Below is a video produced by Hope for Orphans, a ministry of Family Life, that celebrates the way that churches are beginning to creatively and passionately answer the call to care for the orphan.  What a powerful witness to the world as God's people step out to put their faith in action to those who the world has left behind.  For so long the onlooking world has described Christians as 'hypocritical' because they see people acknowledge Jesus with their lips and denying Him with their lifestyles.  Yet so many in the church now are being known for their love in action.  So thank you for all who have supported us this past year and done so much for others as well.  God bless and Happy New Year!

in Christ,

Brian and Whitney

Thank you God

Whitney and I were taking a moment to catch our breath the other night and reflect (which is really good to do sometimes).  As we were thinking about the adoption journey we were amazed about God's faithfulness to us.  Back in October we were definitely at one of those 'test your faith' points as we had exhausted our funds to pay the first wave of adoption expenses.  We are now in December and realized that God has already brought in a little over $21,000.00 towards our goal of $34,000.00 to fully complete the adoption (Just $13,000 more to go to get it done, yay!).  If you would have told me we would already be here at this point, I'm not sure I would have believed you.

So we now have the money to pay the next wave of expenses and will have some time to trust God for the rest over this next year.  God is so faithful and His timing has been perfect to provide exactly what we needed when we needed it.  My trust in God has gone from academic to a more practical level over this journey.  Let me tell you that when you step out to follow God and do the things that are in His heart....He will be faithful.  He knows our situation and He will supply your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

Whitney and I are realizing that at this point we can now focus again on finishing all of our paper work we need to get done to complete the Dossier.  Please pray for discipline and diligence for us to get all of that done (I need help in that area).  Thanks as always for your prayers and support.

in Christ,

Brian

Adopting Together

Here are some pics from our fundraising party on Saturday.  What an incredible night.  It was amazing to see so many friends and businesses come together to support the night.  So many donated food, services, and supplies.  So many helped us prep the food, the bridge, the decorations, etc.  So many helped the event by volunteering and helping us clean up afterwards.  Also, we were so blessed by the different families who gave donations and wrote really encouraging notes and prayed such awesome prayers over us.  I think one of the greatest blessings was the overwhelming sense that we are not alone but that so many are a part of this journey with us now and what a great celebration it will be when we finally get to bring our little one home.

Climbing the mountains of adoption

Well we are pressing on in our adoption journey.  We have completed our Psychological Evaluation and our Home Study at this point and are waiting to get the results back from both of those.  We are still not sure if we are going to be considered sane or insane...I will let you all know.  At this stage we are now working with a consultant company that is assisting us in completing the Dossier which is the massively huge packet that will be mailed off to Honduras for translation and approval.  The Dossier includes the Home Study, Psch Evalutaion, our pet medical records, fingerprints, every possible paper on us notarized, every inch of medical info that is possible, and on and on.  It is really mind boggling.  I am learning to just walk through the hoops and not gripe and complain (even though it is tempting).

The Fall season has brought challenges to us.  It was definitely easier to get paper work done and feel momentum in the summer but the insanity of the Fall schedule has really strained us.  We are also at a stage of life where we are figuring out how to manage everything: 2 working parents, kids old enough to have real school work and tests, kids old enough to be participating in extra-curricular activities, church activities, etc.  When you throw in adoption on top of all that it can be challenging.  There are days where we feel like throwing in the towel and discouragement lingers over us.  I find myself more naturally praying in a dependent and desperate way these days for sure.  As I look at what needs to happen and get done I simply do not have the answers and do not know how it's going to happen.

I feel like we are entering into the next level in the adoption journey.  Level 1 consisted of the initial decision and letting people know that we were doing this.  Level 2 consisted of the first round of payments and paper work that really added a whole new level of reality - 'ok we are really doing this'.  I feel like we have entered into Level 3 now.  We saw God provide financially to cover all of our Level 2 finances (over $7000) and it was wonderful confirmation that He is with us and He is our Jehovah Jireh, our provider.  So we got to the top of that mountain only to discover that it was a foothill and not a mountain and now a much larger hill is in front of us again.  We are now needing to raise around $12000 worth of funds and navigate a whole list of paper work items to reach the top of this next hill.

So we are stepping out and trying to keep on moving.  We are teaming up with Josh and Suzanne Bramlett, who are also adopting, to raise money through donated items at our church garage sale this Saturday (October 13).  We are also stepping out to host a big fund-raising party on October 27th here at the Bridge, our youth building, that will consist of grilling out together, family games, and a chance for us to share what we're doing.  Anyway, thanks for your support, your prayers and taking time to read my ramblings.  May God bless you and may you step out and seek Him first today in all you do!

in Christ,

Brian

What Jesus thinks about kids

In Mark 9:37 it says, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."  In the culture of Jesus' day and even today, children are often looked at as nuisances, in the way and not welcome.  Jesus spoke this word directly against that attitude.  He very clearly tells us that whoever welcomes a little child is welcoming Him.  Larry Wilson, the leader of our mission team this week in Honduras, shared a story from a few years ago.  He was working on a mission team and during his time in one of the small Honduran towns a little girl walked up to him.  Some of the local people said that she was a vagabond.  The dictionary defines that word as disreputable or worthless.  That is what that little girl was told.  So many of the little kids here believe that they have no value.  They are abused, neglected and mistreated. 

Eric Riggle, who has been coming here for years, shared a testimony today about a little girl.  He shared that God has given him a gift.  His gift is the ability to work with his hands and make things as a carpenter.  Eric has helped install roofs, built a house for a pastor, built a huge deck/platform for a youth center, tables and chairs for kids, and many more things beyond that.  With tears in his eyes he shared that this week God gave him another ability....the ability to make a little girl smile.  This little girl is standing beside Eric in the picture and her name is Marjorie.  Eric met Marjorie a couple of years ago on another project and she was missing her front teeth.  At the beginning of the week she would never smile.  Eric cared for her and spent time for her and eventually by the end of the week she gave him a huge smile.  Eric had become the hands and feet of Jesus to this little girl, communicating to her that she mattered to God.  This week that little girl wandered over to our church and found Eric again and they were reunited.  He learned that she has become a leader in her Sunday School class and also is one of the worship leaders in the church now.  Her life has been changed because someone believed in her and noticed them and loved them.

I heard a quote today that goes something like this, 'Don't ever get so big or so important that you don't have the time to answer a phone call from a 2 year old with a plastic toy phone.'  I like that.  Jesus cares about these little ones and so should we. 

Rich

Normally when i think about rich, i would tend to think about having a lot of money.  The reality is though, rich, is being connected to God.  When you surrender your life to Christ, you are connected to the One who created everything from nothing and the One who owns a cattle on a thousand hills, which is old school language for, uh, everything.  Because of His lavish love and mercy and glory He adopted me into His family and calls me His Son, wow.  I am starting to understand wealth in terms of relationships.  Truly the most wealty and rich people are those who are rich in relationships.  First, a relationship with God through Christ, and second through relationships with others.  That's been one of the biggest blessings about doing these short term mission trips is that my heart feels deeply satisfied as I grow richer in relationships through serving alongside of other brothers and sisters in Christ and through spending time with these kids and youth each and every day.  One of the biggest tragedies is getting sucked into the lie that money will make you happy and to do anything it takes to make money including burning bridges, taking shortcuts, and walking all over people.  One a sad ending for those who choose that path.  Everytime I go to a funeral of a person who was rich in relationships, it is profoundly powerful.  Never does anyone celebrate the money they made, but rather the relationships they made...their relationship with Christ and their relationship with others.

Pray for the North East

One of the things I've enjoyed very much about mission trips in the past is getting to know our team mates.  We have a great group serving alongside us from Vermont and it has been very challenging to learn about the state of the church there.  Vermont is the least Christian state in the U.S. and to hear one of the ladies share about it was powerful.  They truly walk around as the outcasts, aliens and strangers in their community up there.  They long for Christian fellowship in their schools and businesses but it is very hard to find.  We need to be praying for our brothers and sisters up in the Northeast.  Also, the pastors up there have the highest burn-out rate of anywhere in the country.  It is difficult when you are pouring out your life and you see little fruit.  But there is a strength in these Christians and a determination to depend on Christ for everything that is very challenging to me.  They are waiting upon the Lord and standing up for him boldly and expectant of what He is going to do.