Here we go ... here is the NEWS that I have been hinting at for a couple of months ...
Before I share our news though ... it is SOO important to me that you foremost THANK JESUS for His miracles and His STORIES ... for the work that He does in each one of our lives, in us and through us ...
I share this news with total HUMILITY ...
Here we go again on a story that that we again get the priviledge and honor to be a part of, one where the only thing we are doing is being obedient ... the details all being part of God's doing, God GETTING ALL OF THE GLORY!!!
I'm going to share part of our financial need letter as my free time these days is fairly limited ... here is part of our letter ...
"Are there needs of the world or even those around you that keep you up at night? Has God put a certain population of people on your heart? Has God given you a specific passion for a certain ministry, issue, or even mission work? Throughout the last couple of months we have come to realize that not only has God given us a passion for the millions of orphans in North America and around the world, He has also called Sam and I to clearly minister to them. We believe that for our family, caring for the orphans is our God given ministry!
This became glaringly clear after our trip to Ghana, where we not only filed needed paperwork to bring Kody home, we also traveled to up North to the area where Kody was born. Kody was born in an area that is extremely isolated and impoverished. We met family after family who despite all of their very hard work and efforts did not have enough food to simply feed their children. We met families who owned less goods than what we have in one of our rooms in our home! Kody himself was truly days away from dying, as a result of a lack of means, a lack of a way to feed babies if the birth mother dies! All of this is truly inconceivable to our North American lenses, unless we see this first hand we cannot fully understand it, and even so it leaves us with only a glimpse into what life is like for the millions of families who daily go hungry. Kody himself left his village wrapped up in a blanket on the back of the market cart (pulled by a donkey) that came to the village, sometimes, once a week.
We also heard story after story of how children become orphans in Ghana, and how many of them end up being raised in orphanages that would make you cry for days where you even to spend one minute there.
This trip changed us! We came home with our convictions and passions renewed! The fact that there ARE 148 MILLION orphans in the world became even that much more of a reality, as the level and depth of poverty we witnessed was beyond anything we had ever experienced! James 1:27 where it says “pure and faultless religion is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress;” and Matthew 24:45 “to whom much is given, much is required” took on a renewed literal meaning for us!
We left the trip knowing without a shadow of a doubt that we would adopt again. Our North American lenses told us we had room for one more, as we have room for one more in our van! After the trip no longer was comfort and convenience important, nor the number of children we had (FIVE, WOW). As some of you remember, we truly up until Faith thought we
would always be a family that had two children. However, what is most important to us now is the life that we believe God has called us to live! We left the trip feeling SO completely blessed and so completely rich on so many levels! We truly feel like we have been given SOOOO much!
We also left the trip knowing about a little girl who was 4 years old and had a hand deformity similar to our Faith that was in need of a forever family! Since this trip we have been on our knees, it becoming clear that throughout the last five months that God has consistently and gently been working on both of our hearts. It also seems that God has worked on Bella, Faith and Matteus’ hearts. Throughout this time we have asked God that He make it CRYSTAL CLEAR to us as to what we were supposed to do, this little girl not leaving our hearts! Our North American world view could come up with too MANY reasons as to why RIGHT NOW was not a good time to add a 5th child to our family! So although we know that some people will not understand our hearts or perhaps God’s heart, Maria’s recent trip to Ghana did in fact confirm that the little four year old girl is meant to be OUR DAUGHTER!!
We are pursuing the adoption of our little girl because we believe that we have been given SO MUCH (Matthew 24) and we want to with our whole lives be faithful stewards: because we believe that God’s heart aches for the 148 million orphans; because we believe that God has called us to adopt one more; because we believe that God has called us to adopt the little 4 year old girl in Ghana RIGHT NOW; and because we believe that God is FAITHFUL and WILL take care of all of our emotional and financial needs of our entire family (5 children)!"
This became glaringly clear after our trip to Ghana, where we not only filed needed paperwork to bring Kody home, we also traveled to up North to the area where Kody was born. Kody was born in an area that is extremely isolated and impoverished. We met family after family who despite all of their very hard work and efforts did not have enough food to simply feed their children. We met families who owned less goods than what we have in one of our rooms in our home! Kody himself was truly days away from dying, as a result of a lack of means, a lack of a way to feed babies if the birth mother dies! All of this is truly inconceivable to our North American lenses, unless we see this first hand we cannot fully understand it, and even so it leaves us with only a glimpse into what life is like for the millions of families who daily go hungry. Kody himself left his village wrapped up in a blanket on the back of the market cart (pulled by a donkey) that came to the village, sometimes, once a week.
We also heard story after story of how children become orphans in Ghana, and how many of them end up being raised in orphanages that would make you cry for days where you even to spend one minute there.
This trip changed us! We came home with our convictions and passions renewed! The fact that there ARE 148 MILLION orphans in the world became even that much more of a reality, as the level and depth of poverty we witnessed was beyond anything we had ever experienced! James 1:27 where it says “pure and faultless religion is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress;” and Matthew 24:45 “to whom much is given, much is required” took on a renewed literal meaning for us!
We left the trip knowing without a shadow of a doubt that we would adopt again. Our North American lenses told us we had room for one more, as we have room for one more in our van! After the trip no longer was comfort and convenience important, nor the number of children we had (FIVE, WOW). As some of you remember, we truly up until Faith thought we
would always be a family that had two children. However, what is most important to us now is the life that we believe God has called us to live! We left the trip feeling SO completely blessed and so completely rich on so many levels! We truly feel like we have been given SOOOO much!
We also left the trip knowing about a little girl who was 4 years old and had a hand deformity similar to our Faith that was in need of a forever family! Since this trip we have been on our knees, it becoming clear that throughout the last five months that God has consistently and gently been working on both of our hearts. It also seems that God has worked on Bella, Faith and Matteus’ hearts. Throughout this time we have asked God that He make it CRYSTAL CLEAR to us as to what we were supposed to do, this little girl not leaving our hearts! Our North American world view could come up with too MANY reasons as to why RIGHT NOW was not a good time to add a 5th child to our family! So although we know that some people will not understand our hearts or perhaps God’s heart, Maria’s recent trip to Ghana did in fact confirm that the little four year old girl is meant to be OUR DAUGHTER!!
We are pursuing the adoption of our little girl because we believe that we have been given SO MUCH (Matthew 24) and we want to with our whole lives be faithful stewards: because we believe that God’s heart aches for the 148 million orphans; because we believe that God has called us to adopt one more; because we believe that God has called us to adopt the little 4 year old girl in Ghana RIGHT NOW; and because we believe that God is FAITHFUL and WILL take care of all of our emotional and financial needs of our entire family (5 children)!"
I will share more of this decision later, as God already has done sooo much in our families' life through this decision, and the processing of the decision ...
And in case you are wondering, I truly am just as surprised as you are that we are in FACT ADOPTING AGAIN!!! Some of you know this that I to the core of my being, up until about 3 years ago thought I would only ever be a mom of two children! So yes for me too the words "crazy" and "lost her mind" come to mind :) Sam and I though SO don't want to live without any regrets ... when we see Jesus face to face we want to hear, "well done, good and faithful servant!" We SOO want to do our part ...
These pics were taken when we filed for a US orphan visa ...
5555555555555555555555555555!!!!
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:) :) :) :) :)
Comments
Jennine
Blessings and Prayers!
Sarah