Little Miss M

December 25, 2013 Looking back over this last year we are amazed at the growth each member of our family has experienced, resulting from the decision to bring home Sami, Eden and Beti. We took each step and challenge as it came, and we welcomed into our tribe the support and love from across our community, our church and our friends. The transformation we noticed in each child has encouraged us and has renewed our spirit to continue our journey of reaching out to the least of these. There have been days of joy and amazement, and days of sorrow. There have been days of peace and days of chaos. We know that it is during the valleys of our lives that true change in our heart happens. It forces us to surrender and to look to God for help and for direction. During the peaks, we experience the joy of seeing how God's plan is revealed in our lives, impacting not only us, but also the people around us. And so, it is with RECKLESS LOVE, that our family is responding once again to God's command to care for the orphan. We have a full house, a full car, an empty refrigerator and bank account, and busy schedules. Yet, the call to action is loud and clear. There is a little girl, laying in a little bed, halfway across the world, waiting. This little girl has been in our prayers since we first met her in July 2012, during our first visit to Ethiopia. Her name among our family is Little Miss M. She was born with several medical needs, that leave her unable to walk or to speak. Yet her eyes share her soul and her smile speaks more than words ever could. She lives in the orphanage where our kids once lived, and lays in a little wooden bed in a room used for babies. Eden helped care for her, braided her hair, and prayed that someday she could adopt her. Now that time has come. We understand that we "cannot save them all". We understand that many may not understand of our decision. Even for us, it is a challenging and crazy direction. (Yes, we have been called crazy before!). We also know that through experience and through faith, God's plan for our lives is grander than any of our dreams. It is only because of this truth that we are able to take the initial step. We are scared, we are broken, and we are humbled that He would call us to be Little Miss M's family.

The Hardest/Easiest Thing We Have Ever Done!

Once again, my thoughts over these last three months have not made it into words on paper, but I can tell you now-looking back-that this adoption journey has been the hardest yet easiest thing we have ever done. There really are not words to describe what it feels like to: meet your kids halfway around the world, not be able to fully communicate with them, bring them to a new home with new siblings, new ways of doing just about everything, and make it all work. Each passing day has been one small miracle after another. With each day there are new challenges, new possibilities and new hope. We have watched our "old" kids shepherd our "new" ones. We have watched our family, our church and our community embrace 3 children who did not have a family, a church, or a community to love and restore them. We have watched our new kids wake up, open up, and begin to trust. It has been an amazing adventure. With each step we have seen the Lord work wonders in relationships and in hearts. We also have seen the ugly side of this adoption. The side where children are not welcomed, not supported, and not loved by those who claim to love us. This piece has been the most difficult, one that I am still processing and that will take time, forgiveness, and grace. Welcoming a child who has a disease that carries with it a stigma is HARD. It takes courage and faith to do this. To live in the fear of possibly contacting this disease is easy. It does not require you to get uncomfortable, to dig deep in your heart and deep into the Word where we are taught to love those who are the most unlovable. I am so very grateful that we are raising kids who "get it"--who stand up for the least of these, and even welcome them into their home. We need each other. We need friends and family around us who will support us and love us no matter what disease we may carry. We are a family and we are all children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ. As we look forward into the future of our 7 kids, we are so very encouraged by the possibilities for them! Each day is a new beginning, and each year brings new hope. We have been loved on so well by so many over the last few months, it is time to begin reaching out once again to encourage those who may be afraid to take the first steps, who may have felt a tug on their hearts for a child who has no hope, and needs a forever home. We can guarantee that it will not be an easy journey, sorry. We can guarantee that He brings us to this place to draw us closer to Him. We can also guarantee that we will be with you every step of the way, and so will He.