After much thought and research, I am going to be changing my blog site location.  I am in the process of moving all my entries over...as I find time!!  My new blog site is:

www.respondinginfaith.wordpress.com

I hope to have this completed over the next week or so.  Thank you for being ever so patient with me as I make these changes and try to get everything updated.

In the mean time, visit the new site and let me know what you think!!

Blessings, Sonya

If you would like to send us a donation, please send to: Russell Schweighardt1345 ShirebournHickory, NC 28602

Weekly people approach me wondering if we have heard any news on our precious boys.  With a heavy heart I always have the same answer, "Not yet.  We are still waiting on paper work."  This use to lay heavy on my heart, but then I started giving it back to the Lord.  I know that this is not my time or Russell's time, but it will be in God's time that our boys come home.  John 14:27 says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  God has given me a gift.  It is a gift of peace.

God does not want me to be consumed with time lines, delays or worry.  He wants me to be filled with His peace.  If I become consumed with the other, my heart will be heavy and I will not be able to hear His calling on my life.  "'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you," (Isaiah 54:10).  Is that not beautiful?  God has an unfailing love for me!  UNFAILING!  His love will never fail.  And that gift of peace will not be removed.  Why?  Because my God has compassion for me!  God not only delights in me, but He also has compassion for me!  He seeks me out.  If I am heavy with burdens, doubts and worries, I can not have that experience with God. 

I have prayed that our boys would have a sense of peace about them; that somehow they would know that we are trying to bring them home.  Isaiah 54 goes on to say, "All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children's peace," (verse 13).  From so many families whom have adopted from ACFI, I have heard how their children have such a deep faith.  I know that our boys are being taught by the Lord.  I sense that they are filled with an inner peace.  God is so good!

I encourage you today to not be heavy hearted, but to find peace in God.  "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest," (Matthew 11:28).  The Lord does not want to see us in this state of mind.  He wants to give you the gift of peace.  Impossible, you say.  "Everything is possible for him who believes," (Mark 9:23). 

So today, as I do daily, I lift my boys up to my Heavenly Father and I ask Him to watch over my boys.  I ask that He provides for their needs and fill their hearts with a sense of peace.  I pray, too, that you may be given this special gift.....God's Peace!

Blessings to your day, My Friends!

This morning I was reading my BiblePromise for the day and this verse from Zephaniah came up:

Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away your punishment, He has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, 'Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.' Zephaniah 3:14-17

What a beautiful thought!  I do not need to fear for the Lord my God is with me!  I have a dear friend who since the birth of her little girl some eighteen months ago, has become consumed with fear.  Her fear is literally controlling her life.  Every ache and pain becomes a major illness in her mind.  She is consumed with fear of death.  With much prayer, encouragement and Christian counseling, she is overcoming the spiritual warfare that has been going on inside of her.  In Isaiah 41 it says, "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you," (41:13).  Isaiah 43:5 goes on to say, "Do not be afraid, for I am with you."  God is so good to us.  His word is so full of encouragement and wisdom and direction for our lives. 

Zephaniah goes on to tell us that "He is mighty to save."  God wants us to walk close with Him.  He wants our whole heart.  He wants us to be free.  Part of the freedom is succumbing to God.  Knowing that it is God who is in control.  But it doesn't end their, my friends!  "The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love," (Zephaniah 3:17).  God will take great delight in YOU!!  Is that not beautiful?  God will delight in us, the Creator of the heaven and the earth wants to delight in each of us!!  And while delighting in each of us, if we choose to listen to His quiet whispers, He will quiet our inner most being with His love!  That love that is so hard for us to even grasp!  The love that is wide and long and high and deep!  BUT it doesn't end there!!!  God will "rejoice over you with singing" (verse 17).  I can not even imagine!  My God rejoicing over me with singing!  My heart is over flowing with so much joy.  My God both delights in me and will rejoice over me with singing!  Any fears or doubts that I have in my mind need to be released to Him.  God wants you and me to be free from any bondage!  He wants us to truly experience His love in our lives.  Fear prevents that.

I found this picture on the internet that was painted specifically for these verses from Zephaniah.  I really connect with this picture.  It is such a beautiful image of God's word!

Zephaniah 3:14-17
Gwen Meharg
Watercolor-22 x 30 unframed HeArts Gallery

I hope that you will be able to Sing O daughters and sons of Zion!  For the Lord is so good! He wants to set each of us free so that we can truly experience Him!

No new news on our adoption.  We are waiting patiently for the relinquishments as we know that it is not in our time but in God's. 

Today I would like to share with you some scripture I read in my Bible this morning.  It is about God's command to love one another.  Sometimes that is a hard concept to understand and to do, but it is a command from God.  This morning I was reading out of 2 John in the New Living Translation.  "And now I want to urge you, dear lady, that we should love one another.  This is not a new commandment, but one we had from the beginning.  Love means doing what God has commanded us, and He has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning," (2 John 1:5-6). 

I recently had a conversation with someone about the recent abduction that happened at Target.  This person was telling me all the details of the incident and the history of the young man who was responsible for the crime and murder of the young lady.  The conversation went something like this:  "It was reported that this young man had grown up in the foster care system and that he had been in and out of homes.  A family felt sorry for him and adopted him.  He did things that were wrong and had him removed from their home.  Then someone else felt sorry for him and took him in and the same thing happened.  This is why we can't support your adoption because you don't know what these boys have been through." 

I was a little bit floored by this conversation.  If everything that they said was true, I am very sad for this young man.  The system did fail him.  Yes, he is responsible for his actions and I do not know his whole story, but the system failed him.  I went on to explain that God had given us clear direction and calling for this adoption.  The response was, "Well, those families thought they had clear direction, too!"

I take you back again to the scripture.  I would like to give you the commentary that is written in my Bible:  "We can show love in many ways: by avoiding prejudice and discrimaination, by accepting people, by listening, helping, giving, serving, and refusing to judge.  Knowing God's command is not enough.  We must put it into practice, 'doing what God has commanded us,'" (Life Application Study Bible, Tyndale).

I love that!  It tells us that knowing is not enough, but we must put what we know into action!  We have to be able to apply God's word in our life, not just read about it!  God has given us clear direction on this adoption and has provided just as He said He would.  We are following God's commandment to love through this adoption.  Genesis 22:18 states, "In your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice."  God wants to bless us and to allow those blessings to overflow onto others.  We have obeyed God's voice and He is blessing us in so many ways.

I encourage you today to put love into action.  Your neighbor is anyone around you.  Let God's light shine through you and overflow from your heart so that others may see the Lord in you.  Reading the Word is not enough!  Let the Word live in you and through you.  The Bible is not just a list of rules and regulations.  It is a life style that can be reflected in your life through love.  Look around you today and see how you can live your life for God!

 If you would like to send us a donation, please send to: Russell Schweighardt1345 ShirebournHickory, NC 28602

"'Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraidl  The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.'  With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.  In that day you will say: 'Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted.  Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.  Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you,'" (Isaiah 12:2-6).

I must share with and make known to all the nations how great my God is!!  I must proclaim that His name is to be exalted!!  As you have read our story, I have said over and over again how important it is to put our trust in Him!  I have also told you that it is so important to quiet our inner spirit so that we can listen for and hear God's voice.  God asked our family to trust in Him with this entire adoption process.  He told us not to worry about the money, that He would provide.  Early on we saw this happen as we raised an amazing $6500 in less then a month's time.  Then over the past months we have seen money come from the most unexpected places!  God has kept us in pure amazement at the works of His hands!

Now I must share with you another amazing story!  Several months ago a friend of ours had told us about a woman who loved to help people with their adoptions.  This woman would just give from her heart because she believed in adoption so deeply.  We waited and waited to find out more information on this amazing woman.  Could it possibly be true?  Would she want to even talk to us?  Well, about 2 weeks ago, my friend called me with this woman's name (Maire) and phone number.  She told me that Marie was very hard to get in touch with, but to be persistent, leave messages and keep trying.  She also told me that they had thought she had only helped with eastern European adoptions and did not know if she would help with a liberian adoption but we  should go ahead and try.

I did not feel led to call Marie right away.  Actually, I hadn't even written down her phone number.  It was still on our answering machine.  My friend, Jennifer called me every couple of days asking me if I had called yet.  She was so excited about this and had been praying about our future conversation.  I kept coming up with excuses, but in all actuallity I did not feel led to call.

Yesterday, May 31, I was frantically cleaning house, getting kids ready for dentists appointments and trying to get ready for our next fundraiser that evening.  I felt like there was just not enough time to get it all done.  In the middle of all my chaos, God told me it was time.  I felt as if someone else was controlling my actions.  I walked over to the telephone with pen and paper in hand.  Went through my saved messages to find the one from Jennifer with the telephone number and wrote it down.  The kids were watching a movie, so I took the phone out to the front porch to give Marie a call.  I was told not to expect to speak to her, but some how I knew I would get a hold of her because this call was on God's time and not mine.

The phone rang twice and someone answered.  "Hello.  Is Marie there?"  "This is Marie."  And so the conversation began.  I told her who I was and gave her the names of the two men that had referred her to us.  I told her that we were in the process of adopting three brothers from Liberia and was wondering if she would be interested in hearing our adoption story.  Let me just say that I am so amazed by the hand of God!  But yet I shouldn't be.  When God makes a promise, He keeps it!

Marie was so delighted to hear our story.  "Why yes I want to hear your adoption story!  Children are such a huge blessing from God!  I absolutely love children.  Now tell me about your adoption!"  I wasn't expecting that kind of response.  She told me that if we lost our connection to make sure I called her right back.  She told me she was out in the middle of no where wandering around in Georgia, but she wanted to hear our story.  It was almost as if she was expecting our call.

I told Marie about our Liberian sons,  I gave her their names and ages.  I told her about our family and our other adoption stories.  She was in amazement and asked God to bless us for having so many children!  She said that she loved children.  Her and her husband had one biological child and one adopted child from Russia.  Then Marie asked me what we needed to bring our boys home.

I explained to her that we needed approxiately $3000 for the remainder of the legal fees and we were guessing approximately $8000 for travel expenses.  When you  read the rest of this, I want you to know and believe that God is so faithful!  I want you to know that whatever in your life that you may be going through, that I encourage you to keep believing because if we walk in faith and trust in our heavenly Father, that He will bless you in more ways then you could ever imagine! 

What happened next put me on my knees thanking my Heavenly Father for loving my Liberian boys so much!!  As I type this I continue to have tears of joy streaming from my eyes.  As I type this I am still in utter amazement of my Father's love.  Marie told me that she could help us out in two ways.  First, Marie and her husband travel a lot by airplane and rack up on air miles.  They save them to help families who are adopting bring their children home.  "Your airline tickets are covered!  You just need to give me 30 days notice so that I can make the arrangements for the tickets."  The entire expense of the airline tickets is gone!  That was our next major expense!  My God is so GREAT! 

But that was not all!  She asked me again what the remainder of the legal fees were.  "You don't need to worry about that.  I will have the $3000 to you.  But I need to ask you a favor."  She needed to ask me a favor?!  "Of course!  Anything!"  This is what she told me and it is very important that you know:

"My Daddy went to sleep on Saturday night and on Sunday morning he woke up in Heaven.  I have no doubt in my mind that he is there.  My daddy loved children.  He loved his grandchildren.  He love all children.  I want to bring your boys home in honor of my Daddy.  His name is John A. "Jack" Gordon.  They are to come home in his honor."  Trying not to cry hysterically I told her that we would be both honored and blessed to do this in Jack Gordon's name!

In Matthew 9, Jesus is approached by two blind men.  They called to Jesus asking Jesus to have mercy on them.  The blind men had followed Jesus "and he asked them, 'Do you believe that I am able to do this?' 'Yes, Lord, ' they replied.  Then He touched their eyes and said, 'According yo your faith will it be done to you'; and their sight was restored," (Matthew 9:28-29).  God told us that He would provide the funding for this adoption.  Russell and I had faith in God and trusted in Him.  Yesterday He asked me if I believed that He was able to do this.  "Yes, Lord," was my answer.  The timing was His timing not mine.  He told me when I was supposed to proceed.  He had prepared Marie's heart before I even called.

Through out the Bible Jesus spoke of the mustard seed.  In Matthew 17:20, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you."  God took that mountain that looked so huge and He moved it!  He took our faith and made it grow!  I can not emphasize enough how important it is to have faith in our Father!  Remember, we may not see where God is taking us, but once we get there, the journey is so amazing.  It is not by our hands that this was done.  All the honor and glory go to our Heavenly Father.  Thank you God!  Thank you for your amazing love!  Thank you for loving me, someone so small and unworthy.  Thank you for entrusting Russell and me with our beautiful blessings.

"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God.  It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.  For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations," (Psalm 100).

Please let this be an encouragement for you who are walking in faith allowing the Lord to lead your way!  "Wait for the Lord and keep His way," (Psalm 37:34).  "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherver you go," (Joshua 1:9).

Please continue to pray for our boys.  Pray that the relinquishments happen soon.  Maybe they could be home by Christmas, but it is all in the Lord's timing.  Pray that the Lord will guide the staff at the orphanage in finding the birth parents!

God Bless all of you!

Our Smoked Chicken Dinner and Yard Sale event followed the weekend after MayFest and the Mother Daughter Banquet.  I think it took our family the entire week to recover from all the energy we had put into the MayFest!  This event's funds were split between our adoption fund and the mission's team that is going to Stormer Lake in Canada this summer.

I was a little nervous about this event at first.  Not really sure of what to expect after the previous weekend's events.  I helped get things set up for the yard sale Friday evening.  Russ was up to the church at 4:30 a.m. with the men to learn how to prepare the smoked chicken.  The kids and I were up to the church by 5:30 a.m. to start setting up all the yard sale stuff along with members of the mission team.  We also set up our craft table to sell items that were left over from the MayFest.

The event was long and our family was exhausted, but it was all worth it.  With our craft table and the split of the monies brought in from the chicken dinner and the yard sale, the adoption fund brought in a little over $800!!  Praise the Lord.  We owe so much thanks to so many people!!!  Thanks for all the hard work from everyone to make it a HUGE success!

I guess I was feeling a little uncertainity from the previous week, but was reminded quickly in my heart by God that He had told us not to worry.  That He would provide the funding needed for this adoption.    I just needed to continue to walk out in faith and trust in my Lord.  I was reminded of a prayer that Paul said for the Colossians:

"...[S]ince the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.  And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins," (Colossians 1:9-14).

Such powerful words!  How can I not be encouraged!  Through the fundraisers that are successful and through those that are not, we are still bearing fruit in every good work!  God's light must shine through me as we go through this process.  Every event is a success in some way.  Our family has been growing in the knowledge of God and being strengthened by that each day!  Through this process we are gaining endurance to push through and make it to the finish line!  We are learning  so much about patience and waiting patiently upon our Lord and His timing!  And through it all we are learning with each day to be joyful and to give Him the praise!  I know that there are some of you who are reading this that are in the adoption process and wondering how in the world you could ever pull together the funding.  I also know that there are some of you out there that have just been waiting on the Lord to make something extraordinary happen in your life. 

Let me encourage you as Paul encouraged the Corinthians, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize," (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

Keep striving forward.  Keep looking ahead and up towards your eternal reward!  God calls each of us differently, but it is all for the same goal!  We can easily be taken astray and look away from the goal that God has laid out before us.  So I encourage you to hold on to your "courage and the hope of which we boast,' (Hebrews 3: 6).  It is hard to walk in faith when we can't see the end result.  Find strength in God's word!  Continue to look heavenward.  Continue to put your trust in Him!

I was asked to speak at our church's mother daughter banquet.  I was asked to tie our adoption journey in with footprints.  Here is my speech:

  Billy Graham once said, "No matter where we look, we see God's footprints."  His fottprints are all around us.  "Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for awile and leave footprints on lur hearts.  And we are never, ever the same," (anonymous).  When God place those people in our lives and makes sure that those people leave footprints on our lives, He expects us to do something with them.  God is leading each of us on a journey and places the path out before us, wheter we choose to be obedient or not is up to us.

Through out the Bible there are stories about God speaking to individuals and giving them the direction and the path that they are to follow.  Abram is one of the first to come to my mind.  Genesis 12:1 states, "The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.'"

I had read this verse many times, but on one particular day I read it and something stirred up inside of me.  I knew that God was speaking to me.  I could feel it in my heart.  Have you ever heard God speak to you?  It is a hard thing to explain...most unbelievers would just look at you and wonder if you were "hearing voices" and take two steps back!  But on this particular day, May 2004, God wanted me to know that that particular verse was for me.

In my heart I could see certain details, but the whole thing wasn't completely laid out.  I heard Africa and children.  That was it.  Then underneath that verse in my bible there was a commentary.  This is what it said:

"In such ordinary things comes the roar of God.  The quaking world is reborn in the name of nameless people who obeyed the extraordinary claim God held on their lives.  They were faithful, and in following their faithfulness they were swallowed whole by God's blessings.  Did you once hear a whisper of simplicity?  Did it seem an unimportant thing?  Did it seem unreasonable?  Listen up!  God waits to bless you.  He longs to bless you.  All you have to do is say, "Yes, Lord, I will!"  Then act upon the whisper."

I was ready to act!!  "Yes, Lord!!  I will go!!"  I was so excited.  I didn't know the details, just Africa and children.  I shared my excitement with Russell, needless to say, he did not share in my excitement.  Actually, he put his foot down and said, I like it here.  I like it where I live.  I like having a roof over my head....

I have to admit, my timing was not good and I didn't know all the details.  God was just preparing my heart.  Just five months prior to this, we had added to our family through the wonderful world of adoption.  These were footprints that God had placed on my heart when I was just a child.  Let me share with you the footprints that lead us up to this point.

I always knew that I would adopt.  When I met Russell I had told him that I wanted a large family some day and that I wanted to adopt.  Well, that didn't scare him off and soon after we were married.  We had three beautiful children, Anthony, Hannah, and Hailey.  After Hailey was born we moved to NC and before we knew it we were taking classes through social services so taht we could start the adoption process.  After we had completed our course work, we waited.  The wait seemed to last forever.  But then one beautiful January afternoon, I received the phone call.  "We have a little girl.  She is almost two.  She has blue eyes, blonde hair.  Very small.  She is legally free and needs to be placed this week.  I can email you pictures..."  I didn't need pictures.  This was teh path that God had placed me on long before.  These were the footprints I had been following, waiting patiently to see what would be revealed.  My heart skipped a beat.  I immediately fell in love.  Aubrey was birthed from my heart at that very moment!  I knew that God had meant her for us!

Not even three months later, Anthony was praying for a brother.  I guess there were too many girls in the house!  Well, one night I went to his room to do his evening devotijonal with him.  I sat down beside him on the floor and God spoke loud and clear.  It was almost as if He were sitting right there beside me whispering in my ear:  "Your son is coming soon!"  My heart skipped a beat.  My eyes were flooded with tears.  Anthony looked at me and asked, "Why are you crying mom?"  I looked at Anthony and told him that God was preparing our hearts for his new brother.

Russell was late getting home that evening.  I tried to figure out how I would tell him about this new path that God was taking us on.  I didn't know any details.  I only knew that our son was coming soon.  I chose not to say anything to Russell at the time.  After all would he think I was crazy??  Hearing voices?  I chose not to say anything to Russell at the time.  Two weeks later I received a phone call from my aunt in NY.  She called to congratulate us on Aubrey and said that she heard we were wanting to adopt again.  I told her yes we were.  I explained to her that we were hoping to adopt a little boy next.  Anthony had really wanted a brother.  My aunt replied, "That is why I am calling you!"  She had a friend who was a foster care mother for a number of years and one of the girls she raised had a little boy named Austin that she was looking for a home for.  Could she give them our number?  Yes, of course.  This would give us time to pray in between.  Well, now I was really in a rut.  I had to say something to Russell.  I was very nervous.  I was aftraid he would say no.  Whe I shared everything with Russell, he was very unsure about the whole thing.  Aubrey was still so new and we were still adjusting to her.  I asked him if he would just pray about it and he said he would.  I prayed continuously for two weeks.  We had not heard anything.  I felt like I was supposed to do something but didn't know what.  It was on a Saturday evening that I prayed again to God.  "Lord, I just don't feel any peace about this.  I know I am supposed to do something, but don't know what.  Lord, please give me a sense of peace.  If you have another family for him, that is ok.  Just give me peace."  The very next day, we received a phone call from the birth mother and her foster care mother.  We talked a long time.  Then I got off the phone and spoke with Russell.  He had more questions.  So we called back and spoke with the foster care mother and she told us the birth mother's history and what was going on in a little more detail.  Russ and I talked some more and prayed.  Russ had so much uncertainty.  Finally, I know God had to do this if it was meant to happen.  I read Hebrews 11 to Russella dn just talked to him about all the people that had to step out in faith in their walks with God.  I talked to him about how clearly I had heard God's voice.  But I told him, that he was the head of the house and I would support whatever decision he made.  We prayed some more and then Russ said, "We will leave tomorrow after work."  God had given me the message and Russell chose to follow the footprints taht God had laid out before him.  He was uncertain of what would lie at the end, but he chose to follow.

God rewarded Russell for his obedience.  Austin did not know that he was going to be adopted, but somehow, God let Austin know that when Russ walked in the room that he was his daddy.  Austin took one look at Russell and immediately called him daddy.  No one had prepared him or told him what was going on.  When we left the next day with Austin and all his belongings, Russell looked at me and said that he could look back over the past view months and see that God had been preparing him for Austin.  He  was glad that he stepped out in faith even though at the time he couldn't see the end result.

Austin arrived to his new home on April 12.  Non one could believe that someone would just give up their child like Austin's birth mother did.  But they didn't know her and they didn't know her heart.  She knew she couldn't give him what he needed.  She knew that he needed something better.  God placed that on her heart.  God led her to us.  She is a good mother because she gave her son what she knew he needed and she couldn't give.

This brings us up to the moment where I left off.  Going to Africa.  Children.  On May 1, 2004, Russell lost his job.  We had no income.  Our family had just grown by leaps and bounds.  Our business was just getting started and Sony thinks we are suppose to move to Africa!

It was after my revelation to Russell that we went to visit a friend from our church.  He had someone that he wanted to pray over us and speak with us about our situation.  When we were speaking she had asked if there was anything that we wanted to share.  Russell looked at me and said, "Go ahead, Sonya.  Tell her what God told you."  I told her about Africa and Children.  Not knowing any details.  She looked at Russell and told him that it didn't mean we were going tom orrow or even next year.  God was just laying out the footprints on the path for us to follow.  When we were getting ready to leave, she ran up to Russell and I and said she had a verse that God wanted her to give to us.  It was from Psalm 32:3, "I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will consel you and watch over you."

Now I bring you to the present.  In November of 2006, I felt God calling me to fast.  I thought I was fasting for one of my children in my home, but as I was going through the process, God revealed to me that there were three children that were not yet home.  You would think that I would learn that  God only gives me small pieces at a time.  He wants me to be patient and wait for His plan to be unveiled.  Well, I went to the  adopt US kids website and saw a new sibling group on there.  They just happened to be a sibling group of three.  So I thought I was going to Russell with all the info in hand and ready to present God's case.  When I came to Russell, he knew that I had something up my sleeve.  I presented to him the three children and about how I had fasted and what God revealed to me...Well, one thing lead to another and all doors were closed on this sibling group.  In a way, I think it was supposed to happen that way because God was preparing Russell's heart for something bigger and the idea of three was placed on his heart.  Both Russell and I knew that we were supposed to adopt again.  We were searching for the path that God wanted to take us on.  I was desperately searching for God's footprints around me.  Finally, I threw my hands up in the air.  I told Russell I was going to quit searching,  The desire is so heavy on my heart, I know I have more children out there, but I don't know what to do.  So I prayed to God and said, "Lord, I give all this to you.  You are in control.  Not me.  If there are more children, you show the way."  So the idea of three was tossed aside for a little bit.

In January of 2007, I was looking on the Proverbs 31 Ministry's website.  While I was on there, I saw that Lysa TerKeurst had adopted children from Liberia.  Well, I love to hear other people's adoption stories.  Well, one thing led to another and I was soon reading the story of this family in Louisville, KY  who had seven biological children and had adopted six children from teh same orphanage as Lysa.  Their story was great.  I read it to Russell.  God must have been stirring something in Russell's heart.  He wanted to know more about these Liberian Adoptions.  So I researched and shared.  Before we knew it an agency was asking us to fill out a questionnaire.  I asked Russell if he wanted me to do this.  Yes.  Let's see what we can find out.  Well, before we knew it, they sent us pictures of four different sibling groups that they were referring to us.  Whe I received the pictures, I looked through all of them.  The last pictures were of Joel, Jeremiah and Samuel.  They spoke to my heart immediately.  I knew they were my missing children.  I didn't say anything to Russell.  I let him look at teh pictures.  The boys spoke to Russell and well.  But there were three.  That would put us out of our vehicle.  Just like a man to be thinking in those terms!  But God knew what Russell needed to hear.  We prayed.  I asked himn what he thought.  They are beautiful.  But there are three.  Several days later he came home and proclaimed, "We are bringing our boys home.  I can get a fourth row seat for the excursion and we can seat 12!!"  God knows our hearts!

And now I take you back to that original scripture, Genesis 12:1, “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’”  You see it was back in May of 2004 that God started laying out the footprints for us to follow for this adoption.  He showed us Africa!  I was willing to say YES LORD at that time.  I acted upon that whisper that God placed upon my heart.

Charles Stanley once said, “As you walk through the valley of the unknown, you will find the footprints of Jesus both in front of you and beside you.”  I can not tell you how true that is.  God wants all of us to follow His footprints.  He longs for us to.  God will take us on journeys and not give us all the details.  It may take years to complete the journey, but God will always be right beside you.  God has placed this heaviness on my heart, this desire to adopt.  Russell remained faithful to God because he knew God was speaking to me and not him.  But both of us together have been following this path not knowing what the outcome would be.  Because of this, God has blessed us greatly.  Our walk with Him is closer then it has ever been.  Sometimes we can get side tracked and go in the opposite direction that God wants us to, but He is quick to close the doors we are not supposed to be going into.  And through it all, He receives the GLORY because it is all about Him.

God has allowed our family to make a difference in the lives of children who were born in our hearts.  This path that God has taken us on has not always been an easy one.  We have had some difficult times, but the good times far out number the difficult ones.  Adoption is not for everyone.  But that does not mean that you can’t be a part of it.  Our Liberian adoption has not been about our family, it has been about this family and the community.  We are all working together to make this happen.  That has been what has been so exciting about it.  The footprints that God laid out for us to follow have crossed paths with yours.  God has blessed us so much just by seeing all of the love and support that we have had from this family of Christ.  Your involvement with adoption is making a difference in Samuel, Jeremiah and Joel’s lives.  God hears your prayers for them.  I encourage you to pray for other orphans as well.  Let God place the footprints of an orphaned child on your heart.  Be an advocate for that child by praying for him or her.  God may take you on a whole new adventure!  God calls each of us as believers to care for the orphans.  Praying for just one child can make a difference. 

Each sheep is important to his shepherd. 

JESUS SAID:

"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons, who need no repentance."(Luke 15:4-7).

God considers us His sheep.  To save one life is an important life whether it is a child here in the states or a child over in Africa.  We are to practice this "pure religion".  Where is God leading your heart in all of this?  I pray that it is leading you to a deeper understanding of adoption and how important it is.  After all, we are all adopted, each and every one of us.  We are God's adopted sons and daughters.  Isn't our goal to be more Christ-like.  Shouldn't we follow from example?

I would like to close with a story by Loren Eisley entitled:

“A Single Starfish”.

One day an old man was walking along the beach. It was low tide, and the sand was littered with thousands of stranded starfish that had been washed ashore. The man began walking very carefully so as not to step on any of the beautiful creatures.

Since the animals still seemed to be alive, he considered picking some of them up and putting them back in the water, where they could resume their lives.

The man knew the starfish would die if left on the shore, but he reasoned that he could not possibly help them all, so he chose to do nothing and continued walking.

Soon afterward, the man came upon a small child on the beach who was frantically throwing one starfish after another back into the sea. The old man stopped and asked the child, “what are you doing?”

“I’m saving the starfish,” the child replied.

“Why waste your time?... There are so many you can’t save them all so what does it matter?” argued the man.

Without hesitation, the child picked up another starfish and tossed the starfish back into the water. “It matters to this one,” the child explained.

Following the banquet, a love offering was taken for the adoption.  We collected around $236!  Praise the Lord!!

Hannah sang a song at the banquet entitled, "When I Grow Up."  I wish I had recorded it so you could hear her beautiful voice!

Here are some pictures from the banquet:

Aubrey (face is swollen because she was bitten by an insect)

Grandma, Mom and Mandy

Hannah

Sorry it has taken me so long to post on our MayFest event!  I have actually back dated this event for the purposes of our time line!

First of all I would like to thank everyone that helped us in preparing for MayFest and those that helped us with our booth on the big day.  I am not going to put names down because I am afraid I will forget someone.  We appreciate so much all the time and energy that everyone put into this event.  We feel so blessed to call you our friends!  Thank you!  Thank you! 

Well, the local newspaper said that "MayFest was a huge success."  I applaud the committee that pulled the whole thing together.  It was very well organized, the music line up was great and there were vendors galore.  I was suprised by all of the Christian and Gospel Music that was performed.  Even the mayor spoke of God in his opening speech.  Praise the Lord!!

If you were to have spoken with the vendors that were there, you would have probably heard a different story.  The people were only there to window shop.  There were some vendors who lost money because of the $35 booth fee.  We were blessed enough to have made $100 after our booth fee.

I must confess, I was discouraged at first.  We had all worked so hard.  Anthony and Hannah were working the booth that day.  Anthony had gotten decked out in his clown outfit to sell balloons to passing children.  Hannah had her basket of spoon dolls and stood in front of our booth.  We even named our booth, "Handcrafted for Adoption."  We were ready for the crowds to come into our booth buying things left and right.  It ended up being our crowds of workers that helped man the booth that ended up pulling us out of the hole!

I was very discouraged.  Behind my smile my tears were swelling up.  Then I looked over at my two beautiful children.  They had worked so hard for this day.  Discouragement was setting in on them.  "The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged," (Deuteronomy 31:8).  God was with us.  I couldn't let discouragement pull me down any further!  I looked at my children who were so full of sadness and I told them that God had us there for a reason.  Maybe today God was only asking us to be fishers of men.  In some way we would touch someone's heart.  Maybe it would be to encourage someone to pursue adoption.  Maybe it would be just to share our faith walk with God.  We may never know, but God knows.

So at that moment, I pulled myself out of the hole that I had fallen into. "This is what I have asked of God for you; that you will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love, and that you will have the rich experience of knowing Christ with real certainty and clear understanding," (Colossians 2:2, Living Bible).  I did have the rich experience of knowing Christ with real certainty.  It was at that moment that I thanked God for the day.  His name was to be glorified.  Whether we brought in money or not, His name was still to be glorified!

There were people who were very interested in hearing about our adoption and our faith walk with Christ.  I was able to give them a card with more info on it about this blog and asked them to pray for our boys and our adoption process.  Maybe in some way we were able to encourage them.  There was one lady who did catch me off guard.  She had lingered for a while in front of our booth.  So I walked up to her and shared with much joy in my heart about our boys.  She looked at me and said, "I do NOT support adoption.  There is one mother and one father for each child.  I do NOT support adoption!"  Well, I was taken quite back.  I actually didn't know what to say.  I just smiled and said I was sorry to hear that.  What was I supposed to say?  Later as I thought about it more, I wondered if she truly understood what adoption was.  Did she know Christ?  Had she allowed God to adopt her into His family?  I may never know.  She had a very hard heart.  I only pray that someone may be able to soften it someday.

So our day was not a loss.  It was a day to give God the glory.  It was a day for us to share God's amazing love with those who were willing to listen.  It was a day to be encouraged in our walk of faith with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Below are some pictures from MayFest.  I hope you enjoy!

One of our fearless workers...Amy Wolfe??

Joyce Moyer Hostetter author of BLUE.  Thanks Joyce for donating the raffle basket and books!!

Mandy and Amy modeling blankets by Stacey Main.  Thanks so much Stace!!  I love ya!

Amy modeling designer t-shirts by Ben Hostetter and Amy Wolfe!  Thanks for your creative work!

Mandy modeling purse made by one of our employee's mom.  Has matching checkbook and change purse.

Amy modeling Aprons for Adoption by Mandy. 

Amy working hard!

Josh Shook.

Mandy???

Kathleen Hartzler.  Thanks for being one of our biggest customers for the day!

Anthony ready to join the Kazoo band!

Special appearance by Will Rejoice

Mandy our race car fan!!

Our booth.  Sonya, Mandy and Hannah

Hannah and Mandy

Hannah's spoon dolls

Sonya and Mandy

Setting up our booth

Hannah and Sonya

Austin modeling balloon for Anthony's balloon poster

Here are pictures of me putting together our Adoption Story Board:

American and Liberian flags

Our goal!

The finished product!!

Here are some pictures of Mandy and Amy working on our Aprons for Adoption!

This is a chart of where we are financially with the adoption and where funding has gone. 

First Half of Adoption Fees Paid And Where They Went:
Home Study	$1,700.00
Immigration	$595.00
FingerPrints	$140.00
First Half Legal Fees	$7,500.00
Shipping Dossier	$100.00
total:	$10,035.00
Second Half of Adoption Fees
Legal Fees	$6,000.00
Agency Fees	$3,800.00
Application Fee	$195.00
International Adoption Course	$150.00
Airline Tickets Russ & Anthony	$4,400.00		this is approximate
Airline Ticket Mandy	$2,200.00		Mandy would like to go if we can pull all the resources together
Airline Tickets Boys	$2,250.00		this is approximate
Travel Expenses	$1,000.00		(food, room, misc.)
total:	$19,995.00
	Paid so far		total needed:
application fee	$195.00		$19,800.00
International Adoption Course	$150.00		$19,650.00
donation	$155.00		$19,495.00
donations collected	$2,126.00		$17,369.00

We are getting there slowly but surely.  Please keep this upcoming MayFest in your prayers!!!  The next fundraisers coming up with be our Pampered Chef Party, Chickfila Spirit Night, Car Wash and Hot Dog sale, Smoked Chicken Dinner at our church, Belks (still working on this one!)

Thanks again for all the support.

Russell and I sat during the weekend trying to figure out how we were going to raise the "extra" monies that we thought we needed with the change of the new agency.  I went back and read our memo again.  I read it to Russell.  Maybe we were reading it wrong.  Just maybe we didn't need to pay ACFI $7500 more.  Maybe the $2000 per child represented that fee.  Just maybe.....

As the weekend went by, I kept feeling more and more comforted.  God was speaking to me ever so gently.  I had to really quiet my thoughts so I could hear Him.  This was God's dream for our family.  He wasn't going to pull the rug out from under us.  There are reasons for all of this change and there are reasons that God had our family go through them.  Lysa TerKeurst says it well, "God's dream must be experienced God's way.  If you settle for anything else, you'll never be satisfied," (from What Happens When Women Walk in Faith). 

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him!" (Isaiah 30:18).  God wants us to wait on Him.  Verse after verse speaks of waiting on the Lord.  "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord," (Psalm 27:13-14).  "We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield," (Psalm 33:20).  "I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry," (Psalm 40:1).  This one is my favorite:  "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope.  My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.  O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption.  He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins," (Psalm 130:5-8).

So this weekend I waited upon the Lord.  It must happen in His time and not mine.  Yesterday afternoon, He revealed to me why He was comforting my heart.  I received a phone call from Susan at PLAN.  If you remember in my previous post I stated that we still needed to confirm some things regarding the fees.  Well, it turns out that we don't need to pay ACFI the second installment of $7500.  Now the final talley is this:  $3800 for the agency fee; $6000 for the remainder of the legal fees for all 3 boys; $195 for the application fee; $150 for the international adoption course that is geared towards African children; approximately $7000 in travel expenses (this is over estimating).  Praise the Lord!!!!  This seems so much more attainable.

We have filled out our application for PLAN and sent in the $195 application fee and the $150 course fee.  Last week we had received two donations that totaled $500.  So this will cover this expense and then some.  The application is being put in the mail today!!!  Praise the Lord!!

Waiting patiently upon the Lord is sometimes a hard thing to do.  Sometimes we can lose hope.  But God doesn't want us to do that.  He gives us His word to cling to.  He speaks to our hearts.  God gives us the shield of faith; use it to fend off all doubts and fears!  He is strong and mighty and there is nothing that He cannot do.  God hears our cries and wants us to trust in Him and His unfailing love.  Yesterday when I was at the doctor's office, I sat in the waiting room for almost an hour.  During that time I had my Bible with me and read from God's word and read the passages in Psalms that I quoted above.  God is so good.  He knows what I need to nourish my spirit and my inner most being.  Praise be to God. 

Each day as I walk through life, I discover something new about my heavenly Father.  He has a dream for each of us.  In todays world we want everything NOW because we are so used to having everything NOW.  But God's timing is different.  Second Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  God is so patient with us, yet we can be so impatient with HIm.  God wants us to be ready.  He wants us to be ready for His return.  He wants us to be ready for the dream that He has envisioned for each of us.

Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."  Actually, I would encourage you to read all of Psalm 37!  God wants us to delight in Him.  When we delight in Him, we become one with Him and see His ways.  Then the desires of your heart become His desires!  His dreams for us!  Even when things seem to look down, continue to seek out the Lord.  Fill your heart with His precious word.  Let it grow in you so that you may delight in the Lord!

We continue to send praises up for each you.  We appreciate the prayers and financial support.  I will pull together another financial report after our upcoming MayFest.  Please pray that this will be a huge success and that God will touch people's hearts to come to our booth so that we may share our story!  What a great opportunity not only for us to raise money for the adoption, but also to take the opportunity to share God's love with those around us!  If you would like to help us run our booth, please email me!!! 

Blessings to your day!

Well, despite all the new info that is rolling around our heads and all the change that is going on with ACFI (for the better ), we have heard some very comforting news.  Kristi from ACFI said that she spoke with the workers in Liberia and they have spoken with someone who knows where a family member of our boys is.  Kristi thinks that it is possible for the relinquishments to happen within the next 2 weeks!!  That would be so great!!  I am going to keep thinking positive about this but I do need to remember that "This is Africa!"  It would be really great if this happened, though.  You see, my precious Hannah told me just last week that she felt like God told her that it was going to happen in 2 to 4 weeks.  She has been quite adamant about this!

I think that is so neat for Hannah.  She is only 8 years old.  I pray each day that God will allow my children to hear His voice at a young age.  We encourage our children to walk in faith and to speak to God often.  It brings me such joy to hear her talk like this.  I know that she is growing in the Lord and that just brings such happiness to my heart.

Deuteronomy 30:20 says, "and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.  For the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."  John 10:27 says, "My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me."  God wants us to hear Him.  He wants to whisper sweet words into our hearts.  He longs to have a relationship with each and everyone of us!

I know Hannah has a close relationship with God.  She is a little prayer warrior and she prays daily for her Liberian brothers.  It does not suprise me at all that she has heard quiet whispers on her heart.  She has a deep faith for her age.  We can learn so much from the little ones around us!  God can speak through them in ways we could have never thought of.

Please join Hannah in her prayers that the relinquishment happens within the next couple of weeks!  I know we have lots of prayer warriors out there!!!  Let them rise up to our Heavenly Father!!!

When we first started our adoption process, we were working with an agency called Children Concern.  Children Concern handled the adoptions for ACFI.  For whatever reason, Children Concerned and ACFI went their seperate ways.  ACFI has been in search of a new agency to take over on the American side to handle their adoption cases.  This has really been a roller coaster for us and lots of uncertainity about what was going on.  Through it all we have prayed earnestly, asking God to guide us on this adventure that He has called us to.  We knew that Samuel, Jeremiah and Joel were the chosen ones for our family, so we kept pressing forward!

Just this week we found out that the new agency has been chosen and ACFI and the new agency have worked out all the details on the transfer.  The new agency is called Plan Loving Adoptions Now, Inc. and they are located in Oregon.  We have heard nothing but wonderful things about this agency.  They have in the past worked with ACFI and have been doing Liberian adoptions for quite some time.  Through PLAN we are supposed to have a quicker turn around time.  I have heard from some that they can happen as quickly as 6 to 8 months.  This would be so great!!! 

Of course, with this change, comes additional fees.  This is from the memo that we received from ACFI:

PLAN has many years of experience and commitment to working in Liberia.  With this experience comes the knowledge of the importance of helping families prepare to welcome these children into their adoptive families.  PLAN has prepared a course, tailored to address some of the issues of institutional children from a war torn country. PLAN’s preadopt course costing $150.00 is required or families must give proof of other pre-adoption education.

3)      The out of state agency fee to PLAN is $3,800. An additional fee of $2,000 per child will be charged. These fees will go directly to PLAN and includes help filing the I-600, ongoing support, all communication and coordination with the adoption personnel in Liberia and expenses to finish the legal process in Liberia.  These fees do not include travel or escort fees.

I

         There are still some things that we need clarification on, but from what we are understanding, we will be having an additional $10,145 in fees (this includes the $195 application fee).  This really took us back at first, but then when we started looking at the scheme of things, we realized that it still isn't too bad.  The entire adoption will cost us around $25,145 plus travel expenses.  That is for 3 children.  That is typically the cost of adopting one child in China. 

While we were tallying these new costs, we were starting to have some doubts cross our minds.  Just questioning and wondering what we were supposed to do.  A friend on a Liberian loop that I am on, said to me,  "What is $10,000 to God?! "  God knows what He has called us to do, and He will bring in the money!!  That was a big wake up call for me!  I was starting to get anxious and let worry set in.  Another friend gave me this verse and it was just what I needed to hear:

This comes from Isaiah Chapter 41:

I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you.  I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (versus 9-10)  For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (verse 13)

Oh, the sweet words of our Heavenly Father!!!  He so knows the words I need to hear during different trials in my life!  God has called us to be His servants.  He has called us to go to the other side of the world to bring home three beautiful boys.  Boys that He has specifically chosen for us!  We are not to fear because He is right there with us.  We are not to be dismayed because He is our God!  My God will give me strength to get through the finish line.  We are not to fear any of this because this is just another hurdle to leap over and to walk through in faith!  And to top it all off, He says, "I will help you."  You see, this adoption is all about my God and how we can give Him glory through out the entire process!  God is so much bigger then that additional $10,000!  He wants us to see that!

I am filled with such excitement as I read over that passage again!  Is God not AWESOME!!  Some times I forget who is in control, but God always straightens me out.  I hope that you can take these words from Isaiah and apply them to your life and the different trials that you may be facing in your life.  God is always there for us.  But so many times we tend to turn to Him as a last resort when all else has failed.  I challenge you to try just the opposite.  Let God take the lead.  Let Him have control over your life and your fears.  He wants to help you and be there for you.  It says it right there in His Word.  Read that passage again and pray it to God.  Allow Him to take the lead in your life.

Thank you again for all your prayers and support!  We love all of you!

On April the 25 we had a wonderful turn out at our church.  I think there was around 10 of us.  We worked on personalized stationary, cards, "doggie" necklaces, bracelets, aprons, and travel jewelry holders.  Everyone arrived at 6:00pm and stayed until 9:00pm.  It was great fun.  Hannah and I really enjoyed it.  I do believe it is more fun to work together as a group then by ourselves!  Thanks so much to everyone who helped!  We really appreciated all the work.  It was so neat to see everyone working so hard for a common goal...even the ones who were working on the tedious little doggie necklaces!!! 

That reminds me of a verse found in Colossians, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men," (3:23).  It has been so neat to see our church family, friends and family come together to help us reach this common goal of bringing our boys home!!  That is what adoption is all about.  This is all about the Lord's calling on our family and everyone coming together to make it a reality!!  Thanks to everyone who have helped to support us financially, spirtually through prayers and helping with fundraisers.  We greatly appreciate it!!

Here are a few pictures from our work night!!  Hope you enjoy!

Kathleen Hartzler

Pauline Godshall working on cards!

Kim Godshall working with her mom on cards

Margaret and Jane working on those wonderful little "doggie" necklaces!  We better sell everyone of those!

Great Grandma came and helped string beads!!

Here is Mandy, my sister, making her "Aprons for Adoptions".  Isn't she so cute!?

Hannah was hard at work making cards!  She did a great job and had lots of help from Amy (who was extremely camera shy that night!!)

Also present was Evangeline....oops, sorry, I didn't get her picture!!

Thanks so much ladies!!!

Money for the adoption.  It seems like so much.  When people ask me about the costs, they look at me and I can read their minds, "Why would you spend that kind of money for a kid?"  I can see those thoughts racing through their minds.  I quickly respond with, "It is actually one of the cheapest countries you can adopt from."  Not that that makes any difference.  Sometimes I get overwelmed when I sit and think about all that has to be raised and saved.  But I try not to think about that too much.  You see, Russell and I were given a vision from God.  A vision for this adoption.  A vision for a particular adoption....one from Liberia.  It is hard to explain to my little ones that we aren't buying their brothers.  My little ones don't quite understand the term court fees and expenses.  It is all just a jumble of words.  Words that mean bought for a price.

I was reading 1 Peter this morning during my "quiet" time.  (I have to hide in my closet for that)  It really got me thinking about how I was purchased when God adopted me.  "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as sliver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect," (1 Peter 1:18-19).  The Son of God was given for my adoption!  He shed His blood for me; for my eternal soul.  Me.  Someone so unworthy and undeserving.  My Jesus gave up His whole life, the world that He loved, for me.  How did I ever rank?  But God saw something inside of me, something worth giving His only Son for.  Is that not the most amazing love you could ever think of?

1 Peter 1 goes on to say, "[L]ove one another deeply, from the heart.  For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God," (22-23).  I looked up the word imperishable in the Webster 1828 dictionary.  Imperishable means "enduring permanently; indestructible; not subject to decay."  So through God and His word I will endure permanently.  The seed that He planted in my heart will grow and flourish if I feed it the water of my living Jesus!  I am a new person through Christ.  One that continues to enlarge my internal being, one who grows in the beautiful splendor of my King. 

Don't get me wrong, there are times in my life that my growth is not as rapid and beautiful.  There are times when I hit a drought and turn away the living water of Jesus.  Those can be some of my darkest hours.  But then God nudges me and says, "Wake up!!  I'm giving you a second chance!"  I hear that calling and I know that I must obey.  I must obey because I know what it feels like to have Jesus' living water flowing through me.  Once you taste it, you want more.  I want my cup to be overflowing so that I can share it with others.  Now that brings me joy!

Have you thought about how God bought you?  In your quiet time today I encourage you to think about the imperishable seed that God has planted in you.  That seed was planted for a price....the price of God's only Son!  Let His living water flow through you and cleanse your heart getting all the way down to the deepest of wounds.  Imagine yourself on a mountain side with God's grace and mercy flowing down upon you.  Hands raised to the heavens with every breath shouting to our Lord, "How Great is my God!!"  He has offered us a love so great and only waits for us to take it!  Don't turn away this gift, for you were bought for a price!

Yes, our boys are being purchased for a price that includes court fees, travel fees, doctor fees, etc.  Fees that amount to a finalized paper that gives them a new name, a new forever family and a new country to call home.  It is also about sacrifice on our parts.  The willingness to take what God has blessed us with and give it back so that our boys can grow up in a home that knows God and grow up with our church family so that they too can share God's love with them.  My hopes would be that one day my boys will understand that their heavenly Father gave so much more for them.  I love my boys so much.  I would pay any amount to save the life of any of my children in my home now.  Why would I not pay any amount for the children that God has birthed in my heart?  They are our gift from God.

Hey Everyone!!!  I am so excited!  I had a wonderful Easter gift on Sunday.  Some new photos of our boys!  They fill my tummy with butterflies!!!  I am so excited!!

Here is our precious Joel.  It is so nice to see him with a beautiful smile on his face!

Here is Jeremiah.  He looks a little older then his previous picture.  I think he and Austin will have fun climbing trees together.  I think he looks like a tree climber like Austin!!  I'm sure the two of them will be best of friends.

Here is Samuel.  Doesn't he have a beautiful smile?  He is a very handsome young man!  Anthony is excited to have a brother his age.

Please continue to pray for the relinquishment to happen quickly.  The quicker it happens the quicker their case goes to court. 

Financial update:  We have $2126.00 towards our next $7500.00.  This has come from a couple of donations and our putting money aside into our savings.  We probably have around $50.00 in our money jar as well.  Anthony had a clown gig this past weekend and made $25.00.  Aubrey sold a bracelet for $5.00.  The kids have enjoyed contributing to the adoption.  I think Hailey is pulling teeth on purpose because her papa will give her a dollar and she puts it straight into the adoption bucket!!  If you have seen her smile lately she doesn't have many teeth!! 

Please continue to pray for our financial situation.  We have a long way to go.  I know that God is watching over all of this.  We are moving that mountain a small piece at a time. 

Thanks to everyone for their continued prayers and support!

My greatest desire has been to follow the will of my Heavenly Father.  That hasn't always been my desire.  There have been times in my life when I wanted to follow my own desires, my own selfish wants.  Those have been the times in my life when I have walked the farthest from my Lord.  Those were times when I plugged my ears to God's voice and sang loudly to myself, "La La La La!"  Those were the times in my life when my heart was filled with darkness and shame.  I was always searching.  Searching for something to fill that void in my life.  Searching for pleasures that could never meet my souls deepest need. 

I went through a period in my life when my heart could not hear God's voice.  I think at times I even wondered if God truly existed, if He was just another fairy tale that wasn't going to come true.  My heart was hard.    I was blind.  I was deaf.  Then one day God's mercy and grace flowed over me like showers from heaven!  I saw God with new eyes.  I heard God's voice with new ears.  My heart was overflowing with the spirit of my Lord.  I became a new creation!  Praise the Lord.  My darkness turned to light and my cup overfloweth!  I asked God to search my heart and my mind.  I asked Him to show me His way, not mine.  1 John 5:14-15 states, "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

I began to hear God in a new way.  I quieted my heart and heard His voice and His desires for my life.  I heard a song recently that stated, "The days we are given are His from above."  My outlook on life has changed.  My desires are for what God desires from me.  Each day is a gift from my Heavenly Father.  I must honor Him and follow His will for my life. 

It is sometimes hard being a mother of five and I'm sure it will be even harder to be a mother of eight.  Some days are very trying and I get tired and worn out, but then God gives me the strength and energy that I need to keep moving forward.  I find my energy from receiving God's joy.  "Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength," (Nehemiah 8:10). 

I have learned to quiet my inner spirit.  To quiet myself so that I can feel God's presence!  Oh, what joy fills my inner most being!  When I open my eyes I see things differently.  God has asked Russell and I to bring in orphaned children and children who have been tossed aside by birth parents.  We chose to follow God's calling on our lives.  Oh, how He has blessed us.  I can see this desire growing in our children.  They speak of adopting one day.  They see us listening to God's calling and they are seeking God's will at a young age. 

So has my desires changed?  Yes!  My desires are my Heavenly Father's desires.  Some may look at us and shake their heads, not understanding.  I have learned that I am not here on this earth to please anyone.  I am here to please my Heavenly Daddy.  My Heavenly Daddy looks down at me and I know He smiles.  There are days when I can feel His smiles.  I may not always recieve the smiles that I so long for from my earthly father, but I know that my Heavenly Father is pleased with my humble attempts to follow His plan. 

Is that not why all of us are here?  We are here to fulfill the will of God.  He longs for us to be obedient in this.  So yes, my desires are my Daddy's desires.  I can hear Him say, "I love you, my daughter."  This makes me smile on the inside and out.  Is it easy to follow God's way.  No, it's not always easy, but it gives me something to strive towards each day.  Will there be hard times ahead?  Yes.  But I have strength through my Lord.  My God is Holy.  His glory is all around me.  Praise the Lord!

Have you seen this movie?  I highly recommend it!  It is NOT a movie for kids.  I watched this last night or should I say early this morning.  I cried myself to sleep.  I guess it may not have that effect  on everyone who watches it, but it had it on me.  I just finished reading the book Where Children Cry and the movie just added to the visual images I was already having of what happened during the Liberian Civil War.  Although the movie takes place in Sierra Leone, they do speak of Liberia which is the neighboring country south east of Sierra Leone.

Rebel groups did the same thing in Liberia.  Complete blood shed!  At the end of the movie they write that there are still over 200,000 soldier children in Africa.  My heart goes out to these children!  They are brain washed and completely loose their childhood innocence.  It is not only the child soldier that looses his innocence, but also the child who has seen and been a part of the war!  So much taken away, so much lost, so much to never be returned!  I can not even imagine!

But through it all, I must trust that God has and continues to protect my boys' hearts!  God can heal those deep wounds that they have in the pit of their very being.  Wounds of abandonment, wounds of death, wounds of starvation, wounds of a lost childhood! 

Psalm 55 speaks of casting your burdens upon the Lord:

My heart is in anguish within me,

And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Fear and trembling come upon me;

And horror has overwhelmed me.

And I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.....

Cast your burden upon the Lord, and

He will sustain you;

He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

But Thou, O God, wilt bring them down to the pit of destruction;

Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days.

But I will trust in Thee. (4-6, 22-23)

I must trust that God has cast away all of their burdens.  I must trust that He has given them wings like a dove so that their internal being is free from all that has happened.  God is so big!  He can dig deep into our inner souls and heal us from the deepest wounds.  His love is so amazing.  He longs for us to cast our burdens upon Him so that He may heal us!  I pray that my boys understand the power of prayer and that they are down on their knees thanking God for His amazing love.  I know God's power is great and His healing is an amazing thing.  "I will put my trust in Him," (Hebrews 2:13).  For it is not my burden to carry, nor my boys.  We are to lay all our burdens at the foot of the cross and let our Savior take them.  I pray that God has already healed my boys from their deep wounds.  I pray that you, too, will cast your burdens upon Christ and receive His many blessings.

No, exciting news to report.  This is the part that challenges us!  The not knowing and the waiting patiently that tugs at my heart daily.  I am a new mother, a mother of three new boys, but I haven't even gotten to breathe them in yet.  They are a part of our daily lives, although they are not physically here yet.  When we go out, I constantly count my children....1,2,3,4,5....there is someone missing!  Or should I say there are three missing.  Samuel, Jeremiah and Joel are part of our daily lives.  They are daily in our prayers and daily a topic around the kitchen table!

This past weekend, we went camping up in the mountains.  It was a pleasant get away.  Nice to be in the great outdoors.  The children love to go camping.  They love every aspect of it...the insects, the snakes, reptiles, the campfire.....But their favorite thing is their Daddy telling them stories around the campfire!  This weekend we had a new experience.  Our Hannah caught her first fish!  A beautiful brook trout.  It didn't take much, a cane pole, a bread ball and perfect timing!  She dropped her hook in the river and not 30 seconds later she was yelling....."I caught a fish!"  She was a very proud little girl.   Of course we forgot the camera, but the memories in our minds will always be there.

While Russell was cleaning the fish, the kids were poking at the head and touching the eyes!  "Samuel, Jeremiah and Joel would love this!  They could have fish head soup!"  was the reply of one of the kids.  YUCK!  But from what we hear, the eyes taste pretty sweet.  Can't say I have ever tried them or even want to try them.  From what we have heard, to our Liberian boys, it may be a special treat!  Our whole weekend was filled with comments and wonders.  We were all wondering what our boys would think of camping.  We had lots of laughter and loads of new memories to carry inside for years to come!

However, on the other side of our campground, there was not much laughter.  Another family had arrived at the campground that same Friday.  They had two beautiful children, an eight year old boy and an almost three year old little girl.  My heart aches for these children.  I do not think that they have very many fun memories as a family.  The father spoke very abusively to these two precious children.  There may have been not only verbal abuse, but I am almost positive there was physical abuse.  The father's words were sharp like a two edged sword.  Our own children looked at us with fear in their eyes.  I have never heard anyone speak to a child the way that man did.  It broke my heart.

His words reminded me of a scripture in Colossians 4:6, "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as if were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person."  I guess I should have gone and poured a little salt over our neighbor!  His words were not seasoned, but spoiled.  Not only were they spoiled, they left a horrible taste in his children's hearts.  The Bible speaks of building each other up and not tearing each other down.  In Proverbs 16:24 it says, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."

I know there are times throughout each day when my words do not flow like honey from my lips.  I need not be so quick to speak.  If I take my time and think each word out clearly in my mind, I can take the time to season each of my words.  Words can never be taken back so I need to make sure each word is seasoned just right so that each word will reflect my Savior.

Fish eyes may taste sweet to the tongues of our precious Liberian boys, but I pray that my words will always be words that are "sweet to the soul and healing to the bones."  I pray that those two precious children at the campground will one day get to taste words so sweet.  I pray that all of us will use our words to lift each other up and not make each feel guilty or hurt or torn down.  Lord help us to use our words to reflect You!

Sorry I haven't posted in several days.  There is not much going on at this point in the adoption.  Hannah and I have been busy making jewelry for the upcoming MayFest.  Haven't had any funding come in here lately.  Just waiting.  No news on the boys or if they have even started looking for family for the relinquishment.  Just waiting.  I feel like my hands are tied at this moment.  I can't do a whole lot.  Just waiting.

This brings Psalm 62 in mind. "My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation.  He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken," (verses 1-2).  How many times does God ask us to be quiet within and to just wait for Him?  "My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.  He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken," (verses 5-6).  Being of this thing called human, it is hard for me to sit and wait.  I want to take control of the situation.  I want to make things happen and I want it now.  Anxiousness sets in and then I become ugly inside because it becomes all about me.  My hope should be in Him.

Why is it so hard to wait and to especially wait in silence?  Silence.  That is a hard one for me!  But God is telling me to wait in silence.  He is my rock and He wants me to lean on Him.  He is my hope.  Through Him I will not be shaken.  Psalm 62 goes on to say, "On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.  Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him;  God is a refuge for us,' (verses 7-8).  Yes!  I must trust in Him at all times!  God is my rock.  I can put my trust in Him because He is my solid foundation.

I am to grow my roots deeply into His word and trust.  I am to wait patiently upon my Lord.  And I am to do it in silence!  Do you know what happens when you wait silently before the Lord?  It really is an amazing thing.  When you learn to quiet your spirit and rest in Him, you will hear His whispers on your heart!  For me, my place where I quiet my spirit is in my master bedroom closet.  You see, I can go in there, close the door, turn out the lights and be still and quiet.  I can cry out to my Lord and then wait.  Wait patiently upon Him to show me the way.  Wait with a sense of hope knowing that God is in control.

I encourage you today to find your quiet place.  Pour your heart out to our Heavenly Father.  Lean on Him and trust!  You see, we are an unpredictable people, but our Lord is predictable.  He is our rock and our stronghold.  "I will put my trust in Him," (Hebrews 2:13).  I pray that you, too, can put your trust in our Heavenly Father.