Remembering the WHY

A lot has happened since our last update!

Our first big update is that we got our completed home study in the mail! That is a big piece in our process so we just completed our I600a (application to advance processing of orphan petition form) and mailed it on Friday.  We will wait for them to approve our application and to send us a date to go get fingerprinted by the USCIS. One step at a time!!!

Two Sundays ago we had the opportunity to go speak at a church in Mansfield called 412.  Brad is good friends with the pastor and when they heard that we had begun our adoption process, they asked us to come and speak and share our story. We were so excited to speak and encourage others towards adoption even though we were early in the process.  Now... we don't get too carried away with the phrase spiritual warfare and blame every little stubbed toe or circumstance on that, but the Bible is clear that it is something we face and we have definitely have realized how much of it we are facing as we adopt. The night before we spoke Brad was jumping on the trampoline with all 3 of our kids and got big by a brown recluse spider, right side of his body started to go numb...I mean...its all good until something goes numb. He went to the ER and got a steroid shot which helped the reaction. Same night, Ellie's foot got bit all over by fire ants so she didn't sleep well the night before we spoke. Woke up Sunday morning to the boys yelling in the bathroom and our toilet was gushing out water all over the floor into our carpeted hallway. Awesome wake-up call. Then the night after we spoke Silas face faceplanted on our freshly cleaned hardwood floors so hard that his face swelled up and his eye turned black. This is my tough and coordinated kid so I don't ever see him that upset. Then just lost of little things in between all that. I just started praying on our way to the Church in the pouring rain that we wouldn't get discouraged and that God would really use us and use the Church in our lives. He did just that!

We were so glad we spoke at 412. It was so awesome to be prayed for and encouraged and supported by brothers and sisters in Christ.  It was really good for Brad and I to share our story also. I felt like as we were talking, my faith and confidence in what we are doing was built by remembering everything God has done and shown us throughout this process. I pray that they were encouraged and excited about God's heart for orphans. Like Brad said "God has called EVERYONE to care for the orphans in the world, it just may look differently for each person."  Later that night after we spoke and after the rain had stopped and Silas had calmed down from his hard spill we saw this beautiful rainbow outside that I just had to take a picture of. It was good to take a deep breath and remember God's faithfulness.

We needed that before the week that was ahead of us!

Over the weekend we did something I never thought I would do as a mother of 3 young kids….A GARAGE SALE. Not just a normal garage sale….A MASSIVE garage sale. We sent out a facebook message and spread the word that we were accepting items to sell to raise money for our adoption and we collected them for about a month and a half. Collecting “stuff” goes against my nature as an organizer so it was a bit out of my comfort zone. I printed off a couple of pictures of Martin and framed them around my house so I wouldn't lose sight of why I was doing something so NUTS and exhausting. We were AMAZED at the response of family and friends. The "stuff" came pouring in! And I do mean good stuff...treadmills, instruments, books, patio furniture, and pretty much every random thing you can imagine! This is what my garage looking like before the garage sale. Now keep in mind...our garage is typically EMPTY. Notice the one tiny path that was left to get in and out. There was even more furniture in our back yard and in our shed. Thank the LORD there was no rain that week!

My sweet family (older sis, younger sis, younger brother, and parents) live up in Kansas City...I sure missed them this month! If they lived here, they would have been so involved and they were aching to be here. They support us in every creative way you can imagine from KC! Brad's family does live down here which is a huge blessing. My sweet mother-in-law Sue sold her soul to our garage sale and helped me take each and every box and bag and sort through them all so we had some ORDER before we started labeling prices. I know I could have just thrown everything out there and had people make me an offer and save time. But honestly, I HATE going to those garage sales. I mean... are you going to glare at me if I offer $1 for a sweater because your sweet grandma gave it to you and the memories demand $10??? I'm not going to do that to people.

This was day 1 of the sale. Silas had a fever the night before so he stayed home from school and I got up with him around 4:45am to give him some medicine and never went back to sleep since we were getting up at 5:15am anyway. Needless to say, I kept the caffein flowing that day.

Here Silas is checking out the toys and games. Even when he is not feeling well, it is so difficult for him to even sit down.

Why is that there are certain games they NEVER touch when they are in your house, but the second you want to sell them, suddenly it is their favorite! Good opportunity to explain WHY we are doing the garage sale!

Here is Brad and I and my mother-in-law in action!

Here is Spike. You need to know about Spike. He helps Brad lead the college ministry and he is awesome. He is like a member of our family. Spike went to Uganda with us and has been supporting us every step of the way in our adoption. He helped Brad pick up all the big furniture for our garage sale, he came at the crack of dawn to help us set up, and he stayed all day to serve. He is compelled by the love of Jesus and I am compelled to tell you about him, because we love him dearly.

A sweet friend made these signs for us to hang around our sale which was awesome and sparked great discussions with people who came to our sale.

Ellie loves bin and containers...she's just like me. We just use them in different ways :o)

This is Caitlin and Rachel and Spike...we are missing Allison in this picture...but those 4 friends helped us all weekend. We absolutely could not have done it without them! I also had a sweet friend, Melissa drop off all sorts of fresh and wonderful food for lunch for all of us. My sweet sister-in-laws even took our kids to the zoo on Friday which was a HUGE blessing! I am always amazed at how much support we have and how sacrificial our friends and family are! I can't wait to show Martin pictures and how loved he is by people who haven't even met him yet.

Get ready to wrap your brain around this....we raised close to $3000 over the 2 days. That is NUTS! It was worth all of the hours and sacrifices and exhaustion that it required. We are so thankful that God is providing for us each step of the way! I sat down on the couch that night for the first time all day and just remembered that Jesus died to adopt me when I was an enemy of him. I look at a picture of Martin and remember WHY. That is so important for an organizer like me through this process! Its for our little buddy sleeping in an orphanage in Africa!

Please pray for us this week. Cheryl Sargent (who started the Suubi project in Uganda with her husband) is going back to Uganda on Tuesday. She is going to meet with Martin's dad one more time to finalize his support of our adoption one more time. If everything goes as planned, we will skype and tell Martin that we are adopting him for the first time. We are so exciting and nervous and praying that God will show us the perfect timing to tell him and that he will prepare Martin's heart for what is ahead.

Thank you all for your love and prayers! 

Mothers, Fathers, Aunties, and Uncles

When Charise and I went to Uganda, I discovered we were adopted by the children before we had a chance to carry out our mission of adoption!  From the get go the kids referred to us as “Mommy” and “Auntie” or “Daddy” and “Uncle” (unfortunately the text totally loses the epic, little kid, British accent).  They held our hands, jumped in our laps, and wanted us to carry them on our shoulders.  Just like with my own kids, I had to be careful not to let them laugh too hard while on my shoulders because I could literally feel their drool smack my baldhead…awesome!  In a lot of ways, it felt like I had not left my biological kids on the other side of the world!  In less than 24 hours of knowing each other we all fit into our familial roles.  It was absolutely beautiful!

           

Seeing this process unfold brought a deeper revelation of how God sees family.  I have understood this idea of having brothers and sisters in Christ bound by the blood of Christ in theory but now, a tangible reality.  In the devastation, brokenness, and desperation these children cry out to us to be what they lack - family.  Most of these children have no clue what the word “adoption” even means.  They just know what they need – a mom and a dad and they designated us to be that.  It is funny how in desperation we often see what the core of our being is in need of.  When my soul was in turmoil and desperate, I cried out to God, but I didn’t call him God, I called him Father because that is what I knew I needed.  I did not need “The Man Upstairs”.  I did not need a moral code to follow.  I needed the comfort and unconditional love of a father, and my desperation led me to call on Him, The Father of the fatherless (Psalm 68:5).            

What I have begun to realize is that our little Martin has a huge family!  I believe that adoption is a call to all followers of Jesus (James 1:27), but it will look a little different for everyone.  I have been absolutely wrecked to see how many friends and family members of ours have been faithful to partner in our adoption.  From prayer, donations, counsel, work bonuses, one friend started cutting two lawns a week to help support us, and I just found out another friend got a part time job at Starbucks and wants to give us all the money he makes (what the …???!!!).  There is a precious little boy in Uganda who cries out in his desperation for a family and what I am finding out is he has mommies, daddies, aunties, and uncles everywhere answering his cry! 

We know the road is still long ahead of us, but our lives have already been so much richer watching the body of Christ function like Christ.  Our tears and thank you’s would not even come close!  We love you.