Waiting for One More

Today is the big day we share the news publicly - to our churches and on facebook. It is also the day we launch our Pure Charity Campaign where we are trying to raise $10,000 of the nearly $25,000  needed to welcome our child home! So we have two fold request...  First, will you pray for us? We know prayer matters. It focuses our minds and changes our hearts.  It helps us see with God's eyes and gives us strength for the journey.  Pray for Chris and for me, pray for our girls (Eden and Bethany),  and pray for the child that God is bringing into our lives.  And then second - only if you feel called - will you prayerfully consider donating to our adoption? Every dollar helps as we try to bring our son into a home,  as we hear the cries of an orphan,  as we answer God's call.  Checks can be made out to our agency (EAC, Inc)  and just put a post-it note on it with our family name.  (Do...

We are't officially announcing for another two weeks, but we have been telling people here and there as we see them. We aren't hiding it- we are just trying to have some sort of order to it! But this incredible thing has been happening, as we have been telling people- the excitement is multiplying! And it is such a blessing to our souls! I know this journey is long and the road is going to be hard- but I am so thankful we do not walk alone! 

I am a big fan of this Andy Stanley quote. Chris and I spent the first years of our marriage so busy with ministry we forgot the blessing of family. But - thankfully- we have finally figured this out. The plans God has for our children - Eden, Bethany, and our son - are plans that are bigger and more wonderful than anything we could accomplish on our own. Which is humbling. Empowering. And challenging. So we pray daily, for God to help us as we raise these gifts.

Now before you get too excited,  we are just approved by our agency to become a client family.  There is a lot more approval that still needs to happen.  We have to sign a contract.  And pay a lot of money.  We have to do a home study.  And pay a lot of money.  We have to prepare a dossier.  And pay a lot of money.  A LOT A LOT A LOT at this point.  We have to send it to Haiti.  We have to wait.  And wait. And wait.  All before we can even find out the name of our son.  But today, we are praising God for the first answered prayer.  To God be the glory!

Yesterday was Mother's Day here in the US.  It started off with church and then we went to lunch at a cute little local sandwich shop we love. And then after our traditional Sunday afternoon nap (a requirement for a two-pastor family) we headed over to Chris' parent's house for our adoption photo shoot!  Chris and Katie  Bethany and Katie  Katie and Eden All of us at the treehouse.  We are waiting a few weeks before we officially announce,  (and waiting to be officially approved by the agency),  but we wanted to have some photos to use with our fundraising efforts and applications.   Bethany and Eden  I love this one. You can see the love our girls have for each other.  I can't wait to see the love they have for their brother.  We are waiting!

8% of Haitian children don't make it to their first birthday.  Half of the children under the age of 5 are malnourished. 64% of the population lives in extreme poverty, living on less than $1 a day. Unemployment is at 60% and 55% of the population is illiterate. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  While hard to actually calculate, because of the rough terrain,  loose family structure, and children given away because of lack of resources,  it is estimated that Haiti has half a million orphans.  500,000 orphans. 500,000.  Each one a child. Each one.  Each one worthy. Each one.  Each one who longs for a family. Who longs for a home. Who longs for love. I know that adopting one child might not seem like a lot,  when you see the number 500,000 - but we know that 1 child matters. Here is a good link for more information on Haiti: Haiti Statistics...

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying,  "This is the way; walk in it." -Isaiah 30:21    Last April, I kissed my babies and my love goodbye and boarded a plane for Haiti. I had no idea what to expect, no idea what I would encounter, I just knew I had to go. Originally, I thought I had to go because I am the pastor of a church who goes every year. After hearing the powerful witness of lives transformed by their time in Haiti - after so many of my leaders talking about how their lives were forever shaped by their experience - I knew I had to go. For work. So I could be a better pastor. So I could better understand my congregation. So I could better serve my church. For work.    But something happened as I got on the plane. Before I even touched down and stepped on to Haitian soil. I began to realize that going on the trip was some for work... but more of ...