Adoption Ministry

When I applied for the WCIC class I went into not knowing why exactly I was feeling called to the class.  Our family life is fairly busy and complicated with two preschoolers and work.  I knew taking off on a mission trip for three weeks wasn't something I could do at this stage of life.  I knew in my heart my children are my current mission, E had only been with us six months and an interuption to the bonding was not something I could put him through.  But I went with the feeling that I was suppose to be in this class and signed up.

Now four months later I think I know why I am in this class.  We have been reading Just Courage and I can say I am a restless Christian.  I knew there was something I was suppose to be doing but couldn't see what it was.  The last month has been hard for me, I enjoy what we are reading but had found my words were gone.  No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't put words down on paper or blog.  I feel the Lord was telling me to be quiet and listen.   I now have a feeling that my part of the WCIC triangle is in adoption/orphan ministry.  I feel that Christ is calling Christians to stand up and take the children out of the supply equation by bringing them into loving, Christian homes.

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.  - James 1:27

In my Bible reading I have been jumping around a lot, I was struggling reading from beginning to end.  After a prayer class I took with Pastor Kevin he really convinced me it's ok to jump around.  It has made it easier for me to keep up with my reading.  One night I decided to read the book of James before going to sleep.  Immediately after reading I felt that I needed to get going on educating myself in the area of adoption ministry.  I had been looking at websites and had saved some books to my list on Amazon.  I got out of bed and ordered the books and now I can't wait for them to arrive so I can add them to my daily reading. 

Last weekend I was at the church bazzar and ran into a mom that had traveled to China right after I got home with E to get her little girl.  We had both used the same agencies but neither of us knew the other at church, it is a very large church so that is understandable.  As we talked we found out we both wanted an adoption ministry in our church and had been looking into how to get one started.  I had asked our ministry leader at WCIC the week before if the church had an orphan ministry and she said that someone had attempted before but couldn't get it to take off.  Over the week I had been thinking and researching more and everything I found said you can't do it alone, it is too big for one person.  After running into C at the bazzar I knew I was heading down the path he had planned for me.  My heart is very much into Chinese children however I need to network with others that had hearts for other programs.  C has been on mission trips to other developing countries and now she is looking into adopting from Ethiopia.  I felt that God was putting us together for a reason.

Once things settle down a little with the holidays C and I will be getting together and putting some ideas in place to present to the ministry pastors at church.  Neither of us are sure where this is going but we are both ready to find out.  Adoption has been the biggest blessing in our lives and I know it will change other families if they are supported through the process.

Women and Children in Crisis update

It has been quite some time since I last posted about my WCIC class.  We have read many books, listened to many speakers, watched many videos and have become a family.  I am enjoying getting to know my classmates, the staff and most importantly the heart of Jesus. 

There has been a great deal of fundraising going over the past couple of month, four of the ladies have spent a many hours together sewing up a storm for a bazzar that was held last weekend at church.  A house has been painted, a couple of yardsales have been done and coffee is sold on Sundays during service.  The mission trip had been planned for the end of December or early January but plans have changed due to lack of funds.  It is a really hard time right now to fundraise and the group has hit a snag or maybe we were pushing something that wasn't in the Lords timimg.  His timing is so much more important than ours, he knows so much that we can only begin to imagine.  When it is his time he will tell them to order those tickets, pack their bags and hang onto their hearts. 

If you would like to make a tax deductible donation to the mission team please let me know.  They appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers as they continue on the journey.  Although the trip has been delayed the preparation has not been.  As Alice or maybe it was Bill said, "petal to the metal" on the fundraising.  No time to take a break, we have to keep pushing ahead.

Blessings to all!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your request to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

I, like so many others have a hard time having patience.  Sometimes it seems like I am a microwave Christian, I want instant answers.  It is so hard to wait on the Lord and understand that his time is not always in our time.

Prayer Request

If you pray, please keep me in your prayers.  God has placed something really big on my heart and I would really appreciate your prayers.  I will be seeking soaking prayer on this one as I try to listen to the Lord and what he has planned.

Women and Children in Crisis

...Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.  Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.  Isaiah 1:17

I am participating in a class at church that is a mission preparation class called Women and Children in Crisis.  We are learning about human trafficking, sex trafficking, children in orphanges, children of war, poverty, and so on.  It is one of the most intense subjects I have ever learned about but I feel so very drawn toward the cause.  Although I won't be participating the mission trip this year I plan to go in the future.  In the mean time this class is helping me open my eyes to the injustice in the world and prepare for trials my children may experience.

Parts of my class I have been able to share with my husband.  We were able to sit together and watch the mini-series "Human Trafficking" one night.  We started to watch the movie with the intent to watch for a while and then finish it the next night.  We ended up watching straight through until 1 am.  It was very eye opening for both of us of what is happening in our world.  And unfortunately it is much worse in the realy world than it was on the movie, real stories very seldomly end with a rescue.

Another part of the class that has been very beneficial to me is what we have been learning about poverty.  So many times people are in human trafficking due to poverty; looking for a job to earn more for their family, being sold because their family can't afford another mouth to feed, being stolen and sold and the list goes on.  I am also learning a lot about the people in my life based on our background and those of the people that raised us.  I now understand a little about why people do the things they do with their money, why some people want so many possessions and then there is me who wants to spend all of our money adopting children.  There is so much poverty in the world, in the United States we have our share and in developing countries I think they have more than their share.  It is so hard for me to believe how little people have to live on in many countries.  With what we have learned I am looking for ways to reduce my family spending, reduce our possessions (all of my family is not in agreement yet but M is ready to sell some of her toys in sale because she has "lots", such a sweet girl) and do more for those in need.

My prayer life was very private and personal to me in the past.  I have been learning more about prayer and have participated in Soaking Prayer and Theophostic Prayer.  I have already been feeling the blessings of prayer from others in my life and know that I will be seeking more of both.  I also feel that in the future when my children are processing their life before joining our family they will need prayer and support.  I hope that I can share Theophostic Prayer and all the healing it can do with them when the time comes.

And the most important thing that I am doing with this class is reading the Bible from Genesis through Revelation.  I have memorized many verses and read passages but never in my life have I started at the beginning heading to the end.  I have to say that I feel this is the most life changing part of the class so far for me.  I am getting to know God in a new way and it feels so good to know Him.  Through my study I feel that I am being a better teacher to my children and can help them grow in their relationship with Christ.

Please keep my class and myself in your prayers in the coming months.  They have begun to fundraise for the mission trip starting with a HUGE Garage sale and baked good sale, they will also be painting a house, selling meals after church service, baked sales, bizarres and anything else that comes up all the while learning all they can to minister to hurt people in a developing country.  God has big plans for them on this trip and I am so happy to help them as much as I can.  We all appreciate your prayers and support. 

Blessings to all!

Blessings

The last seven months have been such a busy time in our lives. Adjusting to life with two three year olds has had it's challenges but at the end of every day I feel totally blessed.

E is such a sensitive little guy. His feelings get hurt many times a day but in the end he puts a smile on his face and picks himself up. I admire his perseverence when the days get tough. I love how he tells me when we are laying down for the night that he missed me during the day and that he loves me. The love between a mother and her son is so different than I could have imagined.  He processes so much every day and you can see the hurts he carries around but he is working through it and I know it will be a work in progress for a long time to come.  He is really enjoying preschool and church and all the new people he meets.  I am very excited for him to learn more especially more about his Heavenly Father who keeps him in his love even before his mom could get there to hold her in his arms. 

M is a wonderful big sister.  She has her moments when she is a bit of a tyrant but overall she is very helpful and caring towards her brother.  It amazes many how much she thinks about her brother all the time and tries to protect him from others.  She is helping him learn and be active, introducing him to new things all the time.  She still talks about when we go to China to get her sister.  Although it won't be anytime soon, I pray that it is in our families future for us to make the journey to China again for a sister and maybe another brother.  If it is in our Makers plan then it will be and I know he has put adoption in all of our hearts.  M is very much daddy's girl.  She tells me daddy is her girl and she is daddy's girl, I am E's boy and E is mommy's boy.  It amazes me how her mind is always working and she is thinking things through.  Our old dog Aspen is showing his years and has had seizures lately.  Sunday it didn't look like he was going to make it.  Late on Sunday she asked if Aspen dies will he see her Jesus?  That was a really big concept for her to come up with and I am so happy that she is understanding more. 

These two are going to keep their parents hopping that is for sure but I couldn't feel more blessed to have been choosen to be their mother.  They are both mischievious and outgoing.  They show us the zest for life and how much we have to be grateful for every day.  I look foward every day to the new discoveries and the challenges they will encounter.  Thank you Father for the Blessings of our children.

How time flies by.....this is a long post

So much has happened this year. My mom and I left for China on January 27th to be united with E, leaving M home with daddy. We arrived home on February 12th, very tired and me sick with a cold. Thankfully, this trip was so different than the last trip, I didn't get sick until the day before we left. I really learned developed a love for China during this trip and can not wait to return again, whether for adoption or a heritage trip, I really miss it. Adjusting to life with a three year old and a nearly three year old has been an adventure and so much fun. We fall into bed each night exhausted but wouldn't trade it for anything. "Three" is turning out to be much harder than being two was with M, I actually came to the conclusion that it might be nice to get "three" done all at one time with both of them. Hopefully we will travel through the wondrous age of "three" with out sanity in tack.

We had our first injury trip to the ER on the Sunday after returning from China. M learned that it isn't a good idea to tap dance on the bar stool for your brother. She also learned that it is best not to pick glue off your chin after the doctor puts it on. On our second trip of the evening to the ER she ended getting stitches but the only thing that seemed to bother her was having her arms restrained for a second time. She managed over the next week to then pick out three out of six stitches before it was time to remove them. She has healed up quite well in spite of it all.

We took a trip to Salt Lake City to meet E's surgeon at the end of March and then E had surgery on April 21st. E has recovered very well from surgery and it appears at this time his correction was complete with one surgery. We couldn't have asked for more.

At the end of April daddy started having a sore back and ended up having emergency back surgery on Mother's Day weekend. He is now recovering with the help of a little physical therapy but overall doing really well. He had back surgery 11 years ago and I think he was amazed at how much different his recovery was this time.

Thankfully (knock on wood) M and mommy have been relatively healthy up to this point with some allergies and a couple colds. It really is quite amazing since we are the two with life long autoimmune disorders. M had one ITP treatment the day after I came home and has been doing very well since. Her platelets will drop for a short period of time but given a few days they seem to bounce up, higher than she has been since the diagnosis of ITP in May 2008. Another blessing is that it may be she is growing out of the ITP.

E and I took another trip to the ER today after he bonked his head at preschool. He scared his teacher pretty good when he passed out. We aren't sure if it was from the bonk or if was from crying so hard and holding his breath. Either way we were very concerned due to the possibility of malnutrition due to his very small size and the lack of a bump. I think my biggest worry was the missing goose egg so my fear was that he was getting one on the inside. The ER doctor said he was fine and that he could return to school so off we went but my cell phone didn't leave my side for the rest of the day. His teacher is worth gold, I don't know what we would do without her. She has been so loving and caring during his recovery from surgery and helping us through the complications when they came about. Now that he is nearly three he will be leaving her classroom to join M in the near future. M's teachers are great but I know he will miss her so much.

We still see a pile of specialists between the two of them so doctors appointments are a part of our daily life. The both seem to like the doctors so it has been nice that they are usually very agreeable to going. M gets a little upset these days when we see her hematologist for a quick check up and don't get to stay for some IVIG and lunch. Not too many people would love hospital food like she does. The know what a stethoscope is for as well as the otiscope. I have to wonder if we aren't raising two future doctors.

I know I have not been a good blogger but I hope to do better in the future, my blogger skills are non existent. Know that we seem to be getting a flow to life going I am looking forward to having some place to put my thoughts. I have never been one to journal but for whatever reason I feel the need now. Life is forever changing and my babies are growing up so I have so much to write about. Here are a few pictures of the last few months.

Time to start blogging

I started this blog shortly after returning from China. I put all the graphics in place, bookmarked my favorite blogs, etc. and then I stopped. Not because I didn't have something to say, I have two preschoolers so there is a lot to talk about but I was having trouble deciding what to blog about first. Today I have decided I need to get started.

"A Cup Quite Full" came to me after being home from China one week with our second child. It had been a busy week of doctors appointments and getting settled into family life. I was exhausted and was taking a break to read a short devotional and how fitting was it that it was about having a cup quite full. I sat and thought about my busy week and the wonderful blessings that I had been granted in my life; a marriage of over 15 years, two wonderful children brought to us through China adoption, a great job that I enjoy, an overall happy but hectic life. At that moment the busy week no longer mattered because I knew that my heart was full.