The Story Isn't Over

Once again we need to apologize.  We've just left this blog sit on the shelf.  We've been living life.  Figuring out what it looks like to be a family of 5 instead of 4.

I have every intention of writing more here.  The story didn't end when E came home.  There's more to tell.  We have just been bad story tellers.  There are more bits of E's story...God's story....that you need to hear about.  We're sorry we haven't shared those.  We will.  Soon.

If for some reason a couple weeks goes by and nothing new is up here....bug us about it.  Seriously.  You HAVE to hear more of the story.  It's so good.

And to keep this cool...here's a picture of E....being a stud.

A New Plan

I said to Aaron today....

"The Lord spoke to me on my way to work today..."

Smiling he said, "NO! NO I don't want to hear from the Lord again!"  The last time I said that I heard from the Lord, we started this adoption journey and trusting Him for the funds.

Now adoption is done, even my 3 months of maternity leave.  On Monday it's back to the stress, business and ordinariness of working full time.

God said today, "I have your hand.  I walk with you on this part of the journey too.  I am with you."

When I got home later and was reading, writer Ann Voskamp reminded me that God is in the ordinary and He can multiply the ordinary gritty people and events and make them miracles.

He will do that with me too.  And so, I follow His path and adventure.

Corban in Ethiopia: A Picture at the Spot

I meant to put this in the other post about Corban going to Ethiopia.....but just forgot. 

I posted this picture on Facebook when we landed at Dulles International Airport  in Washington DC.  The description I put "Ladies and Gentleman: As of this moment, the newest U.S. citizen is Elias Dereje Reinard. We made it! Just a car ride tomorrow morning between us and home."

So the deal is that because we already cleared the Embassy in Addis Ababa....as soon as we cleared customs in the airport, Elias becomes a citizen.  Pretty cool right? 

Here's where it gets cooler.  We didn't just randomly take this picture.  This picture is taken in (as close to the real) the spot where we first met Corban.  They've re-designed the waiting area....but we are standing where we met a little toddler Corban who was very afraid and confused at what was going on.  He had been on a plane for hours and hours and didn't know us at all.  The spot where this picture is taken, is part of our journey with both boys. 

How cool is that?

All the Poor and Powerless....Part 2.

If you've read this blog from the beginning of our journey to now, you might vaguely remember a post I did in the summer of 2012.  I mentioned a song that had captured our house called All the Poor and Powerless by All Sons and Daughters.  We sang that song almost daily for months.

The end of the song has these lyrics:


Shout it.
Go on and scream it from the mountains.
Go on and tell it to the masses.
That He is God.



So when we went to pick up Elias in Ethiopia our friend Desalegn took us to church Sunday morning...the day we were leaving.  The church he goes to is an international church.  They speak English.  We had been there in August.  It feels like going to church at home.

So the worship leader stand up and welcomes everyone and starts playing the first song of their set.  Guess what song they start out with?  All the Poor and Powerless.  Marjorie and I instantly go to tears.  Here we are in Ethiopia, holding our son who we've waited a year and a half for....who God specifically told us was part of His plan for our family....and the first song they play is a song that was on our families heart at the beginning of this journey.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME???


SHOUT IT
Go on and Scream it from the mountains.
Go on and tell it to the masses
That He is GOD!!!!

Who's in the details?

Not much longer and we're off to Ethiopia.  The last 5 days have been frantic, stressful, joyful, hopeful and wild (probably a bunch of other words that end in ful). 

They say that the devil is in the details.  I get the expression and all.  I'm not a detail person.  That's why I married Marjorie.  Details frustrate me to no end.  That said, I've seen nothing but God's hand working in the last 5 days.

We shared with you in our last post that we were struggling to find a flight.  It was easy to fly into Addis Ababa, but extremely hard to get out.  I literally spent most of two days looking for flights.  We needed to get there, but we also wanted to be good stewards of the money that has been donated.  This was extremely hard because of the season that we have to go, and the quickness that we had to go. 

We found a flight.  Round trip out of Washington DC.  Good connection.  Not too long of a layover in either direction.  AND it stays out of the Middle East, which if you read the news, you know is a "no go" zone for American's right now.

Not only did we find a flight.....but later that day we got a call from a travel agency that we've worked with to fly internationally before.  They asked what I found and I told them.  I also told them the price.  She was very impressed.  She said I got a very good rate and that they were struggling to find anything that good.  MAN does that make me feel good.

We have a place to stay.  We have drivers.  Just a few minutes ago, I found out we have a cell phone while we're in Addis.  We have connected with other families who will be going to court with us.  We're hoping to have a celebration dinner with them after court next Wednesday.  We have free wifi so we should be updating you from Addis.....but then again....it's Ethiopia....so who knows.

Where I was overwhelmed last Friday and Saturday, I've seen detail after detail fall into place.  We're not done yet.  We're not on the plane yet.  There are still lots of things that we have to do in the VERY near future.....but man it's been amazing.  God is good!



FOR YOU:
-Prayers are still needed and appreciated. 
That all the details work smoothly. 
That all our travels will go smoothly.
That our court appearance goes super smoothly and we can report back to you.

We're Going!!!!!!

I was at home cleaning the basement of all things. The phone rang. I charged upstairs to get it.

Hello?

Aaron this is K from Children's House. Are you ready to go to Ethiopia? Because you need to go now.

What?


THIS IS FOR REAL!!!!!

You've been praying and we've been praying and now we're going.  We have a court date in Ethiopia in a week and a half.  We have to fly there in a week.  Our brains are overloaded with information and details that need done, and freaking out.

We get to meet our son face to face in a very short time.

We'll obviously let you know what's going on.....when we know more.
God is GOOD!

FOR YOU:

-As we're looking into tickets, and it is crazy!!! They significantly more expensive because they're last minute and because of the time of year.  Also....there seems to be few flights coming home.  One airline gave us the option to come home in early September because that was the first flight they had openings on......and were kind of shocked we weren't OK spending 3+ weeks in Ethiopia.....which would be nice....but not very practical.  HA

-We are stressed.  We have lots to do in a very short amount of time.  We also don't want to lose our focus.

ANSWERS TO PRAYER:
-We found out yesterday that we have to do an extra piece of paperwork because of some changes that are beyond our control.  That single piece of paperwork is going to cost a couple hundred dollars.  HOWEVER....yesterday morning someone donated some new appliances to us to sell.  Bill taken care of.

-C and T were already going to my parents house to go camping the week that we need to be in Ethiopia.  Childcare taken care of.

The Desert

We've become quiet again.  We know.  I think it's because our hearts are crying out...and we don't want to be seen as whiners or complainers.  Because truly we're not.

Personally I feel that this is the hardest part of the process.  We are in a wasteland.  Parched.  Wanting refreshing and hope.

We have nothing we can do.  No more paperwork.  No more running around getting things signed or notarized.

But we also don't have anything to hold onto.  We have no picture.  We have no smile or eyes to look at.  We have no hope that someday THIS child will be in our arms...even if it's painful to wait for that day to come.  We are in no-man's land. 


Yesterday Marjorie wore one of our shirts (this isn't a plug, but you can still buy them, we have plenty)...and I was reminded of the verse we picked out.  This chunk of Isaiah 43 (check our the entire thing and some thoughts...it's crazy amazing)

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. 

I've been forgetting that he's making a spring for us in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.  He didn't bring us to the dessert to leave us here.  He brought us here to bring newness to us.  

There is a lot of heart ache in adoption.  When you're on your 3rd adoption, there are some feelings and hurts that become familiar.  You remember what it felt like before to LONG for that little one. To be impatient.  To cry.  But vs. 18 says DO NOT DWELL ON THE PAST.

God give us the drink that you promise.  Remind us of the cool waters and the newness you have for us.  I'm sorry for not seeing you in this time.  Help me to rest in your peace.

Morning Blessings

So after I told you that you should sign up because there were going to be lots of updates....there hasn't been much.  We're in a holding pattern.  We're just waiting.  Any time now we get a referral.  Any time now.  Any time now. 

BUT I didn't want to share some morning blessings with you.  This has still been a good week.  It seems that each morning this week little things have happened, that have been super encouraging.

Either Monday or Tuesday I got a text from a buddy near Pittsburgh.  His youth group has been raising money for us.  They have intentionally gone out of their way not to raise money for a fun trip, but for our adoption.  They pray for us at youth group.  How cool is that?

The next day I got a message from another friend who lives far away.  He does some private contract type work on the side.  He said he felt lead to give us a percentage of his private contact work money for our adoption.

Yesterday we had an e-mail asking about a big bill that needed paid.  We had the money.  I got an e-mail this morning that the bill was paid.  BOOM.

None of these things are as cool as getting a picture of a little boy or girl who will be part of our forever family.....but they were all super encouraging.  God continues to work and move and bless.

YOUR ACTION:
1.  Where have you seen God moving in your life this week?  Are you looking? or is that hard?

2.  Please continue to pray with us for our child...whoever he/she might be.  This is a really hard time in the waiting...the unknown...everything is out of our hands, yet we don't have a picture or any info to hold onto. 

Thanks friends!

News Update 3/11

If you're not already following this blog via RSS feed or by putting your e-mail in for instant notification when we update, you better do it now.....because things are about to get interesting and you don't want to miss out.

There have been a series of things that have gone on in the last couple weeks that we need to update you on.  And here they are...

-OK to make a LONG story short....we've been working jointly with two adoption agencies to make this adoption work.  Within the last couple weeks, there have been some events that have shifted that a bit.  We will now be getting our referral (picture of our child) through CHI (Children's House International) only.  Because of this shift we have had some phone calls with them.  Because of these phone calls, we have clarified a number of things with them.  Most importantly we have clarified, what they need from us (just a couple documents faxed to them)....and once they get those....we get a referral!  That's awesome.  (as you read this documents are being faxed!)

-You will remember that we recently traveled to Buffalo to get fingerprinted for the I-600....which is the US government clearance to allow us to bring a child into the country to be part of our family.  Guess what was in the mail yesterday?  OUR I-600 CLEARANCE!!!  This means that we can move forward full tilt!!!!

-What does this all mean?  It means that we're waiting around for a picture to show up of our child.  We're not talking months.....we're talking days to weeks potentially.  To clarify in case you missed it, a referral means we know age, gender, cuteness, etc. 

-So what does THAT mean?  Once we get our referral, the ball starts rolling with lawyers and paper-working being translated, and courts in Ethiopia.  We were given a rough time line, but I hesitate to share that....because we've been burnt by such timelines in the past.  Suffice it to say that a couple weeks ago I felt like we weren't moving much and now we're clicking along nicely.


Action for You:

1.  We need your prayers as always.  Obviously pray that the next few steps go smoothly.  Also pray that we are patient and don't jump the gun on what God wants for us in this time of waiting....that we would be reminded of who's timeline we're on.

2.  As I said above, if you're not getting notifications of this blogs update, you'll want to do that over in the right hand column.  I can't guarantee that I'll remember to put notifications up on Facebook all the time when a new blog post appears.  We don't want you to miss something awesome.

3.  From day one, we've felt that we are suppose to connect people with this adoption and with what God's doing in our lives in this time.  Please continue to share with others where we're at...particularly those who are a little less tech savvy. 

I Need a Reason to Sing

This morning at breakfast I prayed with the boys. I kind of prayed about our year and the year to come. I prayed for our hope, that #3 comes home in 2013. I got very choked up.

This group, All Sons and Daughters, has rocked my world this year....our house really. On a normal day I wake up to get the boys to school and listen to one of their albums as I'm making breakfast and packing lunches. I find their music to be the songs of my heart.

 This song has been one of many that really strike a chord with me (no pun intended). The bridge particularly.

Will there be a victory
Will You sing it over me now
Oh
Your peace is the melody
You sing it over me now
Oh Lord
Will there be a victory
Will You sing it over me now
Oh Lord
Your peace is the melody
You sing it over me now    For me this has been a prayer. "God I know there's going to be victory here. I know you've called us to this. I know the money is going to happen, that miracle are going to be revealed in front of us. Can you remind me of that? God can you sing your peace over me when I get worried. When I start to doubt. When people say mean things, because they just don't understand what you've called us to. Can you sing your peace to me and remind me who's in charge please?"

Then they end with the reprise (at least on the original EP it was a reprise, now they just jam it all into one song)....

I will sing sing sing
to my God my King
for all else fades away
and I will love love love
with this heart You've made
for You've been good always
God how many times have you shown up in my life? How many times have you rocked my world? Your goodness is evidenced all around me. This is the song that I want to sing. This is the prayer I want to pray.

Will you sing this song with us in the coming year?

Extra Thoughts from yesterday....

If you haven't already read our One Hurdle Down post from yesterday, you should do that before continuing in this post.  This is kind of an addendum onto that post.

So what I didn't mention yesterday was that one of the big reasons that we were able to get our Homestudy done is because of some of you.  Seriously.

One of the hang-ups we had was that our agency was unclear about our finances.  They wanted to see that we had the money to not only adopt, but live normal lives...even if an emergency happens.  What we were able to show them was that a lot of people have already contributed...and several people have promised money but are waiting until a certain bill comes in.  We were able to say, "look, this is what has happened so far and where we believe we're going". 

We wanted to point that out to say THANK YOU!  Thank you so much for donating to our adoption.  We feel God has called us to this.   It is also clear that God has been calling you as well, to walk along side us in this task.  Thanks for listening to His prompts.  If you had not done so, we would be stuck.  We still have a long way to go, but you definitely helped us get over that hurdle!

Secondly, I just wanted to share an awesome God story.  Even after we got good news yesterday, blessing continued to come.

I went to worship team practice at church last night as always.  Our church has a giant table where people can put Christmas cards to each other, to save on some postage.  So I noticed there was this big jar (of what looked like nuts) on the table.  My thought was "that's awesome that someone gave someone some nuts".  The curious George in me decided to check it out just to see who got lucky.

When I got there, I found two things.  First, it wasn't a can of nuts, it was a pickle jar full of coins and some dollars.  Secondly "REINARD" was written on the top.

When I opened the jar I found two more things.  First, the money smelled like pickles, which was kind of funny and made me sort of hungry.  Secondly I found a small note that said, "Use this toward your adoption.  Merry Christmas.  Pay it Forward when you can."

So today I went to the bank to deposit some adoption money.  I used the awesome free coin machine to cash out the change.  $51+ dollars plus the bills that were in there!!!!!!!

We've been saying this since day one.....small things equal big things.  It was just a small jar full of pocket change....but that pocket changed added up big time.  Would it be awesome if someone showed up and said, we'll cover the rest of your adoption bills?  Sure.  BUT we're convinced that that's not the plan.  We're convinced that we're suppose to get lots of people on board.  We're convinced that individuals, doing little things like our pickle jar full of coins, will get us to our big goal.

THANK YOU pickle jar person.  God is GOOD!

water in the desert

So our last post I told you that we were discouraged with the obstacles to completing our homestudy and paperwork.   It felt like we were in the desert.  And we needed water to keep going. Isaiah 43:20

I'm pleased to tell you that God has answered that prayer.  Here are some of the ways that God has provided drink in the desert.

-prayers from my prayer group

-taking a day off work to not think about anything, do something fun away from obligations

-holding a couple babies, including one who spit on me :)

-women's retreat including a great speaker who said these 2 amazing things (among others)
"our greatest weakness may be our greatest strength when in the hands of God."
and "God is in the pit with us.  Emmanuel."

-having friends ask how it's going, telling us they are praying for us, and remind us of God's character and role in this process

-friend selling 5 shirts for us :)

-the paperwork I needed from Canada was worked out within a week, and it should go smoothly.  I was at my desk when the RCMP called me.   I previously envisioned months of waiting, it should be complete next week (DV).

Trust is a repeated theme I've heard repeated in the last couple weeks.
Are we trusting God in this process or ourselves?
2 Chronicles 20:17 The battle is the Lords.  I need to follow the task He laid out for us.
I expected to be past this homestudy stuff by now, but I need to trust God's timing.
Do I believe God's word with my head or do I trust Him and follow Him with actions as well?

Our computer crashed last week.  Some of our paperwork was on it.  A few weeks ago I would have cried and been angry, panicky even.   I did not react that way.   Proof that there is water.

This was a prayer shared at the women's retreat.  It was perfect.

Father, I confess that I am anxious to see Your promises made manifest in my life, in this time, in this place.  Lord please forgive my anxiousness and help me to be patient, waiting on You to move in Your time and whom You move.  Help me to move with You as well.  
Father, help me to be still and to be confident in Your promises, knowing that You will fulfill all that You have promised, not only in my life, but in this world, in this time.  Your ways are so far above mine, I praise you for who You are, and for what You have promised. 

Thanks for your prayers as well.

May hearing of God's blessings to us be a blessing in your life as well.
I Samuel 7:12 this is my Ebenezer.  Do you have one to share?

for today

"As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered.  You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.  The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."   -James 5:11

25 years

No...not of marriage.

This past Sunday church was out at Mission Meadows where we spent a week this summer while I (Aaron) taught at their Jr. High camp.  Every year on Labor Day weekend the district Covenant churches combine out at camp for Sunday worship.  It was good. Real good.

Two things stuck out for me:

1.  The pastor (Boaz Johnson), a professor at North Park University, sung the Benediction over us in Hebrew.  It rocked my socks.  For whatever reason I got instantly emotional.

2.  The second forced me to think a little harder.  It was the children's sermon.  Pastor Adam was talking about patience and waiting.  Now these are topics that I'm familiar with.  I've taught them myself before.  Particularly when we were waiting for Corban to come home, but again with Tobiah, God taught us a lot about patience.  So it's not like I wasn't ready for what was coming.....

He talked about Abraham.  Again....a story I'm familiar with....he reminded me that God promised Abraham that he would be the father of nations....and then 25 years goes by.  25 years! It was one of those times in life where I knew something but I needed someone else to say it out loud for it to register. 

So I re-read the whole chunk of Abraham today.  Here's what I got.  In Genesis 12, God makes a covenant with Abram and tells him that he is going to be the father of a great nation that God is going to use to impact the world.  Which is pretty awesome.  Except that God doesn't say that it's going to happen right away.  Abraham waits.  And waits.  And waits. 

Then he and Sarah try to take matters into their own hands.  Sarah gives Abraham (still Abram for those keeping track at home) her servant Hagar because God isn't making things happen quick enough.  Hagar gets pregnant and has Ishmael.....which isn't exactly what God had in mind.

It's not until Chapter 21....25 years later, that God's plan starts to take shape when Isaac is born.

As we finish up this paperwork I've been a little stressed.  I just want to be done with this portion of the process.  I want to move one.  I'm very aware that we're a long way off.  I'm that we have a lot of waiting yet to go.  I don't want to take matters into my own hands.  This was a great reminder of God's plan and it's perfectness.

I needed that.

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.

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!

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?  

Money and Obedience

We mentioned in our first post that one of the main reason we didn't think we were going to adopt again was money.  Costs have risen since we adopted C and T.  There are new policies that require us to travel twice as much.  There are extra expenses. We just don't have the money.

We already told you that we clearly heard God telling us we had to adopt again.

What we didn't say is that even though we heard his voice and leading direction, he has yet to drop the money into our lap.  We heard him say that we needed to trust Him.  We heard Him ask us to trust Him.

So we fully acknowledge that this doesn't make any logical human sense.  We're attempting to do something that is way beyond our means.  We don't have the money, and we're not going to have the money on our own.  It's craziness.

We're just trying to be obedient.

God has the money.  We feel like He's going to show up in a big way.  We're not totally sure what that's going to look like.  We're going to do some fundraising, and talk to as many people as we can about what we're doing and what God's doing through us.  We're waiting in expectancy to see what's going to happen.

We'll obviously be updating this blog with fundraising information.  We have some ideas of ways people can partner with us.  Again, those are things you'll be hearing about in the next little bit.

ACTION STEPS FOR YOU

1.  Is God speaking to you?  Have you been asked to do something?  What has been your response?  Are you seeking to be obedient even when it doesn't make sense? 

2.  If you haven't done so already, follow this blog.  You can use the RSS feed option (if you don't know what that is, then you probably shouldn't be using it) OR just put your e-mail address into the top field and you'll get notified every time we update this blog.

3.  Tell others.  We are so convinced that other people are supposed to be part of our journey.  It doesn't even matter if we know them or not, we want to connect with as many people as possible.  Feel free to share this blog with anyone you feel lead to.  Encourage them to sign up to follow us as well.

4.  There is now a DONATE button in the right hand column.  We're not begging.  We're not even really asking at this point.  We're just giving you the option.  If you'd like to make a tax deductible donation, there is a way to do that to....just NOT with the button.  More info to come on tax deductible giving in the near future.