Most of the time that ends with me stuttering around and giving some kind of a lame answer.
Not because there isn't a really good (non-lame) answer,
but because it is hard to know where to get started.
Sooo, I thought I would begin to share the story that God wrote for us.
It is a looonng story that spans many years.
But don't worry, no chapter book today!
I will give it to you a bit at a time!
If you want to catch up to speed, you can find:
Part 1 {here}
Part 2 {here}
Part 3 {here}
Part 4 {here}
Part 5 {here}
Part 6 {here}
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
During the years we waited for a referral (match) for our adoption, we had the opportunity to go on a trip.
We had been sponsoring a little boy through our church who lived in an orphanage in Haiti.
Our church was going to take a short term missions trip to do some work at his orphanage and we were offered the chance to go!
A trip to Haiti to love on orphans (when my momma heart was SO ready to complete our adoption) + the fact that David's cousin/some of our best friends were going too, sealed the deal.
The idea of going to Haiti sounded so adventurous until the departure date grew near and the reality of leaving my boys for a week, as we left the country, started becoming a reality. I had some major anxiety leaving them. I think I cried every plane I got on and used the "barf bag" as a hyperventilating mechanism.
But, once we got to Haiti, I was instantly in love. The sounds, sights, and people intrigued me. I had never experienced anything like it before. The whole experience was shocking to me, in a good way.
We spent the week painting the orphanage and building a cistern.
I am not sure how much of a help I was as I spent most of my time playing with the kids. Looking back, it probably wasn't the best idea that I poured so much into the kids that week and then left.
I know better now that it isn't the healthiest thing for the kids, but at the time, I was naive and just soaking it all in.
That week, we slept on concrete floors, had no running water/electricity, showered in the ocean, and ate crackers and peanut butter, but as we laid down each night to sleep, we were SO filled with joy.
David and I both had a "click" in our hearts that something like this is what we were made to do;
that we wouldn't be content doing anything else.
Something in us changed during that trip. We both felt like God was saying that adoption wasn't the end game for us. We felt like he was calling us to dedicate our lives to orphan care.
As we were leaving, with many tears on my part, we were different people.
We didn't know where we would go...
We didn't know when we would go....
But, we knew that we had both told God, "yes" we would go........
Stay tuned for {part 8} next week!
Linking up today with Casey Wiegand and Oak + Oats.
>>We are having a give away this week to celebrate our "one year anniversary" of living in Malawi. It will run Tuesday, Oct. 14- Saturday, Oct 18! Click here to enter!<<
6 comments :
I just love reading how God has brought you along... He is so faithful and looking back it's completely amazing to see His strong arm guiding your family... Love it!
Thank you Amy! I just felt like I needed to write it all down so I wouldn't forget his faithfulness-which I am too quick to do!
Haiti is easy to fall in love with. I am enjoying reading your story! Can't wait to hear what happens next.
Thank you Charity! It is! It is a crazy, cool place! The people there are so beautiful!
It's really funny how we have plans for ourselves, and then something else comes up and makes us think twice and head down a new path.
exactly!
Post a Comment