The latest

Well everyone its been over 2 weeks since I posted so I thought I should get one out there. Its been a bit busy around here, we celebrated some sort of holiday, what was that again? Yes yes, it was CHRISTmas were we had a birthday party for Jesus. Our family had a wonderful time together going to Lisa's Mom's on CHRISTmas Eve and then to my Mom's on CHRISTmas day. My dad and my Stepmother came over with my Stepsister to our house on Christmas Eve early in the day as well. I love this time of year. I am off work until Jan 5th, my vacation started on CHRISTmas Eve. Have you noticed I like capitalizing CHRIST in CHRISTmas. It is after all about him isn't it?

We are having our in home interviews on Tues Jan 6th for our home study. We decided to install carpet and paint the living room which has needed new flooring for about 2 years. I am actually waiting for them to arrive to install as I type this post. We painted on Saturday, thanks to my Mom Laura for her help painting. We rushed all of our CHRISTmas decorations down the day after CHRISTmas knowing what was coming so its really been nuts around here. Right now all of our furniture is in the Kitchen and dining room area awaiting the installers. We did manage to leave a path to walk through so we can at least get to the sink and let the dog out on the deck.

Well I hope you all had a great CHRISTmas and will enjoy a Happy New Year.

God Bless

Greg's home study interview

I had my interview yesterday with Olga from the home study agency. It went well, was fairly short. My appointment was at 4pm, I set it up as late as possible in the day so I could leave work as late as I could. The agency however closes right at 5pm so the appointment only lasted about 55 minutes. Olga told me they lock the doors right at 5 and everyone has to be out. We spoke of my childhood, my parenting style, the motivation to adopt among other things. Next up is our in home meeting with the children included on Jan 6th. Olga told me she should have the home study completed by mid to late Feb. That will then allow us to apply for some grants as you have to have a completed home study to apply.

Candle fundraiser results

Well we sent in our order from all of the orders we received. We did not do as well as Lisa had hoped, but we ended up selling about $600 of candles which is not too shabby. We are going to end up making about $250 after the cost of candles, taxes and shipping are deducted. We march on little by little. If anyone has any ideas on other ways to do small fundraisers like this let us know.

Biometrics

Ya that's what I said, what is biometrics. Today Lisa and I went to Cleveland for this as part of the immigration work we have to do for our son or daughter. It is nothing more than a glorified fingerprinting. We went to the federal building and were actually in and out of there in about 20 minutes. I for one was amazed as I am not known for my praise of government entities. They took electronic pictures of each of our fingers, part of the time they take your fingers and sort of roll it back and forth to get a better picture I guess. I said to Lisa how boring of a job it would be to do that all day for people. The gentlemen who did it was friendly to us both. One more thing checked off our list.

Lisa's first homestudy interview

Lisa had her first interview for the home study last Friday. I will have mine this Friday. We have seperate interviews at the office of the agency followed by an in home interview with both of us and the kids. That is set for Jan 6th, wait until she sees our mob- haha.

Lisa enjoyed her time during the interview, the ladies name is Olga. She was born in Israel. Lisa really liked her and she felt as if Olga liked her as well. We travel to Cleveland on Wednesday to get fingerprinted for the immigration paperwork / process. It is looking like we will have our home study completed by the end of Jan. We have to pay a total of $2600 for these last 3 interviews and that will complete the cost involved with the homestudy. We believe we will have enough money to get through the next stage which we are partially in already, that is the dossier. It is about $2700 I believe. After that the cash we have will be exhausted. The next item is the biggest cost, around $9000 that goes to Holt and the Ethipoia governement. Once we get past that basically all we have left is the cost to travel which will be a few thousand dollars of course.

We are going on faith believing God will supply the need for what he has called us to do, please pray for us.

Interesting thought for Christians

Christians are often known more for what they are against than what they are for. If you ask the typical believer why the ancient city of Sodom was destroyed by God almost all would mention some form of wickedness that took place there. I saw something today though in the Bible that I had never seen before. I think it can speak to us as believers, especially American believers. It is found in the book of Ezekiel, here it is.

Eze 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Eze 16:50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

Interesting is it not that verse 49 speaks first of their pride, how they were full of bread and abundance, which led to idleness, yet with so much free time and resources they still did not meet the needs of the poor and needy! Verse 50 then speaks of their abominations (sins/wickedness).

Does this sound like the typical Christian today in America?

God says

PSA 10:14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.

Hos 14:3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

Jas 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Psa 68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.

Psa 82:3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Psa 146:9 The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

Pro 23:10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Pro 23:11 For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.

Exo 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
Exo 22:23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry;

Deu 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:
Deu 10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
Deu 10:19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

General update

Well the interviewing will begin this week for our homestudy. Lisa has her first interview this Friday, my first interview will be the following Friday. Then the agency will be coming to our home for the safety inspection and interviews with our 4 kids. That should be fun. We received our passports in the mail and we have sent out our immigration paperwork. Things are progressing. Also, I wanted to pass along a couple of blessings we received this past week. A couple from our church who are dear to us came up to Lisa and gave her a $300 check for our adoption. Then, another couple we are very close to gave us a $100 check for a $65 massage that was donated to us for the adoption. That is $400 in less than a week. God is faithful and he will provide! I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving. God Bless.

Small Fundraiser

We are having another small fundraiser right now. We are selling candles. Our goal is to sell $1500 which would raise $750 for us. We get 50% of the sales. These are the home interior candles that many people love. Scents like mulberry, baked apple pie etc etc. If you would like to help sell let us know, or if you would just like to buy some that would be great also. They make nice Christmas gifts.

Transformed by an orphan

We got this in an email today from Dennis Raineys ministry about orphans, I thought I would share it below:


At the orphanage, Karen tried to reach the somber little boy with a new toy, then another…and then candy, but nothing could penetrate his pain, nothing could make him smile. Then she saw his hands…little hands scarred from repeated burning.
Overwhelmed with emotion, she stole away to the van to quietly face her own pain at what she had seen. This is how she describes what happened next:
“I looked up and there was the boy with a missing smile . . . He extended his hands to me, his burned brown hands. I took my wipe and cleaned each of his precious palms . . . the language barrier crumbled as I was just a mom caring for a boy’s hand the way they should be cared for. It wasn’t the shoes, or the toy or candy . . . it was a simple act of love, and the boy who lost his smile, found it. He hugged me tight and called me Amiga . . . friend. The smile he gave me was more precious than any gift I had offered him . . . I had been transformed by an orphan; I was conquered by a smile.”

Felt like an orphan

Yesterday and today I went on a backpacking trip to the mountains in PA. The name of the trail I went on was Minister Creek. One of the things I like about backpacking is getting away from the world and just forgetting about daily struggles. I have always wanted to go on this type of a trip solo. The idea of going it alone and facing all the challenges a trip like this offers on your own is something that I wanted to accomplish. There is always a sense of completion/victory after a trip is over. To have faced the wilderness and survived, well without too many injuries that is-haha. Well day one was textbook, the weather was gorgeous, the trail was interesting and I made it to my campsite right on time. Day two, well it ended up that way but along the journey I faced the fear of being lost and alone. I guess you could say I felt like an orphan. Have you ever felt that way? See at one point of the trail there is another trail that runs along the same path, the North Country Scenic Trail. Right after the campsite I chose was a Y in the path. Both were blazed with white signs which is what Minister Creek's trail is designated by. The other has a blue blaze. Well to make a long story short, I was pretty sure I made the right choice, but I was not all that confident. Ever felt like that before, you press on but are fearful that your choice was wrong. My cell phone had died so I had no idea of what time it was, I just kept going, and hoping. Along the way God had one of his little friends show up to say hi to me, laugh if you want to but I felt it was him telling me it would be ok. See the picture of the deer below along with some other shots. After a long and tiring uphill climb I come to a larger area of very large boulders/cliffs. At this point I am getting worried big time. There was nothing on the trip information I got off the web about this. So naturally I begin to fear I took the wrong path. There was the overlook though I saw a sign about on day one. I kept telling myself this had to be it. Just when I get to the top, and begin to get excited thinking first I can breathe again, but more importantly I can find out if Im on the right path, the path begins to descend down into a huge cave like area that is part of this area. At that point I became almost convinced I was going the wrong way. I had to negotiate some rather tricky spots that I had never done before with a backpack strapped on to my back. I really began to worry. Would I have to turn back and go back the 3-4 miles just to begin again going the right way which would be another 3-4 miles. What time was it? Would my water get me back to the creek so I could filter some fresh water. Would it get dark before I made it? I knew rain was coming and it was cold. Would my wife Lisa freak out and send the green berets to look for me? I finally made it to the top and began on a flatter trail my heart and lungs very grateful I might add. I hear a sound and I begin to get excited again. It must be those road workers I saw at the parking area the day before working on the bridge. Keep in mind I saw no human life the entire time I was on the trail. I then was struck with fear as the trail began moving farther and farther away from the sound. Once again all I could think was I am on the wrong trail. Ahh, but then it happened, the trail turned and I began heading towards the sound. The more I walked the louder it became. Then suddenly there it was, the sign I saw the day before explaining how to get to the overlook. I was home free. I actually jumped for joy for a brief second before my newly formed manhood took over and I regained my macho hiking look- see bandana wrapped head in picture below.

Anyway, why am I telling you all about this crazy trip. Do you remember how I said I felt like an orphan. Could you relate to my sense of panic that I was dealing with when I felt I was lost on a mountain by myself. Imagine being all alone in the world, ALL THE TIME! Can you imagine the way a child feels without a family, heading who knows where and seemingly no one cares?

Have you ever felt like an orphan before?

What will you do to help one today?


Overlook area


The creek


Gods little friend he sent me


Part of the path


My campsite


One of several bridges


The conquering hero- notice the tired eyes!

Give me God's eyes

I love the song by Brandon Heath titled "Give me your eyes". It speaks to my heart for the children of the world without a mommy & a daddy. Part of the lyrics say "give me your arms for the broken hearted". Listen to the song and let God move your heart, see the world anew through his eyes. Here is the link- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGr8as7pPBE

The economy

Boy its looking tough everywhere you look for economic news these days. As I have been thinking about all of the news we are hearing these days, to be totally transparent with everyone it makes me worry just a bit about my family and the adoption we are right in the middle of. The thought of traveling over seas for a week to ten days in a potentially traumatized world, not to mention the concern for taking care of my family's financial needs has been wearing on me lately. The only thing I can say is that God has called us to this and he will provide the way through and beyond. Its times like these where God can grow faith if we let him. I know my faith needs to grow. I pray that God will continue to work on me in the days ahead. Pray for us guys!

Ethiopian Calendar / Clock

I saw this on the Ethiopian Embassy web site and thought it was interesting information. Here it is-

Ethiopian Time

The time in Ethiopia is eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the United States except during Daylight Savings Time in the United States, during which Ethiopian time is seven hours ahead.

The Ethiopian Calendar

While much of the world marks the passing of days according to the Gregorian calendar, Ethiopia has its own calendar, which is also known as the Ge'ez Calendar. Based upon the ancient Coptic Calendar, the Ethiopian Calendar is seven to eight years behind the Gregorian Calendar, owing to alternate calculations in determining the date of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus.

The Ethiopian Calendar has 12 months of 30 days each, plus five or six additional days (sometimes known as the 13th month), which are added at the end of the year to match the calendar to the solar cycle.

The year is currently 2000, according to the Ethiopian Calendar. Ethiopia celebrated the millennium at midnight on September 12, 2007. The year 2001 began in Ethiopia on September 11, 2008 of the Gregorian Calendar.

Ethiopian Calendar:	Gregorian Calendar:
Meskerem (New Year)	11 September - 10 October
Tikimt	11 October - 9 November
Hidar	10 November - 9 December
Tahsas	10 December - 8 January
Tir	9 January - 7 February
Yakatit	8 February - 9 March
Maggabit	10 March - 8 April
Miyazya	9 April - 8 May
Ginbot	9 May - 7 June
Sene	8 June - 7 July
Hamle	8 July - 6 August
Nehasa	7 August - 6 September
Pagume	6 - 10 September

Mowing em down

Well we are really cranking through the details that are all part of the requirements to adopt. This week we completed our CPR / AED training on Monday night, we got 3 hours closer to completing our parent training on Tues night, we had our water inspection yesterday and will get those results next week. Our house is ready for the fire inspection now that there are electronic gadgets all over our house- haha. Things are moving along.

Crazy days

Sorry its been a while since I posted, we are very busy. We are in the midst of our adoption training. The classes are really intense as they focus on foster parenting. We have seen some very sad movies about kids who have been abused and neglected. There are some neat people though who are sacrificing to help kids all over. We also have to get CPR and First Aid Training. We are getting CPR certified tonight actually, First Aid will be in a few weeks. We are having a fire inspection to our home this Friday. We installed 5 smoke alarms yesterday and we need 3 CO2 sensors, one for each floor of our home that we will purchase later this week. We also bought 2 fire extinguishers and an escape ladder for the upstairs area. We hope to be through all of the training by the end of October. Thanks again for everyone who helped with our auction and dinner. We are using the money we raised to get us through this training, and the main item is our home study which is $3000. Like the title of this post, we are in the midst of crazy days at the West home!

Fund raiser results

We had a great night last night with about 100 people or so that came to the dinner. Everyone seemed to have fun and enjoy the dinner and the auction. We had 149 of the 151 items bought. We raised $5,300 net from the dinner and auction. One of the really neat things that happened last night was some friends of ours who have been dating for a while, the man won the nicest auction item we had, a diamond / tanzanite ring during the live part of our auction. He then came to the middle of the crowd and asked for the microphone and proposed to her right in the middle of the auction. It was just one more example of how God is doing some special things through all of his work on our journey. We pray that he will continue to get the glory and to touch lives all around us. We thank everyone who came and who was involved. It was like getting married times 2 as I told some of our friends there last night. Wow was that a lot of work and so many people did so many things, we are truly grateful for all of you. Our prayer is that God will richly reward you for your acts of selfless love and sacrifice.

The day has arrived!

Well everyone its Friday September 12th, the day of the dinner / auction. We have so much work in front of us today, looking forward to it all coming together. We hope you all can make it out tonight and that you will be blessed with a great evening. We are SO thankful to all of you who helped make today possible. Tonight's program has a list of all the donors, I can't believe how long it is. It has been amazing how God has orchestrated all of this. Whenever we had a need, there someone was to help us along the way. People secured donations on their own, places that we had not already been to, then some of you made phone calls to places we had been to as follow up, and then all the creative people who helped make our signs, put together our baskets etc etc etc. We have 150 items to auction off tonight. Something for everyone. Pray for everything to go well tonight. God Bless you all. We will update within the next few days or so how everything turned out. Here we go......

Basket Mania

I have never seen so many baskets in my life! We are in the midst of craziness at our house. We are working like crazy trying to put together as many cool baskets of items for the auction. We have stuff everywhere. Many people have helped us. One of our friends friend put together about 19 baskets for us from our items and even some of her things. She was very creative and they look great. We now have more baskets and some other folks coming over Saturday to finalize everything hopefully. We have to have all of our items ready by Monday so we can get all the info over to our good friend who is publishing our program for the night. Somewhat stressful these days as the clock is ticking. Lisa and I have been on one another's nerves lately it seems as we have had a few arguments lately. We are just tired and stressed just a bit, but its all going to work out great. Once again we are overwhelmed by all of the people helping us. We are SO thankful for everything everyone is doing. Only 6 days left!

Teamwork

My wife Lisa and I have been amazed lately at how many people are involved in helping us bring our child home. We currently have about 70 places of business that have donated for the auction and we know of about 20 more that will be in the next few days. We have too many friends to count that are helping us. Its just been really inspiring to see everyone's hearts getting touched and getting involved. My wife has an idea and we are working on it now to make a blanket, the colors will be of the Ethiopian flag. She will be making it and we plan to have it at the dinner/auction. We have special markers made to write on cloth and we will be asking everyone who came to the dinner to eat, to participate in the auction, to help with the cooking, the tickets, the auction, the clean up etc etc to sign it. We want to give the blanket to our child so he or she will know how much they were loved, how many people sacrificed their time, their talent and their treasure to help rescue them from a life without a family. I think this idea is really a cool one. I hope to see you all there and watch you sign your names to the blanket. A legacy of love to share with one of God's children. Only 12 days left. Are you planning on being there??

Red letter day

Today was a great day. We had lots of positive things happen today for the dinner / auction. We were given a $30 gift card to a restaurant, a $25 gift card to a grocery store, 2 golf lessons from a pro valued at $30 each, about $45 in value of books from a book store, enough food to feed about 180 people for our rigatoni dinner and most likely will get the balance of the food donated from a friend of ours as well. All of this happened about a few hours apart. As I was driving home from collecting most of these items, I was thinking of how God is providing each day something positive. He keeps us encouraged with something new every day. I am reminded that his mercies are new every day and so is his generosity. He continues to grow all of our faith as we see him providing for our adoption. This was TOO big for us on our own, God had to be in it for it to work out and he is at work. When God shows up, he shows off.

Why

We have been asked why are we adopting so many times lately. I thought I would share this verse. It has become very special to me.

James 1:27

Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Did you notice that it says before God. It does not say before men.

Godcidence

Hello all,
Always in the midst of chaos, God is right here beside us: Planning for the fundraiser, running around to different businesses getting donations, trying to secure food donations, living life with two teenage boys and two younger girls, working a job, keeping the house presentable(most of the time) :)
Today I (Lisa) went to the park with the girls I babysit and my girls. I was pushing the twins on the swings and I recognized the lady right next to me. I had met her one time on a field trip for homeschooling families two or three years ago. I said to her "Isn't your husband in some kind of Christian ministry?" She said, "Yes, we were missionaries to Ethiopia". I was so excited to hear that. Isn't God amazing!! He meets us right where we are, and responds to us in the tiniest details. This lady said that she would be willing to teach us some words of the language of Ethiopia before we go over there. What an awesome God we serve and love.

Pride

I thought I would share some of my feelings as I have been running all over town asking for donations. Sometimes when I first get started its difficult. You get funny looks from people, you get some quick rejections and you feel like you should just give up. But we cant! We have to keep on asking and keep on working. I spent 2.5 hours tonight and I went to 20 different places asking for donations. Tonight we had 4 places graciously give. I guess when you do the math thats a pretty good %, but sometimes that old stubborn pride gets in the way and you dont want to deal with the rejection any more. I start thinking about what people are thinking of me as they hear me asking for the manager and then tell our story briefly. Sometimes, I wonder if they believe me. I am sure there are many con artists out there and I surely understand that. I just wish I could show them what I have seen and try to convince them of the great need for orphans all over the world. So we trudge on forgetting our silly pride and keep on asking without apology.

Iron Will

The other day we watched a movie that was from 1994 called Iron Will. Its one of those inspirational stories about a 17 year old boy who wins a dog sled race to save his families farm. Its really a good movie. As the story unfolds, the country unknown to Will learns of him through a newspaper reporter. The country begins to look to the young boy as a hero. One scene really impressed me. He is coming close to the end of the race that no one expected him to survive the first day of. He comes through a small town in Minnesota and the townspeople are lined up on the small main street of town and are cheering him with all sorts of fanfare. American flags are everywhere, bands are playing and people are everywhere cheering him. He is told of all that the nation has know of him for weeks and he is amazed. He is encouraged and he goes on. That reminded me of how God has encourages us during this giant project of adoption we have going. It seems like whenever the obstacles become too large, whenever our courage waivers, whenever we cant see our way through, whenever we think there are too many tickets to sell, too many forms to copy and mail in, too many people to ask for donations for the auction, something small hits and we go on. Like yesterday. I emailed a sports talk show I have listened to for years, and within a few hours the host graciously emailed back telling us how he would be helping, or like today when some friends went door to door selling tickets and one lady bought 2 tickets but then donated an extra $10 just to help our cause. Its all of these little things that really helps us to keep on working. To not give up.

God is an ontime God isnt he! He knows when his kids need some encouragement.

Olympic Teams

Last night my wife and some friends of ours watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics. Before it started we walked around in my neighborhood and sold tickets for the adoption. We only had about 30 minutes to do this as we wanted to get back and watch the event. We went to maybe 10 homes in the time we had. Not one home said no to buying a ticket. A few said come back today or next weekend but no one said no thanks. One house purchased 4, another 3. In the short time we had we sold 14 tickets. As I have thought about that, I have been amazed at folks generosity, their willingness to help. We have several friends selling tickets for us, donating themselves, volunteering their time for the night of the fund raiser etc etc. This is really a team effort and I am proud to know their is so much love and desire to help out there.

As I watched the ceremony the time came to see all of the worlds athletes nation by nation walk out into the stadium. As I waited to see the U.S. team, I found myself anxiously waiting to see the Ethiopian team as well. My vision for others I have found has grown during this adoption process. I think God is pleased when we begin to realize that our little circle in the world, is not the only place where God is working and where his love is. Isnt it comforting to know that God loves all the little children of the world, red and yellow black and white, they are precious in his sight!

Steven Curtis Chapman Family

Tonight my wife and I watched Larry King Live which had the Chapman family on. They told the story of the tragic loss of one of the 3 daughters they adopted from China. It was very moving. What an incredible family they are. I was struck by one particular thing. The son who accidentally ran over his sister, was asked by Larry had the family helped him make it through. He said very much so, but he specifically spoke of his brother Caleb who was right there right after the accident. He said all he wanted to do was run away, get away from the scene of the accident but Caleb ran him down tackling him. He held him down and hugged on him telling him everything was going to be ok. I thought of how much that is like God. When we think we have hit rock bottom, he will run after us and hold onto us telling us everything will be ok. The only question is will we let him. Will we listen to his loving plea or will we continue to run away in our shame. Wow, what a testimony this family has. If you have the chance, watch this program.

My 2 sons

I am very proud of my 2 boys. They are both on a missions trip in the Bahamas this week. They are both working at the Y as swim instructors and life guards and they both chose to use their own money to pay for the trip. We gave them both some money and there was some donations that helped but they both used somewhere in the area of $700-800 of their own hard earned money to pay for the trip. I hope that they come away from this trip understanding how much God has blessed them and begin to develop a heart for those less fortunate throughout the world. As I have shared before here on the blog a missions trip I took to the Dominican Republic back in 2005 planted a seed that in part brought about the fruit of the adoption we are pursuing now. Here is a picture of a drama my youngest son Christian is a part of. He is the one with the Love banner hanging on him. The youth group at our church has a website where you can read about what the group is doing on the trip and see other photos. The site is, http://www.connect316.com/ .

Am I a good enough Daddy

Sometimes I wonder if I will be a good enough Daddy to our new son or daughter. Yes I already have 4 kids, my oldest is 17, my youngest is almost 10. When I watch some of the videos from other families adoptions, I see and wonder, am I good enough to do this? Do I have the fatherly skills I should have? Do I love enough? I am just being honest with the thoughts I sometimes have. I know that God will provide all that is needed, and he will provide just when it is needed, he is an on time God. But just occasionally I begin to doubt. Isn't that human nature. I hate that part of my personality. One thing I know for sure though. I aint turnin back! God has called us to share his love, and thats what we are going to do. I also believe that our new child is only going to make us better parents. He or she will teach us so much more about ourselves, our world and God himself. I chose the name adoption journey as part of our blogs title purposely. It has already been and continues to be just that. A wonderful journey.

Anticipation is making me wait

Now that we have so much activity going on with the home study, the fund raiser etc., I am finding that I am losing patience. I want to get everything done yesterday. I have a new found sense of respect for those families who have already lived the process of adoption knowing now what I do of all that is involved. I remember that old ketchup commercial where the thickness of the ketchup would make the one wanting it on their sandwich go nuts waiting for it to drop onto the bun below. I used to always laugh at that commercial. Isn't it funny how things like this come back to our minds when we encounter these types of situations. Can you hear the song in your mind, " Anticipation is making me wait". We have a friend who has said many times over the past months it's gonna be great when we get our new son or daughter home. I for one, just cant wait to look on him or her for the first time and tell them about God who planted the seed of love for them in our families heart. I look forward to the day when you all get to meet him or her as well.

Save the date

We now have our official date for our fundraiser dinner / auction. It will be Friday night @ 6pm on September 12. It will be held at The Akron Baptist Temple, we will be using fellowship hall. We will be offering a pasta type dinner and plan to have a fun night of activities including a silent auction as well as a verbal offering for those real competive souls-haha. If anyone would like to participate let us know. We are looking for any and all types of donations that can be auctioned for that night. We plan to visit many local business in hopes of securing some neat items for everyone to try and win at the auction. Please tell everyone you can about this and if anyone has any donations let us know. We want this to be a great night for everyone involved. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts in advance for everyones participation.

The latest

We have had internet connectivity problems for the past several days, it was fixed today. In between the last post and now we received our packet of information on the process from Holt. Wow that book is thick. Much to learn Yoda says we have. Our home study orientation is also now set for July 31. Things are starting to get exciting. Just cant wait to meet our new son or daughter. I cant wait to introduce him/her to all of you. Can you imagine the moment?

The process

We received a packet of information from Holt yesterday. I thought I would share the specifics of the process with everyone. The main steps are-

- Family applies to program ( we have done this)
- Home study is reviewed by Holt and approved for country ( we have chosen the agency for our home study but thats it so far)
- Family files I600A immigration form
- Dossier is prepared by family and sent to Holt (family can compile dossier while simultaneously waiting for I171H approval)
- Program staff review dossier and obtain state certifications
Holt forwards Dossier to the U.S. Sate Dept & the Ethiopian Embassy for authentication
- Dossier is forwarded to Ethiopia representative in Addis Ababa who has a dossier translated and prepared for court
- Child is referred to family
- Paperwork is submitted to Ethiopian court
- Court order is issued, subsequently the birht certificate is issued
- Child is issued visa and ready to travel
- You receive information on post placement requirements and schedules
- Once we return home to the U.S. we will finalize the adoption here in the U.S.
- The last step is to naturalize our child as a U.S. citizen

These are the main steps of the process according to Holt. Obviously all of this takes time. Please pray for us as we begin all of the work involved in this that it would go smoothly.

Quails, Gas Prices & Faith

As I have watched the news for the past several months about the economy here in the U.S. and all over the world for that matter, I have thought about all of the costs involved with adopting. Of course our biggest obstacle right now is the up front funds, but then it will be years of caring for our new son/s or daughter/s. Just driving my girls now to softball every night of the week is quite the expense with the gas prices what they are. I have pondered the wisdom in all that we are pursuing, should we really be doing this. We have 4 children already, etc etc, you fill in the rest, you get the picture.

The other night my wife and I were at calling hours for one of our dear friends who's mother just passed away. We sat in the back of the room just wanting to be there for support for the family. I think just being there is a comfort, we dont always have to have something to say to share our love and care. Well while there, a few ladies from the church were sitting with us. They were asking questions about the adoption etc. One of the ladies spoke up and said something like, " I just dont know where all that money is going to come from". I was struck by those words, how little our God is to us all at times. How we lack faith that he will provide for what he has called us to do. Of course, we need to make sure its him that is doing the calling. I for one sometimes think he is calling me to buy a new motorcycle, after all I could minister to the biker crowd right? Haha.

This all leads me to what I read today. I decided some months back I wanted to read through the Bible and simply treat it like a novel. I typically stop and do all sorts of cross reference checks etc and it becomes more of a deep study. While that is good, I really wanted to read it all through without that sort of study. I finished the New Testament first and now I am in the Old Testament. I was reading today in Numbers. I believe I read chapters 9-11 today. I love how the Bible is filled with stories that can teach us so much today. In chapter 11 the Israelites have begun to complain. They are in the wilderness after being set free from slavery in Egypt. God is providing them with a bread like food called manna every day but they want more. They were used to meat and other things that they ate in Egypt. Isnt it funny how we are just like them. We get enslaved in some struggle/sin in our lives and we think its satisfying us. Anyway, God decides he is going to provide them with some meat. Lets pick up the story in Numbers chapter 11 verse 21, God has just told Moses the peoples leader he will provide meat for all of the people. Listen in-

21 And Moses said, “The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?” 23 And the LORD said to Moses, “Has the LORD’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”

Lets skip down to verse 31-

31 Now a wind went out from the LORD, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. 32 And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.

Isnt this amazing. Picture this scene in your minds eye. God uses a great wind and brings quail from the sea and drops them all over the camp of the Israelites. Could you imaging what that was like? Do you see how God provides for his people? Do you realize we are just like those Israelites? God loves us and cares for us just as much as he did them. We are just as special to God as they were! So just remember the next time you begin to doubt God, that he will take care of his own.

One last question- Is Gods arm to short to reach your need?

Here we go!

Well I wanted to update everyone on where we stand. We received a prelimnary approval from a home study agency here in Ohio that works with Holt International. We believe we will be approved to adopt. We have mailed in our application to Holt. We are off and running once again. Please keep us in your prayers, we will have much to do in the coming months. Lots of paperwork, fund raising etc etc. I cant wait! God bless you all and please please keep us in your prayers.

The innocence of childhood

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my daughter recently gave me an ipod shuffle that I have fallen in love with. I download for free podcasts and have it loaded with all sorts of music. Many of the songs I added are songs from when I was but a wee lad. Its funny how just hearing certain songs can take me right back in my mind to my childhood. The absence of so many worries and resposibilities we all have as adults. The freedom to pursue every day only fun. Make new friends, experience new things. There is just something about the innocence we feel as children.

I recently added a photo of the exterior of my home to my desktop pc at work. I noticed the first few times when I went to my desktop to open a program or find a file, how that picture made me feel secure, safe, a place to go and leave all of the world behind. It made me want to leave work and go home to see my lovely wife and the great kids I love so much. I have so many blessings.

As I have been thinking about these 2 thoughts the past few days I have wondered what it is like to be an orphan. Your parents dead, or having been given away to be cared for by strangers by your parents. What it must be like for them to make it through each day. When they grow to be adults, assuming they even live that long, I wonder what memories they will have of their childhood. Will songs or certain smells or holidays bring back a rush of beautiful memories. Will they have this deposit of love imparted to their souls to help them get by the tough times. Will they have memories of loving parents sharing with them how much they love them but even more important how much God loves them. Its thoughts like these that continue to motivate me to adopt. I want to be able to give the types of memories that I have to my new son/s or daughter/s. I want them to know they were loved by our family, but as I said even more so, that a loving God cares for them.

If you get the chance today, spend some time remembering all the blessings in your life and pray for an orphan somewhere in the world. We are so blessed arent we?

The joys of life

Tonight we went to the end of the year celebration at the small Christian School our oldest 3 kids attend. Our youngest is still home schooled by my wife Lisa. As I watched my 3 kids with their friends, I began to realize how quickly life passes us by. My oldest is 17, he will be graduating next year. I cant believe how swiftly the years have flown by. My sons went out after the celebration with their friends to dinner and possibly a movie. My daughters are home with us now, but they are not alone. They brought with them 4 girls from the school. I have 6 young girls and my wife in the house right now. I have escaped to my room to type this on the computer but just a few moments ago, upon my return from getting pizza for this gang, I was in the living room just listening to all of the ruckus in the dining room. There is something very beautiful about the laughter of 6 little girls, its contagious. I found myself laughing just listening to them having fun, celebrating their friendship and the end of the school year. As I thought about this, I started to think about the joys in life. How the simple things are so fullfilling. How if we just open our minds and our hearts just a little more each day to all the wonder God has surrounded us with, how much deeper and richer our lives would be. I cant wait to one day in the not to far off future, enjoy the laughter of my new son/s or daughter/s as they have their friends over for some pizza and an end of the school year party. I long for the day where they wont be worried about where their next bit of food will come from, or to be faced with another day with no Mommy or Daddy there to love them. I want them to be able to sit back, and like I was tonight, simply be thankful for the joys in life!

Motives

This weekend I was blessed to go on a weekend backpacking trip with my buddy John and his two cousins. It was in Southern Ohio about 40 miles south of Zanesville. The trail name was Wildcat Hollow. It was a 15 mile loop trail. We expected from what we heard the trail to be somewhat moderate and easier than others. We were wrong. We walked through quite a bit of mud which really helps to slow you down and tire you out quicker. There were parts of the trail that were overgrown with quite a bit of overgrown bushes etc. There were downed trees all over the trail where we had to climb over and crawl under. There was one particular part where 2 trees had gone down. One was high and one was low but they were right next to each other. After watching 2 of the guys maneuver around and under with their 40# packs on their backs, and seeing them getting stuck in between the 2 trees, and mind you these guys were much smaller than I, I decided I was going to get on my knees and crawl. Guess what I had to crawl through, you guessed it, mud. I survived and found myself laughing at what I had just done. Sometime later the trail became much tougher with several steep sections to climb. Now mind you, Im not talking about Mount Everest here, but for 4 out of shape weekend warriors it was a killer. After finally making it up the last of this grueling section we found ourselves in a beautiful area of pine trees with very soft pine needles all over the ground. It didnt take long for each of us to realize we needed to swallow our pride and drop our packs. I have found that backpacking is good to humble oneself. After about 1 minute, all 4 of us were prostrate on the ground sucking frantically for oxygen. I gathered myself a few minutes later to find enough strength to get my water bottle and drink the last of my water supply and layed back down. We layed there for about 30-45 minutes. After a while it became one of those neat experiences that makes backpaking worthwhile. I layed there under a large pine and looked up at the beautiful blue sky. One of the other guys said something like "now this is what its all about". We finally gathered enough strength to set out again. We had traveled at that point on our second day about 8 miles and we still had 2-3 miles left. About 1 hour later we found ourselves on the homestretch. One of the guys started talking about how he is always reminded of his mortality when he goes on these challenging trips. He started musing as we approached the trailhead that we should have someone there to applaud us for what we had just accomplished. As a group we started talking about how it feels to push ourselves and accomplish something like this ( ok ok I know its not like we just saved the planet). There is a sense of adventure to go on one of these trips and it does feel good to make it through. After just a few brief moments we found ourselves at the end of the trail. Another hiker who was sitting by his tent at a site right at the front began asking us how we did and we explained it to him. How we had started late the first day and only managed to get in 4-5 miles and that we had gone the remaining 10-11 miles the last day. He looks at us and says, " good job guys". We thanked him and walked away laughing to ourselves at how we had just talked about someone praising us for our efforts. As I have thought about that moment today, I could not stop thinking about wanting to hear when I get to heaven, "well done thou good and faithful servant" from my King. And I pondered all the reasons I do the things I do. What is my real motive? Do I desire the praise of others around me or do I simply wish to do those things that will please my God? Yes I mean my God. He is mine and I am his. You know, its not necessarily what things we do, sometimes its a better question to ask why do we do the things we do? Even something as wonderful as adoption is, something so near and dear to the heart of God as the care of orphans, if you do these things for the wrong reasons, ask yourself why. Do you think you can work your way into Gods good standing? Do you think you can earn your ticket to paradise? Please let me beg you to rest in the arms of God and he will carry you home. Its only by his son Jesus who died for me and you, to take our place for all the wrong we do, and yes that even includes good things for wrong reasons, that we can find ourselves one day hearing those words, "well done thou good and faithful servant". Do you want to hear those words? I have heard it said, that for a child of God, one of the most critical things to always do, is to examine your motives. So make sure you are following after the praise of the one who gave you life and sustains it, not all of us around you who are made out of the same dust of the ground as you are.

Food crisis in Ethiopia

I saw this link on another families blog, please read this and pray for the people, especially the helpless children in need of Ethiopia.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-05-18-voa15.cfm

Whats $50?

I was thinking tonight about the value of $50. My daughter Charity won an Ipod shuffle in church today. She was one of 7 kids that had perfect attendance over a period of time and all 7 names went into a drawing and her name was chosen. She told me today they cost about $50 now that they have dropped in price. She has a ipod already that her grandma gave her for Christmas. She chose to give me this ipod for an early Fathers day present. I have been wanting an ipod for sometime but I could not justify the expense in my mind. I have really been thinking a lot about money and what we choose to do with it. I was watching the other night a world vision show about the condition of orphans in Africa. One paricular child worked for an entire week and was payed only $1. Week after week she would only make that $1. I began thinking tonight as I walked in my neighborhood listening to my new ipod, how rich I am. This ipod was given to me by my daughter. The expense of it would be equal to that little orphan girl who would have to work about 1 full year to make the equivalent amount of money. Also this weekend my wife and I bought used beds for our girls at a neigborhood yard sale. We were able to get 2 beds and 2 mattresses for, yes you guessed it $50. Yes we were frugal, yes we were good stewards to invest in these beds, but thats not my focus of this post. Its just about how much we all have, how easy our lives really are in relation to most of the world. So the next time you spend $50 on something, try to be thankful for all that you have, think of that orphan girl I just told you about, and do what you can to help others around you.

I saw what I saw

Here is another video for you all to watch. I found it on youtube tonight. For those of you who have been reading the blog the song will be familiar. Its set to a video for another adoptive family who adopted from Ethiopia. I liked it and wanted to post it for you all to enjoy.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=vEnWk9kjZlU&feature=related

Off and running again

Well very good news everyone. We were informed yesterday by a local home study agency in North Canton, that we are a go to adopt. They are an agency that works with Holt International and that is who we are choosing to go with now. I had contacted them a few weeks ago asking specific questions about our status. They sent us a financial form which we filled out and sent back into them. The news yesterday was that our financial status will not prevent us from adopting from Ethiopia as we so desired to do as we felt led by God. The next step will be to send in an official application and begin the home study work. Please continue to pray for us as we embark on our exciting journey again.

To your mission be true

I dont have much to say today, I am tired after spending 6 hours watching 3 different softball games for my 2 daughters. I am going to go to bed and read some before I go to sleep. I did want to tell you what I was impressed with today by God at my church. We were singing an old hymn and these words were part of the song. I immediately wrote them down on my church bulletin as a reminder to myself but I thought I would share them with all of you. The words were:

Be a helper to the helpless,
To your mission be true.

They were seperated by another line but I did not get that down in time. I think these words are what God wanted me to remember anyway. So this is what I plan on doing. I want to help an orphan from Ethiopia who can not help themselves. And I intend to, with Gods help, to be true to the mission he has given me. I was asked this morning by a dear sweet older brother at church how things were going and I said ok. He asked if things were on schedule and I said more or less. I told him that its going to slow as far as what my schedule would be like, but that I was on Gods much better schedule that I dont always understand. And thats ok. After all, he is God and I am just one of his children.

What I know of God

I just watched for probably the 20th time the Sara Groves video I have linked to an earlier post. Its her song titled " I saw what I saw". As I listened to it yet again, I was struck this time with the words "what I know of God". Ask yourself this question. Dont rush right past the thought, dwell on this thought provoking question. What do you know of God. Is he a stranger in your heart who only comes to visit like a distant relative on a holiday? What do you know really of God? Are your thoughts and ideas of who God is formed by some book you read, some movie you saw or some experience in your life. Sure all of these things can teach us about God. But why not dig deeper. Ask him to show himself to you in a deeper way. He wont let you down. He wants to do great things in your life, talk to him, read his book, he will lead you to all sorts of incredible jouneys like the one our family is on to adopt. You may even find some day that he has led you to meet your new son or daughter, perhaps through the local foster care program, perhaps from a far away land. Know that he loves you and he died for you. You know why, he wants to get to know you more and more each day.

Be transparent

I have been thinking a lot about the blog lately. How its almost like writing in a private journal and then letting anyone who wants to read it. Sometimes I wonder if I have shared too much. Should I hold back, maybe not tell so many of the details such as how we were originally rejected by one agency. I dont think so. I think its very important to just live open and transparent lives. There are way too many people living with a mask on pretending to be ok. They hide their pain. I am reminded of the song my wife used to sing at the church we grew up in. Seeing her heart come through in this song was one of the reasons I fell in love with her. Its a song titled "People need the Lord". Here is the part I was thinking of:

Everyday they pass me by,
I can see it in their eye.
Empty people filled with care,
Headed who knows where?

On they go through private pain,
Living fear to fear.
Laughter hides their silent cries,
Only Jesus hears.

People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams, He's the open door.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
When will we realize -- people need the Lord?

Private pain. I wonder how often we suffer alone because our pride makes us suffer in silence. So I am going to keep on sharing. I want to be real. Our church has a new theme. Real hope for real people living in a real world. Thats what I want to be, just real.

What does faith look like?

Today was one of those great days. I decided to look into other agencies and found a list of 19 that also works with Ethiopia. I emailed all 19 of them explaining our situation and the fact that we were denied for now from Childrens Hope International. We have already received 8-10 responses and 5-6 of them have already stated we would most likely be a go with their agency and another 2-3 said its possible. So needless to say I am once again very excited. Please pray for us as we consider which one to go with.

Tonight I went on a few more hikes. I have been doing 2-3 a day as I am trying to lose weight and also get into backpacking shape for a possible weekend getaway soon. I have loved my time in the woods. Well tonight I decided on my last hike to take my bible and stop midway by the pond area and read for a bit. I am reading through the old testament and am in Genesis. I finished the new testament a few weeks ago. Tonight I came to the story of Jacob and how he wrestled with God all night. I kind of related in my mind to that sense of perservering before God. Begging him to intercede. I believe he is doing that now for us. To be honest, I am somewhat afraid to totally let go again, I am afraid of the pain I felt these past few days, but my hope is stirred once again.

Speaking of Hope, let me tell you about my daughter Hope. I titled this post, "What does faith look like". Tonight when I came home she had a hand made card she had made for me. She did not know anything about the good news we heard today but she did know of the rejection from last week. One day a few days ago she and I went for a walk by our house and I told her of what happened. The front of the card said to Daddy from Hope. She drew several hearts for a border all around it. On the inside there is a big heart with I love you in it on both sides of the heart. The really neat part is at the bottom of the card. She drew pictures of all 6 of our family. Mom is saying "bless you all", Daddy is saying "thank you so much". There is a woman holding a baby who is saying "here is your baby from Ethiopia", there is another person sitting at what she called the front desk. My son Christian is saying "this is great", my son Josh is saying " I love babies", my daughter Charity is saying " Go Ethiopia" and Hope herself is saying "It is baby time". Now that is what faith looks like. She is only 9 years old and she taught her Daddy, who is 42 a lesson in faith today. I hope she has taught you as well. And to think, I was most worried about how she would feel about adoption when this all began. She is the baby of the family, she loves the idea that she is the little one in the house. I wondered how she would take to the idea of losing that status of being the baby. I guess I found out didnt I!

It's all right to dream again!

I am home on vacation today. I posted about 60 minutes ago or so the last message "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord". I am about to leave and go on a hike a friend at work told me about that has a waterfalls. Before I leave I have to share this with you all. I just finished a book by my favorite author, Max Lucado. It is titled 3:16. Its all about the famous verse John 3:16 that is shown on signs at sporting events etc. I had just a few pages to read to finish it. Last night I started to read it but then my wife and I started talking so I put it down. Today I read the last 10 pages or so. This is one of those moments where God shows up and he shows off. Its like my wife said last night, God can raise us up from the ashes. Anyway, I came to page 199 of the book. The last section of the book is designed to be a 40 day devotional but I have just read through them quickly to get the book back to my friend who I borrowed it from. I am just going to type in the section from the book so here it is.

Day 33

Two thieves - Two Choices

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Rom 8:1

Ever wonder why there were two crosses next to Christ? Why not six or ten? Ever wonder why Jesus was in the center? Why not on the far right or the far left? Could it be that the two crosses on the hill symbolize one of God's greates gifts? The gift of choice.

The two criminals have so much in common. Convicted by the same system. Condemned to death. Surrounded by the same crowd. Equally close to the same Jesus. In fact, they begin with the same sarcasm: "The two criminals also said cruel things to Jesus" Matt 27:44

But one changed. "He said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. "Jesus said to him, I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" Luke 23:42-43.

Think about the thief who repented. Though we know little about him, we know this: He made some bad mistakes in life. He chose the wrong crowd, the wrong morals, the wrong behavior. But would you consider his life a waste? Is he spending eternity reaping the fruit of all the bad choices he made? No, just the opposite. He is enjoying the fruit of the one good choice he made. In the end all his bad choices were redeemed by a solitary good one.

You've made some bad choices in life, haven't you? You look back over your life and say, "If only... if only I could make up for those bad choices." You can. One good choice for eternity offsets a thousand bad ones on earth.

The choice is yours.

End

As I read those words and thought of what I had just typed in the blog about as for me and my house we will serve the Lord, I realized I had made a choice. A choice to believe God, to not give up, to keep the faith. How about you? Have you made your choice for eternity? Have you given up on God?

So I kept reading the book, tears now beginning to stream down my face as God was lovingly encouraging me. I then came to page 207 and I realized God was all over me this morning. Here is what it said.

Day 37

It's all right to dream again

"As the new day was dawning..." Matt 28:1

Mary, the mother of James, and Mary Magdalene have come to the tomb to place warm oils on a cold body and bid farewell to the one man who gave them reason to their hopes.

The women think they are alone. They aren't. They think their journey is unnoticed. They are wrong. God knows. And he has a surprise waiting for them.

"An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away from the entrance" Matt 28:2

Why did the angel move the stone? For whom did he roll away the rock? For Jesus? That's what I have always thought. But think about it. Did the stone have to be removed in order for Jesus to exit? Did God have to help? Was the death conqueror so weak that he couldn't push away the rock?

I don;t think so. The text gives the impression that Jesus was already out when the stone was moved! For whom, then, was the stone moved?

Listen to what the angel says: "Come and see the place where his body was" verse 6

The stone was moved-not for Jesus-but for the women; not so Jesus could come out, but so the women could see in!

Mary looks at Mary Magdalene, and Mary is grinning the same grin she had when the bread and fish kept coming out of the basket. Suddenly it's all right to dream again.

"Go quickly and tell his followers, Jesus has risen from the dead. He is going into Galilee ahead of you, and you will see him there," verse 7

Mary and Mary dont have to be told twice. They turn and start running to Jerusalem. The darkness is gone. The sun is up. The Son is out.

End

Did you see it. Lucado said its ok to dream again. I chose to believe God, to keep the faith, and he reassured me. Its ok to dream again!

As for me and my house we will serve the Lord

Well everyone, I dont quite know how to say this so I am just going to say it. Our agency has rejected our application due to financial reasons. Ethiopia has specific guidelines along with the agency and we do not meet them at this time. We may be able to pursue another country, possibly another agency, possibly domestic, we just dont know for sure right now.

I have to tell you I felt like a truck ran over me yesterday when I heard the news. Anna from the agency was so very kind all through the process. I was moved by the last email she sent to me, at the end of it she said to not let anyone steal our dream, if God has called us he will make a way. Yesterday was a tough day to make through to be honest. All sorts of emotions and doubts began running through my mind. Was God really in all of this? How could this happen. I spoke with several of my friends and they all said not to give up. They all tried to encourage me but I think it was like grieving. One of my friends said I had to go through the process. I told my wife last night I felt like one of my children had died. I dont know if any of that makes sense to you but the emotion was deep and very painful.

You know when you are going through something like this, and everyone in your world says things to you to encourage you? People tend to think they have to say something. I especially appreciated my friend at work. He came to my office after I emailed him to pray for me. He just sat there with a deep look of compassion on his face and listened. I would speak a little and be still for a few minutes. Then I would say something else. He just listened. He taught me something on how just being there for someone, without all the answers so called, can really minister to you. I hope to practice that more often. This is not to say there are not times we need to use words of wisdom with those who are hurting, perhaps just use a few less.

Whats next for us you might be asking? I honestly dont know. We are going to pray and seek God's guiding. Please pray for us to know which direction to go. As Anna told me, the DREAM IS NOT DEAD!

The last thing I want to share with you is what my wife told me last night. She said that maybe God wanted to see if I would listen to his heart in all of this. As I have said before, my plan was that our family was complete. Four kids after all is not too shabby? Right? But he had other plans for us. I know he changed my heart. The hard part for me yesterday was thinking through all of this. How could God have led me all this way only to have it end like this. Then Lisa gave me this thought. So I want all of you to know, that as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. No matter what he leads us through, no matter what emotions we have to spend, no matter if we can see the path and where it all leads, we will follow him!

Obstacles 4/15/2008

Sometimes in life we come to a place where something stands in our way, something that we cant seem to find a way around. I have come to that place now. I dont want to share the specifics but please pray for us as we have encountered a potential problem that could end our dream of adoption or at least delay it significantly. I am trusting God to work through all of the details involved and I am trying to believe it will all work out. Isnt it tough at times like this to see your way clear. I have read of other families adoption journeys and of their ups and downs, frankly until now it has mostly been a high for me as things seemed to just be going as planned. This pothole is a big one though so please pray fervently for us. Sorry its been a few days since I posted, to be honest I didnt know what to say. All I know is that God is good all the time, all the time God is good!

Sin Eater 4/11/2008

I just finished watching the movie titled "The Last Sin Eater", it was to me a great movie. The thing that I want to share some of you will think is strange, but Im going to share it anyway. First, do yourself a favor and rent this movie. We borrowed it from the local library so check there first to save a few bucks. While your at it check out a few good books and read them. Anyway, the thing I wanted to share is this. My wife was at the church tonight for a christian comedian with her friend. Her friend bought her a ticket and invited her to the event. My oldest daughter was spending the night with grandma, my boys were working at the YMCA. So I was blessed to go out on a date with my youngest daughter, being that she is only 9 she was a cheap date. She was also easy to please so Daddy, the last of the big spenders, took her to that fine place for dining, Wendy's. Hey cut me some slack, it was her choice! Anyway, after dinner we ran around a bit and then came home to watch the movie. We had it all set up and was just ready to hit play on the dvd player and the phone rang. It was the boys. My son left his lights on again and they needed a jump. Of course the jumper cables are in the van sitting at the church. Ok ok, I know I should have a set in my car too. So my daughter and I turn off the dvd and drive to the church. We drive around the church parking lot looking for our van, the place was packed with cars. Does the humor of this scene stand out to you as it did to me driving in circles in my own church's parking lot? We finally found the van and took it along with the cables leaving the mult-colored car door vehicle known as Daddys ride. See earlier post. We go to the Y jump the car and all go home. So there we all are watching the movie together which for us is a miracle in itself. No drum leesons, no video games, no other distractions, just the 4 of us watching the movie. The movie was really really good. I wont give the movie away, but some of you can guess by the title. Anyway, at the end of the movie it hits me. I tell the boys now I know why their car needed a jump. God wanted us to watch this movie together, the boys would have missed it otherwise. And he wanted to remind me that he is in control, even when something bad like a broken down car comes into my life. You see, when we cant trace his hand we must learn to trust his heart. The message of the movie is powerful, and I think God wanted to remind my teenagers about him and his love for them. Again, I dont want to give the movie away, just watch it.

I love when God does little things like this. Some of you are thinking this is silly. Some reject the entire notion of a loving God so involved in our lives. I for one know that he cares about even the smallest of details in our lives. He cares about the orphans all over the world that are lonely tonight and are broken hearted. He burdens the heart of crazy people like me to go and find one of his lost sheep in a far away land. He cares about the hurt your feeling maybe right now as you read these words. And yes, he even cares about the entertainment options of two teenagers who just happen to need to be reminded like the rest of us, that God does love them!

Can God use you? 4/9/2008

This link is to a cool site that has many videos that are used often for teaching and preaching illustrations. I found this one tonight. My friend who has been encouraging me lately has been talking to me about Gideon and what God did through him. This video touches on Gideon. Its message is that God can do great things through us for his glory. Do you really believe he can use you? Enjoy- http://www.bluefishtv.com/ProductDetails.aspx?cid=1005&id=2167&f=s2a&cc=1016&csc=0&ldr=0&s=

3/8/2008

Do you ever really think about your fears? Do you consider all the areas of your life where it holds you back? I went on another hike tonight. I took my daughter Charity and also my sister in laws foster child Patrick. Patrick is 17. We went to a hike by a river with quite strong rapids. We walked along the river for a while and we noticed off in the distance 3 men on kayaks. We watched for a while and then marched on. We came to the end of the trail and was faced with the decision to turn back, or climb the very steep hill to a trail above. Since we were all in adventerous moods we went for it. As we climbed about 1/2 way to the top we stopped and looked back and noticed that one of the men in the kayaks had fallen out. The other two were trying to secure his boat and their floundering friend. We watched but then pressed on. The climb became more treacherous the higher we went. The ground was covered with leaves and the ground below was somewhat muddy and slippery. For a moment I thought to myself what did I get these kids into. There was that bit of fear that creeps into our minds and we doubt whether we should go forward or turn back. We ended up making it of course and were once again on solid ground. As we walked back we decided to go back down towards the river, this time on the steps provided by the path. We ended up catching up with the men on the kayaks. The one who had turned over still looked shaken and weary. He and one of the others decided to walk down the shore carrying their kayaks. As we were leaving the park, I was thinking of how important it is for me as a parent to expose my kids to moments like we had on that hill. To face our fears and keep on moving forward. Sometimes our boats are gonna turn over and were going to get wet. Its not always going to work out perfectly as we planned. If we just refuse to quit though, just keep on forging forward, sooner or later were gonna get back on flat land, back on the path.

Today for me was one of those bad days. You know, days of doubt and worry. Days where your faith is weak and you want to give up. It seems its not Gods plan to always show me everything he is working on right now. He is the director and I just have to trust him. I must play my role and trust that he is putting together all of the other scenes even if I dont understand his plan. All I do know is that God is working, I cant see all that he is doing, but I know he is working. Bottom line, dont let fear hold you back, just put your trust in him and he will guide you. Dont give up, keep on believing!

4/6/2008

You know one thing that I really love about children, its how innocent they are. Today after church I took my 2 daughters and their cousin who came home with us to spend the night to Wendy's for lunch. Mom is away for the weekend and so I took them to a place where someone other than me could cook for them! Lord knows I cant cook. Anyway, I digress. We are sitting there and of course we pray before we eat. After the prayer we started talking about praying and how we shut our eyes when we do pray. We talked about how we dont really have to shut our eyes when we pray. One of the kids said, "You know when we talk with someone, we dont shut our eyes". Isnt that just what prayer is, just talking to God. It was just a simple conversation that lasted about 5-10 minutes. I noticed however there was an older gentlemen sitting nearby who seemed to be listening to the kids and I talk. I started thinking about what he was thinking of what we were saying. In the middle of that moment, I realized that the kids were oblivious to the knowledge that we had a watchful ear nearby listening in on us. I wondered if there was something I should try to say to "spiritualize" if you will the conversation. I love though how the kids were just being who they were, innocently talking about talking to God without any thought of anything around us. Dont we as adults often temper our behavior based upon our audience? Have we ever failed to share God with someone because we were afraid of how they would view us? For today I think Im gonna try to be like a big ole kid again and just forget that I am an adult. I think Im going to have some fun, love on those around me when I can, and just live free today. Just be innocent again. Why dont you try that too.

4/5/2008 # 2

I found this on a UNICEF site. This will help describe the situation in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia: Steady increase in street children orphaned by AIDS

14-year-old Mandefro Kassa lives on the streets of Bahr Dar, Ethiopia. The country counts one of the largest populations of orphans in the world: 13 per cent of children are missing one or both parents.
By Indrias Getachew

BAHR DAR, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, 20 January 2006 – “The street has been my home since I can remember. It’s been more than one year since I moved here (Bahr Dar) and all this time, I have not seen one good thing about living on the street. Everything is horrible,” says 14-year-old Mandefro Kassa, who grew up as an orphan on the streets of Woreta, a provincial town in Ethiopia. Ethiopia counts one of the largest populations of orphans in the world: 13 per cent of children throughout the country are missing one or both parents. This represents an estimated 4.6 million children – 800,000 of whom were orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The country has seen a steady increase in the number of children becoming orphaned because of AIDS. In the past, famine, conflict and other diseases were the main factors that claimed the lives of parents.
Street children are continuously exposed to various forms of exploitation, including sexual exploitation. They do not have access to basic rights such as access to proper care, education, psychological support and supervision.

Grim statistics

Many street children like Mandefro don’t have access to basic rights such as proper care, education, psychological support and supervision. Often, orphans and other vulnerable children are forced to work to earn an income. They are exposed to various forms of exploitation, including sexual exploitation. In Addis Ababa more than 30 per cent of girls aged 10-14 are not living with their parents. Twenty per cent of these 30 per cent have run away from child marriages. Twelve per cent of adolescents aged 10-14 – of the 30 per cent not living with their parents – surveyed in two areas of Addis Ababa were domestic workers. They are very young, very vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, and typically have no legal or social support. In the Amhara region, the average age of marriage for girls is 14, while at the national level the mean age for marriage is 17. There are about 2.5 million children with disabilities.

No social net for vulnerable children. Very few government services help orphans. The primary coping strategy for communities has therefore been the extended family. Increasingly, however, the capacity of the extended family to support the growing numbers of orphans is declining.
“As more and more parents die, the capacity of the extended family to take care of orphans becomes smaller and smaller,” says Björn Ljungqvist, UNICEF Representative in Ethiopia. “In all countries where you have a big HIV/AIDS epidemic, at first you don’t see any orphans at all, as they are absorbed by the traditional systems. And then all of a sudden you seem to reach some type of breaking point and you start finding these children in the streets, you start finding them working in difficult conditions, you start finding even child-headed households.”

UNICEF, in partnership with local HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Offices as well as government ministries, is responding to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children in Ethiopia through collaboration with NGOs, youth and community-based organizations.
UNICEF engaged in helping children affected by HIV/AIDS
UNICEF is supporting the rights of children affected by HIV. This includes efforts to alleviate the personal and social impact of the pandemic by ensuring comprehensive care and support to children and families affected by HIV and AIDS.
Strategies include:
strengthening the capacity of extended families,
mobilizing and strengthening community and home-based responses,
strengthening the capacity of children and young people to meet their own needs,
ensuring the government protects the most vulnerable children and provides essential policies and services,
creating an enabling environment for HIV and AIDS-affected children and their families.

UNICEF is also trying to reduce children’s vulnerability to HIV by ensuring that they have access to their right to health, education, equality and protection. Children have become the most vulnerable and most prone group to be infected with HIV. This is particularly true of adolescent girls and young women – those aged 15-24 – who constitute between 40 and 50 per cent of all new infections.

Key partnerships

UNICEF, in partnership with federal and regional HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Offices, as well as government ministries, is responding to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children in Ethiopia through collaborations with non-governmental organizations, and youth and community-based organizations.
There are around 10,000 Anti-AIDS Clubs in the country, and UNICEF Ethiopia sees these partnerships as the most efficient way to reach children who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.
Sabine Dolan contributed to this report from New York.
(here is the link to this story- http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_30783.html)

I once remember thinking in my own mind when it would consider the plight of the poor in other countries that it was too far away for me to do anything about. That there was enough problems here in our own country. I was like the treasure seeker in the Titanic movie, after hearing the story of the lady and all she had went through, afterwords when he was talking to her granddaughter, he told her that all the time he spent looking for the necklace from the movie, that he never "let it in". That is the story, the suffering, the loss of life involved when the titanic went down. Thats how I was with stories of some far away place like Ethiopia. It was easier for me to keep my focus on my middle class pursuit of happiness than to "let it in".

Then God showed up. Want to know how you can tell if God shows up. Things start changing. Like today. I went on a hike with my friend John and his cousin Chris to Virginia Kendall, both of them are backpackers. John turned me onto it last year. He took me on my first trip in Oct and I was immediately hooked. I cant wait to go again. In fact I have seen stories of adoptive families hiking in Ethiopia when they travel to get their child. Hey we could save some money right- haha. After the hike we went up to Appalachian Outfitters which is right up the road from where we hiked. As I walked around and saw so many things I could use for hiking / backpacking all I could think of was the adoption. I could not find a place to run to in my mind where I escaped the thought of the adoption. I soon stepped outside and just waited for the other guys to come out. I still have a passion to go backpacking and I will be able to go on a few weekend trips I am sure, its just that God has changed the priority of my heart. You see, I was finished with having children. As you know we have four kids. As we have 2 girls and 2 boys, everyone has a brother and everyone has a sister so there should be no complaints right. I was done. Like I said though, when God shows up things change.

Our pastor started a series last week he titled " I-change". It is a spoof on IPODs. Its all about how we need to change. You know while that can be challenging to us, isnt it also hopeful. Dont we all deep down really want to make changes. Dont most of us know, if we are really honest with ourselves, that we have holes in our life. Our pastor gave us a devotional he developed and we were to begin going through it this week. On page 4 he offers a series of 20 possible issues we may struggle with in our lives. We were to inventory our lives against this list. I checked off 8 of them as areas I need to work on. The one God is really impressing on me right now is overeating. I have been burdened by this sin in my life for some time. I have been trying to work on it for quite some time. This past week I have a renewed sense of comittment to it again. I have gone on a hike every day now for 8 days. You see we all struggle with something. You might be wondering why I would share something like this on the blog about adoption. I just want you all to know that we are like everyone else. God is not finished with us yet. He is still pruning us sometimes on a daily basis. I for one am glad. It gives me hope to know that God loves me and is working on me. Many people have an image of God of a school teacher with a ruler cracking our knuckles. Sort of a cosmic killjoy if you will. God is not like that. Everything he does he does for our benefit. Its up to us to react properly.

Well I think I have rambled enough for tonight. Until next time, goodnight.

4/5/2008

My son suggested I add a picture of my multi-color door to the blog so I thought I would take his advice. I also took a photo of the exterior of our home so everyone can sort of visualize what a house looks like where crazy people live- haha. Without further ado, here are the photos for your viewing pleasure. One more thing, if you like the house it is for sell. It will only cost you $1,000,000. That will leave us then with $980,000 to become missionairies to Ethiopia! Just kidding, its not for sale, although your investment would have brought you eternal dividends. My wife says I like change too much, we cant move again for at least a lifetime from now, that is unless God tells us to. Ok ok, I will shut up and add the photos. Have a great Saturday.

4/3/2008

I love how through all of this process God is teaching me new lessons all the time. Since we opened our adoption fund I have found myself logging on to the account 3-4 times a day. I told myself that I had to make sure that I kept the blog up with any new donations that came in. I know I know, its just a rationalization. Anyway, my wife Lisa has been on me to stop doing it but I just could not stop taking a peek. Well day after day there was no changes. Once I took all the change we have been throwing in a jar at home along with the donations my kids made tot he bank just to be able to look at a new number online in our account! Well, I finally gave up and did not look for 1 whole day- haha. Guess what, I looked today and someone donated $20.00. I know its not a huge donation, but it did encourage me nonetheless. (note the fund raiser thermometer change). Its always interesting to see God working. He waited until I stopped trying to, I guess in a way, control things by looking at it all day every day. Once I did he orchestrated a donation to make me laugh, teach me and encourage me all in one. So whoever gave that $20.00 thanks! You really brought great value with it. Isnt that just like God though, he takes what little we give and he multiplies it. We dont have to have it all together or have all the ability to do something for him. He just wants us to be willing to go along for the ride, then he ripples the water and provides the rapids that speed us along our way. I love that about him. I guess theres always that fine line between letting go and letting God, but also making sure we do our part. I just want to make sure I strike a healthy balance with all of this.

To keep everyone up to date, we are working on a benefit dinner and possibly an auction to have hopefully late May or in June. We are not sure where it will be yet or all the details but we will update the blog once we finalize all of those details.

3/30/2008

Tonight my family watched a video we own. It was "End of the Spear" which is a true story of 5 missionairies who gave their lives trying to win to Christ a native tribe in Ecuador. If you have not watched the movie, rent it, buy it, borrow it, check it out of the library, just watch it. It is an amazing story of forgiveness and Gods power to overcome. At then end of the movie, the narrator, who is a son of one of the 5 who died, was speaking about his families loss over the years. This story was all over the world news at the time it happened. He said people could always understand and relate to their loss, but they could never understand all they gained. I dont want to give the movie away so I wont say much more than that, but you have to see this movie, please!

As I was thinking about the movie after it was over, I thought of what others might be thinking about us during this adoption journey we are on. I think many will be able to understand all that our child that waits for us, will gain by coming into our family. A place to be loved, to be held, prayed over, laugh alongside with, to be told about the God of the bible who loves them and who died for them so that they may live. I dont think everyone will be able to understand how much my family will gain from this however. God has already begun changing me in many ways. My heart is so tender right now. I know our children are going to be so blessed by their new brother or sister. I think all of our faith will grow by leaps and bounds. To see life as God sees it. To recognize and meet the needs of others. I am so excited to see all that God has for us I can hardly wait to see it unfold.

The christian life is such a parodox. The more we give the more we get. I dont mean that in the sense of dollar for dollar to say it bluntly. Oh no, its not about things. But I would not change what God has done in me these past 6-8 weeks for a mound of gold! So look to our Lord, listen to him.

Yesterday I went on a hike, I ended up by myself as my boys decided to stay home. I went to a park that is fairly isoloated by a pond. I sat there in silence for about 20 minutes, listening to the birds, watching the geese fly in and out. I sat there and I heard God in his still small voice whisper to me, be still and know that I am God. Dont we get so busy we forget to listen to him. When our problems seem to overtake us, shouldnt we run to him. Why do we forget the one who wants to carry our burdens. Lets put our trust in him and dont forget, a life lived and used up for him is a life richly blessed indeed!

3/29/2008 #3

Maybe you can tell that I am home with nothing much to do. So I think I will make this last post and take my sons on a hike. It looks great outside. But, before I do, I thought I would share one more thought with you, at least until after the hike- haha. Here it is. Are you thinking about giving up, quitting, going back. I have to confess, sometimes I cant see the way through all thats involved with this adoption journey we are on. But I am not turning back. Here are a few pictures to demonstrate what I mean. After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words right?

Can you see it. I took this picture in Ann Arbor Michigan. I was sitting watching the Ohio State vs Michigan game. My beloved Buckeyes we down, 21-19 with 47 seconds left on the clock. I was sitting right in the middle of some season ticket holders for Michigan. Talk about being surrounded by naysayers! Ask yourself why I took this picture, really think about it. Now look at this picture.

Do you see it. The score with no time left on the clock. Ohio State 25, Michigan 21. Those Buckeyes never gave up did they? And they won. Now go back to my question, why did I take that picture of the scoreboard when Ohio State was losing. Because I was expecting a victory. I wanted one of those before and after pictures to remind me of what happened that day. See, God doesnt want us to give up. He is there for us. One of my favorite verses in the bible speaks to this. It is Phillipian chapter 1, verse 6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Man I love that verse. I love how its God who began the good work. Not anything we have done. And its God who will finish it. So dont give up, keep on fighting, remember its a marathon not a sprint. And thanks for letting me finally figure out a way to include a bit of sports into this blog. Things were getting a little too serious in here anyway. Im just glad he let me use a Buckeye thumping of that team up north in this illustration. Isnt God good!

Go Buckeyes!