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.