Orphan Sunday

Yesterday was "Orphan Sunday". A day that CAFO (Christian Alliance For Orphans) helped establish to mobilize Christians and the Church to engage the biblical call to care for and look after the orphan. Often times because of the magnitude of "needs" that those who have been orphaned face, we tend to think that adoption is orphan care. While certainly adoption is a significant way to care for and look after the orphan, I was reminded again yesterday of the vast spectrum of ways orphan care happens. I must admit that in being on this journey of adoption it has been easy to slip back into that mindset that only thinks of orphan care in connection with adoption. The reality is that we (Abbie and I) have been involved in orphan care for well over 10 years... most of which had nothing to do with adoption. We have housed kids and been a part of the ministry of the African Children's Choir as they tour the US and raise funds for their ministry. We have participated in missions trip to a variety of places such as Mexico, Bolivia, Kenya, and yes even Haiti; on which we had opportunities to love and encourage kids who had been orphaned. We sponsor two children through CGA (Christ's Gift Academy) in Kenya; and though neither of our sponsor kids are orphans, our partnership with the school and the family of Pendo & Haiba, we are a part of the lives of the hundreds of orphans impacted by the ministry there. You see, there are so many ways we can be "a part" of how God is touching the lives of orphans. There are vast and far reaching, almost endless, ways you can care for the orphan. Our encouragement to you is not that we think you should adopt (although we certainly would encourage you to prayerfully consider it and keep the option open should the Lord desire to ask you to do so), but rather that you should find what you can do and begin to do it.

All of this was brought to heart yesterday by this post on instagram ...

 

Adopt Together

November is "National Adoption Month".  It's was great to see this week the celebration here in Great Falls of the finalization of 17 local adoptions!  As the month goes on, we will be posting several videos and ther blog posts that we hope will be an encouragement to you of things that are impacting our own hearts in this adoption journey.

Several family and friends have asked about how they can financially be a part of our adoption journey with us.  We looked into several ways that would allow us to fundraise and for friends and family to give.  We felt like Adopt Together was the best way that allows your gifts to be tax-deductible, while also being used solely for our adoption journey as we continue to take steps forward and pay fees as things progress.

Here is a short video about Adopt Together.  If you feel led at any time to give, simple click on the Adopt Together button located on the right side of our blog page.  It will take you directly to our adoption profile page so you can give.

Adopt Together- How it Works from AdoptTogether on Vimeo.

A Storm Is Brewing

Hurricane Matthew is building momentum and poised to potentially hit Haiti hard!  Please be praying for Haiti, it's people, and all those that could be tragically affected by this storm.

Here is what ABC is saying about this storm :

"This still looks like a high-impact event for Jamaica and Haiti ... We expect conditions to deteriorate in Jamaica and Haiti by Sunday night, early Monday morning, with the worst impacts throughout the day on Monday and into Monday night."

PLEASE PRAY!

A Changing Season!

Well, it is June 20 … the first day of Summer and the change to a new "season.  It also marks the day of a change in season of our adoption journey!

Today we received word that our agency has placed our dossier of all our adoption paperwork in the mail to Haiti.  Last week they received back our paper work having been approved by the Haitian consulate here in the US, and now it's on its way to Haiti for legalization and submission into their adoption system.

While we certainly have had a share of hiccups along the way with the process here in the US we also know there is a high likelihood of many more such delays, issues, and setbacks along the way.  These have been good "learning" experiences to help us emotionally handle what this next season of the journey will hold.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement along this journey.

It's All French To Me

This week we crossed another big step in the journey.  We got word today that CCAI received back all our dossier documents, completely translated into French!  Now, they can package all those documents up and send the the Haitian Consulate here in the US for our first legalization!  Please celebrate this step with us, and pray that the Consulate would process the legalization of the documents quickly, so that they can then be officially sent to Haiti.

I guess it's time to start working on our HaitianCreole learning.

Mèsi 

(Thank You)