Another month has passed, no news

The month of June has come and gone and nothing to report on the adoption side of life.  We are beginning to update paperwork, which will cost nearly $1000!  It is the most expensive waiting game we have played.  Our prayer is that this is our first and last update.  We rejoice with the other families that are getting calls and going to see their child(ren).  But man, why not us?  When is it our turn?

One the life side, June brought about minor ear surgery for our daughter Ryleigh.  She had an ear tube replaced and patched a hole in her ear drum from a previous tube surgery. 

I wish I had something more exciting to report, but we wait and wait and wait for that phone call when/if it ever comes.

Good news if you stretch far enough

We recently spoke with our agency and received news that both excites and frustrates us.  They said that some referrals had recently come in from Poland and that we had been considered for them, however, they came with requirements that we did not meet, such as Polish heritage.  I have a slightly German last name, so no getting around that.

However, we are telling ourselves this.  If SMIA works with about 20 couples a year, and 2-3 families recently received and accepted a referral, that means that if we were #20, we have moved up the list and are closer to receiving a child.  If we were anywhere in the line, we are moving up.  So that's good news.  If this line really exist somewhere, this is good news.  Not sure it does exist though.  We are excited for these families, but it just makes us want our referral even more. 

We know that God's timing is best and our plans do not always match up with His, but we are ready.

On the family side of things, our oldest daughter just graduated from pre-school and our youngest recently turned 1.  Our oldest still thinks she is from Poland and asks questions about when we went and got her.  She is excited to go over there and see the face of this new brother/sister we have been telling her about for over a year.

An update...still nothing

Well, it’s been quite some time since the last posting on here.  Not that we have been super busy finalizing an adoption, making travel plans or really anything adoption related.  In this time, we have seen another couple receive a referral, accept it, and get tentative travel dates.  But, as for us, nothing.  No news.  Waiting is hard.  Everything that we have control over, is complete.  Now we just wait to be matched up.  One can’t help but wonder about our papers.  Are they just laying on someone’s desk in Poland?  Have they been opened up and looked at?  Do they know that we are longing to see our child for the first time?

The month of February saw the one year anniversary of my knee being reconstructed after tearing lots of stuff in a church league basketball game the previous season.  Snow and cold weather came and went.   To celebrate her first Valentine’s Day, we were able to get Layla ear tubes.  What a great gift!

March showed promise of spring weather one day and then snow the next.  Kentucky weather is great.  The madness that is college basketball proved to be exciting for our beloved Kentucky Wildcats who made it all the way to the Final 4.  Kentucky basketball is a religion in this state for those of you outside of Ky.  March brought 4 teeth for our youngest daughter Layla.  Battling teething pains, ear infections, and pierced ears made for a fun month at our house.  Our other daughter, Ryleigh, also had her ears pierced for spring break.  Despite the sounds she made afterwards, she did not die from the piercing or the splinter she got weeks later.  You would have thought we were amputating her finger.  We are now post- piercing, post-splinter, and enjoying an ear infection and strep throat.

On the church side of things, our pastor Patrick Whyte is delivering God’s word.  He is a gifted speaker and has preached challenging and thought provoking messages one after the other.  He is currently preaching through the book of Acts, as we are making the journey to look more like a New Testament church.  Our Sunday school class has been reading the book, Radical, by David Platt.  To quote a guy in our class, “It will change your life.”  This has been a great book.  It’s God inspired and opens your eyes to the way we do church and God versus the church and God of the Bible.  We are meeting in small groups to dig deeper into the book to examine what it says, what the scripture says, and then what we are going to do about it.  My fear when presenting this book to the class was that we would read it and then not act upon it.  Having your eyes opened to what God wants us to do and then not acting upon it could be devastating.  There are so many challenges and new perspectives on what the American God is like, but compared to the God and Jesus of the Bible, we have molded them to look like us instead of us being molded to their image.  One of the best sections in the book talks about people who think they are not “called” to missions.  This is correct.  Jesus did not call us, he commanded us.  This is a command to all, not a calling for some.  Do we really think that God is only calling a few to do the work and that the great reward of Heaven would be for everyone?  Yes, I understand that not all are called to go to Poland, Africa, or wherever.  But, we are however, all responsible for getting the Gospel to these people. 

Looking back and ahead

This week brings a lot to mixed emotions to our lives.  Looking back, today is the anniversary of the Challenger disaster.  I remember 25 years ago, watching the news and seeing the explosion.  I was only 7 when it happened, but things like that stick in your mind.  Another anniversary happened this week.  It's been 66 years since the liberation of the German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp Auschwitz.  Having visited Poland several times and going to both Auschwitz camps, it sticks with you.  The museum is horrible, terrible, frightening, and intriguing.  It’s horrible to see the death and destruction that happened there by the millions.  It’s terrible to see the lack of value placed on human life.  Frightening to see what humanity is capable of when God is removed.  It’s intriguing to see the stories of people that never lost hope, pressed on, and sought change.

Looking ahead, we have a chance to experience change in our church, our church future, our community and in our lives.  After over 2 years without a full time pastor, our pastor search committee is presenting a man of God for our vote this Sunday.  Our interim pastor has been preparing our church, our hearts, and our church body for this change, though he has had no hand in the committee’s decision. 

We have very little color in our church.  Tradition tradition tradition.  Cynthiana Baptist Church history talks about our members having servants and people of color belonging to members.  BELONGING TO MEMBERS.  Our pastor candidate is going to bring change.  He is a black man from Nigeria.  He is 7 feet tall in shoes.  He is married to a white girl.  While the deceased church members roll over in their graves, we (most of us under 50 years old and a few over) are excited.  This man of God, who happens to be black, is awesome.  He loves missions, is led by the Spirit, and seems to have no flaws.  We wonder if we bring in a pool, can he walk across it.

Several people have said they don’t see him as black, emphasizing they fact that they are not racist.  Feeling the need to tell people you are not racist, in my mind, seems odd.  People, he is 7 feet tall and black.  You can’t help but notice.  Some have said they just don’t think it’s right that he’s married to a white girl and he is black.  Why?  They can’t give an answer other than, “I just don’t think it’s right.” 

Our church is going to change this Sunday, one way or another, for the better or for the worse.  A no vote is going to upset the younger generation (the church future) and a yes vote may upset the older folks (the church money) for whatever reasons, right or wrong.  I think that there is going to be some “weeding” out within the church body.  Sad, but it’s probably going to happen.  We have been praying for the Spirit of God to speak to us Sunday morning and that His will is done, regardless of ours.  Something that will be interesting is to see how members, who have not darkened the door for months or years, show up to vote.  “Christians” are hard to figure out.  Here is a website with some information on our candidate, Patrick Whyte.

On the adoption side of things, no news.  We are looking for some fundraising ideas though.  We need about $10,000 more and we’ll be about where we need to be financially.  If you have any ideas, please let us know.  In the mean time, pray and smile!

It's a girl + more!

Now that I have your attention in a somewhat mean and funny way, it is a girl. It's not a girl from Poland, not a referral, and probably not that funny to most of you. We finally sat down at the computer as a family and looked through the list of children on the World Vision website and let Ryleigh pick a child.  She decided that she wanted us to sponsor a little girl.  We found a little girl named Lindsay who lives in Bolivia and shares the same birthday as Ryleigh, July 7th of 2006.

Just think for $35 a month, we can give this little girl and her family clean water, medical supplies, school supplies, and exposure to the Gospel.  All that for the amount of money we spend to go out to dinner at a decent restaurant.

On the adoption side of life, nothing happening.  We are just waiting. The last time we heard from our agency, they guessed May or June. So, here we sit. We did receive an ornament this year as a gift in the shape of Poland and we hung a stocking up for them this Christmas as well. So our child does already have a few gifts waiting for them. It's hard to explain loving someone you have never met, never seen, don't know their name, gender or anything, yet we do.

On a side note, we have been having some great Sunday's at Cynthiana Baptist.  We have been challenged to get out of the church, be the church, and take the church to people. You can't help but feel a little guilty when we look at all we have and how little most of the rest of the world has. I pray that our church develops a heart for missions and not just a head. We can talk a good game, but when you look at our church history, our members lives, and our checkbook, are we really committed?

We have been established as CBC for going on 144 years.  I wonder, in that time, how many people have we sent to the mission field?  What kind of global impact have we made?  We have done well in our "Jerusalem", but what about our Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth? Have we been, and are we being an outreach church?  Are we committed to reaching lost people? Based off the popularity and attendance of our Sunday nights and visitation programs, I'd say we are not committed as a church body. Matthew 28:19 and Acts 1:8 were not given to us by Jesus himself as options, but commands.  It's time that we as Christians and as a church open up our lives, our hearts, and our check books to do whatever it takes to see lost people come to Christ.  Lost people can't come Christ unless they hear about Him.  It is reported that about 1.6 billion people have never heard the name of Jesus and that 95% of the worlds population lives outside America.  When we are broken and our eyes truly opened to the vastness and lostness of the the world around us, only then will we stop playing "church games" and get serious about missions.

John Piper said, "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever."

Thankfulness should equal action

As we approach the upcoming holiday, I eagerly look forward to spending time with (most) family members and look forward to all the good food that will be laid out in front of us.  You can scan the Internet and see all the stuff that others are thankful for then scan the black Friday ads to see where all the best sales and utter chaos will be.  You can save lots of money if you spend lots of money on more stuff.  All this stuff is good and all, but it makes my wife and I feel so empty, shallow, and full of questions when we look around our house.  Sure we want to raise our daughters to be thankful for what we have and appreciate what God has blessed us with, but it's just stuff.  We don't want to seem ungrateful for Christmas presents, big meals, and family gatherings, but that is not why we are here. 

Just last night our church had our annual Thanksgiving meal as a church body.  As I stood in the door and looked around, sadly I knew most everyone there.  There were a few guests, but not many.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good meal and fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ, but that meal last night could have been so much more.  Instead of eating last night, 6 of us packed up about 24 boxes of food to take and deliver to needy families in the community.  I am not patting us on the back for doing that, but it felt great to go out to these houses and bless them with food and a offer prayer for the family.  Each house we went to, and it only took 4 before we were out of boxes, was so welcoming and appreciative.  Three words kept popping into my head all weekend, "The least, the last and the lost."  It is what my preacher says and then I heard it in a podcast from Kay Warren.  I have written before about the least, the last and the lost with regards to orphans and adoption, but these folks are all around us.  One family we visited lived in a rough house in a rough area of town.  There were 4 adults and 9 children living there and a lady is having a baby in 2 weeks.  This family, who does not have much, took in another family who needed help.  They don't have much by our standards, but they were willing to give what they had to help others in need. 

What are we doing?  My wife and I both work in the school system and make good money for what we do.  We live in a house full of stuff we don't really need.  We tithe, give an offering, support a few good causes here and there, but what are we doing to help our neighbor?  Not enough.  Again, I am not blowing my horn, but take this as a challenge to the way we Christians do things.  This year for Christmas, we are not spending a bunch of money to go out and buy more stuff for each other.  We have decided to sit in front of the computer as a family on the Compassion website (http://www.compassion.com/) and let Ryleigh, our oldest daughter, go through the pictures and select a child to sponsor.  We want this to become real to her, not just a monthly check we send.  We want her to see the child's face and feel their hurts and know their struggles.  We want her to know just how blessed by God she is and see that there is something that we can do about the least, the last and the lost.  We will buy some presents for people, but it won't be the focus of Christmas.

Mother Teresa said, "When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed."  She also said, "It's the greatest poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

Wow.

Imagine what Cynthiana, and Kentucky, and the world would be like if we had the eyes of Jesus and saw the world the way He does. 

I challenge you to do something different this holiday season.

What a week!

Early last week we spoke with St. Mary's about the status of our dossier.  We are chomping at the bit to get a referral and go get our child.  After speaking with them, they informed us that based on where we are in the process and the number of waiting families ahead of us, we probably would not be getting a referral until May or June.  Not what we wanted to hear, but we are reminded of the verse in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  We have to be patient and know that God is working all of this out in His perfect timing and thankfully not in what we thought would be perfect.  With this time frame, we both will have to miss fewer days of school and have more time to save money and build our adoption fund up a little higher before heading over to Poland.  We were a little saddened by the time, but God is in control.

The other day my wife was on her way home with both girls asleep in the back of the van.  She decided to pull into McDonald's to get a tea and while ordering, Ryleigh sits up in her car seat and randomly says "cheeseburger" and immediately falls back to sleep.  Maybe she has some built in radar that goes off when there is happy meal potential. 

On Sunday, our church celebrated and recognized Orphan Sunday.  We worked with another couple to come up with a service geared to inform and challenge the congregation.  Our friends Dan and Stacy interviewed folks who had been touched by adoption and took their interviews and made a great video that was personal, had real people, and a real message.  It looked professional.  We also had a lady come and share her testimony of being a foster parent and mother of two adoptive girls.  It was awesome to hear how God put their family together.  She even wrote and sang a song about her experience.  Then came the sermon.  Our interim pastor would later admit that he forgot about Orphan Sunday until the service began.  However, he delivered one of his best sermons.  The challenge to the congregation to reach out to the "least, the last, the lost, the poor, the broken, the vulnerable, and the marginalized" was moving,  He shared personal stories from both he and his wife and how they had been raised by people other than their parents.  At the conclusion of both services, he invited folks up who had been adopted, who adopted, and who were adopting.  It was great to see some of our older members that were connected to adoption get up and come forward to support those of us in the process or some that had recently adopted.  In our second service, an older gentleman shared his testimony of adopting a child and years later losing him in a vehicle accident.  He cried.  We cried.  God moved in our church yesterday and is touching the hearts of many concerning adoption. 

The entire month of November is about adoption and orphan awareness.  Let's stand up and make a difference one child and one widow at a time.

Never take advantage of any widow or orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, you can be sure that I will hear their cry.     Exodus 22:22-23

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families.      Psalms 68:5-6

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.      Isaiah 1:17