“Don't Ignore What's Going On! Do Something!”

So I was told something today that bothered me a little bit. I'm not upset at the person for saying it, but it made me realize how many more people are probably thinking the same thing,
“I try to pretend none of that is happening”.
I've been reading a few books that touch on orphans/AIDS/Africa. When this person saw the book on my table (“Scared” by Tom Davis) they said they couldn't read it followed by that statement many others are thinking as well “I try to pretend none of that is happening”.
STOP PRETENDING!!!! No matter how hard you try to block it out of your mind, it is happening.

The number of children in the world that have lost their mother or father, are parentless, or have been abandoned…now exceeds 143 million. In the past hour… 1,625 children were forced to live on the streets by the death or abuse of an adult. 1,667 children under the age of five died from malnutrition and vaccine-preventable diseases. 115 children became prostitutes. 66 children under 15 were infected with HIV. 257 children were orphaned because of HIV/AIDS. In just 1 hour, 1 hour! Most children are under the age of fifteen and are… Sleeping on concrete beds and rancid garbage piles every night – streets, sewers, dumps. Scavenging amongst human waste and excreta for rotting morsels and scraps to eat. Huffing glue and other substances in order to numb the cold, hunger, pain…and shame. Prostituting themselves for basic food and shelter. Trafficked and sold into sexual bondage, even at five years old and younger. Abused and brutalized by sexual predators, local gangs, corrupt police officers, and slum lords. Victimized by HIV/AIDS-infected men who believe that sleeping with young virgins can cure the disease. Recruited into lives of thievery, smuggling and drug dealing. Abducted to serve as child soldiers or the sex slaves of soldiers. Exploited as child laborers or slaves in sweatshops. Executed by local businessmen and officials who view them as a dirty pests interfering with trade and commerce. Sacrificed in occult/witchcraft rituals. Robbed of childhoods; Robbed of self esteem; Robbed of innocence; Robbed of hope. (statistics taken off of another website)

Go ahead try to ignore it, but it's not going to save all those children from what is going to happen to them. I'm not saying this as a perfect person who is doing all they can to help. I'm not! All these books are making me realize.... I'm doing nothing! Yes, Josh & I are in the middle of an adoption, but that will only help 1 or 2 of these orphans out of the over 143 million out there. We as Christians are called to love & care for the orphans, widows, the poor, & helpless. What are you doing to help? Maybe you're thinking, “Well people here in the states need help, too.” Ok, then what are you doing to help the orphans, widow, poor, & helpless people here in the states? Not everyone is called to adopt & that's ok because adoption isn't the answer to helping these children. There are tons of organizations out there that can help these children through your money. You can go on mission trips & find out that way what God is calling you to do. Just pray & listen to what God is telling you. Stop ignoring what is happening in this world & do something. You may be the only sign of Christ to 1 person, but it could make a difference in hundreds of others lives just by helping & loving that 1. It could be as easy as going without your Starbucks for a month & giving all that money to someone you know that needs it. Or as easy as picking up a man holding a sign that says “Why lie I need a beer” & bringing him to actually get one & telling him about our Savior. Ok, so I wouldn't suggest that to any woman out there, but you get what I'm saying. If you've been thinking about this already, but just don't know which organizations to go through to help, I have one in mind so just let me know & I'll point you to the right direction.
Stop pretending, because it's happening!!!!

Your Part of Adoption

I thought I would share one of the biggest encouragement throughout our adoption story, outside of the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

The faithful gifts of those who are called:
What do I mean by this? There is a strange way that many people have had a big part of our adoption and it is through prayer and listening. Listening to the prompting of God on their hearts. Throughout our journey we have had many times where we have felt down, discouraged, not sure what God is doing. However it seems that every time we get to this point, God sends someone. Someone who has listened to Gods prompting on their heart and gave of themselves to our child. Yesterday was one of those days.

The MT. Ahead:
We have a mountain size hurdle ahead of us, in the size of $15,000 before we can move on. Yesterday God sent someone to show us that God can and will do what He wants, when He wants. This blessing came in the form of a $2,000 gift. God proved that in one single moment He could take our $15,000 down to $13,000 and that we must trust Him for His provision.

Your Part:
Whereas prayer is needed I want to encourage you to also listen to God. Here are a couple questions to ask in prayer:
- Who can I bless with something this week?
- What do I have to give?
- How can I be apart of an adoption? More then just prayer maybe.
- How can I pray better for people adopting?
- How can I bless the fatherless, homeless, abandoned children of the world?
- Where can I cut back to help change the life of a child?
- Is God calling me to take someone into my home?

Once you ask make sure you listen for God’s answer. You may just be surprised by His answer.

Josh

A Little More Encouraged

So I received an email from our caseworker yesterday. He wanted to check in to see how we were doing & where we were at in the process. I was a little hesitant to email back since it's almost been a year since we started this whole process. I've completely stopped working further into our dossier. I guess, I stopped doing anything in a way of throwing myself since we still don't have the $ to further the process. I let him know that we still didn't have the money & that I was going to start all over with our dossier since all our docs were from a year ago..... He emailed back immediately & told me that Ethiopia has no expiration dates on their dossier docs. Praise God!!!!! This means I can keep ALL the docs that I have gathered already & that we will almost be done our dossier. Our wonderful notary will be coming to notarize the rest of our docs tonight & the end process will be completed tomorrow with authentication in Augusta!!! Our case worker has offered to look over our dossier as soon as we have it completed, which is a step they usually wait on til we have paid all our fees. Then off to D.C. it will go! It's still discouraging not having the $ to complete the rest of the process, but this has given me a little encouragement knowing that we will be a tiny bit closer & that we don't have to gather all the docs for the dossier all over again!!! Your continued prayers are greatly appreciated!!!
Anna

Not a very encouraging day....

We heard back from 2 grant agencies. One told us they weren't excepting applications anymore and the other one denied us. Needless to say I'm a little discouraged today. It's so frustrating to have all the money we need to complete everything except sending out our dossier to Ethiopia. I try to keep telling myself it will all be in His timing.......

Still Waiting :-/

We've been asked lately by quite a few people how the adoption is going. I'm happy to be asked, because hopefully that means we still have a few people praying for our process & our little one. It's still at a stand still. 2 or 3 of the grants we've applied for will be reviewed this month & next month. We're praying like crazy that we'll hear good things from them soon! We have only a few documents left in our dossier to get notarized then we can send it off to D.C. & we'll be heading to the USCIS office in the next few weeks for fingerprinting. We trust that this is all in God's timing. He will pull everything together when He knows we're ready.
Thank you very much for your continual prayers!
Anna

PRAISE GOD!!!! We received our home study in the mail yesterday!!! We, God willing, will head to Portland sometime this coming week to do our I-600 & start sending out our grant applications! It's so excited to be able to go a few steps closer to our new little one!!!

Home Study

I just got an email from our home study agency telling us the copy is in the mail today!!! That means we can start sending out our grant applications this coming week!!! Please pray that the grants will be successful!!!