Promises from God

I have not posted since April, wanted to wait until progress on the home study to give you an update.  Working with the social worker was a wonderful experience, yes there are many questions that are you are prepared to answer and equally some, you are not.  However, the idea is get you think deeply about what is to come in your life.  For those of you with children, you know many of the answers to deep questions about wants, desires for children, however, for a new mom, my heart; brain and mouth were challenged simultaneously.  Okay, my friends stop laughing- I might not chew gum and walk well, but my heart and brain were spectacular- we will see how the social worker feels about what came out of my mouth.  So, I am finished with the study and waiting for the agency review and report. Then on to the courts in Uganda!

Yesterday, I sat in church listening intently to Pastor Matt speaking from Judges 6.  While he was talking my heart and brain began working again.  Gideon is hiding from the enemy; God speaks to him and calls him a mighty warrior.  God tells Gideon, He wants him to rescue Israel from the enemies.  Gideon believes his clan is the weakest and he is the weakest in his family.  God tells Gideon He will be with him and to go in strength to defeat the enemy.  I believed myself to be Gideon for years. By the end of the sermon, I know I am Gideon the warrior.  Warrior for children who need parents to love them.

Pastor Matt elaborated on the concepts of responding in faith vs. fear; God wants us to reach our potential, so step up; and God' promises.  He gave us a long list of God's promises that are in the Bible.  Again my brain, heart working together were thinking of how these promises will be foundational in my house when Grace comes to the US to be my daughter. 

God promises-

Salvation- Isaiah 54:13, 14
Sufficiency- Psalms 103:4, 5
Joy-Psalms 35:9
Provision and Supply- Malachi 3:10
Peace- Galatians 1:3
Hope- Romans 15:13
Power- 2 Corinthians 4:6, 7

An Ephesians 3:20 Decade

C3, the church I attend, held a meeting today of folks called Kingdom Builders.  The meeting was held by Pastors Matt and Martha Fry to provide an update on KB goals/accomplishments and to continue to encourage "builders" to believe beyond what we imagine for C3.  The Director of Ministries of Lakewood Church- Houston, Tx , Craig Johnson,  was there to elevate our vision by giving an overview of the last several years of growth at his church.  Lakewood is the church pastored by Joel  and Victoria Osteen.  All of the praise and glory was given to God by both Pastor Fry and Johnson for the extraordinary commitment of the church (parishioners) in harsh economic times.  Craig Johnson told us we can constrain our ideas and belief in what is possible since we look at our economy and not God's economy.  God's economy is limitless.  He further stated that our ideas are not God's ideas and we can sometimes not see all the possibilities that lie before us.  Johnson said we need to continue the grace revolution- the desire to change lives and love people by taking steps of faith especially when times are tough.

You may wonder what this has to do with Grace.  For the last several months, I have doubted my ability to step up and into the process of adopting Grace. As God revealed the support of so many people when  I "leaked" out the idea of adoption, it became apparent that my doubts were in the minority.  There have been some people who are not sure this is a sound decision on my part, however, the majority see the hand of God in this process and have opened doors that my doubts had locked.  For the people who were skeptical, I appreciate your honesty.  My prayer is that God, through the revelation of His plan, melts your doubt as you continue to follow the blog of our collective journey.

One last thought from today's message by Craig Johnson.  He said we are in a decade of Ephesians 3:20.
" ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..".    My heart latched on to that phrase.  For surely, if we are in a decade of immeasurable works of God, let us believe His power is in us to do more than we imagine for His kingdom as we nurture and teach His next generation.  The generation of which Grace is a contributor- my prayer continues to be that she will be a mighty witness and will give of self first for others.

Hang in their with us on this journey- love you!

Ugandan Adoption Process

You guys are awesome. So many prayers and well wishes.  Several sweet, precious donations to help with Bringing Grace Home.  Many of you have expressed an interest in knowing the process and the costs associated with the steps. Below is an abbreviated version of the Ugandan adoption process.  The information comes from s friend who recently adopted from Royal School and Orphanage in Mityana, Uganda.

1. Homestudy (2 months)                                            ~$1500
2. Immigration Approval (6 weeks)                             ~$720.00, plus $85 ea fingerprinting
3. Dossier Paperwork (2 months)                             
4. Attorney Prepares file (2 Months)                         ~$3500.00, plus shipping $150
5. Court dates- vary usually Spring/fall
6. Travel to Uganda (3 weeks)                                  ~$3000.00, incs lodging, etc
7. In- country-court twice-present case and ruling- child gets physical
8. Child costs- to do in Uganda                                ~$600.00, passport, physical, visa
9. Travel while in country                                        ~$600.00, 8-10 trips around town
10. Travel to US                                                         ~$1,000.00 (depends)
11. US adoption completion                                      ~$400.00, (US court cost and post home study)

Again, we are so encouraged by your belief this adoption will happen. Please keep us in your prayers and send notes of encouragement when you have time.  Love you.

Walking on Faith to Bring Grace Home

Over a year ago, a friend talked to me about the possibility of adopting a child from Royal School and Orphanage in Mityana, Uganda. Being single and the primary care giver for my aging parent, I struggled mightily with the idea and then -got busy with life.  The thought of being a mother was hard for me.  Like most women, I longed for a child, but it was not to be- not biologically.  There were many personal issues that silently, but relentlessly ate at my core as reminders of the many babies that came and left -never to mature to birth. A deep and hollow internal pit that I avoided at all cost. I found other outlets with family, sports and friends, but there was a deep longing to nurture and love a child.  Always there, no matter how busy I kept myself.

So my friend kept talking to me and introducing me to other very busy women who have adopted children.  She and her husband adopted 3 children from the RSO last November  and now they have a family of 7. All of these truly amazing women have large families, busy careers and enormous hearts to do more for the least of these. Most importantly, they have tremendous faith- they believe Father God will make provision for their families and these new children.  Truly a walk of faith.

Prior to the trips to Uganda to adopt her 3 children,  my friend had a vison of an African girl playing in my backyard with me and Mom. She knew that child was to be mine.  The girl was wearing an antique pink summer dress.  You can imagine my surprise when the phone rang at the office and my friend started telling me about this vision of the child. She described the dress and that my mother was in the vision.

Mother had been gravely ill and required several hospitalizations over the proceeding months. To hear someone say that this was from God and Mom was part of the vision, was really testing my faith.  For my friend, this was confirmation from God that Mother would meet this child and I would be her parent.  A few weeks later, she heard God tell her the child's name would be Grace.  Now remember this friend has never met the child and there are 100s of children at RSO. All of the proceeding she told me and a close friend in the weeks prior to leaving for business in Uganda.

Upon returning from her trip to Uganda, she called me and said - I have to talk to you and show you pictures.  We met for lunch. What happened next still makes my heart skip.  My friend told me a lengthy story about meeting with the Head Mistress at RSO and asking if there were any girls there named Grace.  There were two which were brought from the dorms to the guest house at RSO.  The night my friend met Grace, she was wearing an antique pink dress.  These children only have a few change of clothes and other clothes are donated.  Somehow in a box of donated clothes, Grace picked out a pink summer dress and that is what she wore the night she was introduced to my friend.  You can see the picture above.

Grace is 10, probably close to 11 now. I only have pictures of her and she has one of me.  Thankfully, my friend took some things to her last November.  At 15 without a sponsor, Grace will have to leave RSO to figure out life on her own.  She has no family to help her or guide her through the remainder of her teenage years. She will be vulnerable. It is my heart's desire to bring her to my home and provide a loving environment as she finishes high school and college.  Also, to help her mature into a confident, productive young woman with a heart to help the least of these.  The thought of Grace trying to live out her teenage life on the streets in a country with millions of orphans and no chance of completing school is difficult. 

This blog is intened to keep the story going as we begin the journey of bringing Grace home.  Many of you have asked how you can help.  Prayer is the most important contribution.  Gifts or loans will enable me to make the trips to Uganda, pay for processing the necessary adoption paperwork and pay attorney fees. Passing this blog link on to others who will be interested in reading the story or helping with this mission of love is appreciated.