1 week left

Only one week left until our plane takes off in Cleveland. This time next week we will be in New York City for a 10 hour layover. We hope to be able to see a few quick sites as neither of us have ever been to New York. We had wanted to see the Statue of Liberty but our flight arrives at JFK around 105pm and the last Ferry leaves at 2pm. We have been told we wont have time to make it there so we are not sure what we will get to see. We both cant believe we are so close to meeting our daughter. We cant wait...

2 weeks left

I cant believe in less than 2 weeks we will be in Ethiopia. It is so amazing to ponder all that God has given and shown these past almost 2 years. We will arrive on Thursday Jan 7th. A friend told us that is the day they celebrate Christmas in Ethiopia, isnt that neat. I am hoping we get to meet our daughter that day so we can always say it was on Christmas day!

Here is a sign my friend just finished making for us for Christmas decorations in our front yard. I have always wanted something like this. Consider its message this year as you rush through the season.

We booked our flights

Well I just booked our flights for our trip to bring home our daughter. Wow that sounds good! We leave on Tues Jan 5th and fly to New York City. Then on to Dubais where we overnight, then on to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Our return flights are just in reverse order. Long flights on our horizon and the end of this part of our journey. The really JOYous part of our journey to begin soon. I cant wait for all of you to meet her! God is so good.

Also I wanted to share a blessing. I was at lunch today and saw my Uncle, I told him of our trip and after we said our goodbyes, he ran outside and flagged our car down, he gave me $200 to help with our trip! Showers of blessings keep falling. God always provides the way doesnt he.

Travel date

We just received word from our agency, we must arrive in Ethiopia on Thursday Jan 7th, we can leave Ethiopia no sooner than Thursday Jan 14th. We should be home with our new daughter by Mid Jan. We are so excited! As the magician in the Christmas classic "Frosty the Snowman" said, we are going to be "busy busy busy" these next few weeks. Pray for our travel and the transition for Joy and our family! Its gonna be great!

This just in

We were emailed today from our agency in regards to our court results from last Thursday. Here is what they said-


"Dear Greg and Lisa,

Congratulations! We have just been informed by our staff that your court case was approved in Ethiopia!

When our staff in Ethiopia informs us of your visa appointment date, (we only receive 2 of these per month), we will contact you with travel dates!



Cheers, "

We are officially approved!!!!!

Court Date

Well today is our court date in Ethiopia. Its already 6pm over there so its already decided. We should hear in a week or so the outcome. We are going to Africa!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We are very thankful for all of you and for all of the blessings God has given us, especially our new daughter Joy. Many of you if not all of you have helped make our adoption journey possible. We will never be able to put into words eloquently enough, to express how grateful we truly are. As we are nearing the part of our journey where we will be traveling to Africa, wow I thought I would never say that about Lisa and I, to meet our daughter and begin a lifetime of loving her, I want to ask all of you to pause for a few moments this holiday. Consider how truly blessed you are, and as you sit down with loved ones to eat your Thanksgiving Feast, reflect on those around the world who have very little to nothing to eat any day let alone a day like today. What can you, no, what will you do to help. God Bless!

Guidebook updates

When we began this process about 20 months ago now or so, we received a thick book from our agency called the guidebook. It has everything in it about the adoption process. Many things have changed since the time we were sent the book and yesterday I looked online at the latest version. We found a few changes to consider. Some minor some which will make us think a little deeper. For one, the place to stay now has changed from the Hilton in Addis Ababa to the Union Hotel and Apartments. Another new item is we have to have a travel conference call with our agency I guess to make sure we understand all of the many details etc. Also some of the information given about the proper dress code etc has been amended slightly. The biggest and neatest item is the agency now offers a trip to Durame to see where our kids grew up and even possibly to meet the family of our daughter. I think the trip is like 3 hours away from the capital but I am not sure. Lisa and I have to decide if we want to go on the trip first, which you can do even if the family meeting is not an option, and then also if we want to meet them. I am pretty sure we will want to do both but it is something like $200 to go on the trip so we will weigh it with all the other factors. I think we would like to meet the family if possible, could be hard emotionally but long term it would be best for our daughter we feel. Pray Gods will for all of these details works out as he would want it to and of course for safe travels etc.

Court date

We received an email the other day from our agency. Last word we had about 2-3 weeks ago was that the courts were delayed and we should expect a wait of 4-5 months to travel over and bring Joy home. The email we received said our court date is set for Dec 3!.Apparently somehow we were blessed to move up the list somehow, its not done in order apparently from what the agency said. It still may be delayed and we still may have to wait but right now its looking like we should travel in Jan, however we are holding out hope to travel in Dec to have her home for Christmas. Lisa is really excited and hoping for yet another miracle!

Joy's room

We finished painting and decorating Joy's room. Here is a photo. We are very excited for her to come home!

Vaccinations for travel

Lisa went yesterday to the health department to get her shots for the trip over to Ethiopia. It was $250! I could not believe it. She even has to go back in a month for more and could be another $200 or so. I still have to make my appointment but I think some of these I wont have to worry about as I had some in 2005 when I went to the Dominican Republic on a missions trip. Just so many things you have to do to adopt!

Waiting

Well we are officially in the waiting stage. I dont like it! haha We found out after speaking with the agency last night that the Ethiopian Courts are backed up. They said we should not expect to travel for 4-5 months, so looks like Feb Mar April timeframe. Like I said, I dont like it. We are keeping busy painting Joy's bedroom and getting it decorated etc. It looks great so far. Will try to post pics once we have it done. Did I mention we are waiting...

Overjoyed about Joy

I have at times found it difficult to sleep when experiencing difficulty or sadness. Recently, with the loss of my Father there have been times, especially those first few days and weeks, that I would wake and immediately begin to think about my Dad. Several times I ended up just getting up for a while, sometimes returning to bed sometimes not. Last Friday, after the anonymous donor gave us the $4000 and we had all we needed, basically, for the adoption including travel, I experienced something new. I woke up Saturday morning around 5am and was simply overjoyed. I was so thrilled and in awe of God and what he had taken us through, I simply could not sleep. I got up and studied some, checked ESPN for scores etc. The very same thing happened Sunday morning as well, only this time it was 330am. Words can not adequately express the thankful hearts that we have for all of you that prayed, helped and gave. And of course most importantly we are in awe and overwhelmed that God moved so amazingly and so quickly to help us. We are simply OVERJOYED ABOUT JOY!

God is faithful

I stumbled by an old email a friend of mine sent me on March 26, 2008 when we were just beginning our adoption journey when we were faced with raising $20,000 we did not have. Its words were prophetic. Listen to what she said, and try to trust God for whatever your going through yourself. God is faithful!

"It's going to be awesome to watch how God works to raise those few measly thousand dollars. That is NOTHING to Him...but I guarantee it is going to be awesome to watch. I know I'M looking forward to it!! God knows your hearts, and I truly believe he is going to RICHLY reward you for your faithfulness! The neat thing about having to raise that much money is going to be all the people it is going to involve in one way or another. If you just had the money sitting around, or if someone donated all of it, you wouldn't get to see God at work. I know I've given you this analogy before, but I still think back to Gideon. God purposely dwindled his army down to nothing so they would KNOW it was God winning the battle. In addition, God is going to touch hundreds of lives through you along the way...just like the teller at the bank...and countless others who are watching you will never know about!! While the endgame is going to be beautiful, the journey along the way is going to be incredible!!!! Enjoy watching the scenery on the way!!!"

Its a miracle

Wow I have so much to tell everyone I cant believe it. For now Im going to just post a quick note as we have been so hectic with activity and my head is still spinning. We raised $3014 at our fundraiser dinner on Thursday night. This was enough along with the match to pay our final program fee to the agency. All that was left was the travel expenses. To make a long but beautiful story short, I went to the the bank Friday to make a deposit in our adoption account and someone had made a $4000 deposit that very day! You should have seen the joy all over me right there in the bank. The teller was laughing the other tellers were all looking. It was one of the most special moments of my life honestly. God showed up and showed off again. To God be all the glory. God is not broke, he owns everything and he loves so much that he even payed the way for a young orphan girl thousands of miles away to come home to her mommy and daddy and brothers and sisters. I just cant wait to see my wife holding her and kissing her. I cant wait to see my kids playing with her. God moved and many of you listened, words will never be able to express the joy and love we feel. Thank you all for every prayer offered, every donation made, every encouraging word along the way. God is so good!!

Recent $ activity

The last few days things have been going well with all sorts of activity. We had the food for the dinner completely payed for by an unknown donor. We received today a check in the mail for $250. We sold a donated sink base for $50 1 hour ago. A coworker had a friend who said they could not attend the dinner but they wanted to donate $15. A friend donated his handyman services and he gave us $20 plus he made another $25 that we are to receive at the end of the week. We sold a donated pool cleaner for $20. A lady at church gave us $40 on Sunday. Saturday we received a new item that we will auction at the dinner. It has a $200 value and is new in the box. Another friend at church donated an Omar Vizquel signed baseball we will auction at the dinner. Another friend gave us $17. My son Josh is as I type this mowing a lawn for someone to earn some money. We had another dining room table donated for us to sell last evening. Just all sorts of activity. God is moving. I remember wanting a year and a half ago to find a donor who would just pay the whole fee so we could just not have to worry and work so hard but I love how God is so much wiser. He is using so many people in so many ways it is so neat. God knows what he is doing!

The Surbarnanite article

Here is the link to the online version-

http://www.thesuburbanite.com/news/x576536165/A-bundle-of-Joy

Akron Childrens Hospital

I spoke today with Dr. Ellen Kempf who is a doctor that specializes in international kids. Our pediatrician contacted her when he reviewed Joy's information that was sent to us by Holt. It just happens to turn out that she is leaving for Ethiopia with Holt this Monday and will be in country for 12 days. She said she actually may be able to see Joy while she is there. She is traveling with the CEO of Holt on this trip along with her husband who is also a doctor and a few other people. She was really a neat lady, I could hear her passion for kids in her voice. She shared how she had traveled to many other countries before on similar trips. She is going to give our contact information to a family in Hartville near us that has adopted a daughter and son from Ethiopia already and are in the process of adopting twins as well. It will be neat to make new friends who will be able to answer many of our questions. God is really putting together all the pieces of the puzzle for us. This is exciting.

Donated items for sale

We have several items for sale that we have placed adds on Craigslist from things people have donated. We have a desk for $35, light wood entertainment center for $35, a dual bathroom sink fixture brand new for $65, a used Aqua bug pool cleaner for $45, a tiger picture from Home Interiors for $35, a new lighted Coke sign for $35, Wood Captains Bed with 8 drawers and 2 cubbies along with a nearly new mattress for $175, a Queen sized Quilt made with over $300 of materials brand new just finished for $500, a used black entertainment center for $20, a King sized used quilt purchased for $250 a few years ago for $50, a Thomasville oversized chair purchased 4 years ago at Wayside for only $75, and a wooden rocker for $50. If anyone is interested let us know. As you can see we are busy working on raising funds anyway we can.

The Suburbanite Article

It was in this past Sundays paper, Sept 27th. I have not seen it online yet, don't know if it will be online eventually or not. I purchased 5 copies of the paper last evening at a grocery store. The article was very long, it covered 2 pages and shared our story nicely. Our account at Charter One was mentioned as well as next weeks fundraiser dinner. It feels affirming to see God getting our story which is nothing more than his story as well as our need out. We pray that people will be moved by God to give. The title of the article is " A bundle of Joy".

Telling Joy about you

I just finished watching the recent Hannah Montana movie with my family, ok please dont tell anyone or they will take my man card! As I was listening to the main song about the climb and the struggles we have I thought of all we have gone through on our adoption journey. In my mind I began thinking of many of you, all the money, the time, the prayers, the words of encouragement, the acts of service etc etc. I started thinking about Joy and years from now telling her all of your stories. Like today, we received a $40 check from someone I dont even know that Lisa knows only a little. I cant wait to sit her on my lap and tell her of all the amazing people who loved a little girl they never even met enough to give and give and give. I cant wait to see the smile on her face as she begins to think about all of the people who made it possible for her to come home. Most importantly I cant wait to tell her of a God who moved in all of our hearts to show how much he Loves us all. Even an unknown orphan thousand of miles away.

Donation Update

We wanted to give everyone an update of how we are doing. We had posted how God came through with perfect timing as he provided the last $505 we needed for the dossier fee. That was on a Wednesday, that Friday 2 days later we received $200 from one donor, then on Saturday we received $100 in the mail, Sunday $100 cash at church in the morning and then another $200 later that night. We were told by one of our donors that they had heard a recent challenge to "pay it forward" as in the movie with the same title. This donor had been given $5 to give to someone and they were to pray who God wanted them to pay it forward to. They gave the $5 bill in an envelope along with a check for $195! I think I liked the $5 even more than the check for $195. We love hearing how God moves in the hearts of his people. We love how God is using so many people to help us bring Joy home. Sure in my mind I think it would be nice to have one big check, but somehow its very exciting to see God using many of his children to care for one of his precious orphan kids from far away. We are SO thankful and touched by everyone who is helping us. We have also been given several items to sell for the adoption as well. A nice wooden bed with drawers in it along with a nice mattress, a entertainment center, a cedar chest, a quilt that has over $300 in material alone in it. God is moving, please keep on praying for us. Also, please pray for our travel and that all would go well with the adjustment for Joy with her new Mommy & Daddy. Wow that sounds so good!

The Suburbanite

We have a friend who is a journalist for the Suburbanite, she is writing a news piece about our adoption journey. It will be in the paper most likely next week. We will pass on the link when we get it for all to read. She plans on putting the fundraiser info in the piece as well as listing our West Family Adoption Fund we opened at Charter One. Anyone can go in and donate at any Charter One in the area and just mention our fund by name. We hope this article brings many people to the fundraiser as well as donations to our account.

Fundraiser

Mark your calendars for Thursday night Oct 8th, 6-830pm at the Akron Baptist Temple 2324 Manchester Road, Akron Ohio. It will be a dinner and we may have some other interesting and fun things planned for the night. We really need many people to come and donate to our cause, we are nearing the end of our journey, we are so close, we just need a little bit more help.

God's blessings!

As Greg said in the last posting, it's crunch time. We were going to mail in only what we have, and we told them that we would have the rest of the 2,800 by next Friday. God is soooooo good. As of tonight, we only needed $505.17 left to pay that entire fee. Well, tonight, we received a check for $500.00!!!! Isn't God great!! We told the agency that if they would give us a deadline, then God would meet it. We have no doubts about that. This is God's plan, he started it, and he's going to have to make it happen. We've done our part on all the paperwork, and now it's time to watch God work. We have no doubts that God is going to bring our baby home soon!!! Thank you all for praying for us, and please continue to do so. We have two fundraisers coming up in the month of October, and possibly two more in the month of November. God is good, all the time!!!

Crunch time

We are officially in crunch time. We will be mailing in the $2100 or so we still have in funds towards the $2800 or so dossier fee along with the mound of dossier paperwork this week. The agency is sending us the paperwork to sign for the official acceptance of our little Joy. Here comes the crunch time, we also have to send a payment plan to them explaining when we will make the payments for the program fee, its going to be something like $3000 every 4 weeks or so until its payed off, then we have the final cost of travel. Please pray hard and give if you can. We will be in a local newspaper soon as well as one of our friends writes for it and will be doing a story on our journey. God is working. We can almost feel her in our arms, looking forward to seeing all of you holding her as well.

LIllibet-Joy West

Before we ever decided to adopt, I (Lisa) had been praying to have more children. I put it in God's hands and let him decide if we would have any more. I knew that God was bigger than a vasectomy. I actually picked out names for this unknown child to be hopefully in our family someday. The name I picked out for a girl was "JOY". I said that part of her name has to be joy, because that's what she would create in our home would be joy. Well, last week, we received a referral from our adoption agency. For those of you who don't know what that means, it means we got a picture of a child and we had to decide to say yes or no to this child. I was actually upset at first receiving this picture, because I didn't want to choose the child. I wanted God to pick her. We actually weren't to the place where they should have sent us a picture yet due to paperwork not being done yet, and a payment of 2,800 not being sent in yet, but still here was a picture of this beautiful little girl. The adoption process is not an easy one. There are many things that must be done, and tons of paperwork to fill out and to retrieve from various sources. I like my ducks in a row. I've been following the papers and doing things in order. The book says that after you turn in the papers, and the 2,800, then you get a referral. So I was upset upon receiving this picture because we don't have all the money yet. And upon receiving the child, you then have to pay a 9,000 payment. All of which we don't have as of yet. So, as you see, that's why I was upset. But I started praying and doing my Bible study the next morning and I told God "If this is the child you have for us, then that's the one I want." I just want to know for sure that this is the one you want us to have. So, later that day I was having dinner with friends, and showed them her paperwork. I went over it again myself, and saw something that I had missed. It said that the meaning of her name was "Happiness at all times". I couldn't believe it. Because we had picked the name Joy so many years ago, and here was God telling me that she was to be the one. This was direct confirmation from God to continue to move forward. So we called Wednesday night to accept the referral of this little girl. So on we march, trying to raise the funds to adopt her in record speed. Please pray that the funds will come in quickly, so she can come home to us as soon as possible. If we had all the money today, it would take 4-6 months to have her home. She is 9 months old now. Please pray for us as this is such a roller coaster ride.

Dad

My Dad died June 25th, this past weekend we went over to his home and sifted through his belongings. It was a bit strange and evoked many memories. Finding some of his belongings that had special meaning to them was fun but also sad. Looking through old photos it was like living my life over again in those brief moments when I was flipping from photo to photo. Finding some old cassettes of music and listening to them also solicited the same emotion. A life lived and remembered. He is gone but his legacy goes on. As I think of my Dad, who was not perfect as none of us are, and what he meant and means to me still, I cant imagine going through life without one. What must be the sorrow of an orphans heart.

Thoughts for the day

Can you imagine your children so hungry that you offer to give them to strangers- just so they will live?

Bob Pierce once said, " Don't fail to do something just because you can't do everything." These are wise words to anyone overwhelmed with the magnitude of human suffering in our world. We are not asked to help all of them at once, just one at a time.

One such child

In the same chapter where the idea of "Somebody Else's Child" is shared, Richard shares this personal story where this really hit home hard.

"One Such Child"

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. Matthew 10:42

A few years back I had my own encounter with somebody else's child. I was in Gujarat, India, about six months after the massive 2001 earthquake. We were leaving the last village at the end of the final day of a ten-day, multi-country trip. I was exhausted and looking forward to getting back to the hotel and then back home the next morning. But something happened. As our car began to pull away, and a throng of people crowded around to wave good-bye, a desperate woman rushed up to my window with a little boy in her arms. She held him out to me with a pleading look in her eyes that said, Please help me! Please help my little boy. To my absolute horror, I then saw that her little boy had no feet. His legs had both been amputated below the knee. And then, just as quickly, she was gone, our car was on the road, and we were headed back to the hotel.

Gradually I put her haunting face out of my mind. I was tired. World Vision had helped so many thousands in Gujarat in the months after the earthquake; we couldn't be expected to help every child. That last boy was not my responsibility, I reasoned, and so I tried to forget what I had seen as I flew home the next morning.

Over the next few days, my body readjusted from jet lag, and I returned to the daily demands at my office, but I could not get the disturbing image of this mother and child--someone else's child--out of my mind. It nagged at me and challenged me. Was I just a hypocrite, always talking about the importance of helping every child but not practicing what I preached?

One night at dinner I told my own kids about what I had seen and how it was troubling me. "Can't you do something, Dad?" they asked. That very night I sent an e-mail to our team in India, describing the boy and asking if they could find him, one child in the midst of a billion people. I didn't know his name, and I could not remember even the name of the village where I had seen him. But two weeks later I received an e-mail with a photo of six-year-old Vikas and the story of what had happened to him. During the earthquake, his house had collapsed on him, crushing both of his legs and injuring his mother. With no immediate medical care, by the time help finally arrived, days later, amputation was his only option. To save his life, a relief medical team from Korea amputated both of his legs. Unable to walk, Vikas now could only crawl on all fours or be carried everywhere by his mother or father. So when I arrived in his village that day, a desperate mother waited for her moment and rushed to my departing car, hoping against all hope that maybe this man from America could help.

Believing that He could help--isn't that what grieving parents did when Jesus passed through their village? Like the father who approached Jesus, knelt before Him, and said, "Lord, have mercy on my son"? (Matthew 17:15)

I asked our team in India whether we could help him. The answer came back that he would need another surgery and then prosthetic limbs. It would cost three hundred dollars; would the U.S. office authorize the expenditure? they asked.

"No," I replied. "World Vision would not pay for this; Rich Stearns will pay for this." You see, this was personal. Arguably, in my role at World Vision, I was already doing more than most people can do to help children in need. But God wanted more than my institutional programs and strategic responses; He wanted it to be as a personal for me as it always is for Him. Children are not statistics to God. And so I sent the money.

Four months later, over the Christmas holiday, I was muttering under my breath; someone had sent me a large e-mail file that was taking far too long to download on my home computer. Finally, I opened the file with irritation and saw that it was a photograph--of Vikas, holding his mother's hand and standing on his new legs. I wept as I stared into the eyes of somebody else's child, a little boy I had never actually met but whose predicament had become so very personal to me.

Today, his picture hangs in my office in Seattle to remind me that every child is precious.

Somebody else's child continued

From the book-

" You see, our problem is that the plight of suffering children in a far off land simply hasn't gotten personal for us. We may hear about them with sorrow, but we haven't really been able to look at them as if they were our children. If we could, then we would surely grieve more deeply in our spirits. We would weep for their parents, and we would respond with far greater urgency.

How might God think about this issue? Does he look at the suffering of a child in Cambodia or Malawi with a certain sense of emotional distance? Does God have different levels of compassion for children based on their geographic location, their nationality, their race- or their parent's income level? Does he forget about their pain because He is preoccupied with other things? Does He turn the offending page to read the sports section- or is His heart broken because each child is precious to Him? God surely grieves and weeps, because every one of these children is His child- not somebody else's."

Somebody Else's Kids

Chapter 9 of the book starts with this story-

Whenever a major jetliner crashes anywhere in the world, it inevitably sets off a worldwide media frenzy covering every aspect of the tragedy. I want you to imagine for a moment that you woke up this morning to the following headline: "One Hundred Jetliners Crash, Killing 26,500." Think of the pandemonium this would create across the world as heads of state, parliaments, and congresses convened to grapple with the nature and causes of this tragedy. Think about the avalanche of media coverage that it would ignite around the globe as reporters shared the shocking news and tried to communicate its implications for the world. Air travel would no doubt grind to a halt as governments shut down the airlines and panicked air travelers canceled their trips. The National Transportation Safety Board and perhaps the FBI, CIA, and local law enforcement agencies and their international equivalents would mobilize investigations and dedicate whatever manpower was required to understand what happened and to prevent it from happening again.

Now imagine that the very next day, one hundred more planes crashed--and one hundred more the next, and the next, and the next. It is unimaginable that something this terrible could ever happen.

But it did--and it does.

It happened today, and it happened yesterday. It will happen again tomorrow. But there was no media coverage. No heads of state, parliaments, or congresses stopped what they were doing to address the crisis, and no investigations were launched. Yet more than 26,500 children died yesterday of preventable causes related to their poverty, and it will happen again today and tomorrow and the day after that. Almost 10 million children will be dead in the course of a year. So why does the crash of a single plane dominate the front pages of newspapers across the world while the equivalent of one hundred planes filled with children crashing daily never reaches our ears? And even though we now have the awareness, the access, and the ability to stop it, why have we chosen not to? Perhaps one reason is that these kids who are dying are not our kids; they're somebody else's.

Terry's First Guitar Concert

Our good friend Terry Price is learning to play the guitar, he is having a night where he will be playing several songs as well as sing on Saturday August 22 from 7-9pm at the Arabica Coffee House in Hartville. Their right on the corner of Rt 619 and Market Street. He will be donating any funds raised that night to our adoption. Come on out and support Terry as he supports our adoption financially.

Chapter 8 " The greatest challenge of the new millennium"

In this chapter Richard Stearns the author really gets to the point with the world crisis of poverty, disease and famine. He does it however in a way that is meant to get us out of our comfortable chairs and up doing something. I like that about his perspective. The sheer magnitude of the problem can overwhelm and cause paralysis of action when action is exactly what is needed. He discusses 3 key points involved in the problem. Awareness, Access, and Ability. Again let his words speak to you.

" Lack of awareness is no longer an issue. And yet only 4 percent of all U.S. charitable giving goes to international causes of any kind. We have become detached and indifferent toward the constant and repeated images of poverty and adversity that bombard us. In fact, our apathy has even earned its own term: compassion fatigue. But we cannot claim that we dont know our distant neighbor is in need- not anymore, not today."

A few pages later he shares these words-

" Listen to the words of a modern day prophet, and let them challenge you:

Fifteen thousand Africans are dying each day of preventable, treatable diseases- Aids, malaria, TB- for lack of drugs that we take for granted.

This statistic alone makes a fool of the idea many of us hold on to very tightly: the idea of equality. What is happening to Africa mocks our pieties, doubts our concern and questions our commitment to the whole concept. Because if we are honest, theres no way we could conclude that such mass death day after day would ever be allowed to happen anywhere else. Certainly not North America or Europe, or Japan. An entire continent bursting into flames? Deep down, if we really accept that their lives- African lives- are equal to ours, we would all be doing more to put the fire out. It's an uncomfortable truth.

This is a prophetic voice, on of both passion and vision. I wish I could say that it belongs to one of the great Church leaders of our day, one who is leading the Church of Jesus Christ to the front lines of the battle against poverty and injustice in our world. But, no, this voice that should shake our churches to the core with its high call to moral responsibility is the voice of a rock star- one who may have done more to advance the cause of the poor in the last 25 years than anyone alive. His name is Bono, and he passionately answers the question who is my neighbor? Then he bids us, as Jesus did, to go out and love them "as ourselves." His impassioned plea gives voice to the moral responsibilities inherent between those who suffer needlessly and those who have the power to intervene.

Listen again to Bono's call to our generation to make our mark on history:

We can be the generation that no longer accepts that an accident of latitude determines whether a child lives or dies- but will we be that generation? Will we in the West realize our potential or will we sleep in the comfort of our affluence with apathy and indifference murmuring softly in our ears? 15 thousand people dying needlessly every day from Aids, TB, and malaria. Mothers, fathers, teachers, farmers, nurses, mechanics, children. This is Africa's crisis. That it's not on the nightly news, that we do not treat this as an emergency- that's our crisis.

Future generations flipping through these pages will know whether we answered the key question. The evidence will be the world around them. History will be our judge, but what's written is up to us. We can't say our generation didn't know how to do it. We can't say our generation couldn't afford it. And we can't say our generation didn't have reason to do it. It's up to us."

Chapter 6 "A Hole in me"

At the end of chapter 6 in the book the author shares an analogy of how our life of faith ought to be like. I thought I would share it.

" Think for a moment of your life as a house with many rooms. Your faith cannot be just one more room in the house, equal with your job, your marriage, your political affiliation, or your hobbies. No, your faith must be like the very air you breathe, in every room of the house. It must permeate not just your "Sunday worship," or even your vocation and your behavior at home, but also your dealings with everyone around you- including the poor. That's how deep the commitment must be.

So What does God expect of you then? Everything."

A few paragraphs earlier he is discussing the passage in James that speaks of being a doer of the Word not just a hearer and he said this.

" You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder. (part of James chapter 2)

Here James stated in black and white that belief is not enough. It must be accompanied by faith demonstrated by actions. My former pastor and good friend Gary Gulbranson once said, "It's not what you believe that counts; it's what you believe enough to do." I think James would have liked Gary's understanding of the gospel in action. "

The whole gospel in action

In chapter 5 the author shares this gripping account of a Cambodian Pastor and his church. It speaks for itself.

"We had traveled for some hours up the Mekong River in a wooden boat. Our purpose was to visit the pastor of a small house church, a man named Roth Ourng. Pastor Ourng was a small man with a big smile. He eagerly bade us to climb the stairs to his small bamboo house on stilts. Pastor Ourng's day job was rice farming, but he pastored a small church of 83 members that he had started a few years back. His congregation met in his tiny home each Sunday morning to worship.

As we sat with Pastor Ourng, we talked about his community, his congregation, and farming. He was eager to know about churches in the United States and whether we had Bible commentaries and study guides that helped us understand Scripture. His only book was a Bible in the Khmer language, a treasure to him. "But" he said, "this is a difficult book, and I would love to have other books to help me understand it." I realized that in comparison, I lived in a nation literally drowning in Christian books, commentaries, and resources.

Pastor Ourng showed us the handmade two-stringed musical instrument that served as his church's "orchestra" For a wedding or special celebration, he said, his church would send runners to two different churches, 30 miles in each direction to borrow their guitars. Then the next day they would run them back. This made me think of my own church's million-dollar pipe organ.

After a while I asked him, "Pastor, living in a country that is more than 90 percent Buddhist, how did you come to be a Christian?" The story he told me was confirmation of the power of the gospel in action.

"Five years ago," he said. "World Vision came to our community and began to work. I was suspicious of these outsiders to our community and was convinced that they had their own hidden agenda. You see, in Cambodia, since the genocide by the Klmer Rouge, we are always distrustful of strangers. But these people from World Vision [also Cambodians] set up a TB clinic to care for those suffering from TB. They improved the schools our children attended, and they taught better agricultural methods to the farmers to improve our yields. But I was still suspicious and even angry, convinced that they were up to no good. Why would these strangers help us? I thought.

"One day I decided to confront them, and I went to the World Vision leader and demanded to know why they were here. His answer took me by surprise. He said, "We are followers of Jesus Christ, and we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are here to show you that God loves you."
"I said in response, "Who is this Jesus Christ that you talk about?"
"The man went and got me this Bible that you see here today and gave it to me. He told me that everything about Jesus was in this book. That night I went home and read the book of Genesis. I was truly amazed because in this Genesis I met the God I had wondered about all of my life. I met here the God who created heaven and earth, the Maker of the universe. The next morning I ran back and told him what I had read but said that I still did not know that Jesus he talks about. He told me he would take me to the city to meet with a Christian pastor that would explain these things to me. Some weeks later he took me and my friend to meet the pastor. He opened his Bible and read to us many passages about Jesus and explained the good news of salvation. At the end, he asked if we wanted to become disciples of Jesus and commit our lives to Him. We both said yes and that day committed to follow Christ as our Savior."

I was overwhelmed by this man's story. His encounter with Christ began with Christians who came to serve the poor--nursing the sick, educating the children, and helping increase food for the hungry. So compelling was this service that it provoked questions in the mind of a curious man: Why are you here? Why are you helping us? The answer to these questions was the gospel, the good news.

"Pastor, that is a wonderful story," I said. "Now, what about the eighty-three peoople who worship at your church; how did they come to follow Jesus?" "I was so excited to learn about Jesus," he said, "that I had to share this good news with everyone I knew. These eighty-three, they are my little flock."

Wow. There, in a bamboo house in Cambodia, I heard echoes of the Great Commission: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20). And I knew I had just witnessed the whole gospel--in action.

Quotes from the book

In the book there are many quotes at the beginning of the chapters all throughout, I thought I would just share many of them that I liked in no particular order.

Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now. Saint Teresa of Avila

Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.
Frederick W. Faber

The true gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment.
John Macarthur

The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet. Frederick Buechner

Growth demands a temporary surrender of security. Gail Sheehy

Hell will be full of people who thought highly of the Sermon on the Mount. You must do more than that. You must obey it and take action. John Macarthur

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

A holy life will produce the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they only shine. D. L. Moody

If God only used perfect people, nothing would get done. God will use anybody if you're available. Rick Warren

I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world. Mother Teresa

Christianity is flourishing wonderfully among the poor and the persecuted while it atrophies among the rich and secure. Philip Jenkins

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. Helen Keller

We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems. John W. Gardner

He who is dying of hunger must be fed rather than taught. Saint Thomas Aquinas

Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when he could do something about it. Well, why don't you ask Him? Because I'm afraid He would ask me the same question. Anonymous

We've drifted away from being fishers of men to being keepers of the aquarium.
Paul Harvey

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.
Martin Luther King Jr.

Mankind wants glory. We want health. We want wealth. We want happiness. We want all our felt needs met, all our little human itches scratched. We want a painless life. We want the crown without the cross. We want the gain without the pain. We want the words of Christ's salvation to be easy. John Macarthur

I love the recklessness of faith. First you leap and then you grow wings.
William Sloane Coffin

Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. Mohandas Gandhi

A church that lives within its four walls is no church at all.
Pastor Morgan Chilulu

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito. African Saying

Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best. Henry Van Dyke

Make your life a mission- not an intermission. Arnold Glasgow

The one who says it can't be done should get out of the way of the one who is doing it. Chinese Proverb

We can do no great things, only small things with great love. Mother Teresa

Chapter 4 " A most distressing disguise"

The author explores the passage found in Matthew 25:40, "And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." He says this;

"The question for you and for me is this: will Christ find evidence of our genuine concern for his beloved poor when he looks at the fruit of our lives on that day? Further, what might He be calling you to do today? What new steps of faith might you take to demonstrate your own concern for the least of these?

One last startling aspect of this passage is the remarkable claim of our Lord that whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did it for me. Even the good sheep in this passage were surprised at this. What they had seen as simple human gestures of love to the needy turned out to be gestures to a Christ incognito. Mother Teresa once said in the faces of the poor whom she served, she saw Christ in his most distressing disguise."

Chapter 3 thoughts- Hole in our Gospel

I am almost finished with the book, its one of those that's hard to put down, so I am behind on sharing my thoughts. Here are some things from chapter 3 that really stood out to me.

The chapter is titled " You lack one thing" in reference to the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking for eternal life. After a exchange where he began to think he was already doing ok, Jesus tells him one thing you lack, go and sell everything and give it to the poor, then come follow me. Of course as he was very wealthy and had many possessions (see American Christians) he was not willing to let go of his "stuff" and so he walked away from Jesus and we never hear from him again. The chapter has a quote at the beginning under the title that really hit me. It was a quote by Frederick Buechner who said once, " The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the worlds deep hunger meet." I wonder, are we as American Christians listening to Gods call, are we there meeting the deep hunger we see from those all around us in the world, or are we like the rich young ruler, unable to let go of all of our "stuff".

Later in the chapter, when the author, Richard Stearns, who is the President of World Vision U.S., shared how he struggled when God called him to this position. He actually told the organization no at first. He continued to agonize over it and a thought came to him one night in a church service. His thought was simply,what if there are children who will suffer somehow because I failed to obey God? He thought hadn't I always taught my kids that actions had consequences? What if my cowardice costs even one child somewhere in the world his or her life? He recounts how he could not live with that thought, so he broke down. God had broken him and he knew he could no longer run from him. That reminds me of that moment in my life, as I walked out of the historic Moody Church in downtown Chicago, where I felt the pull clearly of God to go get that book from the speaker on orphans and the need for churches to get involved. I remember debating in my mind should I go or not. I thank God I did and we remain dedicated to do what he has called us to do, rescue just one child, who without our action, may lose their own life. We can't live with that!

Hole in our Gospel - Chapter one

I came across this thought in the book and I liked it so much I thought I would share it. It is appropriate in all aspects of our lives, It specifically speaks to me of the plight of the orphan children in the world.

" When we become involved in people's lives, work to build relationships, walk with them through their sorrows and their joys, live with generosity toward others, love and care for them unconditionally, stand up for the defenseless, and pay particular attention to the poorest and most vulnerable, we are showing Christ's love to those around us, not just talking about it. These are the things that plant the seeds of the gospel in the human heart."

I cant help but imagine and dream of a day when our child comes to know our King personally, and think that maybe, just maybe, as they consider how God moved in our hearts and many of you to get them a mommy and a daddy, that it would be this real example of his love that might be that seed that is planted in their hearts and grows to a completed work of saving grace in their lives.

Now, let me ask you, wouldn't that be something?

The hole in our Gospel

I shared the prologue of this book some time ago that I downloaded from the web. I finally purchased it the other day and it arrived today. I plan to share parts of the book over time as I read through it and it impacts me. Tonight I have read so far the opening comments from others who have read it, the introduction and the prologue. I was hit by a short prayer referenced in the prologue from the founder of World Vision, Bob Pierce. He once prayed this. As you consider his short prayer, ask yourself if this true of your own life.

" Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God."

Bad news

Well its been a while since I posted, most of you know my Dad passed away on he day of my last post, our wedding anniversary, June 25th. He died suddenly of a massive heart attack. He is home with my King now and he would not want to come back even if he could. Its been hard. Losing a parent as I am sure many of you know, is really something strange and difficult to make it through. On the way home from the hospital the night he died, God gave us a beautiful rainbow, my son Josh said it looked like it stretched all the way from our home to the hospital. It was comforting and it had tears streaming down my face. God was reminding me that he keeps his promises. I will see my Dad again!

We also received additional bad news this past Thursday on the adoption front. We received a letter from Shaohannahs Hope. They are not able to grant us any money to assist with the adoption. Sometimes its hard to know what Gods plan is but all we know is that he has a plan and so we will continue moving forward in faith. Sometimes you just have to wait on God.

Adoption day at the West home

Ok now that I have your attention- haha, the next 2 weeks my company will be in shutdown so I will be off work. Lisa and I plan to have an "adoption day" where we will be running all over Gods creation taking care of all sorts of paperwork needed for the dossier stage we are in. We recently received an email from Holt stating they are in need of dossier approved families as they are running short right now and have kids for families that will have to wait. We hope to be able to get this done in a month or so. We have $1700 left of adoption funds we raised, the fee is $2700 but we sold our swimming pool and should be able to pay this fee in a month or so. Pray we get through all of the detailed paperwork without any problems. Once we are through this stage all we have left is the final stage which is $9000 or so.

Its been a while

Sorry that it has been so long since I posted, we have been very busy with softball, home fixes and we went on vacation to Savannah GA 2 weeks ago and had a great time. We swapped homes with a great family who had a wedding near our home the same week. It was a very cool way to go and it allowed us to have a very inexpensive getaway.

Please pray for us as we should be hearing soon if we will receive a grant from Shaohannas Hope. Also please pray for my 2 older sons, they are on a missions trip this week here in Ohio on a local missions outreach.

A child shall lead them

We have a dear friend who is a wonderful mother. She recently shared a story with me about her daughters. They were all playing house the other day and they were going to an orphanage to adopt children. She said if I could have only seen the tenderness in her girls as they chose their babies at the orphanage and how they were struggling with the thought of leaving any of the children behind. Then she shared with me how one of her girls she found one day praying for our adoption the other day. It really touched me to hear this and I hope it does you all as well.

The hole in our gospel

We subscribe to emails from World Vision, their leader recently wrote a book titled "The hole in our gospel". Their recent email had a link to a website that highlighted the book. If you dont know World Vision is a Christian relief organization that works throughout the world to help the poor, the orphans, those in need. The prologue to the book is 5 pages in length, you can download it for free which I have done. I thought I would share it with you here. I would like to challenge anyone who is reading this to get this book and read it.

Prologue
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” —L U K E 2 : 1 0


Rakai, Uganda, August 1998

His name was Richard, the same as mine. I sat inside his meager thatch hut,
listening to his story, told through the tears of an orphan whose parents
had died of AIDS. At thirteen, Richard was trying to raise his two younger
brothers by himself in this small shack with no running water, electricity,
or even beds to sleep in. There were no adults in their lives—no one to care
for them, feed them, love them, or teach them how to become men. There
was no one to hug them either, or to tuck them in at night. Other than his
siblings, Richard was alone, as no child should be. I try to picture my own
children abandoned in this kind of deprivation, fending for themselves
without parents to protect them, and I cannot.

I didn’t want to be there. I wasn’t supposed to be there, so far out of my
comfort zone—not in that place where orphaned children live by themselves
in their agony. There, poverty, disease, and squalor had eyes and
faces that stared back, and I had to see and smell and touch the pain of the
poor. That particular district, Rakai, is believed to be ground zero for the
Ugandan AIDS pandemic. There, the deadly virus has stalked its victims
in the dark for decades. Sweat trickled down my face as I sat awkwardly
with Richard and his brothers while a film crew captured every tear—mine
and theirs.

I much preferred living in my bubble, the one that, until that moment,
had safely contained my life, family, and career. It kept difficult things like this
out, insulating me from anything too raw or upsetting. When such things
intruded, as they rarely did, a channel could be changed, a newspaper page
turned, or a check written to keep the poor at a safe distance. But not in
Rakai. There, “such things” had faces and names—even my name, Richard.

Not sixty days earlier I had been CEO of Lenox, America’s finest tableware
company, producing and selling luxury goods to those who could
afford them. I lived with my wife and five children in a ten-bedroom house
on five acres just outside of Philadelphia. I drove a Jaguar to work every
day, and my business travel took me to places such as Paris, Tokyo, London,
and Florence. I flew first-class and stayed in the best hotels. I was respected
in my community, attended a venerable suburban church, and sat on the
board of my kids’ Christian school. I was one of the good guys—you might
say a “poster child” for the successful Christian life. I had never heard of
Rakai, the place where my bubble would burst. But in just sixty days, God
turned my life inside out, and it would never be the same.
Quite unexpectedly, eight months earlier, I had been contacted by World Vision, the Christian relief and development organization, during their search for a new president. Why me? It wasn’t something I had sought after. In fact,you might say I had been minding my own business when the phone rang that day. But it was a phone call that had been twenty-four years in the planning.You see, in 1974, at the age of twenty-three, in my graduate school dormitory,I knelt down beside my bed and dedicated my life to Christ. This was no small decision for me, and it came only after months of reading, studying, conversations with friends, and the important witness of Reneé, the woman who would later become my wife. While at the time I knew very little about the implications of that decision, I knew this: nothing would ever be quite the same again, because I had made a promise to follow Christ—no matter what.

The Man Who Wouldn’t Buy China . . .
Several months after becoming a Christian, I was newly engaged to Reneé.
As we were planning our wedding and our life together, she suggested that
we go to a department store to register for our china, crystal, and silver. My
self-righteous response was an indication of just how my newfound faith
was integrating into my life: “As long as there are children starving in the
world, we’re not going to own fine china, crystal, and silver.” Perhaps you
can see God’s sense of irony in my becoming president of America’s premier
fine tableware company a couple of decades later. So when I answered
that phone call from World Vision in January 1998, I knew that God was
on the other end of the line. It was His voice I heard, not the recruiter’s:
Rich, do you remember that idealistic young man in 1974 who was so passionate
about starving children that he would not even fill out a wedding registry? Take
a good look at yourself now. Do you see what you’ve become? But, Rich, if you
still care about those children, I have a job I want you to do

.In my prayers over the weeks leading up to my appointment as World Vision’s president, I begged God to send someone else to do it, much as Moses had done.Surely this was a mistake. I was no MotherTeresa. I remember praying that God would send me anywhere else, “but, please, God, not to the poor—not into the pain and alienation of poverty and disease, not there.” I didn’twant to go there.

Yet here I was, the new president of WorldVision, sent by knowing staff to get a “baptism by fire” for my new calling, with a film crew to document every moment.

Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision, once prayed, “Let my heart
be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” But who really wants
his heart broken? Is this something to ask of God? Don’t we pray that God
will not break our hearts? But as I look at the life of Jesus, I see that He was,
as Isaiah described him, “a Man of sorrows . . . acquainted with grief ”
(53:3 NKJV). Jesus’ heart was continually moved to compassion as He
encountered the lame, the sick, the widow, and the orphan. I try to picture
God’s broken heart as He looks today upon the broken world for which He
died. Surely Richard’s story breaks His heart.

Two crude piles of stones just outside the door mark the graves of
Richard’s parents. It disturbs me that he must walk past them every day. He
and his brothers must have watched first their father and then their mother
die slow and horrible deaths. I wondered if the boys were the ones who fed
them and bathed them in their last days. Whatever the case, Richard, a
child himself, is now the head of household.

Child-headed household, words never meant to be strung together. I tried to wrap my mind around this new phrase, one that describes not only Richard’s plight but that of tens of thousands, even millions more. I’m told that there are sixty thousand orphans just in Rakai, twelve million orphans due to AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.2 How can this be true? Awkwardly I asked Richard what he hopes to be when he grows up, a ridiculous question to ask a child who has lost his childhood. “A doctor,” he said, “so I can help people who have the disease.”

“Do you have a Bible?” I asked. He ran to the other room and returned with his treasured book with gold-gilt pages. “Can you read it?” “I love to read the book of John, because it says that Jesus loves the children.”

This overwhelmed me, and my tears started to flow. Forgive me, Lord, forgive me. I didn’t know. But I did know. I knew about poverty and suffering in the world. I was aware that children die daily from starvation and
lack of clean water. I also knew about AIDS and the orphans it leaves
behind, but I kept these things outside of my insulating bubble and looked
the other way.

Yet this was to be the moment that would ever after define me. Rakai was what God wanted me to see. My sadness that day was replaced by
repentance. Despite what the Bible had told me so clearly, I had turned a
blind eye to the poor. Now my heart was filled with anger, first at myself,
and then toward the world. Why wasn’t Richard’s story being told? The
media overflowed with celebrity dramas, stock market updates, and Bill
Clinton’s impending impeachment hearings. But where were the headlines
and magazine covers about Africa? Twelve million orphans, and no one
noticed? But what sickened me most was this question: where was the
Church? Indeed, where were the followers of Jesus Christ in the midst of
perhaps the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time? Surely the Church
should have been caring for these “orphans and widows in their distress”
(James 1:27). Shouldn’t the pulpits across America have flamed with
exhortations to rush to the front lines of compassion? Shouldn’t they be
flaming today? Shouldn’t churches be reaching out to care for children in
such desperate need? How could the great tragedy of these orphans get
drowned out by choruses of praise music in hundreds of thousands of
churches across our country? Sitting in a hut in Rakai, I remember thinking,
How have we missed it so tragically, when even rock stars and Hollywood
actors seem to understand?

Ten years later I know. Something fundamental has been missing in our understanding of the gospel.

The word gospel literally means “good news.” Jesus declared that He had come to “preach good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). But what good news, what gospel, did the Church have for Richard and his brothers in Rakai? What “good news” have God’s people brought to the world’s three billion poor?3 What “gospel” have millions of Africa’s AIDS orphans seen?4 What gospel have most of us embraced in the twenty-first century?

The answer is found in the title of this book: a gospel with a hole in it.

The cost of adoption

The devotion I have shared recently from Shaohannah's Hope concludes on day 14, I thought I would share it with you all.

Day 14: The cost of Adoption

" God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ... and it gave him great pleasure... He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son..." Ephesians 1:5,7

Our adoption by God cost us nothing. However, it did cost God something; it cost
HIM HIS SON. The high fees and costs for adoption today are indefensible, but they are not inconceivable.

Adoption is costly. Whether in the realm of finances, emotions, relationships, time,or effort, adoption will cost. But think of what it cost God, and yet He was willing to undergo that cost, and not simply to undergo it, but to undergo it with joy! It gave Him great pleasure! What kind of upside down world is this? What pain and loss God must have experienced, and yet he delighted in bringing us into his family! In our world of risk-averse, safety-first, immediate gratification, we often lose sight of the truth that some endeavors are worth the cost.

The adoption journey is not easy, but every hour of toil, every obstacle encountered, tear shed, every sleepless night, are all but a shadow of the price that God paid for us. Jesus came to be a ransom for many(Matthew 20:28), and if God was willing to pay that ransom for us, how much more will He be willing to lead us in ransoming His beloved children from their state as orphans? And it is His love that compels us onward in obedience, whatever the cost, for He who calls us is faithful. Our God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, who is rich in mercy and grace, who generously provides for all that we need, this God knows the costs we will incur, and promises to be with us and every step of the way. This is about faith in action. This is an invitation to experience God in ways we've never experienced Him before.

In Matthew, Jesus says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." God's heart is invested in adoption. Let us view the costs, both known and unforeseen , as an invitation for us to invest our resources, and therefore our hearts, into things of God. Don't be afraid to ask others to join you in your adoption journey, supporting you financially, and personally, for the body is made up of many parts, and we all need one another. Let others have the opportunity to invest in the things of God as well. "Carry one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2).

What are some of the costs that are related to adoption that I can meet with the joy of Christ? How am I affected by the truth that God purchased my position in His family with the blood of His son, Jesus? What does this mean for my life?

Going on Faith / Dossier fee

We received today a bill from our agency, Holt International. It is the Dossier fee for $2795.00. As most of you know we are going on faith with our adoption related expenses and have committed not to go into debt. So we put before God and all of you this need. Holt's mailing address is Post Office Box 2880, Eugene Oregon, 97402. I imagine the agency could be contacted directly by any interested donors and of course you can contact us directly. We know God will find a way to meet our needs. God bless.

Worth the Wait

We finished the 14 day devotion that Shaohannah's Hope sent us. I wanted to share day 12 with everyone, its message meant a lot to us.

Day 12: Worth the Wait

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope." Psalm 130:5

While at a Steven Curtis Chapman concert highlighting the need for adoption, a security guard backstage excitedly approached me and said, "I want to share with you what God did for my family through adoption." "Over thirty years ago," he began, "my wife and I wanted to have a child, but we were not able to biologically. We then prayed about adoption and felt led by God to adopt a little boy from South Korea. However, after filing our paperwork, we found out that because my wife has been a type I diabetic since her childhood, we were disqualified from adopting due to current regulations. We were not only emotionally crushed but also confused because we really felt that God had said that there was a little boy for us in Korea. What was God doing? Had we heard the Shepherd's voice rightly?
"Several years later the adoption agency called and said that the regulations had changed and they had a little boy that we would be eligible to adopt from Korea if we were still interested. Of course we said yes, went through the process, and adopted him. "Thirty years after the adoption, my wife became terribly ill from kidney failure. Every family member was checked to find a match for a kidney transplant, but none of us were close enough. Due to my wife's condition and age, she was so far down on the list of priority there was basically no chance she would receive a stranger's kidney.
"Our adopted son then asked to be tested as a possible kidney donor; however, knowing that he was adopted, the hospital refused. Determined to find out whether his blood type was even compatible with that of his adoptive mother's, he went to the local blood bank and gave blood. And only as God's sovereignty could design, not only was our son a blood match, but in fact he also passed all the hospital tests and miraculously ended up being his adoptive mother's kidney donor!
"Looking back at the wait and setbacks we had endured to adopt our son, God's timing could not have been more perfect. God knew exactly how to connect us to the child he created for us. My wife used to become saddened knowing she had never experienced carrying a baby in her womb; however, after her transplant, she told my son that her greatest joy is that for as long as she lives, she will always carry a part of him within her." "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12).
During the times of waiting in my life, am I willing to put my faith in God and His plan?

Easter Sunday

We had an incredible service this Easter. We had whats called cardboard testimonies. I have cut and pasted the youtube link to our service as the church put it on the web yesterday. It shows the power of God and how he can change lives. How he can use anyone and can reach anyone no matter what they have done or where they come from. He can even touch a family in Ohio to desire adopting an unknown child from a far away place like Ethiopia. He can change you too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9-Qd_zCHZY

Why is Church Unfulfilling for so many?

We received a packet from Shaohannah's Hope the other day. It has a 14 day devotion along with other information in it. I thought I would share day 3 of the devotion.

Day 3: Why is Church Unfulfilling for so many?
By Kerry Hasenbalg

" As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." James 2:26

In much of the American church today there is a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of fulfillment, particularly among the youth, and I believe this is due in large part to how many of us have missed a major ingredient of Biblical Christianity: caring for the Least.

Throughout Scripture and throughout the history of His people, God has called His chosen ones to spend themselves on behalf of the poor, the oppressed, the orphan, the widow, the prisoner, and the stranger in the land. Because many in the church have turned inward, ignored the outworking of their faith, and have forgotten the poor and needy, our knowledge of God is to a large extent merely intellectual, and hence our faiths often appear more dead than alive. This certainly is not true of every church, every believer, or every mission, but it is true enough because it was true of me.

I was afraid to be like those who were trying to earn their way to heaven with good works because I rightly knew that salvation is by God's grace through faith alone. But out of this fear, I, like many others, stopped working all together. Somewhere along the line, I unconsciously began living a lie that says learning about God, singing about God, and speaking about God is more important than walking like him.

Like so many well-intentioned Christians before me, I had thought I could live out my Christianity in church buildings, in Bible studies, and among friends. I had anticipated a comfortable future of growing and learning and discussing and growing some more. But as I took small steps of obedience, God kept leading me into the fields of the fatherless and the widow, the needy and the marginalized.

The call to follow Christ and the path of the crucified life is difficult, requiring self-sacrifice and obedience, and caring for the Least, God has given us a social context in which to live out these truths and walk in His love. Much of the evangelical church is longing for a deeper experience of God, and the irony is that it is among those we too often ignore and avoid- the orphans, widows, poor, sick, and oppressed- where God said he would be. There we will experience Him, see Him, touch Him, and walk with Him.

Are there people around me who are ignored or forgotten that I can love today? "

As I read this, I was really touched by the phrase where she said, " God has called His chosen ones to spend themselves on behalf of the poor, the oppressed, the orphan, the widow, the prisoner, and the stranger in the land." This idea of spending ourselves is really something we as Christ followers ought to ponder daily. Are we willing to "spend" our lives for someone else, perhaps who we may not even know? I think in this spending we will find ourselves, and truly have the joy and the peace and the fulfillment that God intends for us to truly have.

How about you?

Its Spring!

One of my flaws is that I love change (maybe its a strength). So since its spring and everything will be turning green real soon I thought I would change our Blogs template for a fresh new look. Hope you like it.

Shohanna's Hope

Well on Thursday we mailed out all of the documents we needed to assemble to apply for a grant from this incredible organization. We are very hopeful that they will award us with a large amount that will enable us to get closer to bringing our child home. Please pray that God will work all this out and we will be awarded a nice size grant. I for one can almost taste all of this getting done. Of course I am not always as patient as I ought to be at times. haha

Referral

We were blown out of the water a few days ago. We actually received a child referral. We are still in the dossier stage and in need of all sorts of documents and then some additional cash (about $2000)just to complete this stage. Then we have the last stage where we need an additional $9000 and thats when you typically begin waiting for the referral. So needless to say we were shocked. It was a for a young girl who is 4 years old. We had stated in our home study we would accept up to age 3 but we really wanted 0-12 months. When the agency spoke to my wife they told her we would have to update our study to include this age. We had just completed our study Feb 14. After days of talking, praying about it and even fasting for a bit, as hard as it was we decided to say no. It was a hard thing to do, to say no to a child. But both Lisa and I had a peace about it and felt like this was not what God had for us. It was still very hard to do. We are now back on the path that we thought we were on and plowing through the paperwork. Pray for us as we are quite busy with life in general and the added demands of the adoption. God will provide the way through though we know.

Don't read your own press clippings

I think it is very important in life to be transparent with others in your life. Too many of us, myself included, often put on a mask and act like we have everything together. Last night was one of those times where I realized how easy it is to get your motives all messed up.

As we have journeyed along our adoption path sometimes with all that we have to do, it becomes more about us and how much we are doing. We can begin to look at ourselves and think too highly of what we are doing. After all not every person you meet is adopting from Ethiopia right? Last night though I was blessed to attend a small church service of about 40 folks downtown Akron at the YMCA. One of my best friends was preaching the service and after about a year of promising him I would go, I actually went. Its basically a group of homeless people organized by a friend of ours. They sing, preach and then have a dinner for the people. After the preaching there is a small group break out session that lasts for about 10-15 minutes. I met with my friend and 6 other people last night. One gentlemen spoke of his frost bitten feet and how he may be losing toes. Another couple spoke of how they have been living in an abandoned home for over 7 months and how cold it was during the winter months. The man told of a flashlight that he has that is one of those crank flashlights. He said how he has to crank it to get the light and how he sometimes reads the Bible by that light. I wonder how many of us would read our Bibles if we had to crank a flashlight just to see the words at night?

Anyway, these were the types of stories that filled that room last night. The thing I wanted to share though is how this small group of homeless people were recently in the newspaper. They take an offering every week and had raised over $300 to give to an inner city school for kids uniforms etc. What a sacrifice these people make and yet they have nothing.

So much for my families sacrifice!

Godcidences

Sometimes I think God just sits back and grins as he works in his children's lives. The last few days he has had me grinning. I went to look at a used mini van the other day and met a wonderful christian man. He was born in Mexico but now lives here in Ohio with his wife. They just moved here from Wisconsin. We started sharing our faith and I mentioned the adoption. He told me of his friends who have adopted 2 sets of twins from Russia. I couldnt believe the irony as Lisa is dying to adopt twins if thats what God wants for us. I truly enjoyed the 20 minutes I spent with this man. We even said we might possibly get our families together for cook outs etc. Then I came home and spoke with a gentlemen I met on Craigs list. They had listed in the free category of items a rocker/glider. Lisa and I have always wanted one of them through all 4 of our biological kids but never had one. We even were looking at them at Baby's R Us a few months back. It turns out, this man and his wife adopted a child from China and I believe he said Kazakhstan. He mentioned that our email to him, which has our blog on every message that goes out on it, which told him we were adopting, was the reason we were getting the glider. Isnt that cool how God works. Its not a big deal probably to most people, but to us its just one of those little ways God shows us he is taking care of our needs, and even sometimes our wants. I guess we must be getting a baby now that God has given us this glider, I just hope and pray that a second one doesnt show up anytime soon!! That would mean twins like Lisa is dreaming, and I just dont know if I can handle that!! haha

Chicken Soup for the Adopted Soul

Lisa bought this book that's filled with short stories about adoption and fostering.
I came across this poem and wanted to share it with you guys.

A Child Like Me?

With saddened eyes and head bent low,
It's damaged goods most see.
With my unclear past and broken heart,
Who would want a child like me?

I watch her walk into the room.
From a distance I can see.
But dare I take a closer step?
Who would want a child like me?

And then I see her look my way.
She smiles so tenderly.
But do I even dare to dream,
She would a child like me?

And then, as if I spoke out loud,
She approaches cautiously.
I try so hard to once believe,
She will want a child like me.

But dare I once let down my guard,
And trust that she will see,
Hiding beneath this old stained shirt,
Is a beautiful child like me?

My smile, they say, lights up a room.
I'll be good as good can be.
Oh, please, dear God, let her want
A special child like me.

I feel her hand reach out for mine,
And within her eyes I see,
A single, tiny, shining tear.
Could she want a child like me?

And when she takes me in her arms,
With a warmth so pure and new,
She says the words I've prayed to hear,
"The child I want is you."

Home Study Paperwork

We received today our actual home study documents. It was exciting to actually hold the papers that say we are approved to be parents- after having 4 of our own already- haha. I thought I would share the opening paragraph with you all.

"Dear Mr. & Mrs. West:

Congratulations on the completion of your international homestudy! This is a big accomplishment and a major step toward the adoption of your child. As of February 14, 2009 you have been approved to adopt one to two children of either sex from Ethiopia, 0-3 years of age, with mild to moderate special needs. Your preference would be to adopt twins of either sex ages 0-1 years old, or a female age 0-1 year old, however you are open to children up to three years of age."

Did you catch it, the insanity of it all. TWINS! Gotta love my wife Lisa dont ya!!!!

We are officially approved!

WE received word today that our home study was officially approved. We should have a letter stating our approval shortly. We will use it to apply for grants with a variety of private organizations. Things are getting more and more exciting!

Christmas in Ethiopia

We received in the mail yesterday a video from our agency, Holt International. It is a video they took in December of their center in Addis Ababa the capital of Ethiopia. They were celebrating Christmas with the orphans they had in that center. It was about a 30 minute video. We counted about 21 kids. They were mostly all younger, I would guess about 2-4 years old. There was one child who looked to be about 8-10, and there were maybe 5-6 infants. They gave the kids presents, and they ate cake and other food. It really brought to life the adoption in a deeper way. To think that we were possibly watching our child playing and eating, really was cool. The kids were so sweet looking. I wished I would have been there myself to hold some of them on my lap. God is moving.

Home study

We had our last meeting in home yesterday. Everything went great. We should have our approved study in a week or two. Our social worker was very nice. She was an adoptive parent herself having adopted a son from Bolivia and a daughter from China. She also has 3 biological children as well who are all grown I believe she said. She was very knowledgeable and friendly. I enjoyed watching her interact with our kids as she asked them questions. Of course Christian had to have some fun at our expense as he told her we had Jack Daniels hidden in our kitchen. I dont know what that boys mother has done to him! (haha)

She and her husband started a work in Bolivia as they ran an orphanage for years. If I understood her correctly they are now doing some work in Kenya. She was able to offer us some insight into what an adoptive child has to go through. One thing that is difficult for many to understand, is that while the adopting family is excited and overwhelmed with feelings of love and joy typically, the child is dealing with a deep grief. A grief that manifests itself in a variety of ways that the less discerning will miss. Please pray for our child/children that God will provide. Pray for their loss and pray for our wisdom in loving them and understanding where they are at in any given circumstance. Bottom line, its not about us, its about them.

So the world may know

Its Valentine's day and I want the world to know what I think of my wife after 20 years of marriage. Here is my song to her. Follow this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjfq0Fr85Yg

So the world may know

Its Valentine's day and I want the world to know what I think of my wife after 20 years of marriage. Here my song to her. Follow this link.

Home study

Well we now have our final in home interviews and safety inspection set up for this Friday 2/13 at 3pm. Olga has been replaced due to remaining on medical leave, by a lady named Rhoda. We spoke with her last night, she works with the agency but she is also an adoptive parent herself. Lisa and her talked for 20-30 minutes last night. She seems really nice. Hopefully we will have our home study finalized and approved then by months end. It will be very nice to finally have this step behind us.

Letter from an orphan

I am reading a book titled " Fields of the Fatherless" by C. Thomas Davis. In the book he has a letter written by a Russian orphan who was visited by some Americans. I think his words are quite poignant, let me share them with you.

" I hated my life since the third grade when I was unmercifully beaten. I felt then that life is lost and death is looking for me. And my tears were telling me that life was nothing in comparison with death. I felt like a little cockroach, which responds in fear when seen.

A bunch of American people came to our school. I thought these people wanted to laugh at us. But I was mistaken. They are people willing to give up the most precious gift a person can possess, love. Their intentions to share seemed strange as they had their own kids. But these people have such big hearts to give that there is still enough room even for us little cockroaches.

Then I began to feel myself not a cockroach anymore which deserved to be killed, but a little human being. It is a wonderful feeling believe me. "

God said

Proverbs 3:27-28

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.

A fresh wind

Sometimes along the journey we become weary in well doing. That has been my condition somewhat for these past few months. I have let the economic state of our country, the delays we have encountered, the obstacles from places and people we did not expect, and the daunting task we have before us get me down. Last night at church one of our friends gave us a book to read. It is titled "Holy Discontent" by Bill Hybels. Its thesis is fueling the fire that ignites personal vision. It asks the question what is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, or get near it, you just cant stand? For me its the cry of the orphan. The foster child wanting a family to love him and take care of him. Its the seemingly endless faces of children throughout the world who are alone tonight. Its this that has become my passion, that drives me. The book brought all of this back to my mind with such clarity. Interesting enough the book actually mentions Ethiopia several times. I told my friend it was exactly what I needed and she said when she read it, she knew the book was written just for me. I love it when God shows up like that. Anyway, I would encourage you all to get this book, read it, and find out what great work God has for you to do. What are you passionate about. Go find it!

Another delay

Well we had everything ready for our in home interview with us, the kids and our home safety inspection for today at 3pm. Olga from the agency called today and postponed with us until sometime in early Feb. She was put on medical leave today and she needs to be the one who meets with us as she has already met with both Lisa and I, as well as been dealing with our home study herself from the beginning. IT would be apparently too confusing for someone new to come on board now near the end of the process. Sometimes this can get a little frustrating. Our son had secured a sub for his job at the YMCA tonight so he could be home for the interviews. I had advised work I would be leaving early and Lisa had scheduled my Mom to come and watch the twins she babysits near the end of the day. I have read about some of the delays and problems a family encounters as they adopt so I was aware of these sort of things, but it still can be frustrating.

We were hoping to finally get the home study behind us, to move on to the next steps, have a sense of accomplishment, and apply for grants from Christian organizations. I guess what Lisa said today is right, we just have to believe and trust God in his timing for all of this.

Keep praying for us.