PureReligion: What is an Orphan?

PureReligion: What is an Orphan?: "I was just cleaning the house (and it NEEDS it)annd I thought I would share some of the things that the Lord has shown me in the last 6 mont..."

What is an Orphan?

I was just cleaning the house (and it NEEDS it)annd I thought I would share some of the things that the Lord has shown me in the last 6 months about Orphans..the Fatherless and the Poor.....I want to start with saying, I think I am a good Christian and to be honest, a nice person.....But last year at this time, if I saw a TV commercial about the Poor in other countries, I may have watched, felt bad, and changed the channel....meaning, I would care, but didn't know how to express my care in action (other than give periodically and support ministries like World Vision, Missions, etc etc)...This year something happened in my life and in my heart.....God took hold of me and made me MEDITATE on others, specifically Orphans internationally....Now, I thought I got it....I thought I was doing my part by being stirred and supporting good ministries, but I have to be honest, I never felt the burden where I felt I NEEDED to do more.....Well I want to share with my friends and family what happened to me...I didn't ask for it....and I didn't do anything major to change my way of thinking...I feel that God took hold of me and shook me out of my American mindset.....I know that I have been so conditioned by my surroundings that I have become immune to certain kinds of suffering....I do not know if it is possible not to become used to eating when you are hungry, turning up the heat when you are cold....most importantly, giving an antibiotic to my children when they have green runny noses or hacking coughs.....I am used to my culture(and if you don't mind me saying so, I LIKE IT)......Also, I am content with my two kids.....they are great....they are sweet and they are GROWN (somewhat)....I am used to my own ways (naps are fun and NEEDED at this age) I am conditioned to the world of ME....Now, I am not trying to preach, I am hoping to share something that supernaturally happened to me.....The Bible says to testify about what God has done! so, I want to fastfrward, yesterday, I realized that some friends I have knew I was adopting but didn't know the everyday occurances about WHY......I am adopting because God loves the poor.....and He has called me, personally to start feeling his pain about the weak and voiceless......When he did this to me he gave me a deep yearning to "shout it out"....How awkward......I know we all know about our world and how we can't help everyone.....(I used that as an excuse and a truth myself)...But God's word says that he cares about helping ONE.....One at a time.....Just opening my eyes to make a difference.....Here's the deal, when I learned that stats on Orphans Internationally ....I said yes<God, I am here, I am listening........I will do it....now, this is a way different issue than domestic adoption or adopting because of infertility (all wonderful and certainly a blessing to the children and the parents).......But when God calls you to go to another country and go through the process of beurocracy and government paperwork......it can be overwhelming and scary.....like a missions trip and more children all in one......I have had some people "not get" why we have to fundraise for international adoption.....and it's kinda hard to explain it quickly......When God says GO....He sometimes has you trust him for the funding..Some people have the full amount of the resurces needed and they don't need to ask for support.(for us, 28,000 plus 7000 for the sibling....we have to take 2 trips to Ethiopia in 5 weeks which is a huge chunk of the finances needed) ..Now, that doesn't mean that we are not responsible for the choices we make when we adopt,(our family is in process of selling cars and hopefully selling property.applying for grants, no-interest loans and having fundraisers...please pray for us!!!!! it just means that sometimes, we have to be creatvie in how we allow him to raise the funds for us......I hope noone gets insulted when we ask them to support our endeavor , that is not our motive and that would break our hearts.....we just know that we are trusting God....and we are willing to do whatever we can to add these two children to our family.......We know that we can do more for these 2 children than they could ever hope or wish for in their country of Ethiopia....(the stats are overwheming and I will share some of them later)...We can share Christ with them (the most important thing that the Bible tells us to do), we can share our things...food.....home....clothes...(James 2-3 encourages us to to share with those in need) and we can love them....need I say more!!!!!  ....Again, I don't know how we will afford it, but I do trust God to go before us...he always has.....I hope that you can continue to think of us and come along side of us in prayer....PRAYER IS EVERTHING...please pray for our babies as they are in Addas Abba Ethiopia right now!!!!!!  They are alive......and we are coming!!!!!!!!

rejoice in the Lord ...he is good.....his mercy endures forever!

My post is one of thanksgiving.......Today, we began sharing our heart and burden for orphans with the school that is part of our congregation (Central Academy at Lake Park)....It was an honor and a priviledge to talk to teens who love the Lord and to share a word with them about God's love for Orphans....Our friend Ellen, introduced us(the Wards and the Slu's) to the administration there and opened the door for us to speak to the teens about what is really important.......How God has redeemed us.....and ransomed us and given us new life...ADOPTED us into his family.....and how we can now be called sons and daughters of God....Adoption is a big deal to our heavenly father....Some statistics that we shared with them are that there are 143,000 Orphans in the World...if 7% of Chrsitians would adopt there would be NO MORE ORPHANS.......that every 18 seconds another child is orphaned.....LEFT ALONE......that God did not leave us as Orphans but he said he would come to us.......He knows we would not know how to take care of ourselves.....so he is our Heavenly Father and he is with us (Emmanuel)...adopted sons and daughters of the most high!!!!!!!!........We pray that the kids that we spoke to will ponder the statistics and think about what it might be like if they cried and noone came.....they were hungry and no one was there to feed them......thirsty...again, noone.......We are so excited to share this message with others....and to be able to play a part in traveling this road to adopt an ORPHAN OF GOD.....Please continue to pray with us....We are blessed to be able to share this process with you and as you pray for us......pray for the orphans!!!!!  Love, Traci.........Galatians "2:10 "All that we ask is that we should all continue to remember the poor, the very thing I, Paul, was eager to do..."

A Post from Momma......

Hello Friends,

Let's talk a new word "DOSSIER"......This is the gathering of an abundance of information that has to be sent to the Government of the children you are adopting....This is a long process....but a good one..We have recieved sweet notes of encouragement and we appreciate all of the interest that people have shown us on behalf of the poor and God's Orphans(Our children to be).....It's a blessing to see the caring hearts that people have for strangers.....and it has grown my faith in God....We are going to begin our fundraising  very soon with a local Christian school, as the Lord leads.  We have wonderful ideas for raising funds and getting the children in the school involved in caring for Orphans.....and "bringing them home".....I have been doing the Beth Moore study "Daniel" and the Lord has been opening my heart to how very privideged I am...my family is and my children are....We have need of NOTHING...never have(not in the big picture)......She said something wise in her sermon "...Paraphrased "If you have a book (BIBLE or any) and you know how to READ IT...you are RICH!!!!!!!  Most of the world has neither........It made me so sad and so sickened that I take most things for-granted.....Like food and shelter...I am thankful that God is changing my heart to have a more accurate perspective on my blessings  1Tim 6:8 "But if we have food and clothing we will be content with these".......I pray that God will keep showing me what I should focus my heart and attention on!!!!!  Traci

Monday Morning...by Mommy

I just finished reading the blog of my very best friend, Kim, who is also in process to adopt orphans from Ethiopia....Kim and I have been friends for 17 yrs and have done many things in ministy together...We laugh as we grow older and see what the Lord has done in our lives..We were young babies when we met...just married..decorating apartments...big hair...then we had our babies Meghan(now 15) and Emma (almost 16) together and we loved it. We got together daily and had play group..went to the park..shopped at Babies r Us and loved dressing our girls.....When we started our walks with the Lord, he started our path toward holiness together and we went through some times!!!!! God is humerous and sanctification (being changed into Christ's image) is sometimes painful and certainly can cause some stressers in friendship...But Kim and I continued on life's journey together....Back around 10 years ago we started serving together at Church and we began a bonding in the spirit....we realized God had put us together to walk our spiritual walk two by two (as he did with many people in scripture).. We have seen God use us together (although we are so different in the ways we handle things)....God has poured his favor on our unity and our walking with him in service...In this phase of our life, in our forty's, wouldn't you know God has given us both such a tremendous burden for orphans and such a zeal to help them in anyway we can.....Isn't God funny???? Never would I have thought that at 43 I would be in the place I am.....and Kim and I would be talking about cribs and play areas again....We both have wonderful teens and young adults who love the Lord and walk personal walks with the Lord....We are blessed amongst woman (I know , Mary is too.....but so are we).....Some might say  (and have said) "what if you get children from Ethiopia and they are unhealthy????What if they have issues...?? What if ...What if ..What if??????   Kim and I are not "what if , friends"?????   We are friends who pray for one another......laugh at life's ups an downs......cry , too....but only for a little while........God is Good to place people in our lives for all of the seasons he has for us.....to encourage us....to lift up our hands when we are down.....to speak the truth of God's word into our hearts so we can stand firm when when have been shot with an arrow..(we all have them , right)....Thank you Lord......for this day......and for all of the encouragers you have surrounded me with!!!! Especially my Tee Tee...Kimmy!

Trusting God for his financial provision by Mommy

It is hard to trust God sometimes......As we started this journey we knew that we "couldn't afford" to adopt....Money seems to be the "issue of th day" in this economy......Yet, God's word says that he is the provider......He knows what we need before we even ask......Our famly has always experienced God's provision and we have NEVER had much excess.....Just what we need......And so it is with adoption.......We had to do something that was a bit uncomfortable......We had to ask for help......They call it "fundraising"...I call it "awkward" and yet....we understand the blessings that are in store for anyone who helps one of these "little ones" as God calls them...So last week, we sent out letters to all of our family and business associates asking them to help these babies "come home"........In a spiritual way  you are torn.......You can't wait to see God provide and at the same time you hope and "pray" that the people you've sent the letters to don't think you are "out of line" for asking them to give money....I do trust God and his promises...."It is MORE blessed to give than to recieve"........" You will reap what you sow"......."if one's gift is to contribute to the needs of others,let him give generously"....This is the LOVE that God has given us for one another and this is his love for US.....I am looking forward to sharing with all of you how the Lord has supplied this monetary need.....HE WILL DO IT......IT IS HIS WILL AND HIS PROMISE!!!!

from traci....my thoughts for today

It's funny.....when you are pregnant you feel like everybod knows it, even whenyou aren't showing yet....and when you do start showing with your little "bump", like my sister Melissa is, you look so adorable in your little shirts that pop out where your belly is......
But, when the Lord puts adoption on your heart, and you start to meditate on his love for orphans and his heart to heal them and help them, you suddenly feel that same change of pregnancy....except this time you want to shout it from the rooftops......It's unexplainable, but I can actually say that I feel pregnant.....(sometimes it's just bloated (haha)..but it is the anticipation of knowing that you have children somewhere needing you......wanting to get into bed with you and cuddle.....to read a book with......and somehow you feel like everybody knows.....
You feel like your "showing".......Can you tell???? you want to ask.......Can you see something in me that is different......I am going to be a mother, again!!!!!!
That is how I feel when I think of my children in Ethiopia......I can't wait to see there faces......