Mike & Mike (sound like a candy?) leave with the van full of luggage, tools, and supplies tomorrow morning. Please pray for their trip- 2 days of driving & hopefully they arrive safely & in good time.
The rest of us fly out on Friday. Good news is that my mom has decided to come on the trip with us. It will be nice to get to have some time with her in Mexico and also to have another pair of eyes to keep track of Nate!
I still have to go finish packing for the family, so this is only a quick post. I am so thankful for how far Jesus has brought us and all he is going to do in & through us in the days to come.
God Bless You,
Lisa
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Hit the ground running
Mike, Darcee, and Darius all arrived home safely last Wednesday night (9th). Now we are only a week away from our trip to Mexico, then we will be into July and time is going by so fast! We are believing God for a miracle to get us to Rwanda in August. I was just watching some of our videos (I added a new video at the bottom of the blog) and I miss Rwanda so much!
I'm working on my plans for the meals during that week we are in Ensenada, Mexico. We will be working with El Sauzal orphanage. I still have real trepidations about bringing Nate. It has not been a good week for him behavior wise. Some days with Nate are better than others, but he's always a handful. And then there are days... days when I wonder, "What else can I do?" I feel so helpless because I feel like I've done all I know how to do & yet it's not enough. He doesn't listen, doesn't mind. We (mom & dad) can barely get him to obey us, much less other people. :: sigh :: How do I explain him? (reminds me of a song from the Sound of Music...)
Yet I know there is so much amazing treasure God has placed within him. He is smart- like he notices things, remembers things that are important to him, and figures things out. He is joyful- he loves to be happy and have fun, and he rejoices with others. He is loving and affectionate. I am praying for the teacher he will have in school in Rwanda. These teachers are mostly from America, so I'm praying this teacher will "happen to have" a background in special education, maybe even speech therapy, and will be able to understand and work with Nate. I know he is a challenge, but I'm praying the teacher he has will see past his challenging behavior to the true boy inside. I am also praying, as I have been for years, that God would help Nate develop in all areas.
I have not shared it in this blog, but there are 4 mountains in my life that I am praying will be moved. We have had words & confirmations that this will be so. They are: our personal finances (for us to have the full support we need to be in Rwanda for 9 months), our adoption of Christine (still no word on that- except the discouraging words the person in that office gave Mike & Christine the day Mike was leaving the country), KaLia's health (I mentioned it briefly here), and Nate's development.
Tomorrow is my 39th birthday. My last year in my 30's, but that's OK. The 30's were good, but somehow I know that the best is yet to come! With God there is always the promise of more!
Blessings,
Lisa
I'm working on my plans for the meals during that week we are in Ensenada, Mexico. We will be working with El Sauzal orphanage. I still have real trepidations about bringing Nate. It has not been a good week for him behavior wise. Some days with Nate are better than others, but he's always a handful. And then there are days... days when I wonder, "What else can I do?" I feel so helpless because I feel like I've done all I know how to do & yet it's not enough. He doesn't listen, doesn't mind. We (mom & dad) can barely get him to obey us, much less other people. :: sigh :: How do I explain him? (reminds me of a song from the Sound of Music...)
Yet I know there is so much amazing treasure God has placed within him. He is smart- like he notices things, remembers things that are important to him, and figures things out. He is joyful- he loves to be happy and have fun, and he rejoices with others. He is loving and affectionate. I am praying for the teacher he will have in school in Rwanda. These teachers are mostly from America, so I'm praying this teacher will "happen to have" a background in special education, maybe even speech therapy, and will be able to understand and work with Nate. I know he is a challenge, but I'm praying the teacher he has will see past his challenging behavior to the true boy inside. I am also praying, as I have been for years, that God would help Nate develop in all areas.
I have not shared it in this blog, but there are 4 mountains in my life that I am praying will be moved. We have had words & confirmations that this will be so. They are: our personal finances (for us to have the full support we need to be in Rwanda for 9 months), our adoption of Christine (still no word on that- except the discouraging words the person in that office gave Mike & Christine the day Mike was leaving the country), KaLia's health (I mentioned it briefly here), and Nate's development.
Tomorrow is my 39th birthday. My last year in my 30's, but that's OK. The 30's were good, but somehow I know that the best is yet to come! With God there is always the promise of more!
Blessings,
Lisa
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
We Trust
Fed Ex delivered our adoption paperwork to Rwanda one day ahead of schedule- that got me excited! Mike hand delivered it to the government office which handles all adoptions, and he was shown a list of 40 names. People whose paperwork had been received ahead of ours. Still, because our situation is unique (we have identified our child, we are not waiting for a referral) I had hoped we might hear something in the remaining week of Mike's trip. But we did not.
Still, we trust that God is at work, and the good work that He has begun He will be faithful to complete!
Mike is at the airport in Rwanda right now, getting ready to head home. Mike, Darcee, and Darius will be flying back to Portland and arriving Wednesday night. I am so excited to have Mike back home! The kids are too. Nate especially keeps saying, "I sure miss dad," and is counting down the days. "Number 9 is when dad comes home!" (June 9th)
The memorial for Mike's dad will be this Saturday, June 12th. We would pray that God would use us to help the family as we process this loss together.
I recently found out the that school that I have enrolled the kids in for this fall actually begins on August 16th! That is at least a couple weeks ahead of when I was thinking we would need to be there. Suddenly everything is coming up fast. That would make our departure only a little over 2 months away- yikes!
We still need a miracle in the area of our personal support. That mountain has to be moved & we believe God is leading us & wants to move that mountain. Please pray with us for that.
Our trip to Mexico is a little over 2 weeks away also & I still feel very intimidated at the thought of cooking three meals a day for 20 people. Can I correctly estimate how much I'll need? Can I come up with meals that won't take hours & hours to prepare? And I am torn over the thought of having Nate there, but being too busy to adequately keep an eye on him (if you know Nate, then you know what I mean). But let our God be glorified as I trust in Him and know we'll make it through somehow!
"But Christ (the Messiah) was faithful over His [own Father's] house as a Son [and Master of it]. And it is we who are [now members] of this house, if we hold fast and firm to the end our joyful and exultant confidence and sense of triumph in our hope [in Christ]." Hebrews 3:6 (Amplified)
Thank you for your prayers.
God Bless You,
Lisa
Still, we trust that God is at work, and the good work that He has begun He will be faithful to complete!
Mike is at the airport in Rwanda right now, getting ready to head home. Mike, Darcee, and Darius will be flying back to Portland and arriving Wednesday night. I am so excited to have Mike back home! The kids are too. Nate especially keeps saying, "I sure miss dad," and is counting down the days. "Number 9 is when dad comes home!" (June 9th)
The memorial for Mike's dad will be this Saturday, June 12th. We would pray that God would use us to help the family as we process this loss together.
I recently found out the that school that I have enrolled the kids in for this fall actually begins on August 16th! That is at least a couple weeks ahead of when I was thinking we would need to be there. Suddenly everything is coming up fast. That would make our departure only a little over 2 months away- yikes!
We still need a miracle in the area of our personal support. That mountain has to be moved & we believe God is leading us & wants to move that mountain. Please pray with us for that.
Our trip to Mexico is a little over 2 weeks away also & I still feel very intimidated at the thought of cooking three meals a day for 20 people. Can I correctly estimate how much I'll need? Can I come up with meals that won't take hours & hours to prepare? And I am torn over the thought of having Nate there, but being too busy to adequately keep an eye on him (if you know Nate, then you know what I mean). But let our God be glorified as I trust in Him and know we'll make it through somehow!
"But Christ (the Messiah) was faithful over His [own Father's] house as a Son [and Master of it]. And it is we who are [now members] of this house, if we hold fast and firm to the end our joyful and exultant confidence and sense of triumph in our hope [in Christ]." Hebrews 3:6 (Amplified)
Thank you for your prayers.
God Bless You,
Lisa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)