The Chalk Family

2012??? Really??? Time flies by and it creeps all at the same time.  I turned 30 years old last month…where did the last decade go?!? I most definitely expected to be a mom by the time I reached 30 and was sure the big 3-0 would bring a huge wave of depression with it. Surprisingly, I was overwhelmed with joy this last month. (Of course lots of birthday celebrations and a trip to NYC from my generous parents only helped :) It was evident to me that God poured His grace all over me because all I could think about is how blessed we have been this last year. I cannot imagine our lives otherwise. We have gained so many riches on the inside having been in this adoption process. I would even venture to say we have thrived this year, and it is all a gift from God.  He has given us a new and broader perspective on life. Our marriage has been tested and is stronger than ever. And, the friends and support system God has brought into our lives…wow! I can name gift after gift. I mean, really, how can I complain about anything in my life? 2011 was good, not what I imagined, but good and in many ways so much more than I imagined. So glad I am not in control!

It is so hard to believe that we hit the one year mark of being on the waiting list on January 3rd of this past week. We expected to have a referral in 9-12 months, but now we have hit that one year mark and are expecting to wait at least 6 more.  When God called us to this, I never imagined the process would be this long. I guess He is good to not let me in on the timeline because, I’ll be honest, it may have deterred me from saying yes. If I could have seen the big picture, I would not have believed I would have survived. Adoption is hard.  The initial giddiness and excitement has worn off, and we are in the trenches. Don’t get me wrong…the excitement about our baby has only escalated through the months. The day to day roller coaster journey-the what if’s, the ever changing timeline, the program changes, the government and policy changes-takes a toll, however. The majority of days are filled with deep ache and pain, and many days I find that my heart is guarded and numb because I simply don’t have the strength to face this roller coaster ride. Sometimes I don’t want to talk about it and sometimes it is all I want to talk about. I am confident I have experienced just about every emotion possible in this process. The difference between today and one year ago is that we are well aware of the complexity of this process and the battle involved in bringing each child home. We are fully engaged in the battle and know we are our child’s advocates on every front.  For me, the emotional and spiritual battle is daily.  It is striving to make the most of every day, while longing for my child on the other side of the world and while life here seems to be passing me by. It is maintaining faith that God will finish what He started with no clue as to when that date is set.  It is choosing to engage with others when I feel a piece of myself is missing. It is choosing to pray and ask and believe when it seems easier and less painful to bury my head in the sand and distract myself with meaningless endeavors. It is choosing to prepare myself and my home for this child God has promised when I wonder if people think I am crazy. 

So just to give you a feel for the roller coaster… Amongst all the new beginnings and new year’s resolutions, January is a real downer for me. It is difficult to get myself motivated for the new year. I was feeling really good about how well we came through my 30th and our fourth Christmas anticipating a yet to arrive child, but then the dreaded grief, a different kind of grief, hit me. It’s the indescribable grief associated with the loss of Baby J, and again, time has crept and flown all at the same time. Has it really been 3 years since we heard those haunting words…”There is no heartbeat.”? How can that be? I will say time helps, in that the grief is not all consuming at every turn, but it never eases the weight of the feelings when they do intermittently bubble to the surface. I am doing much better than I was on the first anniversary but not quite as well as last year, as I was so distracted by the excitement of being put on the waiting list. Even though last year I was a bit conflicted and sorting through my feelings about moving forward with our family while preserving Baby J’s memory, this year I feel we are in this never ending waiting room where every facet of our journey still stings. 

Nancy Guthrie’s One Year Book of Hope encouraged me this morning. The scripture I read today is Psalm 31:10, 14-15. It says, “I am dying from grief, my years are shortened by sadness. Misery has drained my strength; I am wasting away from within. But I am trusting You, O Lord, saying, ‘You are my God!’ My future is in Your hands.” (New Living Translation) Many times I have felt that sadness has stolen my years, and this would be the truth if I did not know Jesus. He is the One who holds each of my days in His hands. He numbered Baby J’s days, and He has ordained each of our future children’s days. The enemy cannot steal my inheritance in Christ. I pray for strength for daily determination, determination to live by faith, believing He is working to unite our child’s story with ours even when I cannot yet fully see the answers to our prayers.  I greatly anticipate all He will do in 2012 because it is always more than I can possibly fathom, and I am confident it will be good. 

Kari Jobe’s song, I’m singing continually encourages me. Some of the lyrics are below. I love the line, “Kings and oceans bow to Him in praise. Nothing thwarts HIS plan, not power, not distance, not time.

Only one name lasts forever
Only one fame stands alone
Only one King has an anthem
That goes on and on and on

And I’m singing to the God who brings redemption to the nations

Kings and oceans bow to Him in praise

And I’m singing to the God who wrote the book on our salvation

To the One who covers me in grace

I’m singing

Only one word in the beginning
Only one truth will prevail
Only one love brings you freedom
Only one Man took the nails

And I’m singing to the God who brings redemption to the nations

Kings and oceans bow to Him in praise

And I’m singing to the God who wrote the book on our salvation

To the One who covers me in grace

I’m singing

Praise, Praise to the Savior
Praise, to the Lamb Of God
Praise, in all of His splendor
Praise, for saving my life

I will leave you with an update on our waiting list numbers and a few pictures.

October – 35 boys, 14 siblings (twin boys)

November – 36 boys, 16 siblings 

December – 33 boys, 13 siblings

This pictures is from Thanksgiving when Chad, Mandy, Anna, Jackson and Reese gave us a beautiful and oh so soft blanket made my Mwana blankets. For every blanket purchased, another is delivered to a child in need in Malawi, Africa.  I can’t wait to wrap our baby up in this! What a special gift!!

We purchased this onesie on our trip to New York at Top of the Rock. We will always remember all of the places we visited while waiting for our baby.  

This wooden stacking blocks toy is a Christmas gift for our baby from Todd, Whitney, Brooks and Hadley. So fun!!

This adorable coloring book is a Christmas gift for our baby from my parents. It has the most amazing pictures!!

I haven’t posted in so long, I’m afraid I have probably lost my readers. But I do want to keep up because I want this to serve as a scrapbook for our baby so he/they know that they were longed for and loved long before we even saw their faces. For any of you still out there, we are so HAPPY to say we have moved halfway up the list and now sit at 38 on the boys list and 19 on the siblings list. I did pray for the halfway/teens status this month, and the Lord answered.  :)  It feels so good to be in the 30’s and the teens, but I will admit it is discouraging that at this rate, it will take double the time than first expected to receive our referral.  I am confident in God’s timing though.  We are also working on our home study update as it expires in December. It will require new background checks, physicals and financials, but I at least know what I am doing this time.  And thankfully this paperwork is not nearly as intense as the dossier paperwork.      

I have been fearful at times the last few months, knowing that there are all kinds of crazy things happening with other families involved in the process.  Between the courts being closed for the rainy season and several orphanages being shut down, kids are being delayed in uniting with their families and anxiety has increased over what other possible obstacles could arise in the process.  There have been several maddening situations where you realize that the enemy is truly at work against redemption and adoption, one of the most powerful and practical displays of the gospel.  Please pray for the children who need to be placed with families and for those tirelessly working on their behalf.  

Miller and I attended the Hope at Home adoption conference at Northlands Church this past weekend, and we were prayed for and greatly encouraged in this calling.  I really cannot imagine doing anything else right now.  We are so blessed to have many around us helping us prepare practically and spiritually. We are spurred on as we meet so many families who are following God’s call to adoption, all with different stories but with the same calling, DESPITE the cost.  And the cost to some of these families is GREAT.  The Pastor, Greg Haswell, opened the weekend with a talk on the “Spirit of Adoption”, how adoption mirrors God’s relationship with us. He made the point that the Holy Spirit teaches us how to cry “Daddy”, works to help us attach and find our belonging as an heir in God’s kingdom.  He encouraged us to ask the Lord to increase our understanding and experience that we have been adopted by a loving Father.  And this is my continued prayer in this process, that I will know and experience more of His Father’s heart so I can pass that down to our children. 

Speaking of adoption preparation…I am thrilled about the Created For Care Retreat in January and so happy to know there will be double the people and that a few will be coming from our church.  With over 200 on the waiting list and the huge need for this type of retreat, it has just been announced that there will be another Created For Care held March 23-25.  So if you or someone you know did not register in time for January, registration for March will open TONIGHT at 12:01am EST.  Visit the Created For Care website for more details. 

We had some spontaneous visitors last week, and it was the perfect night for playing out in the front yard. Miller thought Isaac needed some entertainment so he provided his old dump truck, the one he used to sleep with :) .  It went over REALLY well! SO thankful for spontaneous visits from our baby’s future friend :) and for our new small group where we can consistently do life with others who have and who are walking this adoption road! 

My friend Jessica who stopped through Ethiopia on her way from Zambia was so thoughtful to bring us a bolster pillow and English-Amharic translations book.  So SPECIAL to know she was there praying for us and to have these gifts straight from Ethiopia!

It was so good to see my sweet friend Sarah today! She is new to sewing and surprised me with this precious onesie.  I am so impressed! LOVE it!!

Taken from the Philpot Family blog and originally written by Kristen Howerton.

“Mommy, look at the brown boy!”

 

As a transracial family in a mostly vanilla town, we hear these kind of comments every now and then, especially from other preschool-aged kids. This week, we heard on two different occasions.

 

No biggie: it is perfectly normal for a child of that age to notice color. I mean, they are just learning colors and pointing it out is just an observation. I am NEVER offended by children making such comments. In fact, it can open up great learning opportunities for kids to understand adoption, difference, etc.

 

However, one of the circumstances this week was a bit awkward. A little girl pointed to my African-American son Jafta, and this was how the dialogue went:

 

CURIOUS GIRL: Mommy, do you see him!?! He’s brown!

 

MORTIFIED MOM: (clearly embarrassed) Honey, be quiet.

 

CURIOUS GIRL: Mommy, do you see? Do you see that boy?

 

MORTIFIED MOM: Sweetie, be quiet. Be quiet right now.

 

CURIOUS GIRL: But mommy, look! He’s brown.

 

MORTIFIED MOM: (now angrily) If you don’t stop saying that right now, I will give you a spanking.

 

I totally get where this mom is coming from. I can imagine doing this myself, in another setting. But think for a minute what this interchange communicated to this little girl about color difference. What message did this well-meaning mom unintentionally send to her daughter, and to my son, who was watching the whole thing?

 

Avoiding the topic of race can be one of the biggest mistakes parents make in raising healthy, race-conscious children. Shaming, ignoring, or avoiding a child’s observations on race can send a strong message: racial difference (and/or brown skin) is so bad and so embarrasing that we can’t even talk about it. (Kinda reminds ya of how some families deal with sex, huh?)

 

So how should someone react? I don’t know the perfect answer, but encouraging a conversation (instead of stifling it) is a good start. As parents we have to manage our own racial baggage to help our kids avoid their own.

 

So let me tell you about the other interchange that happened this week.

 

A little girl pointed to Jafta and said, “You’re so brown.” And my husband said, “Did you hear that, Jafta? Say thank you.”

 

And he did. With a big grin on his face.

June marked one year since we decided to adopt and began the process.  It’s hard to believe it has been that long! On our way to vacation with Miller’s family, we received our June numbers- 51 boy (down from 53) and 29 siblings (UP from 28).  It was so discouraging that we had only moved 2 spots on the boy list and that we actually moved BACKWARDS on the siblings list.  We also learned that it might be 18 months of total wait time for our referral instead of the 9-12 months we were quoted when we got on the waitlist in January.

Now we are on vacation with my family, and I am thinking about this time last year. We were in the application process with AGCI, gathering our paperwork with tons of questions swirling around and so excited about what was ahead.  We showed my family the Young’s gotcha day video for the first time, which very much inspired us as we began our journey.  In the last year we have overcome a  lot of hurdles and are much closer to bringing our baby home!  We are absolutely certain of our decision to adopt and are grateful for the ways we have seen God’s hand in the process.  We are more encouraged this month and received our new numbers yesterday-45 boy (down from 51) and 23 siblings (down from 29).  We also know that MOWA is now processing 10 cases per day instead of only 5 as announced in March.  We are grateful for positive news! It was also such a gift to know that my dear friend Jessica was thinking of us as she passed through Addis Ababa last week on her way to Zambia. How awesome to have she and her team lifting us and our baby up in prayer actually on the ground in Ethiopia.  You can read more about her medical mission trip here.

I have been low on patience, perseverance and faith the last month, but I keep holding onto the Lord’s words from February that He will finish what He started.  It has been so great to talk to other moms who have gone before me and know that whether you already have children or not, this process is just plain hard and an emotional roller coaster as you are distracted from everything else while your heart is already connected to your baby across the world.  Isaiah 30 has also been an encouragement. Verse 18 says, “Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Of course gotcha day videos are always helpful in the wait. Here’s another good one from another AGCI family!                                                                                                                                                                                                               

My niece Hadley posing with these adorable and oh so soft elephant, giraffe, and lion stuffed animals…a waitlist gift from my brother Todd, sister-in-law Whitney, nephew Brooks and niece Hadley.               

        My niece Anna helping demonstrate at the lia sophia jewelry fundraiser. It was so much fun to have her there! 

Dinner with new friends at the Ethiopian restaurant.

http://www.liasophia.us/sites/troye/evite?pid=12743373&eid=1358487&T=1305814763214

This year Mother’s Day was a mixed bag, and it has taken me some time to process it. It was so good to be at our old church with both my mother and mother-in-law.  I’m confident I have the BEST mother on the planet who has ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS been there for me. She loves Jesus and is nurturing, fun, creative, giving, selfless and everything I want to model to my own children. I really cannot wait to see her with them!  And my mother-in-law has given me one of life’s greatest gifts in raising my husband to be the kind, patient, intelligent, hard working, godly gentleman that he is. And she loves me like her own daughter.  I have A LOT to be thankful for!  God was good to have us there too as there was a strong focus on adoption.  Baby dedication is normally not a fun event for me, but it was special to sit through this particular one. May is the church’s Foster Care emphasis month, and it was a joy to see a precious, multiracial family who had adopted four children take part in the dedication. I felt God’s personal touch as I was longing for our baby, and I felt hopeful about all that He has in store.

As the day continued, I could not get our baby’s birth mother off of my mind. In fact I had a strong burden for her all week long.  I have so many questions about what is going on in the life of this family right now and what struggles they might be facing. I wonder if they are well, if they have necessary daily provisions, if they know Jesus.  On Monday I felt that familiar and dreaded feeling of depression closing in, something I haven’t experienced in a while. I began thinking about Baby J and about whether we would be pregnant again, thankful for all that we have gained in the last few years but still not glad certain things have happened.  All of this circled back around to the birth mom, and as I thought about what her circumstances might be, I told God that it just doesn’t seem fair.  We didn’t have a choice in losing Baby J, but this mother should have a choice.  She should have a choice in giving up her son. I mean a “real choice”.  She should have all she needs to sustain her life and the lives of her children, and she should not have to choose one or the other. The reality is I have no control over the situation and have no idea what is happening at this very moment.  I don’t want to make assumptions either (maybe she will have a “real choice”). These are just some of the possibilities running through my mind. Regardless of the exact circumstances, the losses involved in adoption on all sides sometime seem too overwhelming.

So all I can do is pray for our baby and his family or at least cry out to God when I don’t have any words.  I continue to trust that He is going to allow us to see His goodness in the unique way in which He unites our stories, that of the birth family, our son, and us. I know it will be mysteriously beautiful, more than all I can plan or dream.  Two mothers of the same son, loved by God and created for an eternal purpose in the big picture of God’s story-Wow! But as I wait to see and know all the details, I pray and I send you, dear birth mother, all my love, hoping we will soon have the opportunity to embrace you and thank you for your courageous strength. 

A friend prayed for me that I would not only have compassion but also joy. This was exactly the truth I needed to hear.  And this is where I find myself today…somehow feeling deeply for this woman across the ocean whom I have never met while at the same time rejoicing in God’s work in my life. Both are possible as they are equally manifested in the character of God. And I have access to His storehouse! 

God has given me two beautiful representations of adoptive mothers in my Aunt Cheryl and Aunt Sharon. I don’t think any mom could love their children more than these two women do. No they didn’t birth my cousins, but it doesn’t matter one bit as they have truly laid their lives down for their children.  They are an inspiration and pictures of God’s grace.

“What does it mean to be a mother? What does it take? Is it the nine month period of carrying a child or going through labor that can take several hours? Can it be that a mother is the woman who blows on a boo-boo to make it feel better and chases away the scary monsters from the dark closet? Or is it perhaps something as simple and fascinating as a woman who loves a child more than her own life?”  Teddy James-AFA Journal May 2011

Our numbers this month are #53 boy (down from #55) and #28 siblings-infant twin boys (down from #32). We didn’t expect much movement this month but are praying for a big jump over the summer as several other families will be bringing their kids home-yay!  Please pray things keep moving along, as we have been told that longer wait times could be a reality.  The next six months will tell us a lot about the future of Ethiopian adoptions. 

“What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That’s what little boys are made of !”

This video makes me even more excited about our baby boy(s). Though we would like to have a girl in our family one day, God has put a boy on our hearts at this time.  We don’t know all the reasons why, but we know He has promised to redeem what we have lost.  And we CANNOT wait to meet our son(s)!

(Make sure to hit pause on my homepage music before playing the video :)

We spent weeks preparing for our garage sale fundraiser, and the big weekend finally arrived this past Friday and Saturday. Miller and I feel like we may as well have moved! Up until today my whole body was still sore, and my ankle is in bad shape (the one I sprained December 29th-the day we turned in our dossier =( .  BUT it was SO WORTH the work, and I had SO MUCH FUN!    We definitely could not have done this by ourselves though.  We have the BEST friends and family ever!  We were so blessed by the generosity of countless people who donated items to our sale.  The amount of inventory made it a huge success!  I felt so overwhelmed as I looked at our crammed full garage and basement wondering how we would ever bring order to that many random boxes and bags. Thanks to Miller’s sisters and sister-in-law for helping sort items and to my friends Jennifer and Nicole for sacrificing time with their kiddos and spending time helping me organize and price.  I truly have no idea what I would have done without them!!!   My brother helped Miller move furniture out on Thursday night, and my Dad made signs directing people to our house. Miller and I got up at 4am on Friday morning, working three solid hours to move everything outside.   I started getting a little nervous come 7am wondering if people would actually show.  God answered every small prayer I prayed-the weather was perfect, we had a steady flow of people both days, I had plenty of help with my mother-in-law, Robin, Jennifer and Nicole on Friday and Miller and both of our Moms on Saturday.  I prayed what I thought was a bold request for us to raise $2500, and I am amazed at our deposit made the other day of…$2630!!!  This will cover a large portion of our travel expenses. Our biggest request was for God to use the sale as a platform for sharing our adoption and Him.  We handed out over 100 postcards with facts about Ethiopia, our adoption and the gospel (I will share those later).  We had so many great conversations and met so many wonderful people!  It was fun to see friends who came to visit and show their support as well!  Thank you for praying for a successful weekend!!

We had 9 tables set up with the most random treasures you can imagine!

Light fixtures, fans, clothes, toys, linens galore!

Chairs, desks, hutch, amoire, tables, couches, lawn mowers, tv’s and MORE!

Miller’s Mom, Robin, helping at the checkout table -Thank you for serving us!

Precious friends, Nicole and Jennifer, who kept me sane!

I couldn’t believe my sweet Mom made an appearance after being up the entire night before and also helped on Saturday -Thank you! Lynn drove with her boys from south Atlanta to visit, shop and show her support-That meant so much to me!

Andrea and part of her clan came to show their support as well.  I can’t even describe what a blessing this family is on our adoption journey!!!

Apparently Isaac is anxious for his new buddy(ies) to come home soon!

Parker and Laney paying for their awesome finds and Isaac enamored with his car.

Miller and me on Saturday morning-I’m lookin a little rough=)

Amanda and Matt who also made a lengthy drive! Hope you like your new decor!

Thanks also to our friends Jonathan and Martha, Cristina, Helen and her boys, and Miller’s grandparents for stopping by!

Every Easter is meaningful, but this year was unique.  Our church partnered with Atlantic Station to provide a free family festival on Saturday, and we hosted a service outside in Atlantic Station’s Central Park. We have been praying for this opportunity for four years, and it was incredible! Miller and I also attended the Secret Church simulcast on Good Friday.   I can honestly say it was one of the best ways we have ever spent 6+ hours of our time.  I was especially touched when David Platt reached the doctrine of adoption as he moved through each facet of Biblical salvation.  His transparency ministered to me as he shared personal stories about adopting his kids. David shared that adopting a child requires resolve, it is not accidental. He talked about the ups and downs of the paperwork process and changes in government regulations. He mentioned hurtful comments from others such as referring to their son’s birth mother as the “real mother” and asking if he and his wife had any kids of their “own” (a phrase that really rubs me the wrong way).  Likewise, David said, “Adoption requires someone who comes at the right time, with the right qualifications and the right resolve.” This person is Jesus Christ who “determined to redeem us and died to rescue us.”   I have gained a deeper understanding this year of Christ’s sacrifice for me and His purpose in adopting me into His family.  I don’t think I will ever fully comprehend it, but it is sweeter and even more personal.  I feel it deeply. I wanted to stand up and shout, “YES! We want you baby more than anything in this world.  You are loved and we are coming for you no matter what it takes!”  No, it is not proving to be an easy road or a short one.  But there is something anchoring us down and keeping us from turning with the tide.  It is the gospel, the unconditional resolve of the gospel.  We are not saints or heroes, but the opposite.  We are broken people and have been given a gift through Christ. This is what drives us and keeps us going. At our garage sale this past weekend, several asked me (as many others often do), “Aren’t there kids here you can adopt?” Yes, of course, there are many kids here who need homes. The truth is that every child deserves a home and a family, but we are not capable of providing that for every one.  Believe me the mother heart in me can be so tempted at times to pull out of the Ethiopia program knowing that we could adopt domestically and have a baby within a few weeks. But we don’t get to choose where He calls, and He has called us to Ethiopia.  We have fallen in love with that country and with our baby whose face we don’t yet know.  God could change the plans tomorrow, and we have to be open to wherever He wants us.  We are responsible to care for orphans everywhere, whether that is through local and international ministries, helping other adoptive families, or adopting children into our family.   And I am so glad our adoption agency cares for orphans, not only through adoption, but on a larger scale through family preservation whenever possible. I love how Platt explains adoption in his sermon “Father to the Fatherless“, which was instrumental in our initial decision to adopt. Here is an excerpt…

“Christ is the rescuer, and he has done it at the cross, and that changes everything. Now we love distinctly differently from the rest of the world. We are not the rescuers. We must realize that we are the rescued, and in light of our weakness, now it makes sense when we realize that we were orphans. Follow with me – when we realize that we were orphans. We were spiritual orphans in need of a father on high who would care for us, and he reached down and he made us his children.

When we realize that, then it makes sense for those who were once orphans and who are now children of the King – it makes sense for every single child of the King to now care for orphans all around them. Now James 1:27 makes sense. Yes, it’s a mark of true, God-centered, Christ-centered religion. It’s the mark of Christians to care for orphan, because we were orphans. And it’s automatic – it’s natural. And I’m not saying it looks the same in every single one of our lives, but it’s not possible to be a Christian, a child of God, and not have care for orphans.

And now we realize that the church absolutely must be leading the way in orphan care and care for children in need. This is not an option, it’s not a negotiable, it just flows from the spiritual reality that we’re seeing in the gospel. In light of our weakness, we now see their need – all 147 million of them. We see them. We don’t turn a blind eye to them as if they don’t exist. We see children in need in Birmingham, in the United States, in the Third World. We see their need. We now hear their cries. We hear the cries.

As Christians, we hear the cries of children who cannot sleep at night because their stomachs are distended with hunger. And we hear the cries of babies in hospitals in the United States being rocked by nurses right now; babies who are addicted to cocaine because of what they received from their mom. We hear their cry. We hear the cries of teenagers in Eastern Europe who are about to be put out on the streets to a life of prostitution or drugs if someone does not care for them soon.

I’ve shared with you all before – when Heather and I were walking in the process of adopting Caleb, we had read the statistics and the numbers. And they are staggering – I mean just millions upon millions without a mom or dad. Millions of orphans in Africa, that’s a number that is increasing dramatically as a result of AIDS, and millions of orphans in Eastern Europe and Asia and Latin America and the United States. We read the numbers.

But everything changed when we walked into that orphanage on that first day in Kazakhstan and we saw the faces of these kids, and we heard their voices. And we realized that Caleb was one of those numbers; that Caleb was sleeping in one of those cribs, crying. Orphans are easier to forget until you see their faces. They’re easier to forget until you hear their voices, and orphans are easier to ignore until you hold them in your arms. But once you’re vulnerable enough to do that, then everything changes, and this is what we do as the body of Christ.

We see their need, and we hear their cries, and we bring them hope. Now don’t miss this: what we bring is not the hope of better life in America. What we bring is not the hope of a nicer part of Birmingham to live in. That’s not the hope we bring. If that’s the hope we bring, we have missed the whole point. If the point of orphan ministry is to bring children into nice homes with nice stuff and comfortable lives, we’ve missed the whole point and we have not helped orphans at all.

Malaria kills, and we need to help children who are suffering and dying from malaria, but brothers and sisters, materialism also kills. It’s dangerously deceptive in its ability to kill. And so we bring them hope, but it’s not hope of more and better stuff and comfortable life and American dream. We bring them hope of a Father on high who defends and protects and provides for them, and a Savior who pursues them and rescues them. That’s the hope we bring.

And the beauty is, there is not one child in this world – no matter how dark their past is or their family’s past is, no matter how dim their future looks physically, emotionally, no matter how dark or dim – there is not one child in this world who is beyond the hope of Jesus Christ. This is why we must do orphan care. We bring them hope as families, as husbands and wives and children all across this room, we open our homes and our lives and our arms to receive the fatherless and to care for the fatherless.”

We sure to hope you are home next Easter, baby boy(s)!!!

We received our April numbers on Tuesday night!  We are officially 55 (down from 62) for a boy and 32 (down from 35) for siblings (infant twin boys)!!! These numbers were lower than we thought they would be and a pleasant surprise!  Hoping for the 40’s and 20’s next month! Several families with our agency have received Embassy dates this week as well as court dates which is a HUGE answer to prayer as these families were not on file with the courts prior to March 8th (the cutoff before the implementation of the proposed 90% cut). This means that MOWA is continuing to process cases, and we are grateful for any movement we see.  

I have discovered Celebrating Adoption, a group of photographers across the country who “donate their time to celebrate love…life…adoption”.  Check out this website if you or someone you know has adopted recently and is interested in a free photo session! 

I neglected to post these pictures taken on January 12th when Miller’s brother, Morgan, and his wife, Libby, took us to dinner to celebrate our being waitlisted and becoming officially paper pregnant.  I definitely want these to be a part of this scrapbook!

A beautiful blanket for baby boy from Morgan and Libby