Family Friday: Kory and Megan

This Family Friday is a special one for me because it involves the addition of my 3 year old niece, Suhn Mikayla Rui to our family.  

My sister Megan and her husband Kory decided to adopt special needs from China and Lifesong had the privilege of helping bring Suhn home through fund raising support.  Here Megan tells a little bit about how God led them through the adoption process:

Frankly, if God had told me 3 years ago that I would be parenting a child with cerebral palsy, I would have freaked out. Thankfully, God didn’t throw us in head first. Instead he laid down a bread crumb and asked us to follow, one tiny step at a time.

We’ve been asked many times over our adoption process questions like “why China?”, “why now?” and “why special needs?” The answers do not come easy. I can go into logical explanations about how China’s adoption program seemed to fit us better, or how the long wait times made us start the adoption process earlier than we originally thought, or how Kory’s job working with kids with special needs made it seem like the obvious thing to do…

While these reasons make sense and allow me to contribute to the conversation, the more accurate answer is this, “It felt like the right thing to do.” There were many times we asked ourselves the same questions we were being asked, “Why China?,” Why now?” But through the questioning we never felt compelled to stop or change course so we kept moving forward. The cool thing is, the further we traveled down our adoption road, the more confirmations and open doors we received silencing most of our doubts. By the time we held Suhn for the first time we knew we were right where we were supposed to be.

I love the thought of God leaving us a trail of bread crumbs to follow... step by step.  Thanks for sharing, Megan!

Recently, Kory and Megan put together a video to send back to the foster home Suhn lived at in China, and we're going to share it with you!

You can find out more on Megan's blog, here.

in small ways

Today in my Bible study I was reading through some of the Psalms.  I love that book, don’t you?  I love the truth it speaks to my soul when I am discouraged.  I love that it often gives my day much needed perspective.  I love that it exemplifies the imperfect, flawed love of man for his Savior, and the perfect, righteous love of his God.

This morning I read in Psalm 10:

Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.  Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them.  You will bring justice to the orphans and oppressed, so people can no longer terrify them.

And then in Psalm 12:

The Lord replies, “I have seen the violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor.  Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.” 

The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.  Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.  How the world we live in celebrates evil… not just excuses it… but celebrates it!  Sometimes I get discouraged.  Sometimes I get down right mad.  But aren’t you thankful that fixing the world is not up to us?  Aren’t you glad that our God sees the “violence done to the helpless” and hears the “groans of the poor?”  Aren’t you glad that He will “bring justice to the orphans and oppressed, so people can no longer terrify them?”

Boy, I am!

I am also thankful that He allows me to be a part of it… no matter how small.  And that He desires to use me… that He finds joy in showing His power through His church! 

This winter I got to witness this power.  I saw people give through our Gifts of Purpose catalog, some big, but mostly in smaller amounts.  And you know what… we raised over $65,000 on behalf of the helpless, the poor, the orphan!

Sometimes I think, “I don’t want to give small... I want to wait until I can afford to give BIG and really make a difference.”  But I have personally witnessed God produce big returns on what little I have to give.  That’s the beauty of it.  We are not the ones who save here… He is!  He just wants us to get the blessing of being a part of it!

So here’s the thing… You can still give through Lifesong’s Gift of Purpose catalog… You can still give in honor of a loved one, for their birthday, anniversary, or just for fun.  Just click here and pick where you want to give!

Making the Most of Your Adoption Fund

One of the great blessings in serving adoption funds around the country is the occasional opportunity we get to learn about what the Lord is doing in and through the various ministries. We'd like to share one such encouraging conversation that recently took place with Patrick McCrory who serves at Kingsland Baptist Church in Katy, TX.  He tells us...

God is doing amazing things through Kingsland, and I am in awe of how many families are stepping out in faith to adopt children. We are also participating in orphan care in several countries. It is safe to say that as a church, we are ALL IN!  But...we can only do so much.

Last fall, several passionate people came together from Houston to dream big...really BIG! Out of those conversations and a lot of prayer, Alliance 14:18 was formed. The Alliance is a network of 22 evangelical church ministries that exist to:

• be a LOUD voice for those who have no voice
• share resources and ideas
• effectively minister to orphans in Houston and around the world
• pool our resources to meet needs
• be a blessing to the foster care system
• be the answer to needs when placing children in homes

Ultimately, God has charged His church with the care of orphans, and we see the Alliance as the key to gaining back the ground that we gave away decades ago.

It is a privilege to be on this journey with you, and I am excited to see how the name of Jesus will be made more famous through the love you give to children who need a forever family."

We want to encourage you that it is not the size of your fund or church that influences your ministry to children in need.  Dream BIG and remember that our God is bigger than any need and that HE is able to do so much more than we can ask or imagine. Let's be encouraged by what Patrick has shared with us and be challenged to greater heights for God's glory!

 - Rich Metcalfe, Lifesong for Orphans

Liberia Update

Please enjoy this update for Lifesong Liberia:

• We are thanking the Lord for his provisions!  The construction on the new school at Marshall is going very smoothly and will be completed in time!

• Christmas was celebrated this year with a chicken dinner at both schools, a movie, dancing and singing, and gifts of new bags, clothes, slippers, a blanket, and candies.

All of the wells in the community is now dried including our old well but this new well which was provided by Lifesong and drilled about 90 feet below is flowing with fresh water.”

Emmanuel Jones

• The church at Marshall that was born out of the result of last year’s Vacation Bible Camp is growing rapidly and making a big impact.  We now have 97 children and 81 adults that attend regularly

• Please pray for God’s protection, peace in Liberia as it approaches elections, good health for the children, and strength and wisdom for the staff

Thank you for your continued prayer and support as we strive to bring joy and purpose to children in Liberia.

Need Options? We've Got 2.

For you conference lovers out there, we have some upcoming conferences in the next few months.

in Illinois (that central state we Lifesongers call home):

Connecting Hearts

with the Forgotten

Conference

hosted by Bloomington-Normal area churches

February 19th

at East White Oak Church in Carlock

For more information click here.

and in Colorado:

Empowered to Connect

Conference

sponsored by Show Hope

April 8-9th

at Bear Valley Church in Denver

For more info on this event click here or to read comments from the last ETC conference click here.