The Haps
Finally, I found a few moments to write my promised update on life here at the Tol House. Here’s a peek at what we’ve been up to for the past few weeks:
Adoption Update: There’s really not much “update” to offer, as we’re still waiting for our referral. But Bethany continues to receive referrals, and our name slowly moves up the list. We have been gradually stocking up on some new things for our trip: luggage, video camera, a baby carrier.
I continue to enjoy “meeting” other adoptive families through the Bethany web forums and adoption blogs. I never tire of reading about their adoption experiences. Many have walked this road before us, and it’s encouraging to hear their testimonies about God’s faithfulness along the way. We know there will be great joy in this adoption–but there will be struggles as well. God supplies what we need, when we need it. We continue to lean on that promise.
Orphan Ministry Possibilities: One of the things I’m very excited about right now are the possibilities for beginning an orphan ministry at our church. We are so very honored and excited to be called to adoption and I’m in awe how God is knitting our little family together. Yet, my heart is heavy for the many other children who will remain left behind in orphanages.
Now I know it’s a huge problem and I feel so very, very small. But over the past year or so, I’ve just felt like God may have a part for me to play. So I’ve prayed about it a lot. And then a couple months ago, I was contacted by someone else from church with a question: “Would you pray about and consider being part of an orphan ministry at our church?” Umm . . . yes! I’d been waiting on God, and that phone call just felt like confirmation that he does, indeed, want me to get involved.
So the wheels are starting to turn, slowly. We held a special lunch at our church a few weeks ago to share information about adoption and orphan ministry, and to recruit some other people who’d be willing to help launch an orphan ministry. The whole endeavor is very much in the “baby” stages, but I’m eager to see what God has in store. I’d really appreciate prayers about it all, as I feel very inexperienced and unqualified to be a leader in this. Yet despite my insecurities, God seems to be calling. I guess I just need to keep following and see where he leads.
Pie: We continue to enjoy helping out with youth group. This winter, we launched a special project called “Rice Bowls.” It’s an organization that works with orphanages in India, South Africa, and Haiti to provide food supplies. One of their fund-raising projects is to send out small plastic banks shaped like little rice bowls. Groups can hand them out, then collect spare change in them and send it back to the Rice Bowls organization. (You can learn more at http://www.ricebowls.org.)
To motivate our teens to collect change, we made a little competition involving pies: If the guys collected more change, they could throw a pie at one of the female leaders, and if the girls won, they’d get to throw pie at one of the guys. We added one more twist: Any student who collected at least $60 in change could throw a pie at anyone.
Well, the motivation seemed to work, because we ended up having seven pies getting throw around at youth group this past Sunday. Prior to the big event, several youth group kids (and leaders!) had threatened to throw pie at me. I feigned great offense and concern about this, so we had fun joking around about it. At one point, it looked like I’d be taking five pies! In the end, I only had to take one pie. (I wasn’t surprised by this: Because, really, once someone is completely covered in pie, isn’t it more fun to choose a clean target for the next pie?)
It was all great fun–and the best part is that we raised over $900 to help feed orphans!
Noah: Noah continues to be a busy, active little boy. Never a dull moment with this one, that’s for sure! He’s been loving the new barn Grandpa Leep built for his birthday, and the many trucks and tractors he received for Christmas and his birthday. I’m continually amazed at his great imagination and the creative ways he uses his toys. (Why not build the GeoTrax railroad right through the Little Peoples barn? Great idea, bud!)
As the weather finally has gotten warmer, he’s been spending some quality time back in the sandbox and out at the park. As the mommy, I’m thrilled to finally get outside again for walks and playtime. Noah’s also jabbering like crazy now. (Hmm… I wonder where he gets that trait from?) We’ve had many interesting “conversations” lately. Here’s one of our recent chats that has me a little worried about his involvement at church:
Me: Do you like Children’s church, Noah?
Noah: Yes! Fun.
Me: What do you do there, buddy?
Noah: We have big fire.
Me: Really. What do you have a big fire for?
Noah: Put toys in fire!
Well, I’ve rambled on quite enough for one post! I guess that’s what happens when I don’t update anything for so long. Thanks for reading.
What Does 143,000,000 Mean to You?
1430,000,000 is a big number. Too big. Too overwhelming. And too sad to comprehend. Because 143,000,000 is the number of children in this world who are growing up alone.
As a soon-to-be adoptive parent, I love sharing about our adoption journey. There’s great joy and excitement in this process. But there’s a heaviness that comes with this path too: As we anticipate bringing one little child into our home, we also feel a burden for all the many that will be left behind.
I ran across this video this afternoon and it poked a few more holes in my heart. So I’m sharing it with you and hoping that perhaps it’ll touch yours too.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6WEcrfCIwI&eurl=http://solidrck.blogspot.com/2008/05/perspective.html]
I know that adoption isn’t the path for everyone; but it seems to me that we can all do something to help these 143,000,000 children: sponsorship, advocacy, prayer . . . there’s so much work to be done. If you’d like to learn more about getting involved, here’s a few places to start:
http://www.bethanysponsorship.org/ - A child sponsorship program run by our own adoption agency, Bethany Christian Services.