Calls for Rejoicing, and some somberness!!

I am THRILLED to say there are 2 families stepping up to pursue Daniel's adoption!!!

Did you hear that??

TWO!!!

and guess what?

They know each other!

They are in the same church!!!

How great is our GOD!!!

I love how He works!

I love how He answers prayers!

I just LOVE Him!

I LOVE the song "Dare to be a Daniel"-dare to stand alone, dare to have a purpose firm, dare to make it known-Our Daniel, the Bible reading, Jesus loving, compassionate and emotional Daniel!!!!!!!!

I am so happy that somewhere in the not too distant future, Daniel will have a mama and daddy of his own!!

They both sound like wonderful families, and I LOVE getting connected with others and we all love the same childen-and  love adoption, and  love the Lord!!

This leads me to my note of somberness-some sadness-some sense of loss-

I am a pretty relationship oriented person-I love people, I love others walking the same road, I love being connected with them.

One of the neatest things in the last year has been some of the relationships that were built while we were in process.

NOW, when the process is done, and our girls are home, I feel a sadness to not have notes and updates from the ones who had become so important to me during our journey.

There were so many along the way, and now, wow, hardly any.

Yes, I know life is tough once we all get home, and I know we are all super busy, and I GET that-but I MISS my friends.

I miss the connections, the times of sharing, the specialness of walking thru something together, the privilege of PRAYING together and standing together for a cause, a purpose, a call on our lives to change the lives of the fatherless!!!!

I HATE goodbyes, and I always cry when I have to say goodbye to my folks or any good friends that come for a visit-life is just so unsure, you never know when you "won't" see someone again-

SOOOO, if you are on the adoption road, and you find yourself making new friends along the way, make it a priority to keep in touch?

sometimes a note of love from someone who KNOWS what you have been thru can mean the world to them.

In this day of social medias, I don't do facebook, twitter, or any of the others available.

I like email-so I am old-fashioned-it's just the way I am.

But I do love my friends, all of them, whether I have heard from them in the last 6 months, or not!!!!

Blessings

Chris

CONFESSION TIME!!!!

I have a confession to make-and it HURTS!!!

Before we went to China for Rose and Lili, we were pretty sure we would be heading back this year for one more-

I had fallen in love with one of Rose's foster brothers-actually, we had all become smitten with him-

It just seemed like something we would FOR SURE be doing-

but alas, I wasn't very far into our trip last January when something dawned on me-I didn't think I had it in me to do this again-it would be too fast, too soon, too much, and the mere thought of starting all that paperwork all over again made me about want to throw up.

Now, was this just my flesh?
Had God been calling us to move out in faith on this young man?

Or did we let the emotions of his circumstances sway us?

I still don't know

BUT, what I do know is that I have 7 at home right now.

We have 2 little boys with pretty intense needs-between speech, developmental delays, and cognitive delays, behavioral issues, and such, they keep me BUSY!

Then, we have Rose and Lili-home only 3 months-Lili with speech issues, health issues, motor skill delays, and quite a bit of behavioral attitudes that need lots of work.

Rose needs lots of time with schooling-her speech/vocabulary need lots of time and work, and she is facing some surgeries this summer that will be quite intense for all of us.

Then, we have our 7 yr old, Tyler the Tornado.

He is still a tornado, and really doesn't enjoy school, so it can be quite a process with him each school day-and throw in a bit of speech/vocabulary with him too.

Then we have Nick and Kendell, happily going about their 7th grade school work, but Mom NEVER has time to look at what they are doing.

Now, this doesn't really seem fair to Daniel, that these issues would keep me/us from wanting to add him to our family-except for the fact that he has CP which affects his arms, his speech is not very clear, altho they say his English is more clear than his Mandarin, altho he had learned to walk, and then ride a bike within a short time of arriving at the B's-that is pretty amazing-

YET I just don't know how I can try to do any more in a day than I do already.(yes, that's my flesh talking)

Are we just making excuses? Sometimes, it may feel like it-but sometimes, I think it would be a huge disservice to bring him home into our family, at this time, and not have the energy, excitement, and time that he would need.

Adopting older children is not an easy road-we have not had a horrible transition by any means, but it is still not easy.

YET, my heart is heavy for him.

He was returned to the orphanage last November out of Rose's foster family-strictly due to "business" decisions the orphanage was making to try to fill their new facility.

I HATE that he is not with the B's in their home.

I HATE that he chose to go, so one of his little foster brothers would NOT have to go.

I HATE that he wants to read his Bible, and was doing well with learning English, and is probably not able to do either right now.

BUT

I love that he is now being advocated for by the waiting children yahoo group.

I love that his paperwork is close to being sent to CC#WA to be added to the shared list.

I love that people are aware of him, his kindness, love and compassion, and that he may not spend very much time on the list without a family choosing him.

I love that the orphanage director will return him to the foster family once a family steps forward for him.

I so wish we had the resources, time, energy, space and DRIVE to add him to our family-but I am sadly lacking in all of those at the time.

We are also looking down the road to an imminent move to one more farm-hopefully the place we will finally put down roots, and raise our family and do what we love, loving God, and our children, and dairying.

I don't think Daniel is in our future, except to keep lifting him up to the Lord, that He would find him the perfect home, and in His perfect timing.

Please join me in praying for this special young man.

He so wants a family, he so NEEDS a family.

Are YOU his family?

God Bless you as you search your heart and pray for this sweet boy!

Feel free to email me if you want more info on him-there is a ton available-lots of pictures, videos, and stories that will warm you heart.

In Him

Chris and family

The Ministry of Adoption

An orphanage is not a home, it does not have the loving arms of a mommy and daddy

It is a facility that meets their basic needs.

Children are not meant to be raised in cribs

Not much here to stimulate and encourage any child...

Our first visit with Kendell, almost 11 years ago

Nick's roommates, all lined up on their potty chairs after lunch

Our little boy, so forlorn, on his little bed, one of 14 in the room

Lunch time for 14 little people-and lunch consisted of a very thin broth, maybe a crunchy piece of crust, and a cup of water

I have been giving a lot of thought to why people adopt. I have to be honest, the reason we continue down this road is not the reason we started out 11 years ago. We started out wanting a family. Desiring a family. "NEEDING" a family. I guess that is where many people start out, wanting children of their own.

Who knew, 10 years ago, when we made that first trip to Russia, met our soon-to-be daughter, and had to leave her there while we waited for a court date, that our lives would be forever changed by the "call" to adopt.

For reasons unexplainable to those who have not walked the road we are on, orphans, and the need to make a difference for them, becomes intermixed with your very being, the very fibre of your soul. After walking the halls of an Eastern European hospital/orphanage, after witnessing the mass-feedings, mass-potty training, mass-naptime, and huge ratio of children to care-givers, the unbelievable lack of toys, lack of adequate nutrition, and the very sterile environment the orphans are growing up in, not many come away without tears and aching hearts for the ones left behind.

But no one told us this when we signed on the first time.

No one said, "It's more than making a family"

No one said, "You'll never forget the tears, the sad eyes of the ones left."

It was all about being a momma and daddy. About getting a baby to parent.

BUT...

It is really so much more than that, and only God knew what He would have in store for us over the years.
I have had my moments, ok lots of them, of selfishness. Of thinking, I'm done, I need to take care of the ones I have, I don't need any more to do in a day, I need some free time in a day, I need a quiet, restful night, I need, I need, I need.
But guess what? What does Jesus say? He came to serve, not to be served. He said, who ever gives a cup of water to one of the least of these, gives one to Him. He said, we need to lay down our lives, and take up our crosses, and follow Him.
For us, following Him has meant giving up many of the things many people consider needful.
TV, video games, jewelry, fancy clothes, lots of "stuff" that only controls you and wastes your money. Fancy vacations, fancy vehicles, LOTS of vehicles, being controlled by high-powered jobs, desiring and striving to make lots of money, the list is endless.
But really, as we walk with Him, as we seek to serve Him and become more like Him, shouldn't those things go by the wayside? As we yield our bodies to His service, and say "Yes" to His call on our lives, don't we lay down our fleshly desires and lay up treasures for ourselves in Heaven?
We had just come home with Tyler 3 years ago, and were thinking, "we need to do this again" but not sure if it was our emotion, or God. I was praying about our ministry, asking God to give us a ministry, thinking, maybe it is hospitality. I love to cook and entertain, but we had not made a huge habit of doing so, yet we had company coming that day, and I wanted to be a blessing, and not be stressed by the chores both before and after our company left.
I heard very clearly, "Your ministry is adopting children."
WOW-I had not considered it a ministry at this point. Yet, as God moved us to a special needs adoption, 2 little boys, one with a brain injury, and one with a heart condition, and we felt no fear, only peace, we got a bigger vision of what we were really doing.
Over the next 14 months, while waiting to bring our little boys home, we heard many times, "This is your calling." It was repeated by many people, and it ministered grace to our sometimes fretting hearts.
Because, sometimes our flesh does kick in, and we get tired of the issues, tired of the late, sleepless nights, tired of the sibling rivalry, tired of the questions that come at you 24/7, tired of the mountains of laundry, tired of fixing food for all those hungry little mouths, sometimes, just plain tired.
Yet, that is when we have to go back to Jesus, and beg for mercy, and for grace, and wisdom and love.
Parenting is not for the faint of heart. It is a 24/7, 365 day a year job.  And adoption is not for the faint of heart. It is a long road, filled with tons of paperwork, lots of appointments, lots of BIG checks written out, answering lots of questions you really don't always feel like answering, and lots of emotions that go up and down all day long.
And there are always the ones who think, enough is enough. Take care of the ones you have. It's too expensive. You can't do any more. You are overloaded. You have too much on your plate already, how are you going to put them all through college?
Really, if I kept my eyes on all this stuff, who would have the energy to do this parenting stuff right?
But, it is about more than just parenting. We are trying to disciple our children, to raise them for Heaven, not Harvard.
We have a God-given call on our lives, and obeying that call is of utmost importance, even when it is inconvenient, even when it is expensive, even when it is HARD!!!
I read on a different blog a few weeks ago about a mom's uncertainty of why they would be called to adopt yet again. I admit, it really struck a cord with me, because I feel so unworthy, so needy, so incapable, so sinful, why would God entrust more children to my care? Yet this mom's revelation was something that has stayed with me over the weeks. She was reading about Gideon, the "wimp" who was threshing his grain while hid inside a wine press, so the Midianites would not see him and come and steal his wheat.
Yet, God saw something in him, and sent an angel to greet him, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." Judges 6:12
What? Mighty man of valour? Hiding away? Yet, God used Gideon in an amazing way, to defeat the huge Midianite army with a small band of 300 men.
What was so amazing about Gideon? Was he capable? Was he wise? Was he brave? Wasn't he fearful?

But what he was, was obedient! He had a heart to follow God's call, and to lay down his fears, and stand up and make a difference.
Am I fearful? Yes!! Am I sinful? Yes!! Do I have it all figured out? NO!!
BUT, I do desire to walk where He leads, to be obedient, to listen to His call on our lives.

The ministry of adoption, no we can't save all 147 million orphans, but we can sure save some. We can nurture, and love, and care for, and educate, and guide and disciple some.
Because it matters to that one, or 2 that we may bring home next.
What is your calling in life?
Are you being obedient?
Blessings
Chris

Little rays of sunshine

What are little rays of sunshine in your life?

Smiles on the children's faces

Laughter from your loved ones

Good books with curling pages from so much page-turning by the children

soft beds

warm homes

wonderful aromas wafting from the kitchen 3x a day

piles of clean laundry ready to go into dressers

a closet full of games

a floor covered in baby toys

HOME

Our homes should be rays of sunshine, and how often do we take our homes for granted?

How often do you think about those without homes?

Without families?

How often do the 147 million orphans in the world cross your mind?

and if they ever do cross your mind, what do you do about it?

What do you think would bring a ray of sunshine into an orphan's life?

Home

Family

Brother and sister

pets

HOME

FAMILY!!!

Is there something you can be doing to bring a ray of sunshine into a child's life today?

Consider adoption

or how about sponsoring an orphan?

How about helping someone who is fundraising for an adoption?

We know God's heart is with the orphans-the fatherless

If it weren't for adoption, we would not be a part of God's family, for it is only by grace we are accepted into His family.

Be a ray of sunshine today!!

Blessings

Chris