weekend reading

Were there some great posts this week or what?

So much is going on, I can hardly keep up. So many posts I wish I had written myself but someone else beat me to it. And I had to figure out what that smell in our fridge was all about. (It was week old black beans, in case you were wondering.)

So this weekend, kick your feet up and check out this post from Jen Hatmaker. (As if you haven't already read it.) I could pour chocolate on that woman and eat her. Seriously.

AND KATIE DAVIS! She drips of the Holy Spirit. He just oozes out of her. Reading her words is so humbling. I pray that we would all be prisoners of hope.

Then there was this post from the Orphan Justice Center.

This week, in the midst of our own crazy, I was having these exact thoughts. I even drafted a post in my mind, but it would not have been as good as this:

"The ending of abortion cannot be separated from the raising up of an adoption movement. Both concern wanting and loving children, born and unborn—and loving them enough to make them our own sons and daughters if they are left fatherless. In the Father’s house, there are no unwanted children.

There are currently nearly half a million children living in U.S. foster care, from newborn babies to teenagers. These children, along with those who have been aborted in their mother’s wombs, are America’s present day unwanted people group. Their lives have been tossed aside and ignored, even by the Church. These children live in our neighborhoods and attend our schools. But do we even see them, and do we care about their lives?

At this time, a very small percentage of the church is adopting the fatherless. Those children whom the world has named “unwanted” have not been received by the Church either.  Currently, the number of Christian church congregations in America outnumbers children who are waiting to be adopted from U.S. foster care by about a 3 to 1 ratio. This means that if each congregation adopted even one child, there would be no orphans in America. God has given His church the charge to care for the oppressed, the poor, and the orphan. These statistics yield disturbing evidence that the church, as a whole, has not heeded His Word on this issue. Currently, the government is raising the fatherless, though the church was given the mandate. "

Oh how I pray we will take these words to heart.

 
Francis Chan For Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

And finally, who doesn't love Francis Chan? If you haven't seen this Orphan Sunday video it's worth watching AND sharing.

And if you haven't heard of Orphan Sunday check it out here.

I plan to do a post on it but you never know when something will go bad in our fridge...

What are you reading this weekend? 

Bring the Ganger Family Home! (and an update on our "extra" boys)

I've mentioned before how awesome the adoption community is. Another great example of the awesomeness is this online auction created for the Ganger family. The Gangers are a family of four currently stuck in Uganda as they wait to become a family of six. They have to stay in country four - six weeks longer than they anticipated.

Some friends started the online auction because staying in another country for four - six weeks longer than you expected ain't cheap.

Please check out the auction! There are nearly one hundred items for sale, including baseball tickets, jewelry, art, gift cards, photography sessions, custom cakes, and more! All items have been donated so all proceeds go to support the Gangers adoption! The auction will close TOMORROW at NOON CST!

Go shop! Just don't outbid me:-)

Update on our "extra" boys - 

The boys spent the weekend with their grandfather who is a wonderful caring man. I spoke with him just after he got them and was heading to the park to tire them out before bedtime. We felt a huge sense of relief knowing where they were and that they were with someone safe BUT I still wanted to get my eyes and hands on them. That wasn't going to happen. I still felt unsettled.

A few minutes later I got a text from a friend. She was at the same park! She saw them! She talked to them! 

At that moment I realized how little I had been trusting in the Lord. I was still unsettled because I wasn't trusting that He was looking out for them and caring for them. My friend just happening to be at the same park at the same time was a visual reminder of what my worldly faith was failing to see. They belong to Him. He will care for them.

Currently, they are back in an unsafe, unhealthy situation and their whereabouts is not being shared with us or any of the other adults trying to do what is best for them. 

Thank you so much for praying. Please continue to pray for their protection. Pray that the reality of this situation would come into light quickly and that they would be removed from it. Pray for those involved in that process. 

THANK YOU!

spilling the beans... so that you'll be on your knees

I knew one day this post would come. I've started it in my head a dozen different times. It's never made it to paper or been pecked out on my keyboard. Until tonight.

But tonight is not how I wanted this to go. Tonight is hard. Tonight I am typing through tears as I wonder where two little boys are. I wonder if they are safe. Have they eaten? Has his diaper been changed? Who is with them? What are they doing? Has anyone told them they are loved and how precious they are?

On March 22nd, I met two little boys who have forever changed me. It wasn't something I shared here for reasons that are now irrelevant (or maybe not... but I'll deal with that later) but we are a "Host Family" for the Safe Families for Children program.

We learned about Safe Families last fall after Ethiopia denied our case. We knew it would take another year to bring home a kiddo from the DRC. We knew our home and hearts were ready for more kids. So we signed up.

As I've said before it is an amazing program. We adore the model. But 10% of the time, it doesn't work out. Reunification is not achieved.

We joked. "Watch, our first placement.. we'll be the 10%. We are the 10% people." 

We went through 30 hours of training and asked our home study agency and placement agency if it was ok. In that order.

Then nothing happened. The Louisville chapter was brand new and they didn't expect any placements until this summer.

But mid March I got an email. There were two kids who might need a host family. Would we be interested? I called William. I thought he would say no. He has always said we will grow our family one kid at a time. I thought he would extend this policy to hosting as well.

He didn't. He said "Well, that's why we signed up."

A few days went by and we waited. The mother of the children, who we found out were two and four year old boys, had some reservations about the program. She wanted to meet us.

(Side note: I have never wanted to look more normal in my life.)

We knew very little about the situation, only that mom had a mentor in her life who would be coming to the meeting along with our Safe Families case coach. We met at a pizza place. We came up with a transition plan.

We played at the park. They visited our house. They spent the night. And then they moved in.

One day there will be another post about the joys and trials of caring for two children who are not your own. The unbelievably funny things that four kids under the age of five talk about in the back of the van. What bedtime is like for kids who have never had a bedtime.

But this is not that post.

We realized pretty early on that our placement was not typical. That what Safe Families looks for in their families was not the make up of this family. So we did something we had never before discussed.

We became state certified foster parents.

Being approved to adopt internationally and being an approved host family are not the same thing as being able to care for kids in the care of the state. We felt like one day these boys may end up in the states care. If that happened they would not have been able to live with us. Unless we became state certified.

Then, what felt like suddenly, we were told that they would be transitioning back to mom. We had reservations about this but had no tangible reason to give. This is the reason we signed up for Safe Families, to preserve a family, but somehow it didn't feel like that. It felt wrong. It wasn't time.

What has happened since then, I'm not sure I can put into words. Everything I thought about caring for orphans has been challenged. (Everything except we are commanded to do it.) 

Everything I thought about adoption and birth parents and orphans in the US and attachment parenting and protecting your "own" family and redefining family... it was all tossed in the air and fell back down onto the Cross.

I have begged God to show me the next step. Just the next one, not the end. Just "what now?"

He still hasn't done that. We are still waiting. He is still writing this story.

Tonight, I do not know where those boys are. My heart is breaking for them because they probably don't know where they are either.

The situation has come to a critical point.  We believe what happens next will reveal our next step. What happens next will change the trajectory of all of our lives.

We need you to be on your knees. These boys need you to be on your knees. Pray for them. Pray for their protection. Pray for their hearts. Pray that they are bold and brave. Pray that the reality of the situation is seen by those who need to see it.

These boys belong to the Lord. He knows exactly where they are. They are in His hands. We are resting in this truth tonight.

Congo 2012

The last post, waiting:month three, was scheduled while we were out of town on vacation. I wrote it on Saturday night with no progress to report from the previous month. Not a fun post to write. Little did I know that our Consent to Adopt was issued on Friday! Finally! We'd been waiting on that one form for weeks and weeks.

Now, on to step #4 of 25 on the path to traveling and bringing our little guy home - filing for the Judgement Suppletif. When we switched from Ethiopia to the DRC, we were told the process would take 12 months start to finish. We prayed that even with the set-back of loosing our first referral, we would be home with "J" in 2012.

We pray that request daily. The kids pray it multiple times a day. Moses expects his brother to be home by Christmas.

So when we found out we are still 12 or so months away from bringing "J" home, it was heartbreaking on many levels. Emotional. Financial. Parental.

But somehow I didn't feel like we should stop praying for 2012. We discussed, prior to this new 12 more months bullarky, starting a "Congo 2012" campaign, rallying the troops to pray "J" home this year.

Instead of going with "averages" or "estimates" or "statistics" we are going to stick with the One who controls and defies time. We decided to continue praying for 2012 to be the year "J" will join our family. And we decided to go ahead with rallying the troops.

Since "J" is technically not yet our child, we can't share his photo online. You'll have to join our "Congo 2012" campaign to see his sweet face!

 
We had a few (okay a hundred) of these cards made to remind and encourage our family and friends to pray that "J" will join our family in 2012. We would love for you to hang one on your fridge!

If you'd like to join us as we storm the gates for this soon-to-be-no-longer-an-orphan, send your address to wordfromthewallaces AT gmail DOT com. There are lots of details that need to be worked out, and 21 more steps in this long road, but the Lord knows them all.

He alone can get us to the Congo in 2012 to bring "J" home! 

Will you join us as we intercede?

waiting: month three

This waiting, it sucks. 

You're shocked I know.

But here's the thing about waiting for three plus years - sometimes your pride tricks you into thinking you've actually gotten good at it. Like you've conquered it and are so content and experienced at it you've got it under control.

Then you get smacked upside the head with what seems like an impossible weight of waiting you can't possibly live through. For us, that smack came last week when we learned we are still 12 or so months away from bringing "J" home.

And here's the thing about that weight - we can't carry it. We must wait on the Lord. Not in a cheesy just stand on the sidelines and pick daisies all day while something in the Heavens magically comes together.

We have to wait on Him. Lean on Him. Ugly cry out to Him.Get on our knees before Him.Give it all over to Him.

Only when I am crushed by God, do I truly wait on Him. It's sad but true. My humanness can't do it otherwise.

So here we are: crushed and waiting. Thankful that He's got this. He's not finished writing this story, it's just going to take a little longer than we thought it would. Like three years longer. But who's counting?

p.s. For those of you who are reading because you're in the DRC process and care about the logistics - there were more errors found on our Consent to Adopt and our attorney was robbed at gunpoint. He lost his cell phone, computer and passport. (he was out of country) Therefore, we don't know if the Consent to Adopt has been signed by the mayor yet or not.

The reason for the additional wait is because we have an amazing agency who cares about the children of the DRC - ALL of them, not just the ones who can be adopted, and is working hard to build a relationship with the government officials instead of working around them. Building relationships takes time but they are committed long term to the care of the vulnerable children of the DRC.