Praise God! He is Mighty!

"Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together." Psalm 49:1

"Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul." Psalm 67:16

"Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men." Psalm 67:5

"All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom." Psalm 145:10-12

"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:3-4

I am writing this post to thank God and to praise Him for everything He has done through this adoption and to share with everyone what He is doing in our lives. He told us, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece." Luke 9:3 We have fully rested on the Lord to provide for our journey and He has been faithful to us in this promise. We have received large donations and widow's mites and we are grateful to God for both. "Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full, having received ...the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." Phillipians 4:17-20 There have been many thanksgivings to God because of your ministry to us. "Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding in many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:10-15

The Lord has helped in so many ways! Back in August we had our house appraised and our realtor brought his wife, who happened to be a mortgage officer at our bank. Our realtor remembered what interest we closed at and his wife said she could do a streamline loan to lower our interest by 1 1/2%! Not only are we able to put aside more money for the adoption because our house payment is lower but we were able to skip an entire house payment to go towards the adoption. We also happened to find that in one of our accounts we had significantly more money than we thought we had. It has been an amazing journey in faith.

God has especially been moving through the story of Jason Herring. If you don't know the story yet you can read about it here on our blog. This year Jason and his family has decided to do the first annual Josiah Lee Memorial Offering in memory of his son and they are donated the funds to us in order to help bring our Josiah home. Below is an article he wrote based on the memorial service held at Jason Herring's church:

Josiah Lee Memorial Offering

Josiah Lee Herring made an impact on every person he came in contact with. The blonde haired, blue-eyed boy charmed everyone with his unique accent and vivid imagination. When he went home to be with his Best Friend on May 20, 2009, he left a huge hole in our lives that can never be filled. But even though nothing in this world can ever replace the remarkable Josiah Lee, we will never stop thinking of ways to honor his memory. For over a year I have been impressed to take up an annual Christmas offering in honor of Josiah. This last October while visiting a small orphanage located in a small town in China, I met my reason for giving.

Yang Henghai was born without the use of his arms and was born with two club feet. In spite of his limitations, he is able to do amazing things, and his happy upbeat personality makes him an instant favorite among visitors that come to the Harmony House Orphanage. Yang Henghai's given English name is Josiah. And like Josiah Lee, he lights up the room and brings a smile to those he comes in contact with. Josiah means, "Yaweh supports him," and although crippled in body, Josiah is supported by Jesus who has a very special plan for his life.

When I came home from China in October, I wrote an article describing my encounter with Josiah entitled, "Confirmation in an Unlikely Place." Chalk it up to conicidence or the alignment of the stars I knew that it was an act of divine Providence that I would meet a four-year-old boy named Josiah on the other side of the world. My article was passed around to friends of friends of friends and this led to yet another chance encounter. I received an email from the parents who were in the process of adopting Josiah.

Brian and Rachel Beauchamp are a christian couple in Iowa with two girls Paige (10) and Paris (8). Early in 2010, God began moving in their hearts to adopt a special needs child from China. Their testimony of how God led them to Josiah is truly amazing. You can read all about this wonderful family and their adoption journey at josiahsnewhome.blogspot.com.

It all fit so perfectly together. Besides the obvious connection points, this was at the very heart of the Christmas story. Why did God send His Son to earth 2000 years ago? "When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son...that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Galatians 4:4-5). Could there be a better cause for a Christmas offering or a better way to honor the memory of my son?

You can help make it possible that Josiah will spend Christmas next year at home in Iowa with his forever family. When David was established on the throne of Israel he asked, "Is there anyone that I may show the kindness of God unto?" His quest led him to a crippled boy named Mephibosheth. Have we ever asked that question? Where would it lead us if we did? This "tiny Tim" can one day walk and run with corrective orthopedic surgery. We have the opportunity to show the kindness of God to a young boy on the other side of the world. This is what it means to "do justice." This is the definition of pure religion that is undefiled before the Father. Merry Christmas to all and God bless us everyone.

Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. (Psalm 82:3)

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction... (James 1:27)

USCIS Package Received

We sent off our I800-A and USCIS received it yesterday. We should be hearing about our fingerprinting appointment with them in a few weeks.

Homestudy Approved!!!

We just received notification that our homestudy has been approved! We are now just awaiting our notarized hard copies so we can apply for our I-797 through the USCIS. The I-800a application is already filled out and in an envelope waiting to be sent off when we receive the homestudy. Then we will be notified by the USCIS of when and where we have to get our fingerprints taken so we might get our I-797 approval. We are counting down each step in this process until we can bring Josiah home!!

Confirmation in an Unlikely Place

I have been wanting to post this article to our blog for several weeks now and I just haven't had the time to do it. This article was written by Jason Herring. He had a son named Josiah who passed away just before turning five in May 2009. He recently got back from a trip to China and having visited Harmony House, where our little Josiah resides, he wrote this article about his visit. If you would like to know more about the story of his own son, Josiah, please click here.





Confirmation in an Unlikely Place

by Jason Herring


Have you ever stepped out in faith and then wondered if you were in God's will? I know that I have. When I was presented with the opportunity to go to China last Decemeber it seemed like a great idea, but as the departure date got closer, I began to wonder if this was really the right thing to do. There were issues int he church, and people were acting immature. How could I go to the other side of the world when there were fires burning on the home front? Apparently, the Chief Pastor of the church was on vacation and needed me to cover for Him. Or at least that's how I misread the memo.


With apprehension I left for China not having any idea what to expect. During the first six days of Hong Kong ministy, I met a wonderful couple from Ireland, Richard and Cherith. We were riding down an escalator in a shopping mall when Cherith asked me, "Do you have any children?"
"Yes, A son," I replied.
"How old is he?"
"Eight years old," I answered.
"What's his name?"
"Jason. He's a junior."
"Oh, that's funny," Cherith said smiling, "I would have thought that his name would be Josiah."
I stopped, and then with a laugh said, "Well, that is very interesting."


I shared Josiah's testimony with Cherith and Richard, and later with others in our team of volunteers. How could she have known that I had a son named Josiah? Of all the names to hear spoken in an Irish accent in the middle of Hong Kong, Josiah's name was uttered when I least expected.


After our intense labor in Hong Kong was finished, we went to Beijing for a few days of sightseeing. On Sunday afternoon we went to visit the Harmony House orphanage located 45 minutes south of the capital city where Steven Curtis Chapman had adopted Maria. When we arrived, I was unprepared for what I saw. There were dozens of orphans from toddler to three years old who loved to pose for the camera. All of the kids had a special need of some kind. One kid in particular caught my eye right away. He was very interested in me, and stuck his tongue out every time I took his picture. When all of the kids left the dining room and went into the living room to play with the rest of the team, I remained in the dining room conversing with this little guy who didn't understand anything but a smile. Then he pointed at my camera. I noticed that he pointed with his deformed feet as though they were his hands. He kept his hands hidden in the sleeves of his sweater. He liked my camera, and loved it when I would show him his picture after each snapshot. When a worker helped him to the floor and he began to hop across the floor like a baby seal, I could no longer contain myself. I made a beeline for the restroom, closed the door, and cried where no one could see me.


Regaining my composure I went into the living room to see some of the other precious children. I wasn't there but a few minutes when I heard someone say, "Josiah." And then I heard it again.


"Excuse me. Did I hear Josiah? Is there a child here named Josiah?" I asked the director of the orphanage.
"Yes, there is," she replied.
"Which child is he?" I asked.
"He's going up the stairs," she said, gesturing to the stairwell.


Before I looked I already knew who it was. There was my little photogenic buddy heading up the stairs, one step at a time. When I walked up stairs there were a dozen more kids playing with their toys. It didn't take long to observe the pecking order. Josiah was the kingpin of the toy room. He held a monopoly on a box of animal shaped blocks. A lady from our group asked him, "Are you Josiah?" Josiah looked up at her with sparkling eyes and said, "Josiah!" Hearing that name from the lips of a four-year-old little boy was almost too much. Stink! I'm going to lose it again. Not in front of the kids. Fight to keep it in. There, got it under control.


I spent the rest of our time at Harmony House watching and interacting with my newfound little buddy. Once he tired of controlling the block market, he turned his attention to coloring with his toes on construction paper. I spelled his name for him, and he scribbled something. And that's pretty much how it went. I wrote or drew something and Josiah scribbled. And the only thing we mutually understood was a smile and 'Josiah.'


What are the odds of meeting a four-year-old boy named Josiah on the other side of the world? I wanted so desperately to hold my Josiah again. And yet someone had thrown their Josiah away because of a deformity. This Josiah was sharp and very intelligent. He was crippled in body but not in mind. And like my little Josiah, he had spunk.


When we left the orphanage, I sat in the back of the bus in silence for most of the ride back to Beijing. There was so much to process. Later one of my teammates, Todd - a dear friend from Idaho - commented that this was like divine confirmation that I was supposed to be on this trip. And there it was. It was like God was saying, "Here's your sign." A conversation on an escalator with a girl from Ireland and a chance encounter with a Chinese orphan had provided all the proof that I needed to know that I was in the will of God.


Confirmation always comes to those who are walking by faith. I've never embarked on a venture of faith that God did not eventually confirm my heading. But confirmation does not come to those who are walking by sight. We can be in the epicenter of God's will for our life and never know it if we're not walking by faith. Other times in my life I have floundered like a ship with no sail, wondering if I was really where I was supposed to be. To this day, I can look back on certain moments in my life and still wonder if I was in God's will. I missed the signs because I wasn't walking in faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. But when we walk in faith our lives are pleasing to God, and our chance encounters and coincidental circumstances become confirmations of divine direction.

Innovative, creative, clever, sweet...that's Josiah.

Here are some pictures of Josiah that we feel portray some of his personality and determination to overcome any obstacle.

Feeding himself

Turning pages in a book

Drawing on a Magnadoodle (making a goofy face)

Rocking Bella Trinity

Feeding himself a bottle

Hugging a teddy bear

Determined to go down the stairs by himself thus the bruise on his forehead

Yes, we love Josiah very much and we can't wait to bring him home.

Homestudy Update

Just wanted to post another update, we will be starting our homestudy next week, Monday and Thursday, with the final vist on Tuesday 11/23/10. After we have an approved homestudy we will be sending off our I-800 which is our immigration paperwork for Josiah. We need the completed homestudy and our I-797 in order to complete our dossier paperwork. Please pray that the Lord helps this process to go smoothly, it is our hope that we will be sending off our dossier sometime shortly after the beginning of the year, but I am trusthing in God's perfect timing and if it is earlier or later, that is fine by me :)

In His service,

Brian

Jehovah Jireh!

Praise God! The Lord has provided and we are moving ahead in this adoption. We are finally about to begin the home study. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. I'm sorry we haven't had more time to update our blog but I hope to have much more to share very soon.

Rachel

Give me spiritual eyes

We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has called us to this adoption, but we are waiting for Him to provide one of the major expenses right now so we can really get this adoption under way. God is using this testing of our faith to show us how to view our situation with spiritual eyes. "'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God...But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:9-12;14

To those who have felt led to give, the Lord has used you in a mighty way to encourage us during a very difficult time as there has been very little happening to further our progress in the last month. The world may look at our situation and think how foolish it is of us to think that the Lord is going to provide the money for this adoption, but even though it appears that there is not much happening, we have to believe that He is there and He is working. We believe that God called us to this "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 If we were to look at our situation with our natural eyes we would probably give up and think that it is just too much to overcome, but the Lord is teaching us to persevere, knowing that with God all things are possible. Paul said that when we fight we should fight with a purpose not as though we were beating the air. "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it...Therefore I run thus; not with uncertainty. Thus I fight; not as one who beats the air." 1 Corinthians 9:24;26 By faith, looking at his situation with spiritual eyes, Paul kept his goal in mind running toward it with certainty no matter what his circumstances were because he knew what God had called him to do. We plan to "press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of Christ Jesus." Phillipians 3:14

Rachel

Now may the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Strengthened In Faith

(Abraham) who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."

Romans 4:18-22

When God told Abraham that he would have a son in his old age, he didn't consider the odds of that happening by looking at the natural circumstance of his age. Abraham believed so fully in the character of God that there was no room for doubt in his mind. He knew that God is not a liar so he was fully convinced that if God said it would happen then it would. Abraham knew God's character so well that he didn't need to see miracles happen to believe God. That is what made Abraham a righteous man.

Our faith should be based on God's character, not the miracles He performs. If faith is based on miracles then Israel should have been the most faithful people ever seen. They were witness to all the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. Yet after seeing all these things, when they were in the wilderness they thought God had brought them there to die instead of believing the promise that He was bringing them to a land flowing with milk and honey. Miracles have a tendancy of fading in our memories, so where will our faith be when it seems nothing is happening?

When it would seem as if God is doing nothing, we cannot look to our natural circumstances. "But as it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God...But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:9-11;14 We lose faith by looking at our circumstances through the spirit of man (with our natural eyes) rather than the Spirit of God who was given to us.

The Spirit of God was given to us so that we might know Him intimately. The more intimately we know Him the more faith in Him we will have, despite our circumstances. God's actions may prove His character, but eventually we need to get to a place of such intimacy with Him that we don't need to see His actions in order to believe in His character. That is faith.

Rachel

Orphan Train

During our PIP classes last week we discussed the history of adoption in this country. One of the things mentioned was the use of orphan trains, used from mid 1800's to the early 1900's, to transport abandoned or poor children from the east to help farmers in the midwest. When I mentioned this to a person at work, they told me that there was an orphan train mural and depot station in Delmar, IA. Well we were in Maquoketa, IA this weekend at Bluff Lake Restaurant and Delmar was on our way home. Below are some pictures from the Delmar Depot.

Brian

PIP Classes Completed

We had our PIP (Parents In Process) classes on Friday and Saturday, one more step in the process completed. We are celebrating every step we complete because it gets us that much closer to bringing Josiah home. We had a great time getting to know some other adopting families and the social worker who is going to be preparing our home study.

Speaking of which, the home study is the next step we must complete and a very important part of the puzzle. Now that our PIP classes are complete the bill for the home study is due. As I was reading the word today the Lord reassured me that He is still with us in this process and that He will supply. Habakkuk 1:5 "Look among the nations and watch - be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe though it were told you." The Lord is going to do a mighty work in this adoption in order to glorify His name. Habakkuk 2:2-4 "...'Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.'"

Hebrews 10 quotes Habakkuk 2:3-4. It says, "...do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God you may receive the promise: 'For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.'" These verses from Hebrews were the very verses the Lord encouraged me with when we were seeking Him. Not more than a week later He showed us in His amazing way what His will was regarding our adoption of Josiah. Praise God that He is mindful of us to encourage us to have the patience and faith to wait on Him. He reminded me that His will is set for an appointed time and He will not tarry.

Rachel

Special Days...

We LOVE to have our special days with our girls! Once a weekend Brian and I have one on one time taking them out for an acitivity of their choice within reason. So while one of us is out with one of the girls, the other is home with one of the girls to spend special time with them. Paige particularly enjoys animals so some of the activities we have done with her are visiting the pet store and going to a pond to feed ducks and geese. Paris is much more adventurous so we have been on the Channel Cat (a water taxi that takes us across the mighty Mississippi River) and roller skating. Roller skating was certainly an adventure for me as I hadn't been since I was in elementary, I think. During our special days at home Brian usually plays some sort of pretend games with the kids, dressing up in capes and running around with light sabres. My days home with the girls usually consist more of board games, watching a girly movie with popcorn, or just hanging out and talking. However, my last day home with Paige she had a great idea. We did a "spa day" at home!


We did sea weed masks.




Next we did a foot soak and scrub. Then I did a very dangerous thing...


I let Paige paint my toenails.




Now we match!!

We can't wait to bring Josiah home and begin having our special one on one time with him!!!

The testing of your faith

If you are checking our blog for an update of where we are at in this process please check the message from 8/29/10.

James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

As Christians we need to be aware that not everything is always going to go smoothly in this walk of faith that we have. Peter said, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you also be glad with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:12-13) The Lord sometimes chooses to test the endurance of our faith, just like when you are training for a race. When you start training you barely make it half a mile and you are huffing and puffing, but every time you train you push yourself to go a little further. Eventually you are fit and ready to run the race. In the same way the Lord tests our faith, sometimes pushing us past the limits that we set for ourselves knowing that we can go further.

So many times when we go through something hard we start to get angry sometimes blaming God, and even questioning His very existence. What we often don’t realize is that during those times the Lord is training us up for our good, but like a toddler whose parents try to give an apple instead of the chocolate they really want, we have a fit. The key to these temper tantrums is knowing and trusting the character of God. He is a Father that loves His children, forming them in the womb, keeping our tears in a jar, and knowing the very number of hairs on our heads. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
There are so many things we can learn from the testing of our faith. Patience is one of the most important things we can learn as it will help us to lack nothing. Tribulation also produces perseverance, character and hope as it says in Romans 5:3-4. Through hard times we are to develop compassion for others. There are so many suffering people in the world, but when we suffer we do so with hope and purpose knowing that the Lord will eventually come to our rescue. It is intended for us to share that hope and purpose with others who do not have it because they don’t know the Lord. It is also for us to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ who are going through the same things. Most importantly God will be glorified through it, as Peter said, that when His glory is revealed we will be glad with exceeding joy.

Adoption Update 082910

Here are some quick updates as to where we are at in the process. We have begun compiling our dossier which will be sent to China, this is pretty much the meat and potatoes of the adoption. This will include a lot of details about who we are and our ability to take care of Josiah. It is our hope that we will have everything that we need for our dossier by the time our homestudy is completed. Our adoption agency told us that they sent our letter of intent off to China last week, which is our formal request to adopt Josiah and promise that we will take care of him the best we know how. We are once again in waiting mode as we have applied for our passports and our background checks have been sent off.

On deck: Parents in Process classes

Everyday is one step closer to bringing our little man home, if only having patience meant that you can have what you want right now.

In His Service,

Brian

Manna from Heaven

Matthew 6:8 "...For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

There have been so many unexpected expenses connected to this adoption but God has provided for each and every thing that has come up before we even knew that we needed it! This idea is called "Manna for Today" or "Manna from Heaven." Matthew 6 says that we are to pray for our daily bread and James 1:17 declares that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." Our daily bread is both the spiritual "food" that we need for our souls and the physical "food" that we need for our bodies. If an earthly father, with his sinful nature, gives his children the things they need to meet their necessities how much more will our righteous Father in heaven do for those who love Him. The Lord delights in providing not only spiritually, but also materially for His children. Matthew 7:7-11 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil (having a sin nature), know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"

When Jesus sent out His disciples as ambassadors for Him to do His work He specifically told them not to take any money or necessities with them. Matthew 10: 9-10 "Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food." Jesus wanted to build faith in them that if they are doing His work He will provide for the things that they needed. After all He is the master providing all the supplies His servants need in order to get His work done. It is generally not the servants responsibility to provide his own supplies but simply to be a good steward of what his Master has given him. You have to have faith to leave your home on an errand where you did not know where you were going, not taking any money or provisions with you, wondering how everything was going to work out. But when you know and trust Him, knowing He is a good and faithful Master, it will put so many doubts and fears to rest. "Perfect love casts out fear."

The Lord has called us to do His work in "setting the solitary in families." Just like Isaiah we heard the voice of the Lord calling, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Brian and I each responded, "Here am I! Send me." Like the disciples He called us at a time where we have no gold or silver in our money belts or supplies for the journey, but He is showing Himself faithful in providing for our every need.

Rachel

For His Glory

John 9:1-3 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him..."

This man was healed by Jesus, bringing glory to God, just as Jesus had explained. If Jesus came to save a world that didn't need saving, how would that glorify God? Josiah was found abandoned by the side of the road, for what reasons we don't know, but it is our hope that his life will be used by God to glorify Him. How could this little boy with no family and little use of his arms and legs ever make it in this world? Only by the grace of God. Ps 113:7-8 "He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes-with the princes of His people." What many people will fail to realize is that as much as Josiah will be blessed with a family that will love him and take care of him, we also will be blessed by him. It is our goal as Christians to be used by God for any of His purposes. We are to be doers of the word not just hearers, and it is a priviledge to serve the Lord in this way. Not to mention, Josiah will be our son and Paige and Paris's brother. We look forward to having him home with us, from what I hear he can brighten any room with his heart-melting smile and happy go-getter attitude.

In His service,

Brian

Waiting...

I have a feeling that "Waiting..." is going to be the title of many more of our posts to this blog. We had our fingerprinting done for our background checks and have mailed them to our adoption agency along with all the paperwork we have initially received. So now we are waiting to hear back as to whether or not all our paperwork is approved. The longest thing, however, may be our background checks. Those can take 10-12 weeks and we will not be able to begin our home study until the background checks come back. Please pray for us to have patience to wait upon God's perfect timing.

Rachel

Let the paperwork begin

Well we have already filled out mounds of paperwork and we probably haven’t even reached halfway with the amount of paperwork we have left. However before we can move on in the process we have to have a home study. If you don’t know, a home study is where a social worker comes to your home a couple of times and interviews you and your family to make sure that your home and your family meet all of the requirements of adoption for your state, the federal government and the country from which you are adopting. Our adoption agency would like our home study to begin around September 17 and we have to pay all the fees for the study, amounting to $2500, before we can start the interview process. Again we have no human prospect of fulfilling these requirements but we put our boast in the Lord. If this is His work He will provide. The Lord seems to delight in calling people to do His work who are incapable of doing it in their own strength. In this way God will receive all the glory because the people He called cannot boast that they have done any of it themselves. Moses said he couldn’t lead the people out of Egypt but God used him to do exactly that. Gideon was scared and hiding from the enemy using the winepress as a threshing floor yet God called him a mighty man of valor. God took a sheep herder and made him king of Israel . He took uneducated fishermen to confound the wise and turn the world upside down. I do not put our need on this blog in hopes that people will donate but instead I hope that we can all rejoice together when we, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord,” as He brings this home study to pass. We wait on the One who owns all the gold and silver. It is our hope that as our faith is built up through this calling that God has laid on our hearts that in turn it would also build up the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Our Story

And so it begins...

We had been talking about adoption for several weeks. Our children, Paige, 9, and Paris, 8, fully assured us that they wanted to adopt before we came to the conclusion ourselves. At that time we were supporting an orphan who was with Harmony Outreach. They are an organization that takes in orphans with special needs in China. They sponsor surgeries for these children who have heart disease, cleft palates, and spina bifida among other things. When Brian and I decided we wanted to adopt, we initially thought we should adopt a girl, because we have so much experience with girls. We had also decided on someone with only mild special needs because we didn't know if we were prepared to handle anything more severe.

Even though we had decided to adopt we still felt like we needed to pray and ask God if that is what He wanted us to do. So we prayed for several weeks and felt more and more led to adopt, but the more I looked at the pictures of the children at Harmony Outreach the more my heart went out to Josiah. I cried more over him than any of the other children and kept wondering if there was anyone out there who would be willing to adopt him. The more I thought about him the more I heard God tugging on my heart and then one day I clearly heard God speak, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" It was a question He asked Isaiah the prophet when no one else was willing to do what God was asking. Isaiah repsonded, "Here am I! Send me." And those were the very words that rang in my heart when I heard God asking me if I would be willing to go to "the least of these." Jesus will one day say, "'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when didwe see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" Matthew 25:34-40

Though theses were the words that rang in my heart when I thought of Josiah, I was not at all sure that Brian would be on board with it since we had previously discussed adopting a girl with mild special needs. Josiah has nerve damage or missing bones causing his arms to be completely paralyzed. We do not know what might be the cause of this, so we don't know if it is a possiblity that his arms could work again. I decided I wasn't going to say anything to Brian about Josiah until I had time to pray about it. That day Paige approached me and said that she wanted to adopt Josiah. That was the very thing that I felt God was speaking to my heart and I told her so but that I wasn't sure how her dad would feel about it. I told her not to say anything to him about it yet but that we should just pray. Later that evening as we sat down for dinner we were discussing the fact that we were all in for adoption. At that time Brian said, “What do you think about adopting Josiah?” I wouldn’t have been surprised if my jaw had hit the table. It appeared that God had been speaking to Brian about Josiah as well. The words God had spoken to him were that some people view Josiah as a special needs child (seeing him as being defined by his needs) and some people view Josiah as a child with special needs (seeing him as a child who has special needs but is not defined by them) but that Brian saw him as just special. We all knew that Josiah was very special. He was so full of joy despite his limitations. He seemed like he was determined to overcome as we read on his profile that he used his legs and feet more like arms and hands. We were simply amazed at him. God gave us eyes to see Josiah as a child in desperate need of the love of a family, to see his special needs as secondary to that, and to think less and less about his limitations. We knew his sweet spirit, ingenuity, and perseverance would be engrained on the hearts of all our extended family as well. We took this as confirmation that the Lord wanted us to adopt Josiah.

We knew this would be a huge commitment on our parts to adopt someone with Josiah's needs, so we didn't take it lightly and just jump right in, we continued to pray. We did at that time contact the orphanage director to let her know we were interested in getting more information about Josiah. When we didn't receive an immediate response from her we decided to leave it in God's hands. If God wanted us to adopt Josiah then He would get us information about Josiah.

An entire week went by and still no one had contacted us. We were starting to wonder if this is what God wanted after all, but that day we received the monthly newsletter from the orphanage. On the entire back page of this newsletter was an article about Josiah. God had gotten us information about Josiah in an amazing and unexpected way. We realized that a week is not enough time to develop an entire newsletter and send it out in the mail. God had anticipated our need for information about Josiah ahead of time. Jesus says in Matthew 6:8 "'For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.'" We later found out how amazing this information really was because the orphanage director had been away and unable to check her email. While she is located in China, it is the branch of the organization located in the United States that is in charge of the newsletters and they had not been in contact with the orphanage director for that week either. The article was written by the Director of Operations for Harmony Outreach (the orphanage where Josiah resides). She had just taken her first trip to China in April 2010 to visit the orphanage and she was very struck with Josiah. In April was also the first time that Brian and I actually heard of Harmony Outreach and became involved in sponsoring an orphan. From the time that she visited Harmony House in April, again the very time that we got involved with Harmony, she and her entire office in the U.S. began to pray specifically for Josiah. I can only imagine that their prayers affected our decision in who we were going to adopt. Her desire to see Josiah have a forever family is what prompted her to write the article in the newsletter and little did she know that God had already answered that prayer through our family. This is what her article said:

On the floor of Harmony House - our orphanage we were entering on the other side of the world - sits a three-year-old, lost from view by the group of children staring at the arriving foreigners. He waits patiently as I greet children I've previously known only by their pictures. As children press forward, leaving him behind, my eyes fall on Josiah. I call out, "Josiah," and he flashes me a smile that can only be reflective of the light of heaven.

Josiah remains seated because he cannot arise to meet me, but his beaming face is more welcoming than all the others. As I make my way toward him, his gaze holds me as surely as his arms would if he could only move them. I sit on the couch and lift him to sit beside me. Patting my chest I say, "Lin-da." Touching his I say, "Jo-si-ah." This three-year-old, -accustomed to being called Yang Hanghei - listens intently as I once again identify myself. Then he proudly proclaims, "Leen-da!" It becomes a game which he loves, and the other children, gathered around watching, are introduced to me by one of their own.

As must surely be the case in any orphanage, each child seeks attention. A couple of kids pick up the chant, "Leen-da." Others shyly stand back just watching. Two even recoil when my eyes meet theirs in greeting, beginning to cry and flee to the safety of the closest nanny's arms. But Josiah is unperturbed. Eager to impress me with his abilities, he manuevers his little body off the couch, onto the floor and toward a small toy. He deftly picks it up with his toes and throws it to me. It is a game, and I fetch and return it to him. Unfazed when another child grabs his toy, he substitutes another to continue the game.

Who is this child with useless arms and hands who so captivated my heart over the next few days, his sweet little round face and sparkling eyes so full of hope? We know he was born August 11, 2006, and came to us ten months later from Hengyang Orphanage in Hunan Province. We can only surmise that he was abandoned because of his malformed little body.

And what of his future? We know God says He has plans for each one of us - plans for good and not for evil, plans for a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Does that include Josiah, with his strong legs but with feet malformed so that he can only stand on the tops of his feet and ankles? Josiah, with his useless arms and hands who uses his feet to feed himself and wave goodbye? Yes! Especially Josiah!

Will you be God's instrument to further Josiah's hope and future? He is ready for his Forever Family. Were my husband and I not in our late 60's, we would certainly now be filling out paperwork to adopt him. Please contact us if God is speaking to you to provide a loving home for our sweet Josiah. He will teach you more than you can ever teach him!

Again we heard God speaking through this newsletter, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" We contacted the woman who wrote this article. She gave us the name of an adoption agency to contact because we still had to find out if Josiah's file was even available on the list of children that could be considered for adoption. Once we contacted the adoption agency we spoke to the woman in charge of the China program (each country has their own regulations on what they expect of adoptive parents so they have specialists for each country program). When I told her we were interested in Josiah from Harmony House and told her his special needs she exclaimed, "Oh, I think I have met him! I visited Harmony House last year and I remember that he was a joy to be around and he had a beautiful smile." This woman visited lots of orphanages and saw many children yet she remembered Josiah specifically.

We clearly saw God's hand in all of this, yet still we did not fill out the application to begin the process. We found out after speaking to the adoption agency that the cost for adoption is significant. At this point we prayed and determined that we were going to wait upon God alone for the finances to begin the adoption of Josiah. We did not want to ask anyone for the money as we believed that if God was calling us to do this that He would be more than willing to supply our every need. “Those who wait upon the Lord will not be ashamed.”

So for seven weeks we waited, and waited, and waited. During this time we questioned God over and over about whether or not He wanted us to do this and again wondered if God was really in this adoption. Every time we had decided that God wasn't really in this and that we were not going to continue to pursue the adoption, having not told anyone our decision, within a day we would receive an email with pictures of Josiah from Harmony. This happened three or four times. One time we had decided we weren't going to adopt and within an hour, still not having told anyone of this decision, the Executive Director of Harmony sent us the link to a woman's blog who had just been to Harmony during an adoption of her own. She had taken a picture of Josiah, along with some of the other kids. This is what she said on her blog about Josiah:

The children captured my heart immediately. Many of them already have forever families working to bring them home. Harmony House has seen around 40 children adopted over the years. The sweet faces and eyes work into your very soul. One 3 year old boy is an example of how God's love is making a difference in this orphanage. He has no use of his arms and his feet turn in making them unfit to walk. Yet, the boy is full of joy. His smile lights up the room and he captivated my son, Alex.

It was as if God was telling us to hang in there a little longer. Don't give up yet. Josiah will be worth the wait. At this time I was reading George Mueller and he repeatedly said that the only reason God was not providing for him at that time was to try his faith and patience. He kept using the verse, “Let patience have it’s perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:4). Over and over it was impressed upon me through the word that I needed to have patience to wait upon the Lord. I repeatedly used “those who wait upon the Lord will not be ashamed” during my prayer to remind myself, of what His word said. One day, after about five weeks of waiting, I felt I was past the point of being able to wait any longer and on the verge of tears wondering if this was even going to happen. I heard a still small voice say, “Just hold on a little longer.” Later that day in my reading I came across this verse, “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God you may receive the promise: ‘For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him,’” (Hebrews 10:36-38). In my mind it was an echo of the still small voice I had heard earlier. Endure so that you may receive the promise. Just hold on a little longer. It was another encouragement to wait upon the Lord.

That week Harmony contacted us to see how things were progressing and we asked that they pray for us as we were still waiting for the Lord to provide. About a week later we received an email from Harmony Outreach, the organization that is caring for Josiah, asking for urgent prayer for some issues and attached to that email was this:

“... A family has come forward saying they believe God would have them adopt our sweet little Josiah—an answer to our own prayers. However, the expense is more than they can handle alone, and they are asking for prayers that God would open doors and show them how to proceed with this desire He has laid on their hearts. ... Please join your faith with ours that God will bring these adoptions to pass.”

We were surprised to find that our prayer request was among those that were on that list of urgent prayers, as we thought they were only going to keep it among those at their office. The following week we received an email from a woman named Jacqui who wanted to encourage us in the adoption process as she has adopted from China three times and personally knew Josiah. She told us how amazing he was and that after seeing him when she had gone to China that it had been laid on her heart to specifically pray for a family for him. Everyone that she knew who had met him had fallen in love with him and were completely taken by him.

Brian wrote back and told her that we were specifically waiting on the Lord in this whole process and that we weren’t going to take a single step unless He went before us. She then wrote us back saying that she was bursting at the seams to share some news with us and to call her. We were so hopeful that this was what we had been waiting for, that God was finally moving in this adoption process. We sat down, prayed, and then gave her a call. Hearing that we were waiting on the Lord for every step was a confirmation to her that the Lord was in this. She started out by saying that the Lord had given her a verse for us about when Jesus sent out His twelve apostles to do His workd. Luke 9:3 "And He said to them, 'Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.'" She felt that God was confirming to her that He was sending us out to do His work and that He would provide for it. As proof that God was providing she had a friend, who also loved Josiah very much, who contacted Jacqui to tell her that she and her husband made a donation to Harmony Outreach on our behalf. We were praising and glorifying God for His help and that He was mindful of us. All we had to do was contact Harmony and they would cut us a check for the donation. Within one week of God telling me He would come and He would not tarry He provided! When we called Harmony they said that not only had one person donated but there were three different donations. Praise God!!! It was confirmation enough for us to finally begin this process and know that the Lord is going to provide.

We will continue to seek God for His help, leading and guidance through this whole process as we have no human prospect of fulfilling the requirements of this adoption. We know that the Lord owns all the silver and gold and that nothing is impossible with God. If this work is of the Lord then He will provide for it in a mighty way. It is our hope that God would be entirely glorified in this situation since there is nothing we can do to move this work forward in our own strength. We are left in the capable hands of our God and we know that He will do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.

Rachel

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Praise God! We had our realtor come out today to assess the value of our home because we need our net worth to be a certain amount. This is one of the requirements that China has in order to adopt from them. Our assessed value came out to be significantly more than what we thought it was going to be. With the equity we now have in our home, in addition to all the other items we own, the required amount is not even a stretch for us. Our realtor also happened to bring his wife with him and she works at our bank as a mortgage loan officer. She told us that it may be possible for us to do a streamline refinance at a rate that is 1.5% lower than the rate we currently have. We are praying that this would be a possibility. Every little bit we can glean is more that we can put toward this adoption. Please pray that the hand of God would be apparent in this situation, that we would clearly see His leading as this opportunity was not sought after but seemingly brought to us.

Rachel