Heather and I shared a portion of our story this morning at our church as part of Orphan Sunday. I've attached what I shared.
If you don't have time to read the whole, skip down and read the last three paragraphs. God has done an amazing work in two families. To God Be The Glory!!
ORPHAN SUNDAY TESTIMONY - 11/7/10
A year ago, on Orphan Sunday, God opened our eyes to staggering needs of orphans. Through videos and testimonies we saw children from around the world who had nothing. No bed to sleep in, little food to eat, tattered clothing, but mostly they had no mom or dad.
During that service, we felt called to reach out to these kids in a very clear way. As the pictures rolled before our eyes, it felt as though we were the only ones in the room and God was saying, “Come, I have a plan for you, I have an amazing opportunity for you.”
As we got home from church, we both slowly breached the subject. We both felt that God was calling us to do something. We knew we had so much love to offer, so much joy to share, so much materially to give, we knew we had room for more.
We both sensed that God was calling us to adoption. We decided that we would begin prayerfully considering adoption. We would begin to take steps in that direction. We would move forward one step at a time. As we took each step, we would pray for God to open the door. If the door opened, we would move forward, if the door closed, we would stop. This was something we clearly wanted to follow His leading.
As we responded to His call last year, we knew we were not just saying yes to adoption, but that we were saying yes to God and to His plan for our lives. This was a step that we weren’t taking grudgingly, hoping God wasn’t really calling us to adopt, but we were responding with a joyful sense of, “Really? We get to do this?”
The last year has been filled with a lot of joy and a lot of learning how to deal with frustration. It has been a very trying time to fall under the umbrella of God’s sovereignty as we rest in His timing during the wait.
Last year on Orphan Sunday, November 8th, 2009, two families were changed forever. Our family was forever changed by God mercifully showering joy upon us and the many blessings that have come with that. But, there was another family that was forever changed on that some day, almost at that same moment in time on the other side of the world. As God was speaking to us in this building, flooding our souls with His grace, Steve (one of our tentmakers faithfully serving in Central Asia – read strongly Muslim country, anti-Christian) was standing over the son of his next door neighbor who had been fatally shot by a bullet that was likely meant for him.
Steve was accused of murdering the son and was put in jail for a couple of weeks. Here he sat, an American Christian in a Central Asian jail, accused of murder with no eyewitnesses to stand up for him. As our body, and many others around the world prayed for him, the thought that raced through all of our minds was, “Who can set Steve free? Who will rescue him?” Today we know that God is capable of working miracles. We know that God can do all things. We know that God can reach into a Central Asian jail and rescue an American Christian.
God can rescue Steve, God can rescue the orphan, and God can heal your soul. His grace is more powerful than any evil force. That is why we desire to do orphan care work in His name. That is why we go forward under the banner of His gospel.
