UNICEF estimates there are between 143 and 210 MILLION orphans in the world today – and that doesn’t include children in countries that refuse to report orphan statuses, children who are sold and trafficked and living in slavery, or even children with two abusive or negligent parents all over the world. It is staggering and heartbreaking to realize the orphan crisis our world over. How children – precious image-bearers of God – are neglected, undefended, and forgotten.
For most of my life it was too heartbreaking and too overwhelming to even think about, much less pray for orphans. I often felt hopeless against such staggering statistics. I am SO grateful that God has graciously opened my eyes to his promises and power and allowed us to go on a journey of orphan-care. Not just adoption – though obviously adoption is a huge part of it – but learning to pray for and seek the welfare of the fatherless. We’re still figuring out what that looks like for our family and I am sure He will continue to lead us.
This Orphan Sunday I am continuing to beg him to work mightily on behalf of fatherless children around the world – especially two who are so very precious to us – and to use his church to bring justice and mercy to them.
I am also celebrating how he has worked to make “one less” orphan through many precious families. Here are a few of my favorite stories:
Home At Last from dan owens on Vimeo.
You can also read sweet Ezekiel’s Story
PRAISE GOD!!
This is obviously something our family cares a lot about, and if you’re in God’s family, you do too (whether you know it or not)! 
Why Love Orphans? from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.
Tags: adoption
Since I shared the photos of sweet Jonathan yesterday, I wanted to share some of David too.
Oh sweet David.
Our first photos of him must have been taken with a phone, because they are tiny and impossible to blow up. Even the wallet sizes that I printed off came out fuzzy.
Still, we saw his precious face and were in love immediately. I would spend hours just starting at them and wondering, “who are you, little boy?”
He was one month old when we first saw him. And while we thought he was incredibly cute then, this sweet boy just gets cuter and cuter as he grows.
David at 2 months
David at 5 months
David at 6 months
Can you tell how adorably handsome this little guy is, even with that silly heart sticker on his face? If you can’t, take my word for it. God did such a good job when he made this baby boy. We praise Him for his creation and look to Him to work wonders in this precious life.
Today is a hard day.
For many reasons.
Today marks 8 months since we’ve been waiting for Jonathan and David to join our family. 8 months of loving these two little boys and still not really knowing them. 8 months of praying and aching and trusting God to place them in our arms but being at the exact same place we were in the process 8 months ago, except maybe 2 steps back from it (more on that later). 8 months of “waiting purgatory” (I saw it described as that yesterday and the description is perfect for what this 8 months has felt like). 8 months of waking every morning hopeful that something wonderful and positive happened in Ethiopia while we slept, but instead the only surprises have been horribly sad and hard things happening while we sleep. 8 months of trying desperately to find the balance of being joyfully expectant and ready for God to work miracles, but realistic and open to whatever he sees fit to do. 8 months of begging him to please not wait to bring them home until I learn every lesson I need to learn in the wait, because I know I won’t and can’t.
Worst of all, 8 months of these precious lives that we’ve missed and 8 months of family that they have missed.
8 months ago today, we saw this precious face for the first time:
Jonathan at 4 months
We knew the minute we saw him and that he was the older of the two babies that he would be Jonathan, because we’ve always known our first born son would be Jonathan.
So today, 8 months later, he’s one year old.
And while we don’t know his exact birthday, we’re here stuck in the middle of rejoicing and weeping.
Oh we celebrate his life. How often I have praised God for creating and protecting and preserving this precious boy. We are SO THANKFUL that he was born and so thankful that he was found and brought to a place where he was safe and fed and cared for, and “given” to us to love and pray for and hope for.
But we ache that we’ve missed his first birthday, and more significantly, his whole first year. Instead of being in a family, he has been passed from place to place and person to person. Even in just what we know, he’s been moved 4 times in this year, and that doesn’t include where he was before we knew about him. I can hardly bear to think about how his young and tender heart has hurt in his short life and wonder and pray that God would bring redemption and healing and glory from it all.
Jonathan at 5 months
Jonathan at 8 months
Jonathan at 9 months
I never wanted to share photos of them on here until I was allowed to share their whole precious faces. But that was when I thought it would be 2 or 3 months until they were officially our sons.
Today I am putting these up for 2 reasons. One is in honor or Jonathan’s birthday, so you can get even a glimpse of that precious smile and cuddly little body. He is fearfully and wonderfully made and we praise GOD, his creator and sustainer.
The second reason is that today we heard more bad news about the situation in the southern region where the boys are. Things are looking more and more like we won’t be able to adopt them, at least for a very very long time, and I want to share them with you while they are still, in a very real but unofficial way, my boys.
This has been a hard 8 months and it doesn’t look like the coming months will get any easier.
But it’s been 8 months of seeing God provide in new and extravagant ways. It’s been 8 months of being desperate and asking for help and prayers again and again and again and watching God’s people step up and be his arms and feet and voice to us. It’s been 8 months of asking God how I am going to do this another day (“do this”, meaning not be able to do anything but wait and pray) and watching Him bring me to the close of every day having survived the wait and even seen his goodness and felt his blessings over and over again. It’s been 8 months of digging in the depths of my heart and seeing the ugliness and faithlessness and self-sufficiency that is so rooted there. It’s been 8 months of being totally honest with God and finding Him to be my rock, a total safe place for my anxious heart. It’s been 8 months (well, maybe 6) of telling God, “this isn’t what I signed up for,” and hearing him remind me gently, “Yes it is. You signed up for this when you said you trusted me.”
Looking back on these 8 months makes me dread the coming months, but looking back makes me know we can face them with confidence. Not because we know what will happen (we feel more in the dark about that than ever before), but because these last 8 months have taught us a tiny bit more about trusting Jesus on this crazy ride.
Psalm 9:7-10
7 But the LORD abides forever;
He has established His throne for judgment,
8 And He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
9 The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
In August, on our way home to FL, we spent a few days with our dear friends Timothy and Stacy at their family’s lakehouse. Oh my goodness, it was a precious time!
A highlight, and a first for the girls, was going out in a boat
And another incredibly fun first was going tubing behind the boat:
(Noa loved having the control to say, “go faster” with a simple thumbs up)
We also had a great time swimming in the lake and the pool:
and the hottub:
We LOVED the time to just relax and enjoy our friendship with this precious family. We are always so blessed by their love for us and our kids, and so thankful for all they did to make it such a refreshing and fun time for us.
We love you, Timothy and Stacy and Ava-Grace (who was with us at the lake in-utero and now is in her mommy and daddy’s arms!), and are so grateful for our special weekend at the lake with you guys!
Tags: Friends
While Glo and I were away, several friends stepped in to help with Noa and Martha. Eric also took some time off and spent a special day at Disney (thanks to a kind friend who works there) with our big girls. He had told them they would go on a “special birthday date” for Noa while I was gone and this was certainly that. Enjoy the photos (I sure did!)
"this was our fist time to see Cinderella ever" ~Noa
all tuckered out.
Yep, it was a day for princesses.
Tags: Martha, Noa, sister-sweetness
