Character Development Day....

We feel so very blessed that we have the opportunity to have Sweet G in an University Model School. This style of schooling well, plainly put, ROCKS! It's a mix of traditional schooling and homeschooling. Our local UMS is focused on the mission side of schooling. I know that sounds weird but they do. The school isn't a business for them, its an outlet to encourage and support those that want to homeschool but may not want the responsibility that homeschooling entails. One of the blessings about the school is their "character development" day. CDD happens once a month and they bring in real life examples. This month a gentlemen from Africa came to visit. Of course, we were slightly thrilled to have sweet G hear from a native. Although she said she couldn't understand him, our conversation this week would prove she did. The conversation also reminded me that God's word knows no boundaries. What really spoke to her heart was his inability to go to school for very long and the lack of toys this man grew up with. He explained to these sweet children how when a ball wasn't available they would make other things (like rocks) a ball so that they could play. And, when his family could no longer afford the 75 cents a day it cost for him to attend school, he had to quit. Plain and simple. So, as we sat down together to begin our homeschool day, Sweet G brought all of this up. I listened as she talked about what she heard and how she felt. I explained to her why this can occur still today. Naturally this led to again explaining why her father and I feel so called to go and love on these children. That led to her thinking of ways she could help and what she could give up. We ended our sweet, God created time with some tears. I love that Africa comes to our hearts and minds often. I love that God places opportunities to bring Africa to our children. It's amazing what can occur when you hand over control to God and begin to radically think and act on such simple words as James 1:27. 

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Why have we waited so long to do this? Our heads can't comprehend the damage that is going to be done to our family in December of this year. We eagerly await the upheaval :-)

Modern Medicine and conviction

Nearly two weeks ago, we had all three (that's right), three children ill. Sweet G with pneumonia, Crazy Adventurous C with Strep Throat and Little L with a yucky, high fever virus. It's been some time since I have felt so overwhelmed and needed by so many littles all at once. As hubs and I loaded up the children to head to the Pediatrician (I wasn't about to take on that visit on my own), my mind went straight to Africa. Hubs and I have never known what it is like to not be able to call on a medical professional when our children are sick. I felt blessed in that moment and also sad. My heart ached for mothers thousands of miles away that can only hold their children and watch them fall ill with little to no help or hope. My heart ached for the children that are in pain and for those whose pain will end in death before I even get to the doctor. My mind cannot comprehend that feeling; thank God. Later that evening, hubby and I were discussing the "hard" day and all the diagnosis. I shared my earlier thoughts. His response sent a pain in my heart and a conviction I hadn't expected. He questioned why both of us hadn't immediately stopped to pray as we realized all three children needed medical care. Why was it we first leaned on our own doing and modern medicine? Ouch! Well, the simple answer is we don't have to. Right? The Lord has blessed us with modern medicine at almost our doorstep and because of this we have been conditioned to immediately pick up the phone when necessary and pray later...you know...once we need to ask for the strength to carry on as the care taker :-) Although I don't necessarily want to thank God for all three of our children being ill at the same time, I do thank Him for the reminder that in ALL we do we should come to Him first.

"Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always." Psalm 105:4

Kid Questions

We all get them, right? “Mommy, why is the sky blue?” “Daddy, how do astronauts go potty?” “Where is Heaven?” “Will we potty when we go there?” Those are fun ones. The ones where you can be lighthearted, laugh, sometimes even make the answers up to the best of your knowledge and hope they don’t figure you out ;) We all do it!! But, what do you say when you’re asked, “Why are there kids without parents?” “Why did God take their Mommy away?” “Why are “they” called orphans?” How do you candy coat the harsh realities of our world? How do you bring His light in to such an evil circumstance? It’s hard and can’t be done without fully leaning on Him for the words.

Sweet G was all about these questions this week. Not the fun ones, the, I am not sure how to answer ones. She’s old enough to “get it” and old enough that the sweet one-liners don’t work. So, we read scripture. We hit some of our favorite non-prof sites online and we read Hero Tales. If you haven’t picked up Hero Tales I highly recommend this series. These true stories are great for kids and show them our long heritage of Christian missionaries. We think they also put a shining light on what we are called to do as believers in Christ. These stories help to celebrate ordinary people extending God’s love to those needing it. The stories show despair and sin in this world but as you read they are overshadowed by hope, love, grace, sacrifice, righteousness, and redemption. Sweet G and Adventurous Crazy C LOVE to hear these stories.

We are positive we probably bombed some of our answers. This isn't the first time she has asked these and we know this won’t be the last time. We are thankful we can make real the needs of this world to our children and that we can share real stories of missionaries that have made an eternal difference in this broken world. Thank you God for placing us in the 21^st century where our more than abundant resources can be used to draw near to you :) 

We will leave you with this quote from our own Adventurous Crazy C...

"I like Spider Man, I even like Batman, I really like Luke Skywalker but I think I really, really like Martin Luther. He was brave."

How did we get here?

So, why now? The question we've asked ourselves and have been asked by others. "Why now?" God's timing is rarely ours. We've learned this the hard way. Had we been obedient to His call sooner, this question could have come up two, three or maybe even four years ago. However, His timing is perfect and in our imperfectness He has made us "ready" to step out in faith and obedience. Wow, that's scary. One thing is certain, when we step out in faith we will never be the same. That's scary too!

Our story isn't that exciting or dramatic. It's just simple. The Lord pricked my heart for orphans many years ago. I had a great talent in closing my ears and moving along with life. However, it wasn't until we had little L and our sweet boy was placed in NICU did I finally have to stop and listen. We were forced to flex our faith muscle in a way we hadn't before. We had to let go of our little L and be faithful that the Lord would keep him safe when we physically couldn't. As we cried over our circumstance, the Lord's voice was softly encouraging and convicting me. The NICU is a sad, sad place. It sucks the joy out of you and in joy's place comes fear, a loss of control, and sadness...IF you let it.  Our short stay provided us with even more hope and faith in our Lord. It also provided us with a vision we hadn't expected. We saw sweet little souls fighting for their lives. Throughout our week long trial James 1:27 came to my mind frequently. I asked, "What do orphans and babies in the NICU have in common?" Well, as hubby and I sat together in the NICU one afternoon, we experienced a heart-wrenching circumstance that solidified what these sweet babies have in common. A little one coded, frenzy ensued quickly in the NICU. In those terrifying moments, I prayed hard for that sweet baby. During that prayer, the Lord spoke clearly...."GO. Care for little ones that need tender touches just as these little ones do. Their circumstances may be different but their need is the same." To experience a little one fight for their life and by God's intervention come back was amazing. And then it hit me...The need is great. Overwhelmingly, take your breath away great. We can't provide for ALL of their physical needs but we can provide a hope, a promise for their sweet souls in Jesus Christ. We are parents, we have a daddy and mommy heart. We can provide a fatherly and motherly touch that is just as crucial for these children. We can go and be His hands. A few months later, with hubby's blessing, we began to pray, discern, research all that we could on orphans in Africa. Since opening this door, we have been blessed with a number of church friends that are eager to walk along side of us, share their wisdom, encourage us and pray for us. What a blessing. So, now we are at point "A" getting ready for point "B". WOW!!! Thank you God for your patience. 

Our first post...

My sweet friend Martha B. recently encouraged me to start blogging about our journey. She gave a number of convincing reasons and since her family is much further along on their journey in serving others, I obeyed :)

So here it goes...bare with us...we are new at this blog thing.........