Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wishing
If I can't adopt a child by this summer, shouldn't I at least be able to go to an orphanage and rock the little babies? I better get that passport updated!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Mongolian Students & Adoption
Our family has a connection to Mongolia. The connection began when Ryan made several trips to Mongolia to do missions work through CVM with the local vets. We have continued that connection by supporting the Vet Net in Mongolia through prayer and finances. Through that support, we are able to read monthly updates from our friends in Mongolia. We would love to return to Mongolia together. Ryan is sure that I wouldn't go there because of the lifestyle in the country side. I've tried to assure him that I would do fine if I could bring PB&J or if I could stay in the city with the American misisonary.
For several years we have dreamed of adopting. And Mongolia wasn't exactly an option because of their requirements. Now that we've been married 5 years, a Mongolian adoption would be possible. We have yet to run that race.
In the mean time, we've sought to strengthen that connection to a place and a people that are dear to our hearts. Last year we became friends with the only Mongolian international student at our nearby university. This year, Naraa is still here and there are 3 more students. Reaching out to them is the least we can do. Last Friday Melody joined us for the evening. She took two years of English in high school and although she does excellent for the amount of English education she had, much gets lost in the translation of things. We loved having her over and the kids adored her. This weekend we plan to have the students join us for our trip to the city to do a little Christmas shopping. We also plan to have them over for Thanksgiving and stay the weekend since food services aren't available at the university. I'm excited and anxious for this reaching out of sorts. The two new girls are extremely home sick and certainly need some love and attention. The new boy student we have yet to meet but I'm hopeful that he'll come around as well. May God truly bless each one of us as we add them to our extended family in the coming days.
For several years we have dreamed of adopting. And Mongolia wasn't exactly an option because of their requirements. Now that we've been married 5 years, a Mongolian adoption would be possible. We have yet to run that race.
In the mean time, we've sought to strengthen that connection to a place and a people that are dear to our hearts. Last year we became friends with the only Mongolian international student at our nearby university. This year, Naraa is still here and there are 3 more students. Reaching out to them is the least we can do. Last Friday Melody joined us for the evening. She took two years of English in high school and although she does excellent for the amount of English education she had, much gets lost in the translation of things. We loved having her over and the kids adored her. This weekend we plan to have the students join us for our trip to the city to do a little Christmas shopping. We also plan to have them over for Thanksgiving and stay the weekend since food services aren't available at the university. I'm excited and anxious for this reaching out of sorts. The two new girls are extremely home sick and certainly need some love and attention. The new boy student we have yet to meet but I'm hopeful that he'll come around as well. May God truly bless each one of us as we add them to our extended family in the coming days.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Obedience
Today, I'm thinking Mongolia, Ethiopia or domestic. Start praying that we'd be obedient and that God would open doors!
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Last night we watched a show where a family adopted 8 kids. Some from Haiti and some from the inner city. I was blown away by their love for others. Tears filled my eyes and I turned to Ryan and said something like "I wanna adopt".
Friday, August 22, 2008
Funny Conversation
Ryan and I had a funny email conversation the other day that I want to share but I must preface it first: with each child that we've had, a few weeks prior to the birth of our baby, we've gotten a new puppy. Crazy, I know, but that's how it happened.
me: Ryan, I really want to raise a puppy for a guide dog. Here's a link:
ryan: no comment
That night I asked him if he read the email. He hadn't. The next morning:
me: Ryan, my salary has increased to X amount. Do you think the difference is enough to pay for an adoption? [this email was sent full of sarcasm as my salary had increased by about $1,000 at the most and it costs about $40,000 to adopt]
ryan several hours later: if we adopt a puppy does that mean we need to adopt a child?
Okay, you might not find the humor in it but I did. I want to do both things and his reply perfectly fit both emails and how things seemingly work for us: puppy = a baby at our house. Happy Friday!
me: Ryan, I really want to raise a puppy for a guide dog. Here's a link:
ryan: no comment
That night I asked him if he read the email. He hadn't. The next morning:
me: Ryan, my salary has increased to X amount. Do you think the difference is enough to pay for an adoption? [this email was sent full of sarcasm as my salary had increased by about $1,000 at the most and it costs about $40,000 to adopt]
ryan several hours later: if we adopt a puppy does that mean we need to adopt a child?
Okay, you might not find the humor in it but I did. I want to do both things and his reply perfectly fit both emails and how things seemingly work for us: puppy = a baby at our house. Happy Friday!
Friday, September 21, 2007
On the Same Page
I posted this past week about adoption and missions and wanting to combine the two things together. I had not shared this information with Ryan at all. We were chatting when he came home from Kansas City about his week. While he was gone, he got to meet up with several people he knows from Christian Veterinary Mission. Ryan has spent time in Mongolia on two seperate occasions with CVM. Curious if talking to those folks peaked his interests, I asked him if he was ready to go on another trip. I would love to go (although while breastfeeding could be fun) and expected him to agree. Instead, Ryan replied with a "not really". He said that it did make him think that we really need to pursue adoption. If that's what we feel God is leading us to do, than we need to be obedient, step and out do it. I was so surprised at his response and so excited that God has us on the same page at the same time. How wonderful that God has been seperately putting adoption on both of our hearts!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Passionate
Everybody has a passion for something right? As a teen, I caused a lot of gray hairs for my family, got in a lot of trouble for minor things, was very independent and had my mom scared that I would turn into a drug addict. Fortunately, mom was wrong and I've turned out fairly decent. And I'm not about to write an autobiography, although I'd love to someday, but I do want to mention a passion or two that I have.
In high school, I went on my first missions trip. It was amazing. Now I had just turned 16 and so my reasoning for going was different than why I'd go today but I still went. And it was amazing to see a 3rd world country right before my eyes. I was so impressed and had such a heart for the people there that I went back - in fact I think I went 7 times. I have tons and tons of memories from those trips but several stick out in my mind. One little boy became my buddy. Jesus (think spanish: hay-zues) was from a large family and his little sister was very quiet and shy and that same year attached herself to my brother. Each year that I went back, I revisited that original church plant location and found my little buddy. He was 13 the last time I saw him and working at the corner store. Many times, I went prior to the rest of the Team to help entertain children while several men worked construction for several days prior to the start of the psuedo vacation bible school that we provided. In those years, I developed a love of sharing with others in need. That doesn't necessarily mean people in 3rd world countries as we have lots of folks in need within a few miles of where most of us lay our head at night. My heart aches for those in need, those who don't know where their next meal will come from, those who seemingly have no hope. My first year out of college and living in Iowa, I felt this need to do another trip. And at that time, I didn't want to wait for the annual Easter week trip to Mexicali plus I was no longer living in CA. So, I looked around, prayed a lot and eventually found the perfect opportunity. I spent almost 2 weeks (if I remember right) in Nicaragua learning how to teach people to compost and garden. It went very well with my degree in Ag Education and plant science, my career in conservation and my heart for helping others. And since the day I returned from Nicaragua, I've been ready to go again.
Now, I also have a heart for adoption. And I'm not sure where it comes from but I can think of one specific story that might have played a role in the way I think today. One year in Mexicali my little buddy was a sweet little girl. You could tell that her mother worked diligently every morning to bathe and nurture her child before she sent her out for the day. I assume she also wore her best clothes which were quite possibly her only pair of pants. It was warm, in the 80's, and this precious little girl wore bright pink snow bibs every day that week. Anyway as we were preparing for an evening presentation of the Jesus Film, this little girl's mom came up to me (I was maybe 21 that year) and asked me to take her daughter home with me and give her a better life. She was sincere and serious as it gets and it broke my heart that a mother would give up her daughter to give her a better life. And that thought brings me to adoption.
What a beautiful opportunity to love someone, to give them a future and something to hope for. Its a perfect, real example of how God loves us. I've had a passion for loving others who need some extra love for a long time and I can think of nothing better than to adopt children. The most amazing thing is that I can put those two passions into one. I could spend time in an orphanage in Africa, Thailand, Korea, Mongolia or wherever else loving those little kids and then ultimately bring one of them into my own family. I think about this all the time. And this week as I've been listening to some podcasts from Cornerstone Church, it has lit a fire under me. Just yesterday I heard a message from a guy who just returned from Zambia. And what amazing things he learned there. I so want to go. So why haven't I? International adoptions cost anywhere from $30k to $50k these days. I don't have that kind of money. Rather than stepping out in faith and taking on that kind of debt load when we have an unknown debt load on the clinic (been waiting 2 years for those numbers), I've opted to let insurance pay for the birth of two children. Grr, I really want to adopt. Why do I write all this? I really don't know. just wanted to share....
In high school, I went on my first missions trip. It was amazing. Now I had just turned 16 and so my reasoning for going was different than why I'd go today but I still went. And it was amazing to see a 3rd world country right before my eyes. I was so impressed and had such a heart for the people there that I went back - in fact I think I went 7 times. I have tons and tons of memories from those trips but several stick out in my mind. One little boy became my buddy. Jesus (think spanish: hay-zues) was from a large family and his little sister was very quiet and shy and that same year attached herself to my brother. Each year that I went back, I revisited that original church plant location and found my little buddy. He was 13 the last time I saw him and working at the corner store. Many times, I went prior to the rest of the Team to help entertain children while several men worked construction for several days prior to the start of the psuedo vacation bible school that we provided. In those years, I developed a love of sharing with others in need. That doesn't necessarily mean people in 3rd world countries as we have lots of folks in need within a few miles of where most of us lay our head at night. My heart aches for those in need, those who don't know where their next meal will come from, those who seemingly have no hope. My first year out of college and living in Iowa, I felt this need to do another trip. And at that time, I didn't want to wait for the annual Easter week trip to Mexicali plus I was no longer living in CA. So, I looked around, prayed a lot and eventually found the perfect opportunity. I spent almost 2 weeks (if I remember right) in Nicaragua learning how to teach people to compost and garden. It went very well with my degree in Ag Education and plant science, my career in conservation and my heart for helping others. And since the day I returned from Nicaragua, I've been ready to go again.
Now, I also have a heart for adoption. And I'm not sure where it comes from but I can think of one specific story that might have played a role in the way I think today. One year in Mexicali my little buddy was a sweet little girl. You could tell that her mother worked diligently every morning to bathe and nurture her child before she sent her out for the day. I assume she also wore her best clothes which were quite possibly her only pair of pants. It was warm, in the 80's, and this precious little girl wore bright pink snow bibs every day that week. Anyway as we were preparing for an evening presentation of the Jesus Film, this little girl's mom came up to me (I was maybe 21 that year) and asked me to take her daughter home with me and give her a better life. She was sincere and serious as it gets and it broke my heart that a mother would give up her daughter to give her a better life. And that thought brings me to adoption.
What a beautiful opportunity to love someone, to give them a future and something to hope for. Its a perfect, real example of how God loves us. I've had a passion for loving others who need some extra love for a long time and I can think of nothing better than to adopt children. The most amazing thing is that I can put those two passions into one. I could spend time in an orphanage in Africa, Thailand, Korea, Mongolia or wherever else loving those little kids and then ultimately bring one of them into my own family. I think about this all the time. And this week as I've been listening to some podcasts from Cornerstone Church, it has lit a fire under me. Just yesterday I heard a message from a guy who just returned from Zambia. And what amazing things he learned there. I so want to go. So why haven't I? International adoptions cost anywhere from $30k to $50k these days. I don't have that kind of money. Rather than stepping out in faith and taking on that kind of debt load when we have an unknown debt load on the clinic (been waiting 2 years for those numbers), I've opted to let insurance pay for the birth of two children. Grr, I really want to adopt. Why do I write all this? I really don't know. just wanted to share....
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