Prayer Request

On April 5, 2007 my life was forever changed by the birth of my niece Leah Faith. She was born with a previously undetected cleft lip and palate. Leah lights up a room with her smile and personality. She is the happiest little girl I have ever seen. Tomorrow morning my Little Leah is heading into surgery to have her cleft palate repaired. She is having a minor procedure done on her lip and tubes put into her ears. She is expected to be in surgery for five hours. Please pray for this little bundle of joy that she will come through this with flying colors. I know the Lord will protect and keep his hand on her, but I still covet your prayers.

And with that I will share some photos of this little princess who is a ball of boundless energy!

3 months old

Right after her lip repair surgery in August 2007

Christmas 2007

Sadly since I am in West Virginia to be here for her surgery I don't have any of her updated photos with me. But trust me, she is a cutie! Thanks again for the prayers!

Help!

My friend Aimee adopted Brynly from Ethiopia last year. The trip forever changed her and has made an amazing impact on me as well. That being said, Aimee is setting out to do something that will change the lives of many children and I am lending my support beginning with reposting this from her blog:

HELP!
So, if you have read this blog with some regularity, you know that I have on occasion spoken of being changed by my experience in Ethiopia. I have known since I was in Ethiopia that I had to do something to help the situation there. It was simply not an option to get on that plane with Brynly and never look back. The lack of resources was astounding. Even though Brynly was given much love by her caretakers at her orphanage, there was not much else available to her. Her diapers consisted of cloth with a plastic bag tied around. She did not have access to iron enriched formula or sufficient medical care. Three babies who shared a room with Brynly died not long after we left. They died. For the older children, there was not enough food, clothes or anything else to go around. There was no heat and no working bathroom. Can you picture, just for a minute, a group of children being given a bag of suckers by a visiting adoptive parent. Predictably, they ate the suckers. But, then they treated the bag like the best toy they had ever seen. They were even hungrier for any bit of attention we could give them.

For awhile, thoughts were rattling about inside my head. And then, one of my travel buddies approached me with an idea. She was having the same types of feelings. And then, another adoptive mom joined us. It took awhile for our ideas to take shape, but we kept talking, kept brainstorming... Then it was time to make necessary connections and, of course, paperwork..on two ends of the Earth no less. Those first steps have been taken and the ground work has been laid. Although some work remains to be done, we are now ready to unveil some things about our project. I am happy to announce the birth of ETHIO-AMERICAN FAMILY SERVICES.

Our mission is: Ethio-American Family Services is a nonprofit organization that seeks to educate and empower as well as enrich the lives of Ethiopian orphans and adoptive families. For Ethiopian adoptive families, education and connection to the Ethiopian culture are vital in the development of their families. Ethio-American Family Services works to provide educational and cultural opportunities to create culturally fluent families.There are more than 3.8 million orphans in Ethiopia, and in 2008 only around 1000 were adopted in the United States. Ethio-American Family Services works to enrich the lives of orphans yet or never to be adopted by providing for their basic needs including shelter, food, medical care, and cognitive, emotional and spiritual development.As everything is set in place, we will have many exciting offerings. Our website will launch early next month. What we are focused on first is a funding project that will create an orphanage in Ethiopia which will provide a superior level of care to children who would otherwise be living on the street or in extremely substandard conditions.

It will be a daunting task, no question. But do you not think every child everywhere deserves good food, clean clothes, medical care and love? I do too. We are a determined lot, but WE CANNOT DO THIS ALONE! An Ethiopian proverb says, a single stick will smoke, but can't make fire. WE NEED YOU TO HELP US LIGHT THIS FIRE. It won't take much to do much if many of us are working together. Please, take a look at the three ways you could help listed below. Every bit of help will be so appreciated by these precious, worthy children who would, otherwise have nothing and no one.

1) Be a Goodsearcher
All you have to do is go to Goodsearch.com, enter Ethio-American Family Services in the box, click Verify, and search away. EAFS will receive one penny for every search. You can make it your homepage or add it to your toolbar. You don't have to buy anything, just search the net.

2)Be a Penny Pincher
Set out some coin jars in your local schools, stores, churches, offices, etc. We will provide a label for you. Then go back a week or so later and gather them up. Every penny or dime or quarter that clinks into jars placed all over the country will help these children so far away.

3)Be a part of our Community Mobilization Campaign
Do you know a community or church organization that would be willing to undertake a fundraiser or even take up a special collection to help create this home for children who have none? These orphaned children needs the help of communities all over the USA. We will provide you with material to present to the group as well as informational materials about how the groups help is so greatly needed.

In addition to the above, we will provide a list of items each group can select to work toward as a fundraising goal. For example, $125 buys a crib, mattress and bedding so that a baby can sleep warm and dry.

If you knwow me personally and know of a group here in town that would be willing, I would love to come and make a presentation. Of course, lots of fundraising needs to be done. But, I know this ET Adoptive blogging community has a big heart. We hope that this organization to grow and to create connections and opportunities for our kids here in the USA. Even mor eimportant, though,a re the kids in Ethiopia who are waiting for us to say, "we have enough now, we have enough to give you a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear..." If you feel you can help in anyway, large or small, please leave a comment with your email. I thank you in advance on behalf of these precious children.

You go Aimee! Let's change the world one child at a time. So feel free to leave your comments. Let's see what one stick can do when others join in!!!

OK

You know it is time to post when your BFF sends you a message that sounds something like this. "By the way my dad told me to tell you that you haven't posted on your blog in a long time."
To which I replied, "Your dad reads my blog?"
Her comment (paraphrased) "Not recently because there isn't anything to read."

And there in a nut shell was the issue. I realized there wasn't a whole lot I had to say. I mean how many times and in how many ways can you say "I am excited," "I am tired of waiting, but holding on," "I am trying to be patient." and "I know things are in the Lord's hands,"etc, before you sound like a broken annoying record?

Today marks FOUR months that my dossier has been in Ethiopia. I never would have imagined that it would have taken so long for a referral when I began the process, but it has and my mantra continues to be..."It is what it is."

I have read on more than blog that adoption isn't for sissies. True words. Sometimes I battle disappointment, but then I am reminded of the words that I have written on this blog and I struggle to make them truths again and not just hollow syllables. It's not always easy. Some days I struggle. Some days I cry. Some days I feel like the wait will go on forever. But, there's another side. Some days I soar. Some days I glow with expectancy. Some days I just bask in the promise of some day.

How Long vs. What For?

This morning I was flipping through the channels and happened upon some religious programming. I am a little leery about watching programs when I haven't thoroughly researched their beliefs and made sure that they line up with the Bible. However this morning I was compelled to watch.
The woman was talking about struggles and waiting on the Lord. She talked about how we often get caught up in the when. We beg the Lord to hurry and to do things on our timeline. We wonder what we are doing wrong (at this point, I knew she (OK God) was speaking to me). She quoted several verses about the Lord's faithfulness, His love for us and His perfect timing. I know all of these things and most days I KNOW and FEEL them in my heart.
But then she said something a little different. She said that instead of asking God - How Long, we should be asking What for. It's true through trials and waits, there is always something that the Lord wants us to do. So beginning today I am going to ask Him...what am I supposed to be using this wait for? What is it that he wants me to learn? Who does he want me to pray for? What areas of my life does he want me to become more disciplined in?
It's funny, several years ago, I came to the realization that I didn't want to squander my singleness by putting my life on hold until I got married. When I dedicated my extra time to service for Him, He put everything in perspective. This actually came about by seeing someone else live life in a way I found sad. I have an acquaintance who actually keeps a file folder full of the dreams she has for her wedding day...I am not opposed to dreaming or even pre-planning...but this woman has put her whole life on hold until she meets THE ONE. The sad thing is that she has been doing this since her mid-twenties and now she is three years away from 40. That's almost 15 years of her life lived in a holding pattern. I am saddened by that because I am sure there was some amazing things God wanted to do for her in this time, but she didn't let him.
But when I heard the speaker this morning I realized that I am missing that same opportunity. So beginning today, Lord here's a new prayer. It's no longer "How long until I get my referral," but instead "What do you have to teach me through this wait? I am FINALLY ready to learn it!"