Enjoy the Trip

Today I was reflecting about my senior trip. We went on a bus trip to Florida. It was amazing and is still one of my favorite trips to this day.

The thing was, Florida was only a small part of the trip.

We didn't just power through the journey, peeing in bottles, eating pre-packed snacks and never stopping (shout out to my dad-in-law) ;). No. We wound our way down to Florida. Rafting. Mountain climbing. Shopping. Going to museums. Racing shopping carts.

This was all before we got to Florida.

Don't get me wrong, we had a BLAST in Florida, too. But if we had just blinked our eyes and been there we would have missed out on so many wonderful adventures. Friendships were deeper. Showers were fewer. Arms were stronger.

I think that the process of adoption is a similar journey. If we just blinked our eyes and it was over we would miss out on the sweetness of the process.

Sometimes things don't seem so sweet, like when the scheduled "shower" for the day is a Walmart bathroom or when your dossier gets lost, but it is all part of the bigger trip that we are on and that makes it kind of wonderful, too.

Enjoy the trip, Reader.

Advice from Terri

After Garth and I were married I got a job working for a local bank. I had that job for a little over three years. Toward the end of my time there, I was expecting Grace.

Gracie was our first baby. Or "Number One, haha" as she refers to herself.

There is so much advice out there when you are pregnant. Eat this. Don't eat that. Wear this. Don't wear that. Worry about this, that and the other.

Being a first time mother, I was overwhelmed. Who do I listen to? The books? The doctors? My well-meaning friends?

At about 12 or 14 weeks the doctor recommended that I have a test done to see if the baby had any genetic problems. I really worried about what to do. Some friends said, "You should find out so that you can prepare." Others said, "What can you do anyway? Forget about the test."

Neither answer gave me peace.

Finally a friend named Terri that I worked with at the bank told me, "Do you take your vitamins?" "Yes," I said. "Do you drink water?" "Yes," I replied.

"What else can you do? You are doing all you can, leave the rest to God."

That little bit of advice has stuck with me ever since.

Even now, nine years later.

I have done all I can. I just mailed the (second) dossier off yesterday and it will be hand carried to Ukraine on April 1. I have applied for grants. I made lotion bars like a mad woman.

Now is time to leave the rest to God.

Our Video

Here is the video for our Give1Save1 campaign.

If you haven't seen it, check it out!

God bless!

(No captions yet, but I will sic Garth on that project.)

Amazing Grace

I went to a workshop in Atlanta and saw this video. It is about a girl who had been blind since birth. Everything that she holds to be factual is based on faith.

Tonight Garth and I went to a concert that the League for the Blind held at the Embassy. It was wonderful. The Blind Boys of Alabama. Normally they have a blues group and I leave feeling the need for a hearty serving of hemlock. This time, however, was gospel. And oh what gospel it was. Stand up. Respond. Clap in rythmn. (still working on that last one, haha).

I left feeling uplifted.

As I sat in the auditorium I thought about how we are taking a huge step of faith. Not based on any experience that we have. Not based on anything but...faith. I can't explain it if you don't understand faith. There are roads that you will take that would cause me to balk. This is a road that we are taking that we realize is out of many people's comfort zones. But that doesn't mean that it is not the right one.

We are walking by faith, not by sight.

And we are promised that One Day we will understand.

Muito Brigada!

Thank you so much to everyone who has given on our Give1Save1 page so far. I was raised right and I always like to send out thank you cards, if you want to message me your address, I would be happy to, but unfortunately I don't have the majority of your addresses, in fact, there are some of you I haven't even met, so I thought that I would put it out this way as big THANK YOU from our growing family!

Brooke 
Julie
Katie
Bridgette
Corina
Larisa
Annie
Eric
Mark
Audrey
Kerry
Stephanie
Bethany
Christina
Natalie
Steve and Linda 
Casey
I was telling Katie, of Give1Save1 fame, how much it means to me to have people loving on us this way, this has been an interesting journey. For every family member or friend who thinks we are making a mistake and decides to speak negatively about it to others, there are ten people, coming out of the woodwork to support us! 

When I look at all the love that has come from unexpected sources such as I listed above, I just feel so blessed, like God is saying, "I support you and I am bringing others around you who do as well."

Thank you. Words cannot express the blessing that we feel through your support. It is more than a dollar amount, it is the redemption price for a life. 

God bless you.

The Sponsellers and the Mystery of the Missing Dossier

Well, Readers, as you might have guessed from my cleverly worded, Nancy Drew-esque title, we have yet to have our dossier turn up.

(For all of you who are like "dossy-what:" a dossier is your life in paper form. Every legal document  is original and notarized. There were about 35 documents in our dossier before it was apostilled.)

I know what the problem is. We had 35 documents that were then apostilled (which involves attaching yet another piece of paper to each document) making a total of 70 documents to be mailed out. Those 70 documents got shoved into a manila envelope with $3.32 in postage on it. Needless to say, not enough postage. Now we can only hope that someone, somewhere will have mercy on our po' envelope.

Instead of wallowing in what Dr. Suess refers to as the "Waiting Place," we are forging ahead. Today I got the ball rolling to redo. I think I will be able to have it completed within a week with some running. I will take it down to Indianapolis this time instead of risking another "glitch."

Whereas I am not thrilled with this development, it is what it is. Thankfully we were far enough ahead that this does not set us back at all.

At least I am not getting stretch marks.

:D

Give1Save1-Europe: New Week, Welcome the Sponseller Family!

Give1Save1-Europe: New Week, Welcome the Sponseller Family!: Good Morning! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! This week I am so excited to introduce you to the Sponseller family ! Please meet Garth and...

Dossier Drama: Part Deux

Well, it still hasn't shown up...

What to do?

My facilitator says that her mail carrier is checking at the post office and seeing if she can hunt it down, if not, well, we will begin to assemble it again beginning Thursday. Delightful.

I have several theories as to where it might have gone.

We all just need to pray that God will open the eyes of whoever is overlooking it and that it will turn up QUICKLY!!!

In other news, we had our fingerprinting done today and that was easy peasy.

Give1Save1 Update:
           We are up to $77!
Keep sharing the Give1Save1 link on your pages!

CALLING ALL PRAYER WARRIORS!!!!

Our dossier was sent off on March 1, 2013, it arrived in Indianapolis on March 5 and was apostilled and sent off the same day.....and nothing. It has not arrived. Tomorrow is two weeks.

Please pray that it shows up TODAY!

Thankful: by Garth

I thank my God every time I remember you. - Philippians 1:3

Years ago at summer church camp is when I first remember someone sharing this verse with me along with other fellow campers and staff.  Out of all the different verses this one remains as one of the most significant to me.  I don't quite recall exactly how old I was, but I do remember where I was.  I did understand the meaning of the verse, but I did not understand the depth of meaning the verse held.

Now, as a 34 year old man, a husband of 12 years, and a daddy to 3 children, I have a deeper appreciation and understanding of the Philippian writer, Paul.  Not only do I understand the writer, but I now understand that the depth of that message will grow exponentially as I continue to grow.  Here's why.

My wife and kids; Crystal, Grace, Claire, Wyatt, Pedro, João, and Luca.  (The last three listed boys are technically exchange students, but are forever my sons through experience.)  My mom, dad, and brothers.  My grandparents.  Mother and father-in-law.  Extended family.  Neighbors.  Church family near and far.  I would love to continue listing, but I think you get the point.  Every person in my path of life.

This remembering is a strong effect of the butterfly effect that Crystal wrote about in the last blog.

This weekend my family, which includes João, was surprised immensely by João's family (Mariana (mom), Carlos (dad), Pedro (brother and our boy), Tiaguinho (little brother) ) coming to our house for a four day visit from Brasil.  Yes, I do mean from Brasil, South America.  They came to celebrate João's 17th birthday.  This was the first time I met Carlos.  Our visit together was filled with such bliss.  Even as I write these words, I have tears of thanks creeping into my eyes.  God makes beautiful things!

Looking forward and still thankful.

Roughly 8 weeks remain until Crystal and I leave for Ukraine to bring a new child into our family. Our eyes are fixed on a specific child, but we know that things can change for many reasons and that God is in control.  We are daily praying for this child, our family, people supporting us, the grant programs and the weight of decision making on their part, and so many more things.  Being thankful is a full-time job.    Makes me think of another verse that talks of "praying without ceasing."

Thank you all for your prayers, support, and encouraging words.  Although our family may not know all of you readers, we pray for you and thank you.  May the God of our Fathers bless you.

Be thankful!

-Garth

The Butterfly Effect

Noun

• S: (n) butterfly effect (the phenomenon whereby a small change at one place in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere, e.g., a butterfly flapping its wings in Rio de Janeiro might change the weather in Chicago)

A couple of years ago I went to a Women of Faith conference and heard Andy Andrews speak. He talks about this phenomenon. 

It really got me to thinking.

What small decisions have I made that have set the course of my life, that might change the course of the world? I love to put the puzzle together in my mind.  

I think that the butterfly effect that brought us here to this moment was cleaning a house. 

About 9 years ago we got involved cleaning new construction houses. It sounds way more easy than it actually is. It is a pain in the neck and new homeowners should really appreciate the fact that it is done for them. No one wants a new house with all the dirt that it would naturally come with. 

One day we went to clean a house that was for sale and it just stuck in our minds. It was this house. We decided to move on a Sunday and moved on Wednesday (2005).

My mom was teaching at Fort Wayne Christian School at the time and had an exchange student that she really liked. His host family was going to be moving and because we had a big house and extra bedrooms, she asked if we would host him for the last four weeks of school. We filled out the papers and never heard anything else. His host family had decided to wait out the school year. That was the end of that...or was it?

Four and a half years later we got a call(2009)...seems our paperwork had been unearthed. The message on our answering machine went something like, "Hi, Crystal and Garth, I got your name as someone who would be interested in hosting an exchange student for next year."

My knee-jerk response was "What?!" but both Garth and I decided to pray over it and ask for God's direction. We were led to Pedro. 

He came and it was wonderful! I learned that I CAN love someone else's child as if they were mine. Pedro is our boy forever. Our family and his family are very close.

August 2012. We got a call from Pedro, "Mom, João wants to come, too." I spent 2 months getting things straightened out to find a school to accept him and issue a visa, etc. Now we have Brazilian number two and he is an absolute blast, too! (That family knows how to churn out great kids!)

Throughout all of this we have dealt with disrupting the birth order, loving children that "weren't our own," enjoying other cultures and learning to be more flexible. All of these experiences have worked on opening our hearts to older child adoption.

I look back at how all of this and so much more have come together to make us the people that would say "Why not?" to God instead of "What?!"

There are so many God-stories sprinkled throughout that my heart just overflows with His goodness. I think that I will follow Jesus' mother's example and store these things in my heart. Store them in my heart for when it seems like God isn't listening or that things aren't going the way that I like.

Reader, look for the butterfly moments in your life. Where God has worked seemingly small, incidental things together to make something mighty and beautiful. And really, I have no idea where this is going to end up... But I know who is putting it together. And that makes me smile.

9

Nine weeks. Nine. 9. I have to practice saying it so that maybe when I think it I won't feel like I am fencing with butterflies.

I was trying to find a catchy tune with the number nine in it and found, instead, "Revolution 9" by the Beatles. I listened to it and it sounds like my brain feels.

When I lose focus.

When I forget WHY we are doing this and think instead of WHAT we have to do and forget the promise that God will not leave us here.

Nine weeks to get ready to travel. That shouldn't take long. It has been recommended to only take 3 outfits.

Nine weeks to raise $20,000.00. 'Nuff said.

Nine weeks before our lives are changed forever.

Nine weeks before a little boy's world is rocked.

Nine weeks.

When I feel overwhelmed and I wonder how God can possibly come through for us, I remember what He accomplished in 3 days.

Get behind me!

Wow! It has been one of those weeks (and we are on Tuesday). We have done all of the exciting adoption stuff that we can do up to this moment and so now we are in the "waiting" stage for a bit. I got our dossier paperwork sent out on Friday to Indianapolis to be apostilled. That is huge. Our facilitator says we are ahead of the game.

That is nice.

Except today, things don't feel huge. Or nice.

Things feel like a dreary slushy Tuesday. A day that I had to go to the orthodontist and already my chain has broken (yippee). A day that I got an unpleasant email from someone who could have just called me and we could have worked it out. A day that is one day after my dog died. (Really, aforementioned person, you know my dog died, thanks for making my day so. much. better.) A day that someone told my mom-in-law that it was bad that we are adopting since we don't go to the right church. (Because an orphanage is a better environment for a child? Really?)

This is such a roller coaster. The emotions that go into expanding a family through adoption.

I can feel Satan working through these things. These people. Making my heart hurt. Making me feel like crawling in a hole.

I write this, not to complain, but to shed light on the spectrum of what this is like. When you are trying to do what God wants, Satan doesn't like that. And he is going to use friends, family, situations, to discourage you. He does not want you giving glory to God, he wants you down in the dumps, worrying and angry. He certainly does not want what you are doing to spread and inspire others to do likewise.

I will cast that off. This very moment. I will put those things down and I will rejoice. And I will eat lunch. And I will feel better. And I will treat people better than they deserve because that is what God has done for me.

Puppy Love

This morning our puppy Max died. He wandered into our first little house just a few months after we were married. We had him for 11 years on February 16. We never knew what kind of dog he was, only that he was cute, liked to cuddle, asked for very little in return for his affection and was loyal to the end. I have heard about DNA testing for dogs where you do a swab and send it out to find out what got tossed in the hopper when God was making them. Garth and I would talk about doing that from time to time, but always figured Max was some kind of special, just the way he was, whether he was a fancy breed or not...and really, life holds so few mysteries anymore; we decided to let Max be one of them.

Max has been with us through three houses. He was preceded by his buddy Toby. I like to think that if there is a special place for dogs that Max is with Toby now and they are having the best time, catching up on their ear licking. Max has been the first to greet our children, as one by one we have brought them home.

Max was always Garth's dog and at two o'clock this morning when I heard him bark a strange bark, I told Garth to go check on him. Max was seemingly paralyzed about half-way down his back. Garth carried him outside to go to the bathroom and then carried him back in. Garth grabbed his pillow and a sleeping bag and spent the rest of the night on the tile, holding Max's paw. Sometime after Garth nodded off, Max ran away for the last time.

Really, we are so incredibly blessed that he didn't suffer at all. He had begun to lose a little weight the last month or so, but he was 15 and that happens. Yesterday he was running in the yard, digging and barking at passerby's. After all the times he ran away (miles and miles sometimes), he died in his sleep by his boy.

What a way to go.