Exciting News For Asher

HOORAY!!!!!

Click here to check out what God has done for Asher.

Help Bring Asher Duvall Home.

UPDATE #2: As of TODAY (11/19) Jon and Carly have raised a little over $600! That is great, but there is still a ways to go. Please consider sponsoring a puzzle piece ($25), buying a head warmer ($10), or just plain old donating (any amount is so appreciated)! I cannot stress how important that this is.

Adoption is a huge undertaking.

As a parent, you see a picture of a child and in that instant you KNOW that God called you to them. And suddenly no mountain seems too high, because YOU ARE GOING TO GET YOUR CHILD.

And it doesn't matter that some close friends and family just don't get it. It hurts that they don't get it, but it doesn't deter your sense of purpose.

In this case my friends Jon and Carly SAW little Asher Jui from China, a six year old with Down's Syndrome.

And they are filled with a passion to bring him home, but right now they are really struggling to scrape the funds together.

Jon and Carly have three other (home-grown) children, who have decided that they would rather have a brother than Christmas presents this year.

Carly is crocheting like mad; she has some seriously cute head warmers that would make excellent Christmas gifts. 

They had a garage sale to raise a chunk to pay their application fee and start the home study.

The agency that they are working with is reminding them repeatedly about the first payment, $2500, that is due no later than January 13, 2014. Even though that is the due date, the need is much more urgent than two months away. Because (and I am so not an expert on the Chinese process) when Jon and Carly mailed their letter of intent to China and received approval, that started the clock ticking...six months to submit their dossier or they lose Asher. The file is closed. And there is nothing to be done about it. So, that being the case and the fact that they are being told that the dossier takes 4 months to put together, the need is NOW. I would just love to see God pour out blessings through His people, who are called according to His purpose. I would love to see them have those funds by Thanksgiving. 

They have started the process with the agency. Paid the application fee. Paid to get the home study started.

They need to come up with around $10,000 total before they can even begin applying for grants.

It is such a vicious cycle. Payment after payment coming due and no grant funds available until travel.

I know exactly the overwhelming feeling that comes when you look and see that dollars are what stand between you and the child of your heart.

But I can also testify that God provided for us in amazing, grace-filled ways to bring home our little man. And I am trusting, as are they, that God will move in His people's hearts to help bring home Asher.

Some people are very critical of adoption fund-raising. The Bible is pretty clear about what we are supposed to do when it comes to orphans. I know that even before we embarked on our own journey, I was always excited to help others. Because how many opportunities do we have to literally touch the life of an orphan?

So, if you don't feel called to give financially, or if you are unable to, don't feel like you are exempt from helping. PRAY. Pray. Pray. Pray. Because this adoption is ON THE LINE. This redemption story is ON THE LINE unless GOD and HIS people step in.

You can check out Jon and Carly's blog to find out how to support them in this endeavor. (Just a side note: if you donate to their Reece's Rainbow fund right now, those monies won't be released until travel, so please choose the "donate" button at the top left hand side that will link to PayPal.)

And, please, Dear Readers, pray for the Duvall family.

(Good grief, this kid is ADORBS)

The Call.

So, this is a thought that has been ruminating in my mind for awhile. I verbalized it to Garth last night and it didn't sound too far out there and so I am sharing it here.

Being called is Biblical. 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." -Romans 8:28-30 

I think that our idea is that we might be called to something extra special. But Romans shows us that those who are predestined (believers), are called.

There are certain things that we all must be doing. 

The great commission. 

^"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:19-20

Caring for orphans and widows.

"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." -James 1:27

When do you get called?

Why do you get called?

In our house "the call" happens when everyone else is in the van and there is a straggler. It is usually Garth or Grace and the reason is that they are either brushing teeth or looking for stockings. (I'll let you guess who is doing what.)

Because there are things that we always do. That are unspoken. I mean, we ALWAYS go to church on Sunday mornings. It isn't a surprise. We just do it. Every. Time. And yet EVERY TIME there are stragglers that need called. It isn't a holy thing that they are called. It is because they aren't where they are supposed to be in the first place.

You see where I am going with this?

Garth was called to adopt, because God needed to get him in the van. But I was already there, putting on lipstick in the rear view mirror and waiting. 

The call has gone out, Dear Reader. You don't have to wait for your personal invitation, it has already arrived.

It's O.K.

This post is a response to all the somber posts about adoption that I have seen floating around to "celebrate" adoption month.

It is ok.

I may lose some friends for saying that, but if others are preaching the "It's NOT ok" I figure I can throw in my two cents.

I am not an expert about adoption. (Let me clear the air about that one.)

Adoption is hard. It comes from loss and unimaginable yuck. And this person, this child, this soul, is pulled through the knot hole of hard and they are changed. Forever.

And, inevitably, bringing such a soul into your life is going to change you.

Forever.

And if that freaks you out, run. But if you can open your heart to the idea that some things don't develop the way that we think that they should, and sometimes that makes them just a little more special. And if you can readjust your idea of what a perfect day is, then get comfy, my friend, because adoption might be for you.

I went on a field trip with my first grader, Claire, a couple of weeks ago and we went to an apple orchard. They had some special apples set aside. This one grew between two branches. It never had the wide open space to develop the way that an apple should.

But if you look at it from another perspective, it has taken the hard and become extra beautiful.

So, when we are going through the hard it is nice to know that our kid isn't the first one to give the bird.  Or play with knives. Or cuss. Or flop in the grocery store. Or stink at school. Or... well, you get the picture. And it has been absolutely a God-send to have wonderful friends come alongside me and tell me "It is normal" and I am so glad that they followed up with "It is ok."

God has never justified the broken. But He has redeemed. In fact, that is His business.

It is important not to dwell on the negative. At least for me. Because there is so much beauty. And when I read these well-meaning, cautionary posts, it drags me down. And makes me feel a little less tolerant of kid behavior. Especially if that kid has an accent. 

So I celebrate the victories. Mourn the loss. And I yearn for the day that God will restore what has been taken. And I pray for those on the other side of Daniel's story.

And I will hold with two hands to the fact that we had an entire week of smooth sailing. Seven full days of good choices. (Even though sometimes we would have to remind him.)

And I will thank God that He hardwired this child of His for a family. And that Daniel loves us and that when asked by a sibling "Did your Mom die?" he took said sibling by the arm, brought them to where I was sitting and said, "No, Mommy is here. You crazy." I will rejoice that my little blue-eyed boy now lavishes affection and seeks positive attention.

(This is a spontaneous picnic that broke out today in the midst of a fierce pirate battle)

And I will hold these truths to me. 

I will not search for trouble. Today has enough of its own.

But I will search for wonder. And happiness. And blessings. And God.

(And I will be VERY THANKFUL that this little boy who rarely saw a tooth brush prior to July has perfect teeth.)

And I will let myself be happy. 

It's ok.

Orphan Sunday

This Sunday is Orphan Sunday.

And it gets me to thinking of The Plight of The Orphan. I have spent a couple of posts advocating for children that I met on my journey, but if any of you know me well, you know that one child sticks with me above all others, and so this post is a Shameless Plug for Sasha Pastov.

Sasha Pastov is Daniel's best friend from the detskiy dom (children's home) who was moved to the internat (boarding school) during our first visit to Ukraine.

Here is a post that I shared on my private facebook group:

"Daniel's best friend was moved to the internat today. This is not a good place for children. Sasha is simple and sweet. When we left on Wednesday Daniel said "dasvadanya" but Sasha said, "Bye, Guys!" Yesterday he and Daniel were trading sunglasses and laughing together. He asked us when he would see us again. Tomorrow, we said. Instead of seeing us he was bundled into a car, driven away from his home with nothing but the clothes on his back, not even his new Fisher Price sunglasses and dropped off. The nanny said he was begging and crying. And that the abuse from the other children had already begun. This is NO LIFE for a child. Pray for Sasha. I am trying to get his information to advocate for him with any waiting child organizations. Sasha needs a home. " - June 21

We have been getting updates here and there through our facilitator. Unfortunately the internat is every bit as bad as we thought. Maybe worse. He is asking for a family. Asking to be moved back to the detskiy dom. 

And, so far, no one has heard him.

You see, Sasha has many things going against him. He is HIV positive. He has mental delays, probably due to fetal alcohol syndrome. He is 11. And as far as adopting goes, the first two categories don't knock him out, because there are families out there fearlessly and prayerfully embracing children with these struggles, but being over the age of ten kind of does knock him out. Not because people don't adopt older children. Because they do. But, you see, he has a combination. A perfect storm. Children that are over the age of ten who are HIV positive have to undergo special tuberculosis testing due to CDC (that is right, OUR CDC) regulations. The children have to have a chest x-ray, a skin test and a sputum test. And they have to wait for the culture to come back. And that adds around EIGHT weeks IN COUNTRY to the process of adopting him. Until those cultures come back clear, the US won't issue a visa. 

Now, I know. We can argue about why this is super unfair. And there is nothing that you could say that I wouldn't agree with. But it is what it is.

And for Sasha, unless God moves someone mightily and SOON, this is a guarantee that he will most likely not be picked.

And I grapple with why some children get families and others don't. I read the story of the boy in Florida who said that he had lost weight and would try his best if he could only have a family and he would take anyone. Kids shouldn't have to worry about being cute enough, or smart enough. They should have a family. Period.

So this Orphan Sunday, please pray for the orphans. Like the boy in Florida showed, there are children who need families everywhere. 

Please pray for Sasha.

Because even though circumstances might be against him, God is FOR HIM. And even though the world may not hear him, God does.

And share this post. 

It may save a life.