It all started with God's whispers. His whispers to help the orphan, the broken, the lost. He calls us to get uncomfortable. He calls us out of our comfort zone and into reaching and touching the lost. He calls us to get involved. He does not call us to be comfortable. I do not read that anywhere in scripture. He says to go! He says to find them, be among them and be a part of them. Find the orphan, the widow, the broken and the hurting. The Good Samaritan stepped out of his comfort zone and out of his schedule. He gave of himself to help another. He gave his money, his time and his energy. He got personal. He allowed someone else to touch his life as well. What are we striving for? To be comfortable? To be 'ready?' We have no time to lose. There are hurting little ones and others out there waiting. I challenge you to begin praying about how you can step out of your comfort zone.
We prayed and prayed. We talked and talked. We voiced our concerns with each other and discussed our fears with friends. We found no reason to hold us back. Let me clarify...we found reasons, but none to hold us back. No reasons should hold us back. You never go wrong doing God's thing. There will be bumps along the way, but that tension is good. That tension teaches us about life's meaning and purpose. Its not about me, its not about you, its about them. Go to the lost and broken, He says there you will be my hands and feet to the people and they will know that you are my disciples. He will be glorified. We are not in this to gain anything, but to glorify God. He calls us to give of ourselves.
At the beginning of a week I remember praying again and just releasing it to God totally...saying, Ok, here I am. I would love to adopt and/or foster, but I wait on You God for the timing and know that in your timing You will use me once again to love a child. I rested. I rested and waited. Then came Kaylee's picture. I saw her and knew that International Adoption was NOT what Derek and I had discussed. We figured with the cost of it, that God would surely not have us do that and we should get ready for an adoption of some sort right here in America. Well, Derek and I were talking and I told him about the picture and asked if he had seen it. He said he had not, well, all I said was...I want her, but of course I figured it was just my emotions and that we could not because we had not agreed to International. Then my husband comes home for lunch. He sits next to me and says, I want her too. I want you to pursue her. My heart leaped and burst with joy!! I couldn't believe it! I told him, but....blah blah blah....and he said no, I really feel this is God telling us to do this. So we continued to pray and move forward!
I emailed the agency and began filling out applications. Then each evening we are talking and figuring things out...filling out paperwork, researching and looking at all it will take!!! We had a splendid evening last night sharing with family and we have been overwhelmed and loved so much by all the encouragement over facebook today!! She is on facebook called Kaylee's Hope as well. Please keep us in your prayers as nothing is set in stone until we have approval from EE. Oh by the way...her name is Kaylee, she is from EE. She will be 5 next month and we are hoping she is not in one of those orphanages that when they turn 5 (some at 7yrs.) they are sent to an institution. This institution is made up of all ages and it can be a dangerous place. Please pray that we raise all the funds quickly so that we can get her before she gets sent there. We appreciate your love and support!!! Derek will soon post a PAY PAL link on here and we will be announcing fundraisers! In the meantime, check out Kaylee's Hope facebook page.
Kaylee's Profile reads:
"This precious little one has been waiting for a family to come get her. She is a darling little girl. Judging by her age, she is probably facing imminent transfer away from the baby house to the institution and we're hoping to get a quick commitment for her. She is a gentle, kind, obedient girl. She loves to help adults perform any task in good faith: on dining room duty, watering the plants, etc. She likes to communicate with adults. She tries to settle problems among her peers peacefully. She is very accurate and she independently monitors her outward appearance. She is always asking the nanny to weave ribbons into her hair. Wearing a bow in her hair makes K very joyful. Collecting jigsaw puzzles, spreading out the mosaic patterns, K perseveres and completes the tasks at hand."
