Greetings to you from sunny Florida! As we sit here and notice the early signs of "spring" I am reminded that we have much to be thankful for, much to praise God for, and great reason for hope. Our Valentine's Day experience was also a reason for praise, even though our plans were quickly changed as Satan tried to ruin our day by hindering us sending money to Uganda. But alas, God will overcome!
Valentine's morning we planned to get up early, wire money to Uganda and then head to Tallahassee for a romantic walk around campus and dinner at our favorite place. However, wiring money took us 2 hours. No one knew exactly how to do it since most people don't wire money to Uganda regularly. I'm not even sure that most people know that Uganda exists. One person asked if that was near Alabama. Anyway, our contact in Uganda gave us all the information we needed to wire the money but the bank here wasn't familiar with the Ugandan bank system and how addresses are made (apparently there are no zip codes there).
After a couple hours and many phone calls by the bank teller, the money was wired to Uganda. However, by this point we wouldn't have enough time to drive to Tally and get a table. This restaurant is tiny and if you aren't there right when it opens chances are good you'll have another hour or so wait before a table will open up. So we scratched our plans and went to lunch in Atlanta instead. We both felt like sending the lawyer the money he needed to get started on our boys paperwork and setting a court date was more important this year than dinner in Tallahassee.
We are happy to report that we were able to wire almost a third of the money needed by the lawyer and the orphanage for the boys. It's about 1/5 of the total money we need but we both felt good about being able to wire some of the money and confirm to the orphanage director and the lawyer that we are serious about bringing these boys home.
Speaking of homes, we ~finally~ have a close date on our house! We are to close this Friday morning (Feb 22nd) and will move in on Saturday. We will then be able to have the last piece of our home study completed on March 4th. This is significant because it means our home study will be complete in time to apply for adoption grants that come under review in mid march. Please pray this all works out and that we are able to apply for these grants. If we miss the March reviews we will have to wait for them to come under review in June which means we might not get the funds in time to go get the boys. However, I've known God to come through in the 11th hour so I really shouldn't be worried about any of it.
March will be a month of full on campaigning for funds. We will have 2 consignment sales, hopefully will begin selling t-shirts and necklaces (stay tuned to later posts about these things) and will give one of our donors an iPad. Yes, an iPad to one of our wonderful donors as a way to say thank you for supporting us in our adventure to bring these boys home.
Our personal goal is to raise $10,000 in March which will put us over the halfway mark for all the funds needed. Would you pray about how you might be able to help us achieve our financial goal? Please remember that no donation is too small to help, and every donation is a blessing from God. We have multiple ways for you to donate and we would love for you to be partners with us in this adoption.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Our God Cares About Details
Through the beginning stages of this adoption process we have already seen numerous evidences that we serve an awesome God who knows and provides for our needs. We know that God is concerned with big things like the expansion of His Kingdom and the salvation of people from every nation, tribe and tongue. But he is also concerned with little things, right down to the smallest detail. Let me give you an example of God caring about the small things.
Two weeks ago I found out that there was a man from Chattanooga flying to Uganda on February 9th. Not only was this man going to Uganda, he was going to visit the orphanage we are connected with! So I asked the director what the biggest needs were at the orphanage and his response was shoes for the children to wear to school and diapers.
I brought those needs to our church family and they provided in a big way. We were able to send over 36 pairs of shoes and 2 packages of diapers. Here's the response I received: "You hit the jackpot! The bag arrived in one piece, with the very, exact shoes we're hoping and praying for, on the very day the kids started the new school year! The diapers are a great fit for the little ones!" Isn't that amazing?! It shouldn't be surprising that we sent a bunch of random sizes of shoes and God made sure that they were the exact sizes needed, but it still blows me away.
We have had many people ask how they can help us on our journey to bring these boys home. Here are some practical ways you can help.
passports, and room and board for a month while we're there.
Two weeks ago I found out that there was a man from Chattanooga flying to Uganda on February 9th. Not only was this man going to Uganda, he was going to visit the orphanage we are connected with! So I asked the director what the biggest needs were at the orphanage and his response was shoes for the children to wear to school and diapers.
I brought those needs to our church family and they provided in a big way. We were able to send over 36 pairs of shoes and 2 packages of diapers. Here's the response I received: "You hit the jackpot! The bag arrived in one piece, with the very, exact shoes we're hoping and praying for, on the very day the kids started the new school year! The diapers are a great fit for the little ones!" Isn't that amazing?! It shouldn't be surprising that we sent a bunch of random sizes of shoes and God made sure that they were the exact sizes needed, but it still blows me away.
We have had many people ask how they can help us on our journey to bring these boys home. Here are some practical ways you can help.
- PRAY! Pray to our Father who cares about the details and can provide for our needs.
- Pray for our children's hearts. Pray that God will prepare their hearts for a new family, culture and country. That they will already be attaching to their new parents through the photos and stuffed animals.
- Pray for their bodies to remain strong and not get sick.
- Pray for them to be good sleepers when they move here. As many of you moms (and dads) know, sleep is so important for your child and there are many less meltdowns when they are well rested.
- Pray for our trip over there. Pray that the courts, embassy and Doctor visits will go smoothly and God will pave the way for us to bring them home in July.
- Pray for God to provide all our financial needs.
- If you are in the Chattanooga area, we are collecting items to sell.
- We need furniture, clothing (not winter), toys, baby items, etc. We need all items dropped off at Hixson Presbyterian Church by the end of Feb.
- The furniture and clothing can be for either adults or children.
passports, and room and board for a month while we're there.
- If you would like for your contribution to be tax deductible you can bring or mail a check to our church (Hixson Presbyterian Church, 1005 Gadd Rd., Hixson, TN 37343) please write Lusk Adoption Fund on the memo line so it gets to us.
- If you just want to make a contribution without worrying about tax deductions you can click our link on the top right and donate through paypal. No amount is too small. $10 can go a long way if many people give $10.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Truth is...
Our youth play a game on Facebook called "truth is..." One person writes "truth is" as their status and other people "like" that status. Then the youth goes to the "walls/timelines" of all the people who "liked" the status and writes one truth about that person. Quite often these "truths" seem arbitrary to us adults who read them (something along the lines of "truth is...you're cool and we should hang out more) but they mean something to the kids in their adolescent worlds. Our youth don't know of the suffering of children in other parts of the world. Youth that face much harder "truths" than whether or not a boy or girl likes them.
I (Jennifer) am reading Kisses From Katie right now. It's a book about a young girl from Tennessee who is a missionary in Uganda. She has adopted 14 girls and has written her testimony of how God is working in Uganda. Some of the stories are heart breaking and will make any Mama want to fly over there right now and help these children. In her book, Katie has some excerpts from her journal. One journal entry tells lots of truths about life in Uganda.
Amazima (the name of Katie's non-profit organization), in Luganda, means "the truth."
Here are Katie's "truths."
"I have a young friend named Maria. The truth is that Maria had never had a bath before I took her home and gave her one. The truth is that Maria has no one who cares for her. No one who tells her she is loved. The truth is that Maria is sent from her home in the slum outside of Jinja to beg on the streets for food, and no one in Uganda wants to touch her or help her or cares that she is sick. The truth is that Maria is just like you or me. A person. Real. A child of the King.
Meet Rose and Brenda. The truth is that they are orphans, abandoned and living in an orphanage. Now two of 143 million. The truth is that when they go to bed at night no one tucks their blankets in around them and kisses their foreheads. The truth is that when they wake up, frightened, in the dark, no one runs to comfort them. The truth is that due to someone else's carelessness, Brenda will die of AIDS.
Meet David and Bashir. The truth is that these precious little boys were soldiers, abducted, sold as property, and forced to kill. Now that the war is winding down, they are not permitted back in their villages because they are seen as traitors, so they beg on the streets.
And the truth is that theses are only the children I know, in a very small fraction of a very small country. The truth is that there are children like this all over the world, sick, starving, dying, unloved and uncared for. The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children. And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth claim to be Christians.
The truth is that if only 8 percent of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left. This is the truth. I have the freedom to believe it. The freedom, the opportunity to do something about it. The truth is that He loves these children just as much as He loves me and now that I know, I am responsible."
-Katie Davis
She says it better than I can in my blog entry "A voice for the Fatherless." She has seen these children with her own eyes. She has helped care for them when no one else would. These truths are a reality for her. I have only read about them. I can only imagine what it's like. But what she has seen is a reality for our children, whoever they are. They are in a small orphanage with Christian people so they are seeing some of God's love. But it's not possible for a few adults to take care of 15-20 children with the same love and attention that we will be able to give them. I cannot wait to bring home our children so I can show them the Truth of the Father who loves them more than Morgan & I ever could.
I (Jennifer) am reading Kisses From Katie right now. It's a book about a young girl from Tennessee who is a missionary in Uganda. She has adopted 14 girls and has written her testimony of how God is working in Uganda. Some of the stories are heart breaking and will make any Mama want to fly over there right now and help these children. In her book, Katie has some excerpts from her journal. One journal entry tells lots of truths about life in Uganda.
Amazima (the name of Katie's non-profit organization), in Luganda, means "the truth."
Here are Katie's "truths."
"I have a young friend named Maria. The truth is that Maria had never had a bath before I took her home and gave her one. The truth is that Maria has no one who cares for her. No one who tells her she is loved. The truth is that Maria is sent from her home in the slum outside of Jinja to beg on the streets for food, and no one in Uganda wants to touch her or help her or cares that she is sick. The truth is that Maria is just like you or me. A person. Real. A child of the King.
Meet Rose and Brenda. The truth is that they are orphans, abandoned and living in an orphanage. Now two of 143 million. The truth is that when they go to bed at night no one tucks their blankets in around them and kisses their foreheads. The truth is that when they wake up, frightened, in the dark, no one runs to comfort them. The truth is that due to someone else's carelessness, Brenda will die of AIDS.
Meet David and Bashir. The truth is that these precious little boys were soldiers, abducted, sold as property, and forced to kill. Now that the war is winding down, they are not permitted back in their villages because they are seen as traitors, so they beg on the streets.
And the truth is that theses are only the children I know, in a very small fraction of a very small country. The truth is that there are children like this all over the world, sick, starving, dying, unloved and uncared for. The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children. And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth claim to be Christians.
The truth is that if only 8 percent of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left. This is the truth. I have the freedom to believe it. The freedom, the opportunity to do something about it. The truth is that He loves these children just as much as He loves me and now that I know, I am responsible."
-Katie Davis
She says it better than I can in my blog entry "A voice for the Fatherless." She has seen these children with her own eyes. She has helped care for them when no one else would. These truths are a reality for her. I have only read about them. I can only imagine what it's like. But what she has seen is a reality for our children, whoever they are. They are in a small orphanage with Christian people so they are seeing some of God's love. But it's not possible for a few adults to take care of 15-20 children with the same love and attention that we will be able to give them. I cannot wait to bring home our children so I can show them the Truth of the Father who loves them more than Morgan & I ever could.
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For Such a Time as This
The Bible is full of stories of men and women who could not have done the great things God called them to without going through previous tr...
