Daily Gifts from God

On September 22, we decided to move towards the referral of G-boy, our new son from Ethiopia. If you missed that story, you can click here.

At the time, we were asked if we wanted to wait until we had all the money to accept the referral, $7500. We had a couple thousand, but needed much more. We felt God was calling us to move forward, so we stepped out in faith trusting that in 1 month God could and would provide the rest.

We prayed that God would give us financial encouragement every day between Sept 21 and Oct 19th. For 29 days we asked God to give a new sign each day.

And God did. Everyday for the past month, God has given us financial encouragement, daily reminders that He is in charge; like little love notes from God saying, "Don't worry, I have my eye on G-boy, don't worry, I will bring him home soon." When we say everyday, we literally mean every day (except one). We are not sure what happened that day. God probably did something and we missed it or couldn't remember it. But all the other days God did something. We wrote them all down.


Some days it was a check for a painting or a class, other days it was a card from a relative saying "I want to come along side you, let me help." Some days it was a rebate check, other days it was a promise from a friend to send money. One day, Rob went to the Wake Co. Principal-of-the-Year Banquet and won a door prize, a $50 American Express gift check. Each day was filled with anticipation, "How is God going to bless us today?"

We experienced the same thing back in June when we need money for the dossier. For 2 weeks straight, God kept filling our mailbox with all that was needed (click here to read that story). And as soon as we sent in the dossier the money stopped coming, like someone had turned off the spigot. Oh, we got gift checks and surprise money in July, August, and Sept, but they were few and far between (once every week or two).

BUT when we stepped out on Sept 22 it was like God turned on the spigot again and said, "Yeah, go for it, I am right here. You want encouragement each day, I can do that."

And on October 20, there was nothing. The money hasn't stopped completely, it keeps trickling in, but it was key for God to leave the mailbox empty on October 20. It was a reminder or how special the last 29 days had been. A reminder that He is in total control.

Official Referral of G-boy!!

Last Friday, 10/1, we received the OFFICIAL referral of G-boy, a very handsome 6 year old with a big smile!! Wish we could put photos on the blog for you, but cannot due to Ethiopian govt. rules. We are thrilled to be one step closer to bringing our son home.

And yesterday we sent G-boy a package: new jeans, a long sleeve red and blue striped collared shirt, Spiderman underwear, a Hot Wheels truck, punching balloons, crayons and paper, and a laminated 5x7 picture of us. The director of our adoption agency is traveling to Ethiopia next week and will be able to hand deliver this package to G-boy and tell him he has a family!

We are in the midst of watching God provide the fee that is due upon signing the referral and mailing it back. God has wowed us daily. He has whispered that He loves G-boy more than we do and He will provide a way for G-boy to come home to his mom and dad, brothers, and sisters. God has called people to come alongside us in some abundant ways!

Nehemiah Builds the Wall: Where Our Hearts Are

In our post here posted back in March, we discussed the reality that trouble often hits right after you step out to risk for God. In that post we said, "We know that when you step out to follow God, you are going to be met with wind and waves." Well, we have stepped out again, and the wind and waves have come again.

For starters, Su has taken the risk of agreeing to speak at a woman's conference this week; see details of that here. The topic of the talk is taking risks for God. She will be talking about Nehemiah and how he took on the impossible task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He did not have enough time or resources, there were obstacles galore, but he felt the call of God and knew that his provider had all that he needed. Su will talk about God's call for each of us to be a Nehemiah and do the impossible for God.

Su had cleared her calendar (as best she could) and set aside the week to mentally and practically prepare for the talk. Day one was a disaster. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. This kids were misbehaving, everything took longer than needed, little disasters happened left and right. It was like something out of a Chevy Chase movie. As the table was being set for dinner and a glass got knocked to the floor, sending glass and water all over the place, we had to laugh (after we yelled); satan was hard at work.
Then, after dinner, we emailed YWAM to let them know we were ready to move forward with G-boy. See yesterday's post here if you missed that. Thru our emails with our adoption agecny, we learned we could move forward with an official referral. As part of our communication, we wanted to make sure we understood correctly that $7500 was needed to accept the referral. We wanted to know how much we needed God to provide in the next few weeks. They confirmed, yes that was the correct amount and also suggested that we may want to wait until we obtained the money before moving forward.

What were we to do? Should we move forward and expect that the money would come, or sit tight and wait until we had it all in the bank?

The wind and waves had come again. This time it was not a broken glass of water, but a direct attack on our faith. Were we going to step out and trust that God would provide, or play it safe and wait?

How ironic that God would allow us to be tested in the area of risking during this week, the week where Su is to speak on risking.

As soon as Nehemiah started his project, he was met with opposition. Several officials ridiculed Nehemiah and challenged what he was doing. But Nehemiah responded, "The God of heaven will give us success." (Nehemiah 2:20). And God did! Nehemiah and his helpers finished in record time; they built that wall in 52 days!!! They had limited time and resources, tons of opposition, and every reason to quit, but God gave them success.
We trust that God will give us success, that he will teach through Su on Saturday morning, that he will take care of our family despite the "broken glasses of water", and that he will provide every penny of the funds needed to bring G-boy home. We are moving forward trusting that "the God of heaven will give us success."

My Son: Update from Rob

In July we finished our dossier (this huge pile of paperwork). This made us ready to be matched with a child. Up until that point there were no 4-8 year-old boys on the YWAM waiting list. There were only infants. There were times we felt like quitting because there appeared to be no children for us.

But in July, at the same time we were submitting our paperwork, G-boy, a 6 year old came into one of the Ethiopian orphanages. We cannot use his real name on the internet so we call him G-boy (like our J-boy aka Jonathan). We posted the story of the God timing miracle here is you missed it: all about our paperwork arriving in Ethiopia within days that G-boy was admitted to the orphanage.

When we submitted our paperwork, the workers at YWAM told us about G-boy. He was not adoptable yet; paperwork needed to be processed but all looked positive that he would indeed be adoptable. Again see this post here if you missed that story.

Over the last month, YWAM has told us more and more about G-boy. We have 3 precious pictures of G-boy. We are not allowed to share pics or any details on the internet, but wish we could. But if you stop by, we'd love to show you his pictures. G-boy has a huge smile and has lost his two front teeth. . . like most of the 6 year olds we know. We have fallen in love with him.

Since our paperwork was submitted back in July, we have been praying for God's direction, asking that God match us with the child he picked out, the one he chose way back before we ever knew we were going to adopt. We have come to feel that G-boy is the one. The kids talk about G-boy like he is their brother. His picture hangs in the hallway amidst the other family photos. When someone asks me, "Who is that?" I respond, "My son, G-boy."

No More Excuses: Risking for God

This You Tube video so illustrates what I am going to be sharing at the Women's Ministry Conference at Raleigh International Church on Sat, Sept 25.




I am going to be sharing about radical faith, God experiences and what it takes to be on mission with God. I will be teaching from the Bible book Nehemiah and using Nehemiah's story to challenge us to take crazy risks for God. I will be sharing many personal stories; some adoption ones too!

Are we going to make excuses as to why we can't be used by God or are we gonna make ourselves available for God sized dreams? So often we get our eyes fixed on ourselves, our shortcomings, and the large problems in front of us. Instead our eyes need to be fixed on God. That is what this You Tube video reminds me of.

I'd love for you to join me at the conference: Sat, Sept 25 from 10-1:30. I will be speaking alongside 2 other women. Lunch will be provided. Cost is $20 and needs to be mailed to Raleigh International Church by Sept 19th. Email me if you need more details.

Happy Ethiopian New Year!

It is a New Year in Ethiopia! It is 2003!! You gotta read this post here about the Ethiopian calendar to understand why Ethiopia is 7 years behind us. The post just made me marvel and reminded me how big the world is, so much bigger than Raleigh, NC and reminded me of how diverse the world is. Heaven will be too.

A God Story and Another Chance To Win a Painting

For a story that will

encourage you in your faith,

remind you that God can do the impossible

shout that God had not forgotten the orphans and longs to place them in families,

allow you to come alongside a family in bringing home their 2 children from Liberia,

and give you another opportunity to win one of my In This Home paintings. . .click here.