We sit here a mere 7 months from the time we felt called to adopt another child, in incredulous surprise that yesterday, we got The Call to fly to Moscow to meet our waiting child.
It is the sweetest of all surprises at the best of all seasons. We're amazed at how perfectly God has provided for this adoption. Family and friends have generously supported us through financial donations, and God has richly blessed Travis' business this last quarter of the year in ways that we never imagined.
Yesterday we shared the good news with our family. Anya is very much looking forward to having a sibling. After we told her we would soon be meeting her brother or sister, we asked her if she was excited, and she replied, "Yeah, because I don't want to be by myself"! And this couldn't be a more true statement. We won't know any information about our child until after we arrive in Moscow, but Anya thinks we'll be adding a girl to the family.
We are very humbled by the support we have received from many of you, and we know many of you are praying for our family. We ask that you would continue to pray for us in the following ways:
1) That our child would be healthy and receive a good report of health.
2) That the transition to our family would be relatively smooth and that there would be a healthy connection between our two children.
3) That we would have the wisdom to know how to help our child as needed and to establish a strong bond with our child.
4) That the grant we applied for will be favorably reviewed and approved (the review is scheduled for December).
Thank you. Travis and I are floored at the perfectly calculated and speedy nature in which God has provided for us to help build a family. Our hope is that each one of you will experience the miracle of God's provision (if you haven't already) when you have nothing but faith to see it through. This adoption process has been like a runaway train, and often we have wanted to put on the brakes. But, the financial need is always fully satisfied shortly before we need it, and we are left believing that this is the only way God can show His hand working in all of this. It's nothing short of amazing.
We leave for Russia on December 11th, and of course we will post details (without a picture per the necessary restrictions) as we learn more. Thank you again for all your prayers and support. They are greatly appreciated and will never be forgotten!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Have Faith
I believe that having faith in something is a real thrill, like living on the edge. In order to build up our first ounce of faith, we had to trust that God knew what He was doing. Then, we had to stop worrying. Honestly, I haven't completely stopped...I am human. But what I did to alleviate the worrying was to look for truth in the Bible. What does God say about orphans when He spoke of it in the Word? These are my favorites:
Psalms 68:5-6
"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families".
James 1:27
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world".
Matthew 18:1-5
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
There are so many verses throughout the old and new testaments that mention God as 'defender of the orphan' and call us to care for them.
I liked the verse in Matthew because it calls us to humble ourselves like little children. Children do not rely upon themselves for provision, they rely on a parent. So what a relief to know that all God is asking us for is that we rely upon Him, rather than on ourselves, for provision (in all things, including this adoption). And let me say, it is truly a humbling experience to watch all that God has done.
When we began our first fundraiser (the Noah's Ark puzzle), we e-mailed many people about it and went to bed. The next morning, we received a few donations.
Miracle #4: We received a donation for the exact amount needed to register our documents in Russia. The day previous to receiving this donation, we had been notified that our payment was due for this registration.
Friends and family have donated enough to help us put together over half of the puzzle. Thank you!!!
And as if this were not enough, we still have not told you about Miracle #5. We received a check that covers the exact amount of our next payment due.
This is crazy, right?! Every financial hurdle we have had to meet has been met, in sequential order and for the exact amounts.
We have found that God is using both Christians and non-Christians alike in completing this adoption story. I love that this adoption is as unique as the first, and perhaps even more so, because it is a true testament to what God can do when we put our full faith in Him. This experience has humbled me and changed my heart in more ways than I could have imagined. Perhaps this adoption story will change more hearts than my own. I pray that is true. Praise God for miracles, big and small!
Psalms 68:5-6
"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families".
James 1:27
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world".
Matthew 18:1-5
"At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me."
There are so many verses throughout the old and new testaments that mention God as 'defender of the orphan' and call us to care for them.
I liked the verse in Matthew because it calls us to humble ourselves like little children. Children do not rely upon themselves for provision, they rely on a parent. So what a relief to know that all God is asking us for is that we rely upon Him, rather than on ourselves, for provision (in all things, including this adoption). And let me say, it is truly a humbling experience to watch all that God has done.
When we began our first fundraiser (the Noah's Ark puzzle), we e-mailed many people about it and went to bed. The next morning, we received a few donations.
Miracle #4: We received a donation for the exact amount needed to register our documents in Russia. The day previous to receiving this donation, we had been notified that our payment was due for this registration.
Friends and family have donated enough to help us put together over half of the puzzle. Thank you!!!
And as if this were not enough, we still have not told you about Miracle #5. We received a check that covers the exact amount of our next payment due.
This is crazy, right?! Every financial hurdle we have had to meet has been met, in sequential order and for the exact amounts.
We have found that God is using both Christians and non-Christians alike in completing this adoption story. I love that this adoption is as unique as the first, and perhaps even more so, because it is a true testament to what God can do when we put our full faith in Him. This experience has humbled me and changed my heart in more ways than I could have imagined. Perhaps this adoption story will change more hearts than my own. I pray that is true. Praise God for miracles, big and small!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Date Night
True story:
One night, Trav and I went on a date. It was the first time we had done so in perhaps a year. I had been thinking for weeks about adopting another child, but I wasn't sure whether it was a passing thought, or if my heart was actually opened to adopting again. After awhile, it became clear that it wasn't a passing thought, but a seed planted. So, I decided I would bring it up in the restaurant. We were seated, ordered some drinks and queso, and as we were looking over the menu, we ran into some friends who we hadn't seen in several months. They shared that they were on their way to China to pick up their daughter, their second adopted child, in two weeks. So, coincidence of coincidences, we were very happy for them. As they left to be seated, I leaned over to Trav and said to him, "I've been thinking a lot lately about adopting another child. How about you"? He was thrilled.
The strange part was, we couldn't afford it. God was going to have to provide what we could not. Knowing this, we still felt a sense of calm and peace about the whole thing.
Trav mentioned to me that he had received a call that afternoon from our adoption agency, who we hadn't spoken to in over a year. They wanted to know if they could use part of my blog and a picture of our daughter, who was adopted from Russia, in their upcoming quarterly newsletter. Coincidence #2.
We returned home and continued our discussion over dessert and then made our decision final. We were going to sign the paperwork and send in our check to start the process. Before going to bed, I wanted to e-mail our adoption agency a picture of our daughter. As I brought up my e-mail, there was a message from our friends in Kentucky, who we had met while in Russia. They were announcing their decision to return to Russia to adopt their second child. I said, "Trav, you've got to come see this"! Coincidence #3.
All this in one day. Just a bunch of coincidences, right?
Here comes the really scary part:
About a week goes by, and the washing machine is gushing out water onto the floor. The service repair man says it's going to cost several hundred dollars to fix, but it was cheaper than buying a new machine. I thought, "we are crazy to think we can adopt right now". Mission aborted. A few days later, we received 2 checks in the mail. The total covered the exact cost of the washing machine repair, the application fee, and the home study fee, plus a few extra dollars. Houston, we have lift off.
It's funny how we can let ourselves get in the way of God's plan. He has a funny way of running right over us.
One night, Trav and I went on a date. It was the first time we had done so in perhaps a year. I had been thinking for weeks about adopting another child, but I wasn't sure whether it was a passing thought, or if my heart was actually opened to adopting again. After awhile, it became clear that it wasn't a passing thought, but a seed planted. So, I decided I would bring it up in the restaurant. We were seated, ordered some drinks and queso, and as we were looking over the menu, we ran into some friends who we hadn't seen in several months. They shared that they were on their way to China to pick up their daughter, their second adopted child, in two weeks. So, coincidence of coincidences, we were very happy for them. As they left to be seated, I leaned over to Trav and said to him, "I've been thinking a lot lately about adopting another child. How about you"? He was thrilled.
The strange part was, we couldn't afford it. God was going to have to provide what we could not. Knowing this, we still felt a sense of calm and peace about the whole thing.
Trav mentioned to me that he had received a call that afternoon from our adoption agency, who we hadn't spoken to in over a year. They wanted to know if they could use part of my blog and a picture of our daughter, who was adopted from Russia, in their upcoming quarterly newsletter. Coincidence #2.
We returned home and continued our discussion over dessert and then made our decision final. We were going to sign the paperwork and send in our check to start the process. Before going to bed, I wanted to e-mail our adoption agency a picture of our daughter. As I brought up my e-mail, there was a message from our friends in Kentucky, who we had met while in Russia. They were announcing their decision to return to Russia to adopt their second child. I said, "Trav, you've got to come see this"! Coincidence #3.
All this in one day. Just a bunch of coincidences, right?
Here comes the really scary part:
About a week goes by, and the washing machine is gushing out water onto the floor. The service repair man says it's going to cost several hundred dollars to fix, but it was cheaper than buying a new machine. I thought, "we are crazy to think we can adopt right now". Mission aborted. A few days later, we received 2 checks in the mail. The total covered the exact cost of the washing machine repair, the application fee, and the home study fee, plus a few extra dollars. Houston, we have lift off.
It's funny how we can let ourselves get in the way of God's plan. He has a funny way of running right over us.
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