I Must be an Elphant

Well, you guessed it... we're still waiting. Nothing new has come from the three year old, Louis. They've ruled out any family members but last we heard they had not decided on a homestudy. Sigh. We have a new caseworker--our last two have gone on to jobs elsewhere. Still have our homestudy in with a few sibling groups.

I'm not exactly good at waiting. For some things I am. I'm not a Christmas gift peeker. I wait on getting the dishes done all the time. I can wait till the last minute to get things done, especially if it is writing an essay. I can usually wait for my bread to get a nice golden brown color before yanking open the door, dumping a loaf out onto the rack, slicing it open and smothering it with butter. But this whole waiting to see who (how old, how many, what gender(s), when we can go get them) the Lord will bless us with is no fun.

I'm done getting my hopes up for now. For now, I'm just kinda here. Waiting. Out busying any beaver any day of the week. Still not keeping up with all the things that have to get done. Just waiting on the day when I can look back at these posts and say, "It was worth the wait".

Jitters

No, I haven't been drinking too much coffee (is that possible? too much? hmm, doubt it.). We were called months ago about a now three year old little boy, Louis. We were called again last week and told that the relative who had tried to gain custody was not chosen and that THIS WEEK they will be reviewing homestudies. I feel a peace. I just don't know if it's a "we're finally getting our boy and I don't have to worry about it" peace or more of a "not now. chill." peace. Either way, I'm good. I do get a small case of the jitters when I give myself time to stop and think about it. Luckily, the school year is back to full swing and between implementing a new curriculum, having a co-work leave on military assignment & helping his sub, being on two committees at work, one committee in my educational society, and countless at church, teaching youth at church, helping Luci with homework, picking up Lorelai across town at the sitter's, packing lunches each night.....well, you get the idea. BEING A WORKING MOM. There. That was shorter to type. I'm just not giving myself much time to think about it. We have our homestudy in on three other sibling groups. Nothing could come of any of it. We're just resting in God's will right now. Waiting to see what will happen. We've already been so so so very blessed to have Luci be able to attend TCPS due to a huge gift from anonymous source. On top of that Lorelai got the last spot with Luci's old babysitter (old as in once upon a time...) and so that makes this mommy so relieved. I can go to work each day knowing that my sweet girls are in loving hands. WOW. 

So, we ask for your prayers for our family as well as whatever child/children God has in store for us. Please pray that he is working in their hearts to hear his word, for a positive transition into our family, and that the craziness of this school year not wear us down. Thank you so much for your prayers!

"May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you.

May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace."

Number 6: 24-26

Still Waiting

Well, as you've guessed, we're still waiting. In the meantime we've been very busy. 

We've gone to Nashville 

to attend a wedding 

and go to the zoo of course.

We've also gotten some great inspiration from Pinterest (some pics are ours and some from Pinterest b/c I've been slow to get pics off the camera. 

We've:

Added glow sticks to the bath :) 

 

 

                                                        made a birdfeeder
                                                      

 

had muffin tin meals

   

had a picnic

  

swim lessons

 

and so much more. There's also a lot more pinned for us to get done before August 1. 

We've got our homestudy in for a few different sib groups as well as the single boy we mentioned in the previous post. It's just one of those things where we do not know what God has in store for us. We just ask for your continued prayers. For us and our future children. :)

Home Study submitted

Well, a caseworker who saw our profile is seeking us for a child in her care. Both she and our caseworker feel that we would be a great match with this soon-to-be three year old little boy. They've already submitted our home study for him. It is in the early stages so we don't want to get our hopes too high. We are asking for prayer--both for him and us. Pray that he's getting the therapy he needs, that his caseworker finds the right match for him, that a transition to our home (if we are chosen) would be uneventful. We have heard several things about his current condition and his history & are very encouraged by what we've heard.
We don't want to get our hopes up again so we're going to wait. See what happens. Pray for this sweet child.  That  may be God's plan for us...to have someone praying for him for a while. It may be that we'll get to expand our family soon. Not sure. We just ask you pray for little Louis with us.

Sibs to Pray For

Our caseworker contacted us today that she had found a sibling group for us to look in to. Three children-- six year old boy, four year old girl and a two year old boy. We agreed that inquiries could be made to find out more information. We'll keep you updated as we get information. Goodness. Three. We'll have to get three sets of all kinds of things-beds & bedding, towels, ...well, you know. This might be a very busy summer. :) please pray for these dear children. That God is working on their little hearts, that they are in a Christian foster home, that we'll know if we are the right family for them, that we'll accept if we are not, that transition to their new family will be easy on their hearts and minds. That God's will be done & that He be glorified.

Sibling Update

They disappeared from the photolisting over the weekend. Our caseworker confirmed Monday that their caseworkers had another match. Not finial but it looks good for the other family.

Again, we wait for another sibling group to show up and we'll try again.

Pray Request

Ok, well we've submitted a sibling group to our caseworkers (on Friday) and she is, of course, out of town this week. :)  I called the adoption specialist yesterday to find out more about what will happen next. It was not the most encouraging thing but I have to remember that it's not about us getting children but the children finding the right home for them. :) 

Our adoption specialist was emailed the boys' profile and her next step is to contact their caseworker to find out more about them and if we'd be a good match for them. If that turns out okay they proceed to submitting our homestudy. Then it can go to committee or the caseworker & her superior will decide (depending on the state) who is the best family for the children. The caseworker would also decide if a few meetings need to occur before we bring them home. This could involve a trip or two by the family or one week long trip out there.

We'll see. We may not be a match. We could be a match but not be the family chosen. But we do now have specific children to pray for. :)  So... you could pray that they are in a loving & Christian home, that school/preschool is a positive environment for them, that they find positive ways to express their feelings about all that is going on/has happened to them. That my nerves don't get the best of me. :) That we're accepting of God's will.

The Waiting Game

We've got our certification. We've been watching the photo listings. God is saying "Wait".  We just ask for your prayers. That we wait for God's perfect timing. That our children will go into a Godly foster home until it is time for them to be with us. That their little hearts and minds will be healed as they grow in God's protection.
And for now, we continue to wait.

The BIG Question

We were sitting down to lunch yesterday and as soon as Adam and I get bites in our mouths Luci asks, “Daddy, am I adopted or did I come from my mommy’s tummy?  Cause a lot of my friends are saying I’m adopted.”

If I had been eating something that required a fork I’m sure I would have dropped it. I’m just glad it was food and not drink in my mouth at the time. 

We both froze and then turned to look at each other. I was glad for the “Daddy” part of the question because, at the time, I wasn’t ready for it. My mind cleared. My heart skipped a beat. All of the things I had planned to say packed up and went on vacation.

We’ve talked to Luci a lot about the fact that God had her grow in someone else’s belly. That she’s Guatemalan. That Mommy was adopted too.

I still wasn’t ready for the question because I wasn’t sure where Luci’s thoughts were at the moment. She has a HUGE, tender heart and I wasn’t sure if she was worried about being “different” or if she thought it was neat.  I know it was hard for me to really process the idea when I was little. It made me wonder WHAT these other kids had said to her.

Needless to say we were very honest with her about the fact that she was born in Guatemala, that God brought her to us and that she and I share that special bond. We also talked about the other children in the church that we know who are adopted.  These are all things we’ve talked about before but I finally saw the *click* in her mind over the weekend (we had a theology conference at church and one of the speakers focused on adoption). I really should have seen it coming.

She’s cool with the idea of being adopted. She asked my BF’s youngest last night at dinner if he was adopted too. Then she went on and on about how she was from Guatemala and that it was very far away. I’m sure there’s more roller coaster emotions to come. Lots more questions too. Especially as we continue in the adoption process. I’m so glad that in moments when I freeze that Adam is calm. It always amazes me at how balanced we are and how God has given both of us different experiences and wisdom so that we can always handle a situation as needed. 

Licensed and Called!

We were very blessed on Friday to hear the news that our adoption homestudy had been approved!! We are now licensed to adopt a sibling group. Licensed by the state and Called by God.

We’re just so excited.  We are searching the numerous photo listings for children open for adoption.  When we’ve found a few sibling groups we are interested in we can submit them to our caseworker and she’ll look into the group more to see if we’re a good match.

We went to church Friday night for our annual theology conference. We did not know that one of the speakers is an advocate of adoption. He and his wife have adopted five children over the last two & half years—four from the Ukraine and  one from Ethiopia. Hearing their adoption testimony was absolutely AMAZING. They were so willing to set aside their own ideas and allow for God’s plan. They went to the Ukraine thinking they would return with two children under the age of five and came back with a sibling group of four-all of whom were older than that!!   I’d like to share some of what he said here.  I cannot wait to start reading his book, Orphanology, but I need to finish re-reading  Dr. Moore’s  Adopted for Life first.

http://www.betheglory.blogspot.com/  His wife’s blog

http://tonymerida.net/   His website

His book:

Did you know that there are 130,000 children in the U.S. foster care system that are ready to be adopted? That there are MORE than 130,000 churches in the U.S. and that if only ONE family adopted ONE child from the foster care system that we could eradicate that side of the system?

When asked why they’ve adopted they said it was simple:   Jesus

It was theology, not biology.  Adoption is in the scriptures.  Everyone always thinks of adoption as someone’s “Plan B”.   A lot of people assumed that about us since we adopted first.  When we got pregnant less than a year later everyone thought it was a surprise or some freak accident.  Not so much. While every pregnancy is a blessing it was not necessarily a surprise.  We just knew that we wanted to entwine our family with adopted and biological children instead of chunking biological first and adopted second, which is more traditional.  Did you know that adoption was not a “Plan B” in God’s plan either?  He had always planned for His children to be adopted.  

Tony said so many things that really hit home Friday night.  He had eight great points on how adopting children is like our own adoption in Christ. I’m sure those are in his book and I’d much rather you support his ministry and read it for your selves.  I’m certain it is much better worded than my hastily written notes.  One of the questions he has been asked that we have as well is “What’s it like adopting transracially?”  I love his response. “You ought to know! Jesus was not a white man. Neither was Abraham.”  

He also said that we can’t expect to eradicate orphanages or the foster care system. That’s not the point. The point is that we are called by our own experience, the grace we’ve been given in our adoption. We don’t do it for the children but UNTO Him. The faces of the children and youth in these situations are the face of a Jewish Carpenter.

I’ll leave you with a message from his blog because, as I have mentioned, he does word it so much better than I can. J

 “Until perhaps recently, most believers, in my experience, have only considered adoption and orphan care in a couple circumstances. One, they were praying for the Smiths because “they can’t have children and are thinking about adopting.” Or, two, they were taking up an offering to help the state or local children’s home.

Of course, these are good things to do. We should pray for those who are struggling to have children and are considering adoption. And, we should help those who are providing homes to the fatherless. But if that’s all orphan care is to us, then we have missed so much. We need an elevated concept of adoption. We need God’s perspective on adoption. We need to meditate on the gospel more deeply.

I turned into an adoption advocate, an adoptive dad, and eventually a writer on the subject not because of infertility but because of theology.

Believers understand that God is Father. But what kind of father is He? He is an adoptive Father! Do you realize that there are no natural-born children in the family of God? None of us were born Christians. If you are a believer, it is because God has adopted you into the family. That’s it. All races brought together by God’s adoption of spiritual orphans.

Paul expounds on the gospel of God’s adopting grace to the Ephesians, Galatians, and Romans. He shows us that God the Father administered our adoption, God the Son accomplished our adoption through his redeeming work on the Cross, and God the Spirit applied our adoption, giving us a new nature, a new position, and the indwelling presence of God that enables us to cry “Abba, Father.” (See Galatians 4:7.)

Adoption was never plan B for God. It wasn’t an alternative solution. It was plan A. Before the universe existed, God had planned on adopting us into his family through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:5). God did not adopt us because of our attractive merits, but because of His amazing mercy.

Paul tells us to “be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1). His undeserved mercy on us compels us to reflect His adoptive love to a world in need. God’s love is active. Christian love is not based on the idea of just loving people the way we want to be loved. It’s more. It’s loving people the way God has loved us. He acted. He pursued. He showered grace on the undeserving. This is a gospel-centered perspective on adoption and orphan care.

Obviously, not everyone is called to adopt, but every believer is called to act. That means not merely feeling sorry for orphans. Sentimentalism is no substitute for action. In addition to adoption, other ways we can be actively involved include hosting orphans for a summer, financially supporting adoptive parents, fostering children in our community, and discipling local boys and girls from functionally fatherless families.

When Kimberly and I were in Ukraine adopting four children we were interviewed by a local newspaper. The reporter asked me (through an interpreter), “Why are you adopting all of these kids? No one in our country adopts four kids at one time.” I said, “The short answer is . . . Jesus.” It’s really that simple.

Sure, exposure to my sister’s adopted children stirred my affections for adoption. And sure, my awareness to the state of the fatherless worldwide bothered me greatly. But when I began to see how often God talks about the fatherless in general, and how the gospel is reflected in adoption in particular, then my mindset changed.

So, I laugh, but I also grieve, when people say to a family, “Why are you adopting? You already have natural-born children. You can have your own kids.” They’ve missed it. They don’t see that adoption isn’t about infertility; it’s about responding to God’s grace properly: first with gratitude toward Him, and then with active love toward others. How is He calling you to love the orphan today?”

http://tonymerida.net/2011/why-adoption/

Please check out his blog and his book. We were so blessed by his words and pray that your heart is open to them as well. I am by no means trying to guilt or force anyone into adopting children. We do not have to use guilt but instead the Gospel to show why someone should adopt. Those who are called will answer. J  Maybe you are meant just to pass on God’s call to others. Or to encourage or support those who have. We’re licensed for a sibling group of up to four. If God calls us for more or less we will take up His call knowing that He will provide for our growing family. He’s already given us the knowledge of couponing and the absolute willingness to take hand-me-downs (hint, hint). We know he will provide for whatever his plan is for our family.  Here goes!

Books to Read

Here's a few books on our coffee table. Both address our adoption in Christ as much as others stories of growing their family through adoption.

Into the Heart of Hollands

"Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way you expect." This was posted today on Facebook and it really hit me fast. We're so often focused on keeping up with the Jones her in the U.S. aren't we? "What will people think of me, our family if we don't..." Well, so what? What if my family doesn't look the way I expected? What if we do end up with children with physical, emotional or developmental delays that are obvious to the world? So what if we don't look like the family from Father Knows Best or Happy Days?? If God calls us to a sibling group with some "issues" who are we to tell Him that it doesn't fit into our plans? Our pastor preached Sunday from Acts 8 how Phillip was so overcome with the Spirit that he walked away from his ministry of a lot of the "obvious" kind of people and onto the long road to Ethiopia. No questions asked. No "Why should I leave the good thing I've got", "Why should I go there?" or even "Why not take the easy road?". He just went out and ran into a man who had left his country to come to Jerusalem to hear about Jesus' ministry. This man had many questions about the scrolls he was reading and Phillip was able to answer these questions because he answered the call without hesitation. I am SO not comparing ourselves to Phillip other than saying that we need to be open to God's calling for our family. What if we DO get a sibling group who aren't as sweet, cuddly and obedient as our AMAZING girls? *sigh* At what point do we set aside what we want or society expects to serve a group who is in need of a loving, structured and Godly home? Obviously we do not want to do anything that would not be the best for our two girls. And yet....what if long term blessings do not now look like what we expect they should?

Little Brown Brothers

We've talked to Luci several times about the fact that she is adopted. (Just like my parents did for me early on.) It's a hard concept for a five year old so she still asks questions like "Did I do that when I was in your belly?" or "Did I do that when you brought me home from the hospital". I always remind her that God grew her in another mommy's belly while she was growing in my heart.

My mom had this up on the wall in our house growing up and is now in their room in the "new house": Not flesh of my flesh Nor bone of my bone, But still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, You didn't grow under my heart, But in it. ~unknown author

Keeping that in mind, Luci has always talked about how she has brown skin and Mommy doesn't. (Adam's can get dark in the summer but not as much as her's.)She'll often say she has Daddy's skin and Lorelai has Mommy's skin. She has always been drawn to other children with brown skin-my best friend's oldest who is part Middle Eastern, our pastor's children who are Caucasian with a natural tan, brown eyes & hair, and (of course) one of the children adopted in our church from Korea. So it really came as no surprise when we told Luci a few months ago that we had plans to adopt one or more brothers for her and Lorelai that she asked us for little brown brothers.

 So of course we've passed that along to our case worker. Our first preference is Hispanic or Native American. Of course, the Indian Child Welfare Act does apply to most Native American children. America has a history of Caucasian couples adopting Native American children to "save" them from their culture and assimilating them to Caucasian culture. That's why the ICWA has been in place since about 1976. It gives their own nation (tribe-which is a Caucasian term) and family the choice of adopting them first, then other nations (again, the correct word for tribe) before looking at families of other races.

Adam had many years of working at Broken Arrow Bible Ranch in New Mexico. Most of the campers are Native American-mostly Dine` (Navajo) which has woven a special place in Adam and my hearts. We are more than happy to keep any future children immersed in their culture to the best of our ability. Luci has her own library of children's books on Guatemala with more to come. We'd love to take her there one day too.

Well yesterday Luci asked if we could have one brother with her skin (brown) and one with Lorelai's skin (which, by my own skin's definition is glow-in-the-dark, get a sunburn from bright indoor lighting white). I told her that combination might be a bit harder to find but that God already knows our future family and He is preparing their hearts and ours for the growth of our family.

 I also pray that He gives them short term memory of the things they have endured. That God will heal the scar tissue on their hearts as well as their bodies (if present). That we, our family, and church family will help expand the size of their little hearts till God's light shines through them. And that I don't go crazy from the inability to plan things! LOL. (Walmart had a huge clearance the other day and I couldn't buy a sing thing since I don't know about sizes. I hope some people with hand-me-downs sitting around find us.) So here's to our following God's will and loving what ever child(ren) he blesses us with. "Red and Yellow, Black and White. We are precious in His sight"

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." (Psalms 127:3-5 ESV)

Butterflies

We have our home study walk through tomorrow. Nothing major. Our caseworker will walk through the house and make sure child safety items are in place (check), 10 lb+ fire extinguisher (check), running water & working sewage (check!!), working heat and a/c (check) and several other things like that. A week from then we'll get re-certified in CPR & First Aid. Then we'll be just a short time away from having our license to adopt. :) So I guess that would explain the butterflies in my stomach. The realization that our family will be growing in the very near future. Our lives, our girl's lives, extended family's lives. Changed. Blessed. Different. The planner in me keeps freaking out too. All this nervous energy and I can't plan a thing! What kind of beds and how many will we need? Type/size of bedding? Clothing? Toys? Car seats? Don't know if we will have to travel and, if so, where to. So no pack list. Will we need to pack food to make meals or eat out all the time? What age of child also determines child care/school. Can't plan that. So I'm on a bit of a roller coaster with the top being excitement about finding all these things out and the 100 mph drop of excited frustration at not being able to plan. Then a chuckle as I realize that my Heavenly Father could easily be watching this silly cycle, eating popcorn and elbowing Jesus before saying, "Plan. Look at that! She still thinks she can plan things instead of just handing it all over a be willing to be blessed." Of course, He'd have better grammar than me.... I'm just excited. Ready to hug him/them. See our girls try to play with him/them while he/they give them a crazy look like "Who are you and why are you trying to shove an Iron Man toy in my hands to play dollie with you?" Ready to wipe away the tears. Ready to meet our support group & see what that's going to be like. Ready for it all... And my goodness! You should see how chill Adam is with it all. We're so balanced. Haha. Crazy and balanced.

One Less- Matthew West--sweet song

For my own birth mom & in thanks to those who bless our lives with children

The Adoption Song

Q & A- learn from our experiences please. :)

I got the fun opportunity to answer questions at lunch today about adopting through foster care. It's one of those things that I love talking about and hope to help others make a decision if it is them or not. Few people know that it's an option to going to an expensive adoption agency where you'll be put on a long waiting list.
What does it cost?
Not anything really. You can be repaid for traveling to meet and bring home your child. The adoption court cost is around $600 which will either be covered by a stipend or be reimbursed.  Yep. That's about it.
How long does it take?
Time varies depending on when classes start (around once every 2-3 months), how quickly you complete the paperwork they give you, the time it takes for your fingerprints to come back, how quickly your friends send back the reference forms, what's going on at the HH office, and things like that. Our first time around we took the classes in November and didn't do much on the adoption packet until the next spring. From the time we took our packet to DHS, the did our home study & friends sent in their letters TILL we got our license to adopt was about 3 months. Our license was dated May 21rst and Luci was in our home June 4th. She was legally forever ours February 27th, 2009. This time we took our first class in October, turned in our paperwork and finger prints in November and got the call this month for our second class, home study, home walk through (next week) and CPR training (in two weeks). So, I'm guessing maybe a month till we're licensed (unless we were total dorks tonight in our home study interview and they reject us totally...). From there it will just take time to find a child or sibling group who will be Hollands in the future.
Can you adopt if you're not married?
Absolutely!
Can you adopt a child of a different race?
Absolutely! There are some legal barriers if you are interested in Native American but otherwise it's great to be open to various races.
Can you give an age range of the child you want to adopt?
Yes you may! Of course every preference you add narrows the field of adoptable children but you also should be very specific so that it's a better match.
Are there any services available after the adoption?
Yes. There are several free options available to you for support groups and therapy groups. Not to mention your child will have medicaid insurance and be able to get Pell Grant for college. :) These are great comforts for the health and education of your child.

I'm sure there were more and we'd love to answer more. Feel free to leave a comment. The key is to remember is that the importance is what is best for the child AND that every child's situation is different. No one can answer when, who, what....each day is day-by-day and you'll never be given more than you can handle.

Good night friends,
Kate

Jeremiah 29:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Home Study-Yikes and Whew!

Okay, let's just get this clear: The whole point of the three hour interview we just went through was to best get to know us as individuals so that they can find a child/children who our family will best fit. That makes sense. The better they know us and what we are looking for so that they can make the best decision when the time comes.

With that said: it's really hard to answer questions like "How's your life on the intimacy level?",  "What are the areas of your relationship that you think needs improvement", "What do you expect academically and socially of your children as they grow up?", "What are some behaviors/disabilities you would not be able to handle in a child coming into your home?"  And my personal favorite: "Now that your spouse is out of the room is there anything else you'd like to tell me?" Are you kidding? What could I say in front of a stranger that my best friend wouldn't already know?  What made it weirder and also easier is that I grew up with our caseworker. I kinda miss our old crew and wish we could have done this with them. Andrea, Melissa and Mary really have a place in our hearts.

It was weird because I did come away feeling that us spending so much time as a family came across as a negative. I hope that's just how I took it not how she really felt.

Growing in Love

Hello 2012. I know it's got great thing in store for us. Luci is about to turn 6 and *gasp* finish her kindergarten year. Lorelai is two and is sharpening her communication skills. Both are at the top of their height for their age...going to be Amazons, I'm sure. Adam's praise band (Yahweh's) has a CD out and are staying busy enough for me. I'm still teaching away. The house is (still) up for sale (know anyone looking for a 3BD/2bath??). We have plans to build in Saltillo near my parents.

One of the things that will change is our family size. :) We are Paper Pregnant!! We are on the final steps of gaining our adoption license from Harden House adoption agency in Tupelo. Harden House, like DHS, will expand our family through the foster care system. We highly recommend expanding your family through these agencies. More to come on them for those who want to learn more about this process.

We've finished our classes, filled out the big packet of paperwork, been finger printed, background searched and TB tested (we're all clear ladies and gentlemen. I know, real nail-biter). We have our home study tomorrow. I'm both excited and nervous. Not much left to go after that. They've got some reference calls to make. I guess they'll do a walk through on our house like before. I imagine we'll have our license in just a short time. Four years ago, we got our license on May 21, 2008 (our three year anniversary) and Luci was in our home June 4th. Would have been a few days earlier but I still had to work a few days and we didn't have child care set up then.

I'm anxious to know how many and what ages God will send our way. What race? What will their little faces look like? How are we going to get all the things we need for them (I know, God will provide). I'm a planner so not knowing things and being able to plan out the trip, pack list, bedrooms...wow! Talk about handing it over! I do know that they will be loved. They will have parents who will guide their path, sisters who will love and play with them and a church family who will love them as their own. Grandparents, uncles and aunts who will not stop spoiling them. And a God who will love them more than our hearts could ever imagine.

So we step forward in our call from God and trust in His grace and sovereignty. We ask for your prays in so many ways. Tonight I ask for prays for those sweet little hearts. That God is protecting them and guarding their memory so that the scars will not last and they will be ready to hear His word.

James 1:27

New Living Translation (NLT)

²⁷ Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. 

 

Good Night Dear Friends!

Kate