God moves in the waiting...

Last March Randy and Candice Wagenleitner received word that their long wait for a baby girl in Korea was almost over.  A few short months later Elliana Sa-rang was home, with parents and three older brothers to love her! 

Though their 5 year wait was hard and long, they learned a lot along the way and God used this time to share His heart for the fatherless with them.  In a letter to Lifesong they wrote:

…God has used this adoption to forever change our hearts and give us a huge passion to care for the 147 million orphans left in the world.  Like it seems to be for a lot of families, when we first started talking about adoption years ago it was mostly to add another child to our family- specifically a daughter that we had never had.  But somewhere along the way God opened our eyes and hearts to all of the children who are left without a mommy and daddy and without someone to share the love of Christ with them.  We began to see the bigger picture of God’s adoption of us into His family and how adoption is the gospel lived out.

Now we cannot seem to sit still because we want to advocate and be a voice for those who cannot speak up for themsleves!  It has started small, but we are faithfully praying that the Lord would use us in whatever ways He sees fit…

…We are SO excited that we will be attending the Orphan Summit in April- largely in part  because of Lifesong’ encouragement to attend!  We may not have even know about it if it weren’t for Andy’s email...  We checked it out… and just knew that it would be the perfect starting poiunt for the Lord to give us a clear direction of what to do next…

Check out Candice's blog here!

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young...

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

What a sweet reminder from 6 year old, Siena Medefind! She sent her birthday money to Lifesong for the orphans in Ethiopia!

Siena - May the Lord continue to work in your heart... and may the world be a different place because of your generosity! Thank you so much and Happy Birthday!

On Transracial Adoption

Justin Taylor, blogger for Between Two Worlds and The Gospel Coalition wrote this post on transracial adoption. In reading this, I quickly knew that his words were much more eloquent than mine -

We don’t regard our transracial adoption as something especially noble or sacrificial, or anything like a social statement. This is simply the way that God in his providence has designed our family to expand, and we sense his great grace in the way he has knit our family together.

But some people still wonder if transracial adoption is all that wise. What if they are called names in school? What if their friends tell our children that my wife and I are not his “real” mommy and daddy? What if our kids have an identity crisis, unable to figure out who they really are?

All of these things may indeed happen with our children. But the truth is, all of our children are going to face various forms of challenges, and we simply cannot predict with any degree of certainty what particular obstacles they will deal with. Nor can we prevent all of them.

Will our kids be eloquent and persuasive, or stammer with stage fright? Will they be the star athletes, or the class klutzes? Will they be leaders or followers? Trend setters or always one step behind? Will they be healthy or sickly? Will they be mocked for following Christ and swimming against the culture stream? We simply don’t know, and there usually does not seem to be much purpose in planning our lives around the minimization of challenges we cannot control.

It’s important to recognize that in the midst of talking about spiritual adoption, Paul listed a requirement of kingdom citizens who are to be heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—we will receive an inheritance “provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom. 8:17). To be a Christian is a call to suffer: “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). If we’re surprised at suffering then it’s because we haven’t read our Bibles closely enough: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Pet. 4:12). If a disciple wants to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master, then we are going to be maligned like Jesus was (see Matt. 10:25).
Now with all of this said, no one wants to create situations of undue suffering for their children. There are times when transracial adoption may be unwise. For example, we have American friends who are in the adoption process and who will be serving in cross-cultural missions in the Middle East. Being an African American child in a white family in an Islamic country that already stigmatizes adoption would be exceedingly difficult.

As long as sin remains—this side of the return of Christ and the ushering in of the news heavens and the new earth—racism will remain. There is virtue neither in overstating or unstating this reality. But the idea of having qualms about transracial adoption (or interracial marriage) because it will create opportunities for more racial prejudice doesn’t ultimately make a lot of sense. As John Piper has commented, “It’s like the army being defeated because there aren’t enough troops, and the troops won’t sign up because the army’s being defeated.”

What an incredible blessing!

Today, the Bitner family from Indiana stopped by the Lifesong office to thank us for the matching grant that was provided to help bring home their three children from Ethiopia.

What they didn't understand was the joy they brought to this office today! Thank you Eric & Loretta for the joy you brought in our hearts today as we interacted with you and your 5 beautiful children!

 Check out this GORGEOUS Christmas card -

Lifesong -

Thank you for all you are doing for the needy and orphaned in our world. We praise the Lord for you and all He is doing through your obedience and faith in Him. Thank you for showing favor on our children. We are blessed by your kindness.

Love, The Bitners

Foster Care Prayer Vigil | May 17-24

...calling followers of Christ together across the country during the week of May 17-24 to cry out to God on behalf of children and youth in our nation's foster care system, their families, their workers, and the church as it responds to the needs of those involved in the foster care system.   

A prayer vigil can take on many forms. It can be a formal, church-wide event, or it can be an informal gathering with your family after dinner.  The possibilities are endless, check out some ideas

Is God calling you to be the voice for your city? See the map for a listing & locations of vigils already scheduled.  

Gather together.  Pray for the kids.  Watch God work.