What you may never see

We are finishing up a fantastic week of vacation at my favorite place - the ocean. I've told Tony that I feel God the most when I'm sitting by the surf. Listening to His whispering in the waves, seeing His fingerprints on the sand and in the sun on the ocean.

We're all packed up to start home early in the morning. And I'm up after midnight feeling sorry for myself. Olivia has been on my mind so much this week. Imagining taking her down to the pool for the first time. Seeing little beautiful baby toes feeling sand for the first time.

So I sit here and cry. Why put ourselves through this? She's probably not even born yet. We have 3 wonderful, amazing children who have made us smile and laugh all week. Who have brought smiles to even strangers passing by. Children that I love more than my own life. And yet I know I am still lacking. Incomplete. Sad. It's not a side of me I show many people.

But... I know this is the path we are meant to be on. My mind tells me that I know that there is a reason for our dossier, which should have been done in February, to still be in a FedEx envelope, in my luggage, waiting for a fax of a document that never came this week, or last week, or the five weeks before. There's a reason why those that submitted their dossiers in March are now in the top 10 waiting, and I'm not even on the list yet. God had a different plan for them than he did for me. For my Olivia.

But.. even as I sit here in my own private pity party. I have reason to celebrate. I belong to a yahoo AWAA group for adoptive parents who are amazing moms and dads. These Christians pray for each other, encourage each other, and love on each other. After a month of delays, problems, slow-downs, these Christians set aside 2 hours this past Sunday to pray specifically for all the open cases, all the difficulties, all the children and families waiting.

And here's what you may never see - the miracles those prayers brought this week. Parents finally getting the word they could travel for court, parents finally getting the word they could go to pick up their children, and many parents who received their long awaited referrals for their new children. All this week. Prayer works.

And that's what you may never see - if you don't step out and say "YES" to living a life to it's fullest. You don't see how God is working in the lives of a missionary you are supporting - how prayers for health or funds were answered. You don't see how God provided funds for the many families like us that are adopting, often miraculously or right at the moment of need. You don't see how a child's life is changed, and their new desire to become a pastor, because of a small sacrifice on your part every month, or a letter telling them you love them. You don't see the widow who can now provide for her family, because of a gift equal to a dinner at a nice restaurant.

You don't see those things if you take the safe road. The comfortable road. It's so much easier on the road where you stay un-involved. I know - I stayed there for many years. Thanking God that we were so comfortable and content. But content is not what God desires for you, or for me. The enemy likes us to be content because when we are content, we are quiet. We are stagnant.

God wants you to see what His power can do. What your prayers can do. And you wont see that if you don't step out in faith and quit saying "we'll never be able to do that" "I would love to do that but...." "I wish I could help but....."

What is God calling you to do?? Even if it leaves you crying out to him?


Spend four minutes watching this video - I'm sure God will be using it to spur many of His children to action. Will you be one of them? Or would watching the video make you too uncomfortable so you'll pass it by?

Start small. You don't have to change the world. You just have to decide to make a change. Sponsor a child and know that you are letting God use you. You can never imagine where he may lead you.

Since you asked..

So now what??? Many who know we have been fund-raising have asked - so NOW can you go get the baby? Well... no.

Now we have the $7700 needed to send in our paperwork (a.k.a. The Adoption Dossier) (a.k.a. every item about our life except our underwear size) (a.k.a. the paper pregnancy / nausea portion).

THIS PAPERWORK:

And what you can't really appreciate from that photo is the 2 copies under each stack. AND that some had to be notarized, some didn't, some had to be taken to the South Carolina State Department to be certified, and all have to be separated into 3 individual sets and placed in a very specific order.

With the $7700. And away to Virginia to America World Adoption Agency it shall go with my blessing...

Except for this pesky detail....

That would be the form I need from the United States Department of Citizenship and Immigration. A form that will be issued to allow us to bring an orphan in-country IF our federal fingerprints (that we had to go to Charleston to get taken) came out o.k., and IF they approve of our home study, and BECAUSE we paid them $830. It was submitted May 6th (not that I'm obsessing). And was suppose to take a minimum of 30 days. (not that I'm counting - what was today again???)

So when it gets here, we're good to go. Unless you also noticed that there are only my set of passport photos waiting. Cause the camera at Office Depot was broken and couldn't take Tony's today.. Of course. What was it I said about stumping our toes on EVERY step???

So then we're good to go. And THEN can we go get the baby? Well.... no.

Then we go on a waiting list depending on where our name falls in order on the important DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia) list. If we had our paperwork in today, which we don't - we would only be #21 in line on the unofficial yahoo family list for a baby girl. ....Only....

Which means waiting 8-10 months until we are #1.

And then getting a call/email with her precious little face..
And then accepting that little face as our daughter, signing some paperwork, and sending $5250 in. (money that will be used to care for her in the orphanage)

And THEN waiting on a court date 1-2 months later.
And then both of us flying to Ethiopia to attend court and see and love on our baby for 7-10 days.
And then coming home (sigh...)
And then waiting 2-3 months for the US to give us an Embassy date to request her exit visa.
And then we travel back to bring her home!!

Simple enough, huh?

And while it seems pretty complicated, and pretty expensive, pregnancy and child-birth wasn't a walk in the park either... and I'm not puking 5 times a day, every day, like I did my last pregnancy. AND I get to include all of you on the team to support, pray, and love Olivia in our journey to bring her home. Versus puking by myself in a nasty rest area bathroom. Adoption has it's perks!

CAN'T WAIT TIL YOU GET HERE BABY GIRL. WE MISS YOU ALREADY.

"Buying" babies

In the latest email from Adoptive Families magazine, there was an article from, Jennifer Maslowski, the mother of a Chinese daughter, who wrote the following excerpts in her article : "Why Did You Buy a Foreign Child?"

To sum it up, she had a neighborhood message board where an anonymous poster (a.k.a. troll) had rudely asked in response to another adoptive mother's post -

“Can’t you just adopt a poor child in the United States? Why is it so important to buy foreign children?”

And later: “Oh, wait, some people do buy their babies. Anyway, what is the big deal? Why is it so terrible to point out that there is a financial component to adopting other people’s children? And that the U.S. dollar goes further in poor countries? The adoption purists will not be satisfied until we award them all medals for selflessly helping starving urchins from abroad.”

The author replied with the following, and I think it is so perfect that I wanted to share, as I have gotten the questions before "how much will it cost? why is it so expensive to adopt? why don't you just adopt here, it's cheaper? isn't that really just the country selling their babies?"

“Of course, there is a financial component to adopting children, just as there is a financial component to giving birth. Did you pay the doctor, hospital, or other birth-support people who helped bring your child into the world? I paid a social worker and a nonprofit adoption agency to help bring my daughter home.

“Did you pay for food, clothing, and medical care for the first 10 months of your child’s life? I paid a Chinese orphanage a nationally standardized fee, after it provided that care for the first 10 months of my child’s life.

“Did you pay filing fees for your child’s birth certificate or social security card? I paid American and Chinese government filing fees for those same papers, plus citizenship and adoption documents.

“That’s it. In total. Not a cent of compensation went to the birthparents. There were no bribes, no cash under the table. In fact, these expenses may have been lower than the costs of an uninsured pregnancy, birth, and the first 10 months of life with a child in the United States. Did you ‘buy’ your child when you paid these expenses? Neither did I.

“Adoption is about love, sb700. Just as all real families are about love. You either get this, or you don’t. But those who get it are infinitely more blessed in this world.”

Any of you have any good comebacks to ignorant questions? Whether harmless or just plain rude? Cause I'm keeping a notebook and would love to store some jewels away for future's sake..

Lessons I've learned...

From Braeden's masterpiece "I've been learning by leaps and bounds in First Grade!"

"I have a dream"
I have a dream for a better world.
My dream is to go to Africa to help the children.
I would like for this dream to come true
because I can be proud of my self.

(mommy is already so proud of him just for writing that)

"The tooth fairy"
What does the tooth fairy do with all the teeth?
I think she makes toothpaste out of them.

"Lion and Lamb"
I can be like a lion and a lamb at different times.
Most of the time I am like a lion because I am always
bugging my sister.

"Things to Love"
I love my ant Glinda.
I love my unkol Thad.
I love my dad and my mom.
I love my sister.
I love my brother.
I love my Cosan.

And from the first of the year, a letter from Seth to describe himself to his teacher:

I love science, it is my favorite subject. I have a brother that is going to 1st grade and a little sister going into 3K. My mom thinks I am an artist and my dad thinks I am a good baseball player. I have 1 dog named Gracie and 1 turtle named Turdy. My family and I are adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. My mom and dad are helping start a church. My mom is a volunteer for Compassion, she has gone to Africa. I love steak and I love to go fishing.
I like to go to the mountains and camp or stay in a cabin.

Seth Wages

I love seeing what my kids think are important in their lives. I'm thrilled that TV shows and DS games aren't seen as that important but family and friends are. I just love my kiddos and the lessons God is allowing them to learn.

God's Toolbox

Know what that is dear friends???? That is a big, mac-daddy toolbox.

That was donated by our awesome friends Patrick and Tawnya!

That was just sold on Craigslist for $1800!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, guys!!!!

Funny that a toolbox would be used as a tool to help fund Olivia's adoption!

__________________
Know what else dear friends???? We made $640 on our garage sale last weekend!!!
We had great friends let us use their office space on a main road, great family donate items, great (brand spanking new) neighbors who let us empty out their garage and it was a great success.

The thermometer on the side has, all-along, been tracking the amount in our adoption savings account plus the amount we should get back in taxes. But due to a mistype with our taxes, our taxes have been delayed at least a month - OF COURSE. Cause why would I expect to take any step in this adoption without stumping my toe?!?

So the amount at the side you see is what we currently have in our account. The good news is that America World will consider letting us delay our fee to them if our i71h comes in and our dossier is finished before our taxes are back. The other good news is that any 'extra' money above and beyond the $7700 to submit our dossier will go on to the next step: $5450 to accept our little girl's referral (giving the ok that 'yes' we will parent that child)! Just wondering how many more of my toes will be stumped by that time!

Dear Toot Fairy

Red allergy eyes and a mouthful of teeth (minus one)

Mt. Tooth

Dear Toot Fairy
Can you get me $100 for this tooth?
I am in the top bed
When you see me can you wake me up?
If you don't have any money
Then get me a prez
We are adopting a girl from Aferka
Isn't that cool? Yes or No

Wake up call

Ever think things are going along great and then you hear or find out something that makes you stop dead in your tracks and say, "woooo, that's BIG NEWS. I need to let others know about that!" Well, this is old news, but still made me stop dead in my tracks so I'm letting others know about it.


A friend let me know about a free audiobook download from www.christianaudio.com/free

The book for May is "The Hole in Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns. Let me just say. It is a MUST read/listen to book for all Christians. However, I didn't realize that Mr. Stearns is the CEO of World Vision and a 'competitor' of Compassion. But in the world of rescuing children from poverty, there aren't really competitors, only team-mates, true? Disclaimer: But in my opinion, Compassion International still rocks, big time. So go sponsor a child through Compassion. Like right now.

What blew me away was a chapter devoted to Christ's description of the end times and his separating of all people into groups, as a shepherd would separate sheep and goats. The story takes place in Matthew 25, and I'm sure many of you have heard it many times.

^{Matthew 25: 31-46} "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

So - the "Hole in the Gospel"?? Here is Christ, describing the Day of Judgment, (and he should know right?) Although I had read this story before, I didn't see the obvious implications until pointed out by Stearns -

Christ DID NOT say "all of you who have believed in me are on my right"
Christ DID NOT say "all of you who have prayed to me to save you are on my right"
Christ DID NOT say "all of you who go to church and praise my name are on my right"
Christ DID NOT say "all of you who are a good person and haven't killed anybody on my right"

Christ DID say, that those who fed his children, looked after the poor, cared for the sick, clothed those in need - would be rewarded with eternal life. And it was also pointed out that even those in this category were surprised that the criteria for their salvation was not a sinner's prayer - but how they responded to the calls of Christ. Something they had done in Jesus' name.

And for those on the left who were taken away for eternal punishment - in Stearns translation it was because, "For I was hungry and you had more than enough to eat, I was thirsty and you drank bottled water, I was a stranger and you wanted to deport me, I needed clothes and you needed more clothes, I was sick and you judged me for what led to my sickness, I was in prison and you said I had gotten what I deserve."

How is today's church stacking up in terms of which side we will be on? Is the church of today so focused on making sure we are against all things evil, and for getting as many people in the pews, for getting as many people as possible to say a sinner's prayer - that they have forgotten the basic commands of "feed my sheep, look after the least of these, a cup of water to one of these little ones, welcome a little child in my name"???? Those led away as goats were surprised as they thought they had done it all right but were found to be in want - and that frankly, is terrifying.

Stearns also stresses that he does not mean to indicate that good works is what will get you into Heaven. But that it is the deeds that you do that indicate the true faith that you have. Salvation can not be bought like fire insurance and put away in a lock box until the day it is needed. "Prayed prayer. Check. Go to church most of the time. Check. Drop a check in a basket most of the time. Check."

Salvation, and the true gospel, is a gradual process of growing and of becoming more like Christ.

I have told many of our plans to adopt, or of sponsoring a child through Compassion and more times than I can even count - I have heard (and I use to say this too - so no stone throwing!)

"I would love to do something like that, but I just can't afford to right now."

With a story as transparent as this - how can we afford NOT to???

James 2:18
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

Just a little Wednesday Wisdom to think about. It was a big wake up call for me. "None of us are Christ-like yet. Gotta keep working at that. Check."