminding you.  (if you can't do 10 dollars how about 5 dollars....that's like a movie rental and candy)

You can make payment in person with cash or check.  You can send payment to us at our house.  You can use paypal via the DONATE button in the right column.  You can do it anonymously through YWAM for a tax deductible gift....which also now has a button the right.

BONUS CHALLENGE:  What if every adult in your house took THE MOVIE CLUB challenge?

BONUS BONUS CHALLENGE:  Let's be realistic here, it's not like you're not going to go see the summer blockbusters on account of us.  When you do go however, as you're handing your money under that little piece of glass, take a moment and pray for our journey through this adoption.  Maybe even share with those you're watching the movie with what God's doing in our lives too.

Tax Deductible Giving

EDIT 6/9/13:  At this time we're closing the Tax Deductible Option of our fundraising.  It's increasingly hard for us to keep track of the money that YWAM is holding.  Sorry for any inconvenience.


Not long ago, we introduced the Donate button in the right side-bar.  This is an easy way to donate via Paypal.  I have also said a couple times that we would be giving you information if you wish to get a tax deduction for your donation.  This is that information.

If you'd like donate to our adoption and get a tax receipt for it so you can write it off there is an easy way to do that. You CAN NOT use the donate button however. 

One of the joys of this...beyond the tax deduction is that you can also use credit cards if you should choose. 

Checks will be payable to “Adoption Ministry of YWAM” and sent to:

 

Adoption Ministry of YWAM

P.O. Box 512

Puyallup, WA  98371

 

-You CAN NOT put our name anywhere on the check.  You must however send a note along with the check with our name on it designated that it go toward our adoption expenses.

You will get a tax receipt for tax purposes.

 For ease you can save the image below and print it out. 

Help

I'm not going to promote this post.  So only the people who signed up for updates or stumble back to our blog will read it. We'll probably delete it later.

We woke up frustrated this morning.  There is clearly a Spirit of Discouragement in the air of our house.  We're early on this process and we're already feeling walls come up and things fighting against us.  We aren't sure how to move forward.

We need people on their knees for us this morning.  We really need some discernment with how we're going to proceed and if we should proceed.  Would you bring us before God's throne today?

Fast Tuesday Recap

I thought it would be appropriate to update you on what actually happened on Fast-Tuesday (today) and at the same time thank you for your prayers (whether you were fasting with us or not).

You'll remember that I talked about Levi and Jessi Benkert who live in Ethiopia and are working toward creating permanent homes IN Ethiopia for orphans.  They have had hurdles in the past and asked for people to pray and fast with them on Tuesday (today).

Our first homestudy for our newest adoption was also Tuesday so we found it a perfect time to be in prayer and fasting and asked if maybe others would join with us in that.

So here's our recap:

-First thank you to all who were fasting and praying for us (even if you weren't fasting).  It was a time of learning and growing for Marjorie and I.

-The funny part about saying "Tuesday" is that for the Benkert's...Tuesday is 10pm-10am yesterday-today our time EST.  So by the time we got up we already had word of what God was doing in Ethiopia while they fast and prayed!  They had their first girl placed in one of their "forever families".  This is big because it means the end of processing and that they are now officially a place for children who have been dropped off at local police centers.  VERY COOL!     Read more here.

-Our homestudy was awesome.  We have had the pleasure of working with the same lady for all three adoptions.  She works with Catholic Charities out of Dubois PA.  She makes the drive up for us.  Here's some cool stuff....since she's done the previous two homestudies for us, she's just going to update the last one she did instead of going through a long drawn out process of doing it all over again.  This is great because it means one less visit and hours less time talking and rewriting.  ALSO....because she's helped us bring our two boys home she's excited to come to our house and see skinny tall Corban who came home as a wobbly chubby toddler and the growth in Tobiah too.  She loves our energy and excitement and is really helpful in getting us where we need to go quickly.

-The day of fasting was "fruitful" in our thinking about what we're doing.  We talked about ideas and things we want to see happen.  Things we need communicate clearer here on the blog.  Different ways in which people can partner with us.  We'll be working on these shortly.  Thank you again for journeying with us.

Fast Tuesday

There's a couple, Jessi and Levi Benkert, who live in Ethiopia.  They are working hard at building houses that will house orphans with older women "house mothers".  They're not orphanages.  They're new homes for children.  They won't be adopted out, they'll be given opportunities inside their own country...which is the ultimate goal.

Over the next couple months we'll probably be talking more about the Benkert's because....they're scheduled to come to our house when they're home this summer....and speak in Warren about what they're doing!!!  How awesome is that?

ANYWAY...there have been some road blocks in the last couple months in the Ethiopian government that has slowed them down from starting some of their homes.

Today Levi posted on their blog that he has really been drawn in to pray more.  It's not that new obstacles have arisen, but that he recognizes the need to bath the entire process in prayer.  So they are asking people to join them this Tuesday to fast and pray.  Pretty simple.

(You really should check out Levi's blog....it's so good. You can go there HERE.  He is a regular blogger and you can follow them on Facebook HERE.  You totally want to do both.)

This Tuesday is also our first meeting with our Homestudy lady for our adoption.

What's a homestudy?  Well basically they go over EVERY aspect of your life.  Your family history.  How you were raised.  What discipline style was used.  Your siblings and how you got along with them.  Your job.  Your income.  Your spiritual life.  Your outlook on life.  How you plan to deal with an extra mouth to feed.  Everything goes through a fine tooth comb.  Can you image if they did that every time someone got pregnant to see if they were fit to have a child?

So we've done two homestudy's in the past.  We like the lady who does ours.  She loves us.  We're not worried about what's going to happen.  At the same time....there are lots of hoops to jump through and it's mentally taxing.  There are a lot of questions to answer.  There are a lot of papers to go through.  Every t has to be crossed and every i has to be dotted. 

In the New Testament the Bible talks about fasting not as a suggestion, but pretty much expecting that we'll do it.  But Jesus clarifies how it should be done.  Basically He says, don't draw attention to yourself.  Do it joyfully.  Don't complain.  Don't moan and groan.  Matthew 6: 16-18.

You can fast from anything.  Food is the most common.  But you can fast from the internet, TV, chocolate, smoking, whatever.  Fasting is giving up something you do regularly, so you can focus on prayer and Jesus. 

ACTION STEPS: 
-On Tuesday we have agreed to fast with Levi and Jessi...to be in prayer for them and what they're doing in Ethiopia.  That a way would be made straight. 

-As part of our fast we will obviously also be in prayer for our own adoption and in particular the first step of the Homestudy.

-Will you join us?  Will you commit to fasting with us on Tuesday?  Would you be willing to give up something big to spend some extra time in prayer for the Benkert's and us...as we each move forward with our journey's?  

In the Mail

These pictures happened before we even shared the news of our coming adoption....but they're still relevant to our process.  This is the day we mailed in our real application for adoption.  May 17 2012. 

I promised the Post Office lady I wouldn't use her picture online...only in our scrap book.  So I edited her down a bit!  HA.

So now you've seen the beginning of the mountain of paperwork.  More paperwork to come.  More hoops to jump through.

ACTION STEPS:
1.  As you continue to pray for us, pray for the road to be smoothed out ahead of us.  So that as we get to each hurdle it's almost taken care for us.  There are a bundle of ways we could be slowed up.  Even with smooth sailing....it's still a long process.

2.  As we move into the second stage of paperwork (our homestudy)...there's lots of stuff to do that doesn't always seem like it gets us closer to hugging a child....pray for diligence in details.

Small Things Equals Big Things

When sitting on a boat in the middle of the Amazon River, I wasn't thinking about rain drops.  I was thinking about vastness and immensity of water.  Or standing next to Niagara Falls listening to the deafening roar of the water going over the falls....I'm only thinking about how I'd be crushed in that.   In reality little tiny rain drops made up the vastness of the Amazon and the crushing power of the Falls.

When I allow myself to think about the money that we don't have to make this whole process happen, I get panicy.  It's a BIG number....and our salaries aren't going to produce that big number on our own.  But when I pull a dollar bill out of my pocket I realize that it's just a bundle of these little guys that make up that big number.
My good friend Jim Baker, has been a long time worker with and for Youth With A Mission (YWAM).  He and his wife have to fund raise their support.  He shared with me that so many people choose to not give because they can't give large amounts.  When in reality if a bunch of people would just partner with them even with small amounts their support would easily be raised.

So I started thinking about the big number...and the small numbers.

Let's have some fun with math. 
-I currently have 546 "friends" on Facebook.
-If everyone one of those people chose to not go see one summer blockbuster movie and donated that money to our adoption (let's say 10 dollars because they're thrifty and went to a matinee, but really needed popcorn anyway).  Just that one time gift would be $5,460.  That's a big number.
-Let's take that a step farther.  If each one of those people agreed to partner with us and donate 10 dollars a month (or 3 trips to Tim Horton's) for 5 months we would fund the ENTIRE adoption including travel.  That's only over the next 5 months.
-So let's take that to a different level....what if we don't even talk about 10 dollars a month....what if that's too daunting....what if we talk about 5 dollars a month....a MONTH....over 10 months.....same result....complete funding.  5 dollars.  What's that?  A movie rental and some candy.  A value meal at McDonalds (if you get a cheap one). 
That's no fundraising.  That's no big money giving.  That's people giving small amounts.

I'm enough of a realist to know that not all of those 546 people are going to partner with us like that.  Some of those people I never interact with and won't ever read these words.  Some of those people represent multiple members of the same household.  Some of those people will just not choose to be apart. That's fine.  That number also represents people that will probably give more than 10 dollars a month for 5 months.  That number doesn't represent a bunch of friends that don't have Facebook.  That number doesn't represent some family members.  That number doesn't represent people that I don't really know that are still going to be moved to give.  It also doesn't take into account YOUR friends on Facebook who aren't my friends.  It doesn't take into account any grants or scholarships we might receive.

This is do-able.  Small Things Make Big Things.

Action Steps:
1.  You're expecting this first step to be us asking you to give us money....it's not.  The first thing we'd like you to do is pray.  Pray for us and the process we're in.  Talk about the small things and the big things. 

2.  BUT also pray to see if God is leading you to partner with us financially.  After you've prayed about it (maybe more than once)...would you consider partnering with us?  Maybe with a one time gift, or like I just talked about with small gifts over a period of time.  Would you take this journey with us (maybe not physically)?  I promise a Tax Deductible way of giving is coming soon....in the mean time the Donate button is on the right for paypal giving.  Or contact us directly for other ways to partner with us.

3.  Continue to talk and share what we're doing with others.  I know we keep bringing this back up, but we're convinced that people we know and don't know need to be part of this process...to see what it is we're doing.  Would you share our blog on your blog?  on facebook?  with your friends and people at your church, work, gym, school, whatever?


(Picture is where the Rio Negro meets the Rio Salimoes to form the Amazon River.  Each river is different temperatures and different colors...so for about two miles it looks like coffee is mixing with tea.  Very cool.)

ethiopia trip 2011

So many of you are thinking, well it was just a matter of time, that Marjorie would get the idea of adopting again since she took that trip last year to Ethiopia to visit the orphanages.....

Well, maybe that makes sense sort of....yet Aaron and I have been aware of the plight of orphans and been on mission trips before.  We (just like anyone else reading this) are comfortable in our current life, and if God hadn't gotten our attention and moved us out of our comfort zone, you wouldn't be reading this blog.

Prior to last years trip, I would say that I was finished adopting.  Yes there is a need for children to be adopted, but there are also lots of other things that kids need too.  Is adopting a good use of my resources to help a child in need? I went on the mission trip partly to seek answers to that question.  How else can I be serving God and children without adopting?

 One thing I realized is that children around the world need love, advocates and safe places to live.  God did not call me to move somewhere else to serve kids, he called me to live in Warren, PA to (for now) work in a nursing home, be a wife and mother to two children. So I do my best to support missionaries who are called to serve in other countries and advocate on behalf of orphans and the poor as I can here. 




I also saw that the plight of women in Ethiopia is very difficult.  They do a lot of the hard labor, and they often give birth with no medical attention.  Ethiopian culture loves children but it is not supportive of women who have children out of wedlock.  This link from YWAM blog tells one of the stories from our trip...
http://thatwemightbeadopted.blogspot.com/2011/08/from-abortion-to-adoption.html

There were lots of other hard stories of children and women we encountered on my trip.   Adoption is a solution for a small percentage of children,  yet that small percentage of children also desperately needs someone to love and care for them.

Unfortunately, there are unethical things that do happen in the adoption community and 2 years ago I doubted I would ever adopt again.  Seeing YWAM projects in Ethiopia gave me a trust for their work, and faith that if a child is being cared for by them, it is because the child has no other way.  YWAM first of all is a ministry serving the 'least of these".

Read other good but difficult stories from the YWAM blog... and you'll see what I mean.  Warning: you may need tissues.

http://thatwemightbeadopted.blogspot.com/2009/08/two-boys.html

http://thatwemightbeadopted.blogspot.com/2009/03/where-have-all-babies-gone.html

http://thatwemightbeadopted.blogspot.com/2010/07/i-saw-jesus.html