Rejoice and weep
As I've entered into the adoption/orphan/foster world online, I've read many blogs that have encouraged and inspired me. Some are adopting from the same African country as we are, some are even within our agency, and we have children now in the same orphanage. (Dominique has been moved to a safe orphanage, where he will stay until he can come home.)
Right now some of these families are going through deep waters. I want to use my small voice to add to the chorus of those praying for these people, lifting them up to the Lord for His mercy, His grace, His care, and His intervention.
Hilary is a Christian mom who fosters and adopts children. In a situation too reminiscent of our own, she has had to give her foster daughter to live with another family. Hilary's blog Making a Home is here.
Traci has adopted from Ethiopia. Her account of her precious son's very difficult transition has prompted me to pray, and also to prepare for what may be ahead for us. Her family has also just adopted another child, a little girl whose adoption failed with another family. Traci works to bring an organization called Safe Families to her state. Safe Families seeks to intervene before the state has to, in order to help families stay together. There is a prayer need for progress for Safe Families in Wisconsin so that all the legislative work thus is not thwarted, and there is also a serious prayer need since Traci's husband just lost his job. Traci's blog Radical Love: Living a Missional Life is here.
Raegan has just adopted the most wonderful little boy from the Congo. She brought him home to the rest of their family in February. Now this little guy has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Unfathomable. Please pray for healing for Theo, and for God's grace and strength for Raegan and the family. Raegan's blog Oh Bla Da..Life Goes On is here.
And Sallee is the mom of six children, three of them from Ethiopia. Samson, the youngest, came home just recently. Sallee homeschools, blogs, and sews beautiful clothes. And now she is dealing with chemotherapy for cancer. Please pray for Sallee, for God's presence, His strength, and for healing. Hard to even imagine. Sallee's blog (often now posted by her daughter) It's Poppy Dip is here.
Weeping with those who weep. Rejoicing with those who rejoice.
And for us - we are doing both.
Little, every-day special things - like Nathan's Most Improved Player award in baseball this season, and Hannah's role in a summer musical of The Sound of Music. Those things bless and encourage us.
And wonderful news for Dominique - we have his embassy drop-off date (August 4th) and his embassy appointment (August 8th)! This refers to the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa. Our documents are on their way, being hand-carried by another mom who is headed there this week. Dominique is at a safe orphanage, with trusted caregivers, who will feed him three meals a day. That alone is a huge answer to prayer.
After the embassy appointment, there is the wait for his U.S. visa - perhaps two weeks or more. After that, our agency's coordinator will travel to Africa. The new no-escort ruling has not been enforced yet, so our new passports will sit on the shelf for now, as we revert to Plan A. J will go to Africa and submit the further information for Dominique's exit letter. That takes from ten days to two weeks. Each of these timeframes is approximate - and rather optimistic. But an arrival at home the end of August is not impossible.
It's hard to believe this is really happening. After so long, this all has an unreal quality about it. But we are very, very close to the end - and the beginning. So we rejoice.
And we weep. Bethany's foster daughter Little D left us 27 days ago. We have no idea how she is, we have heard nothing. We miss her more than ever, our hearts ache for her and for this loss. There is an emptiness in our lives that is acute, and very painful. We still pray fervently for a miracle, and for guidance for Bethany and Nate.
For us, for these other Christian families, and so many others right now-
God is able. And He is safe to trust.
Right now some of these families are going through deep waters. I want to use my small voice to add to the chorus of those praying for these people, lifting them up to the Lord for His mercy, His grace, His care, and His intervention.
Hilary is a Christian mom who fosters and adopts children. In a situation too reminiscent of our own, she has had to give her foster daughter to live with another family. Hilary's blog Making a Home is here.
Traci has adopted from Ethiopia. Her account of her precious son's very difficult transition has prompted me to pray, and also to prepare for what may be ahead for us. Her family has also just adopted another child, a little girl whose adoption failed with another family. Traci works to bring an organization called Safe Families to her state. Safe Families seeks to intervene before the state has to, in order to help families stay together. There is a prayer need for progress for Safe Families in Wisconsin so that all the legislative work thus is not thwarted, and there is also a serious prayer need since Traci's husband just lost his job. Traci's blog Radical Love: Living a Missional Life is here.
Raegan has just adopted the most wonderful little boy from the Congo. She brought him home to the rest of their family in February. Now this little guy has been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Unfathomable. Please pray for healing for Theo, and for God's grace and strength for Raegan and the family. Raegan's blog Oh Bla Da..Life Goes On is here.
And Sallee is the mom of six children, three of them from Ethiopia. Samson, the youngest, came home just recently. Sallee homeschools, blogs, and sews beautiful clothes. And now she is dealing with chemotherapy for cancer. Please pray for Sallee, for God's presence, His strength, and for healing. Hard to even imagine. Sallee's blog (often now posted by her daughter) It's Poppy Dip is here.
Weeping with those who weep. Rejoicing with those who rejoice.
And for us - we are doing both.
Little, every-day special things - like Nathan's Most Improved Player award in baseball this season, and Hannah's role in a summer musical of The Sound of Music. Those things bless and encourage us.
And wonderful news for Dominique - we have his embassy drop-off date (August 4th) and his embassy appointment (August 8th)! This refers to the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa. Our documents are on their way, being hand-carried by another mom who is headed there this week. Dominique is at a safe orphanage, with trusted caregivers, who will feed him three meals a day. That alone is a huge answer to prayer.
After the embassy appointment, there is the wait for his U.S. visa - perhaps two weeks or more. After that, our agency's coordinator will travel to Africa. The new no-escort ruling has not been enforced yet, so our new passports will sit on the shelf for now, as we revert to Plan A. J will go to Africa and submit the further information for Dominique's exit letter. That takes from ten days to two weeks. Each of these timeframes is approximate - and rather optimistic. But an arrival at home the end of August is not impossible.
It's hard to believe this is really happening. After so long, this all has an unreal quality about it. But we are very, very close to the end - and the beginning. So we rejoice.
And we weep. Bethany's foster daughter Little D left us 27 days ago. We have no idea how she is, we have heard nothing. We miss her more than ever, our hearts ache for her and for this loss. There is an emptiness in our lives that is acute, and very painful. We still pray fervently for a miracle, and for guidance for Bethany and Nate.
For us, for these other Christian families, and so many others right now-
God is able. And He is safe to trust.
posted by Donna-Jean Breckenridge at Wednesday, June 29, 2011
2 Comments:
i can't know the pain of these families. but i do know the God who loves them in it.
thank you for sharing this.
amy
God bless you!
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