One More Home

On this first day of Spring, it seems like the widespread panic of the Ebola virus and the way it filled every news feed was so long ago. Friends would post the most recent articles and warnings of how Ebola could possibly have found its way to the U.S., and people chose sides about quarantine issues and expressed their outrage about the threat to our personal safety. Borders closed, travel plans were cancelled, and even as I planned a trip to Kenya, a location thousands of miles from Liberia, friends and family worried for my safety. Not surprisingly, I was questioned extensively by customs upon my return to the US about who I visited in Africa and if anyone I came in contact with was ill. It's understandable that we choose to protect our own, to make sure we we do everything to keep those we love from being at risk. But now that the chaos has started to die down, in my own little self-centered way of only thinking of how things concern me, I really haven't given much more...

I got a call from my social worker yesterday. Miss Carol Ann is busy revamping our home study, and she needed to ask a few questions regarding the changes we're making in our adoption. See, back when my husband and I filled out our original paperwork and started this journey, we had to ask ourselves what kind of parameters we would set for the child we would welcome home. And I'll be honest, I designed a neat and tidy little box that I felt comfortable with. If God wanted to me to follow His lead and adopt a child, that's just fine, but how about we make this a joint endeavor? I'd say yes to His call to adoption, and in return He'd give me the control the rest of the way. Country? I pick China. Number of children adopting? 1 Age? I think we're okay with up to 4 years old. Sex? Little girl, please. Special needs? We feel we can handle minor special needs. Check, check and check. We're good. Right, God? Now, if you'd like, we can debate thought...

I can remember the popping sound that the tin roof made as the Kenyan sun high above started to heat up the metal. The day was bright and sunny and filled with the excitement of being back on red African dirt, and I was able to push past the reaching fingers of jet lag that were trying to drag me down. I hadn't expected to wake up that Saturday morning and hit the ground running, but when God gives you the opportunity to witness the work He is doing, you don't decline the invitation.  In fact, I always find great delight in the unexpected gifts He has, the ones that aren't on the trip's agenda. That first morning spent in Kenya was just that - a beautiful gift. I followed my guide up the hill towards a school house located at the back corner of the property, my lungs getting their first chance to try and breathe while climbing the elevated hills of Tigoni. Our visit happened to fall on a Saturday when the Neema girls were meeting, and we were getting the chance to s...

"But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3 Confessional time, friends - Mike and I, we have reached a place of weariness and discouragement. We have come upon a stumbling block in our path, and right now, I think we're just sitting on the ground with bruised knees from the fall and bloody scraped palms from trying to catch ourselves. We didn't even see it coming. If you could go back just one week in our lives, you would find two people who were hopeful that this week would have brought a new opportunity, a hopeful outcome, a change for the better. I had hopes that maybe this love I have for helping the fatherless in this world would be allowed to take root in my work life as well, that maybe I could take a step away from business and a turn towards a deeper ministry. It was right there on my horizon one day, and I kept my eyes on it expectedly, waiting patiently for my time, but it seems that was me...

"Not all those who wander are lost..." Taken from the Poem "All That is Gold Does Not Glitter" by JRR Tolkien in the Lord of the Rings novels It has been a while since I have given a status update as to where we are in the process of our adoption. For those of you who have lovingly walked beside us in this journey and have given us words of encouragement, I send my sincere thanks. This road is a long one, and we have cherished your support along the way. That being said, there's been a change of direction for our family, and I hope, as I share our most recent adventure, that you won't jump ahead and try to guess the outcome. Instead, I ask that you simply read the story, coming alongside me as I share how God has been working in our lives. On Wednesday, October 29, 2014, our agency shared on Facebook a need for a family to take in 3 sisters, ages 3, 10 and 12 from Latin America in order to prevent them from having to separate. I didn't see ...

This weekend I was treated to a wonderful conference hosted by Orphan Care Alliance  called Help Hope Heal. (Try saying that three times fast, somehow I always end up talking about Ron Popeil) This is the second year I've attended, and this year had me sitting in front of different speakers than I listened to last year, discussing different topics all with one focus - to help those who have decided to love the orphans of the world. The audience is a mish-mash of foster parents, social workers, church ministry people, and adoptive parents. We love our kids. We want what is best for our kids. We want to see our children thrive and succeed in life. But, we also realize one important thing - it ain't easy. Adoption, fostering, orphan care work always includes some form of grief and is often mixed with neglect, abuse, and abandonment. To have a child experience these types of pain at such an early point in their life means that there are going to be hard moments, challenging m...

 " Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.   Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,  forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:31-32, ESV It has become apparent to me that I have been knock-my-socks-off, overwhelmingly, abundantly blessed by God with the people He has placed in my life. Truly, I am surrounded by some Jesus-loving women who seek God's will and strive to live in obedience to Him. They encourage me, they support me, and they don't think I'm crazy when I share with them what I feel God has in store for my life, no, they just keep lifting me up in prayer. They are each different and unique and they are precious, precious treasures to me. So, this afternoon I spent my lunch hour sharing a meal with one such friend. She's a foster mom who gave up her career in nursing to stay home, homeschool the children she had at the time and then she and her husband s...