Saturday at Maplelag

Last weekend we drove a couple of hours to Maplelag resort.  Every year they have a cross country ski race and it is becoming a family tradition to go and watch the race.  This year my youngest brother participated in the race, as well and two young cousins of mine.  It was a chilly day, but sunny and beautiful.  Freddie discovered the ultimate sledding hill and had a blast going up and down the slope.  Valerie had fun being pulled on her little red sled, feeling the snow and eating cookies!  The kids and cousins had fun running around in the lodge, exploring and playing hide-n-seek.  It is an interesting place, large and open and decorated with old railroad station signs and rustic furniture,  Support beams are large gnarly and knotted logs that are full of character and charm.  Old wooden skiis are mounted on the walls and there is a large stone fireplace that invite you to come and sit--or climb if you are under the age of 10.  It is a peaceful place.  We had a great time enjoying family and the beautiful Minnesota winter!

Paperwork and Prayer

Adoptions are made up of lots of paperwork and ever so much prayer!  I wanted to give a little up-date on where we are at in this process.  Hopefully soon we will have some real news, but right now we are mostly waiting.  Our Social worker is finishing up writing our homestudy, and I am really trying to be patient, but it is not easy.  We are working on our Dossier paperwork that will be submitted to Joshua's country as soon as our homestudy is complete.  We have a few more forms to fill out, and then we have to have everything notarized.  After it is all together and notarized, we will have to visit the Secretary of State to have a special seal, called an Apostille, placed on each document to make it even more official.  Then our Dossier will head overseas to be translated.

We have been busy getting a family newsletter/support letter ready.  One more review from the editor (Tim, of course!), and then I can start printing.  The letters should be ready to mail by Monday, at the latest.  Send me an email, if you would like to receive our letter, and you are not already on our address list.

Last week we got approval from our Church to host a fundraiser lunch after our church service on Sunday, March 18th!  This is a big answer to prayer and a huge blessing to us.  Hopefully we will be able to raise some desperately needed funds for adoption expenses.  But even more important than that, we will have the support of our church family and have the opportunity to share what God has been doing in our hearts and lives.  We know that He will provide what we need!



Here is a fun picture, just because!  These two are Sunshine!



Please take 2 and a Half Minutes

Please take 2 and a half minutes to watch to video clip that I added just above this post! It will be time well spent. It asks the vital question, "How should Christians respond to the orphan crisis?" I encourage you to think about that, and to pray about how YOU can be involved.

Over 26,000 children die everyday around the world from lack of care. There are over 163 MILLION orphans around the world.

In the book of James, we are called to care for the widows and orphans. It is not optional, if we want to be living in obedience to Christ. James does not say that IF *SOME* of you are moved by compassion, then maybe you should do something. No he says that TRUE RELIGION that is acceptable and pleasing to God, is to care for the widow and the orphan. Our faith is defined by our actions.

Adoption is certainly about giving a child a family and meeting the real physical needs. But it is more than that. It is about giving children the gospel. When we adopt a child into our home, they gain a mother, a father, siblings, a safe place to live, healthy food and medical care, education, love and attention. All those things are very important, but they are not the MOST important. When we adopt a child into our home, we give him JESUS. We give him life! This is the gospel. This is missions.

As a church we need to step up to embrace children and embrace the culture of life that our society seems to be at war against. We need to be willing to take a stand for life. We need to be ready to adopt, to come around families who desire to adopt and provide support and encouragement. We need to to help the single mother and the woman facing an unplanned pregnancy. We need to rally around the couple who just found out that the baby they are expecting has a chromosomal abnormality or other serious health issues. Children are a blessing--all children.

Tim and I are so thankful that God has grabbed ahold of our hearts and is walking with us down the road of adoption. We are responding to Him in obedience, and we are praying that many others will want to be part of our journey to bring Joshua home. We are trusting in God to provide and meet the financial needs that we will encounter through the course of the adoption. Tens of thousands of dollars. Joshua is worth it! His life, his soul--is worth it! Please consider how you can help!