My father recently gave us a book entitled "Orphanology" Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care by Tony Merida and Rick Morton. Even just on the first chapter, I can say it is a book that I recommend everyone read. Let me share with you the first paragraph of the first chapter:
"Our prayer as we begin this journey together is for you to experience 1 John 3:1, "see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children of God; and so we are." And if you are a Christian already, please consider afresh God the Father's personal, particular, and persevering love for you, His adopted child. May your consideration of this love God gives create in you a desire to reflect His love to orphans."
That is our prayer too! We want our journey to reflect God's love...God's love for us as His children and God's love for the fatherless, abandoned, lonely. To look back, already, and think that this adoption may have already led people to Him or that it has already opened one or more persons eyes to the fact that God has called us all to care (in some way) for the fatherless, abandoned, lonely, the orphaned is so exciting for us!
We originally created this blog so that we could allow a window into our journey of adoption, whether it be to aid another family in an adoption to Malawi, help us to raise money for our adoption, to raise awareness of the fatherless and orphaned around the world, or just to provide a way for friends, family, and/or even strangers to know how to pray for us. Whatever the reason we first started this blog, it has become so much more for us...it is more than a window into our journey, it is a window in our hearts. We have shared our tears, smiles, laughter, dreams and frustration with you and with Thanksgiving soon approaching, we want this month to be focused on the thanksgiving we have in our hearts for all the things in our lives (including you, yes you who are reading this). So, let me take this time now to say "Thank you". Thank you for reading this post, for following our blog, for learning about us and walking alongside us on this journey, for giving your time to pray for us, for being willing to be used by God to help fund our adoption to bring our babies home! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
This past month a lot has transpired, so I want to share some updates with you:
We are excited to announce that our home study is DONE! Yup! If you haven't already heard via facebook, we finished up our home study and received our report around the second week of October. We are now working on sending out applications for grants (things have taken a bit longer with that since we have recently joined a new church and so our new pastor will have to fill out all of our applications-we will be meeting with him this next week about that). We know, however, that God's timing is absolutely prefect! We have sent in our i600a form (along with $890) to homeland security to be approved to bring orphans into the United States. That document is the last (for now) that stands between us bringing our babies home. After Malawi officials have given us a "for sure" "ok" on children there, we can then file our i600 form to approve those particular children as orphans (that doesn't take as long to be approved). Right now, though, we could be waiting up to 75 days from the date our documents were received which was October 24th. So roughly around Christmas or a little after is about the longest we'll have to wait, but AGAIN God's timing is prefect and if He wants it processed next week it will be and honestly we are anxious but we are also okay with waiting because we know that He has called us to wait upon Him! In the meantime, Hyacinth Kulemeka (the head social worker in Malawi) has told us to wait on her. She had been asking us to call her every week for an update on her end, but she has since asked us to email her our information and wait on a response from her. She has sent a team to the hospital where the triplets were born and to the village to get written permission from their family members for adoption, so we are waiting on her response. We have known all along that the triplets could possibly not be found eligible, or that another family could be working just as hard to adopt them and maybe even get to take them home instead of us, which has honestly been rough on us, but we know that God has the right children for us. He has led us to the triplets for some reason, whether that be to bring them into our home, whether it be to pray for them, whether that be to support their Aunt (who is caring for 3 of her own children and 3 of their older brothers and sisters), whatever the reason we want what God wants for us!
So, in short: we are waiting...on a lot of things...but still we are waiting and we know that God can and will be glorified even in waiting!
Blessed to be waiting upon the Lord,
Ashley
Friday, November 4, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
being REFINED to GLORIFY HIM
God showed me once again today, through studying His Word, that there is a purpose for everything in my life and the life of our family and to rejoice in that, no matter what the circumstances because HE IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL.
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." (Philippians 4:4)
"But now, O Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, and you are our potter, we are all the work of your hand." (Isaiah 64:8)
Charles Stanley writes, in 30 Life Principles, that "Nothing that happens to you is ever meaningless or useless...God has a very important purpose for refining you, which is to conform you to the image of His Son and glorify Himself through you. The more jolting the hardship, the greater the ministry which God is preparing for you. The deeper the cut, the more profoundly God will use you to do His work in the world if you will trust and obey Him."
Waking up with the attitude every monring that I want, yes want God to refine me daily in order for me to be conformed to the image of His Son so that Christ may be glorified through me, I'll admit, some days isn't always easy. I can't say that waiting week after week is an easy task, but if it means that we are 'smack-dab' (did I say that right?) in God's will, then bring it on!!! I will wait, but I will still cry out!
"Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch." (Psalm 5:1-3)
And I know that He hears my cry and His will, will always prevail!
"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry." (Psalm 40:1)
As we continue to wait, and tomorrow brings a new possibility of answers and a step further to bringing home our child/children we rejoice in waiting because we rejoice in being refined!
Thank you for walking through this refining process with us (otherwise known as adoption). May God always receive ALL THE GLORY through this adoption!
-Ashley
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." (Philippians 4:4)
"But now, O Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, and you are our potter, we are all the work of your hand." (Isaiah 64:8)
Charles Stanley writes, in 30 Life Principles, that "Nothing that happens to you is ever meaningless or useless...God has a very important purpose for refining you, which is to conform you to the image of His Son and glorify Himself through you. The more jolting the hardship, the greater the ministry which God is preparing for you. The deeper the cut, the more profoundly God will use you to do His work in the world if you will trust and obey Him."
Waking up with the attitude every monring that I want, yes want God to refine me daily in order for me to be conformed to the image of His Son so that Christ may be glorified through me, I'll admit, some days isn't always easy. I can't say that waiting week after week is an easy task, but if it means that we are 'smack-dab' (did I say that right?) in God's will, then bring it on!!! I will wait, but I will still cry out!
"Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch." (Psalm 5:1-3)
And I know that He hears my cry and His will, will always prevail!
"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry." (Psalm 40:1)
As we continue to wait, and tomorrow brings a new possibility of answers and a step further to bringing home our child/children we rejoice in waiting because we rejoice in being refined!
Thank you for walking through this refining process with us (otherwise known as adoption). May God always receive ALL THE GLORY through this adoption!
-Ashley
Friday, September 23, 2011
"...He will not leave you or forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6
I definitely didn't think it had been so long since my last post, but as I've said before, the adoption process is a slow and sometimes 'stand still' journey (physically at least). This last month has proven to be one of the most difficult times to date in our adoption journey and has tried our patience. One thing I do know is that God has taken us through it and we know He is faithful to continue to walk in front of us, alongside us holding our hands, and behind us giving us that push that we sometimes need. Our faith in God and our trust in Him to complete what He has started and what He has revealed to us is what ultimately keeps us going. He has given us an awesome responsibility already as parents and we know that this new and incredible responsibility He has laid before us, otherwise known as adoption, is one that He alone has ordained. May we never lose sight of that and may all who are witness to our adoption only be able to say 'Wow! God is great!' and that we may only give honor and glory where it is due.
About two and a half weeks ago I found out or better yet came to the realization that our lawyer was not doing a very good job. Really, he wasn't doing anything! So, we prayed about it and decided to go with a lawyer we had previously found (unlike the other lawyer, we didn't know anyone who had used him for their adoption, but he did come with high recommendation from the Malawi Embassy). So, I called Alan, the lawyer we hoped would represent us now, and well I asked if he would represent us and what the next steps are in the process. He did more for our case in the first 10 minutes of speaking with him than our old lawyer did in weeks. Praise the Lord! God again proved that He was all knowing and in control of every situation! He told me that in order to continue with our adoption, we would need to speak with Hyacinth, the head of the social services in Malawi, who controls the adoption process. I was instructed to call her and tell her about the triplets, about the situation with the families wanting to split them up, and to see from her what steps I needed to take next in order to find the triplets eligible (again) and to adopt them. He emphasized that we needed her on our side if we wanted to win our case. Ultimately, again, I knew however that a case would only be won and the adoption would only be complete if it was/is truly God's will for our family! We have before and since we found out about the triplets, prayed for the children we are going to adopt. Hannah and Noelle also pray for them on a 'several-times-a-day' basis. WE ONLY WANT THE CHILDREN GOD WANTS FOR US AND WE ONLY WANT THEM IN HIS TIMING! That being said, we have felt through prayer that God has led us to the triplets, and so we walk on the path God has set before us until He shows us something different. We have come to know a little about the girls, and if I could show you their pictures, then you couldn't help but want to hold them and kiss them and love on them. That has proven to be such a hard part of all of this....the uncontrollable! I, even if I'm not actually, do feel like I'm in some control of my girls...well, am I right? I can tuck them in bed, I can put good food on the table for them to nourish their bodies with, but the triplets or any other child/children we adopt I can't yet do that with...I can't hold them when no one else will, I can't give them good food to eat or ensure that they truly are eating and to be honest it's is really hard to have no control. I wouldn't say that I, Ashley, am a control freak, but yeah I kind of am. We, as parents, know that our children are really God's children that He has given us them to train and to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they may honor Him with their life, bearing fruit, praising Him, and working for His glory! So, we are already praying for the children He will bring into our family, not as the world sees as a natural way to enter a family, but through a God extraordinary way that we may do the same with them, training them to one day honor and glorify God with their lives, as we are already training our children now to do. So, it is a daily thing with Hannah and Noelle and praying for our future children, that God would take over, thanking Him for allowing us to be a vessel that He is using to instruct them in the ways of the Lord and thanking Him for everyday we get to do just that.
My conversation with Hyacinth two weeks ago wasn't as positive as I had hoped, but she was glad we were now headed in the right direction. She asked for a week to work on getting some answers and finding out some information concerning the triplets. So, I called again last Friday to speak with her about what she had discovered and there was little news. Praise God for the little things though! Not only had she found out from the Nursery, the orphanage the girls are to be moved to once they reach 5 pds-an orphanage that doesn't allow siblings to be split up, that they are still expecting them soon but Ms. Hyacinth was positive and well...she was nice! and that was a big change from our conversation the previous week. She asked for me to call her in a week or two, as she was sending a team to the hospital where the girls were born and are still at and to find their Aunt. If you remember from a previous post, any living relatives that would normally be caring for the children, have to approve the adoption (making the children eligible for adoption). So, as I prepare to make the phone call to her in the next few minutes, as the phone line was busy earlier giving me time to write a post, I pray that she would know some new information and that we would continue to move where the Lord directs! Alan, our lawyer, is on 'stand-by' waiting for the 'ok' from Ms. Hyacinth so that he can proceed forward with our adoption!
Pray with us for this team of people, for us to find favor with Hyacinth and with any other Malawian officials, pray for the Aunt (as I can't disclose pictures of the girls until our court date, I won't disclose her name either)-pray that we would find favor with her, pray that our desires would only be the desires that God wants for us-that God's desires wouldn't match the desires of our hearts, BUT THAT GOD'S WILL WOULD ALWAYS BE THE DESIRE OF OUR HEARTS!, pray for Alan as he prepares to represent us-he'll be taking on a lot especially since there are three families that want to split the girls up, for the girls as they continue to gain weight-that they would remain healthy and growing strong, for their caretakers both the hospital workers and the ones that are preparing for them in the Nursery-that God would give them strength and wisdom. May God place these girls in the home/homes He wants for them and may we always know that His ways are higher and greater than ours will ever be!
Thank you once again for being a part of our journey, for enduring all of my long, ungrammatically correct posts!
-Ashley
About two and a half weeks ago I found out or better yet came to the realization that our lawyer was not doing a very good job. Really, he wasn't doing anything! So, we prayed about it and decided to go with a lawyer we had previously found (unlike the other lawyer, we didn't know anyone who had used him for their adoption, but he did come with high recommendation from the Malawi Embassy). So, I called Alan, the lawyer we hoped would represent us now, and well I asked if he would represent us and what the next steps are in the process. He did more for our case in the first 10 minutes of speaking with him than our old lawyer did in weeks. Praise the Lord! God again proved that He was all knowing and in control of every situation! He told me that in order to continue with our adoption, we would need to speak with Hyacinth, the head of the social services in Malawi, who controls the adoption process. I was instructed to call her and tell her about the triplets, about the situation with the families wanting to split them up, and to see from her what steps I needed to take next in order to find the triplets eligible (again) and to adopt them. He emphasized that we needed her on our side if we wanted to win our case. Ultimately, again, I knew however that a case would only be won and the adoption would only be complete if it was/is truly God's will for our family! We have before and since we found out about the triplets, prayed for the children we are going to adopt. Hannah and Noelle also pray for them on a 'several-times-a-day' basis. WE ONLY WANT THE CHILDREN GOD WANTS FOR US AND WE ONLY WANT THEM IN HIS TIMING! That being said, we have felt through prayer that God has led us to the triplets, and so we walk on the path God has set before us until He shows us something different. We have come to know a little about the girls, and if I could show you their pictures, then you couldn't help but want to hold them and kiss them and love on them. That has proven to be such a hard part of all of this....the uncontrollable! I, even if I'm not actually, do feel like I'm in some control of my girls...well, am I right? I can tuck them in bed, I can put good food on the table for them to nourish their bodies with, but the triplets or any other child/children we adopt I can't yet do that with...I can't hold them when no one else will, I can't give them good food to eat or ensure that they truly are eating and to be honest it's is really hard to have no control. I wouldn't say that I, Ashley, am a control freak, but yeah I kind of am. We, as parents, know that our children are really God's children that He has given us them to train and to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they may honor Him with their life, bearing fruit, praising Him, and working for His glory! So, we are already praying for the children He will bring into our family, not as the world sees as a natural way to enter a family, but through a God extraordinary way that we may do the same with them, training them to one day honor and glorify God with their lives, as we are already training our children now to do. So, it is a daily thing with Hannah and Noelle and praying for our future children, that God would take over, thanking Him for allowing us to be a vessel that He is using to instruct them in the ways of the Lord and thanking Him for everyday we get to do just that.
My conversation with Hyacinth two weeks ago wasn't as positive as I had hoped, but she was glad we were now headed in the right direction. She asked for a week to work on getting some answers and finding out some information concerning the triplets. So, I called again last Friday to speak with her about what she had discovered and there was little news. Praise God for the little things though! Not only had she found out from the Nursery, the orphanage the girls are to be moved to once they reach 5 pds-an orphanage that doesn't allow siblings to be split up, that they are still expecting them soon but Ms. Hyacinth was positive and well...she was nice! and that was a big change from our conversation the previous week. She asked for me to call her in a week or two, as she was sending a team to the hospital where the girls were born and are still at and to find their Aunt. If you remember from a previous post, any living relatives that would normally be caring for the children, have to approve the adoption (making the children eligible for adoption). So, as I prepare to make the phone call to her in the next few minutes, as the phone line was busy earlier giving me time to write a post, I pray that she would know some new information and that we would continue to move where the Lord directs! Alan, our lawyer, is on 'stand-by' waiting for the 'ok' from Ms. Hyacinth so that he can proceed forward with our adoption!
Pray with us for this team of people, for us to find favor with Hyacinth and with any other Malawian officials, pray for the Aunt (as I can't disclose pictures of the girls until our court date, I won't disclose her name either)-pray that we would find favor with her, pray that our desires would only be the desires that God wants for us-that God's desires wouldn't match the desires of our hearts, BUT THAT GOD'S WILL WOULD ALWAYS BE THE DESIRE OF OUR HEARTS!, pray for Alan as he prepares to represent us-he'll be taking on a lot especially since there are three families that want to split the girls up, for the girls as they continue to gain weight-that they would remain healthy and growing strong, for their caretakers both the hospital workers and the ones that are preparing for them in the Nursery-that God would give them strength and wisdom. May God place these girls in the home/homes He wants for them and may we always know that His ways are higher and greater than ours will ever be!
Thank you once again for being a part of our journey, for enduring all of my long, ungrammatically correct posts!
-Ashley
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