Miracle Child

William from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

Six year-old William once asked his mother, “Why do other children walk on the bottoms of their feet? Why am I like this? What did you do to me?” When she told him that it was God who did it, not her, William said, “Then please tell God to fix me.”

William was born with clubfoot, affecting both of his feet.  If William had been born in America this common deformity would have been easily fixed when he was still a baby.  But in Zambia it’s a different story.  In Zambia, where the resources are few and the funds are even fewer, healing is only a distant dream. 

Last February Lifesong Zambia coordinator, Dru Smith wrote about William in her newsletter.  When Wendy in Illinois heard his story she was prompted to act.  After a thorough investigation she discovered CURE Clubfoot International, which had a clinic in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia!  In April William was fitted for casts (first in a series of 3) and then had corrective surgery on his right foot in June and his left foot in September (the video was taken in September just before his second surgery).

God used His people to “fix” William.  Today William can walk!  Soon he will be strong enough to return to school, play with the other children, and be able to do many of the simple tasks we take for granted!

Through this journey the Lifesong staff has been able to help not only William, but his family as well.  William’s brother, Bright, and cousin, Gift, have both been enrolled at Lifesong school.  In addition his father, Victor, who was unemployeed now works in the Lifesong gardens!  We’re so thankful our God is the master at doing “abundantly and immeasurably more” than we even think to ask!

Looking Beyond Ourselves

It's so common around here to see miracles happen every day right before our very eyes. Just today, a family called to tell us that they did not need the interest-free loan we offered them... since last week when we informed them, God provided for their entire $17,000 deficit! WOW!

As I thought about this family, I realized that it's so easy to overlook the magnificent miracles God is doing all around us each and every day...

Then God brought to mind two miracles I was able to view from the front-row seat just before Christmas. Two families from Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, KY that are in the process of adopting - one from Korea and one from the US – recently applied for financial assistance. Both of these families are dedicated to raising their children to know, love, and serve Christ. As we reviewed these applications, we were so impressed by their character and their commitment to the Lord. However, there were no funds available to help either of these families at the time.

Just a couple days after we informed both of these families of the situation, we were contacted by our good friends at Tapestry (Irving Bible Church). They were excited to share that God had blessed them through generous year-end donations from the Irving Bible Church congregation to the Tapestry Adoption Fund.  They continued to share their heart, and as I listened I was struck by the unique way that they view the financial resources that have been entrusted to them. You see, they do not want to let money sit idle in the Tapestry Adoption Fund while children and families wait.  The Tapestry Adoption Fund is focused on helping families at Irving Bible Church and in their local community meet the financial challenge of adoption.  But they know very well that the money that has been given is in fact God’s money, and they want to see it put to use wherever the needs may be.  Their exact words were “we believe that our goal should be to run out of money in our fund so that we can tell the stories of what God has done and allow even more people to give and be a part of what He is doing.” 

The next words that spilled from their mouths amazed me.  They explained that they want to help other qualified families in need, no matter where they live or what church they attend.  They want to be part of what God is doing outside the walls of their church.  They want to be part of the stories God is writing with the lives of His people across the country as they say “YES!” to what God is calling them to. You're starting to see the pieces come together, right?

Yes, Tapestry stepped outside themselves, outside their walls, to fund two families in need… two families that don't even live in the same state.  Now you can see why 'looking beyond yourselves' is so fitting for this story. 

Just this past year, as we saw more and more churches being led to help families in need regardless of where they attended church, we created the Outside the Walls Network. The network is a way for churches to band together and reach out to serve children and families through adoption financial assistance.  To learn more about the Outside the Walls Network and how your church can join with other churches to help families meet the financial challenge of adoption and welcome their children home, click here.

Family Friday: the Olsons

Today it's time for...

And this week we're featuring the Olsons!  Take a look at that cutie!  Below is a letter they sent to us.  I love to hear "God stories" like this and feel so blessed to work in a place where it's not an uncommon occurance!

There are no words to thank you enough for helping bring our family together. We believe that God has called us to adoption, however we have had to take a step of faith to trust God with the finances. You are an answer to prayer.

We sent over 400 letters to friends and family asking for help with the finances. We had three responses totaling about $250. We were discouraged. We tried a book sale where we collected over 1500 books from people who wanted to help with donations. We made about $1000 selling those donated books, but that was not as much as we had hoped. We were stuck. We applied at Lifesong for Orphans and felt so blessed to receive a matching grant! We could not believe it, but when we sent a letter about the matching grant, we had over $8,000 come in! Isn't that amazing?! We were blown away.  40% of our adoption costs were raised! We are so grateful!

We are first-time parents and loving it. We started the Ethiopia adoption process in the summer of 2008 through Children's Hope International. We had many disappointments along the way, but are so thrilled to say that we are home with our son! The process for Ethiopia calls for two trips, but we decided to stay the entire time! So we were in Ethiopia for six weeks. We learned about the culture and got some key time with our son.

His name is Zain Sato Olson. Zain is a form of John meaning "Beloved" and "God's Gracious Gift." Sato is his given Ethiopian name meaning "life" or "lush" though there is no literal translation. He was born on May 6, 2010 and became our son on Nov 25, 2010. He is amazing! He already can crawl and pull himself up on things. We had to baby-proof as soon as we got home!!! He babbles all the time and always wants to be involved in the conversation. He has two teeth and seems to be getting more. He is super healthy and growing like crazy!

Again, thank you so much for all you have done for us. We hope that you got a glimpse of the Kingdom impact you have made. God's heart is for adoption and we know that you have reflected this part of His character with your generosity.

Much love,
Erik, Bet, and Zain Olson
http://wechoseyou.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:3-8 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—  to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.

Genesis 22:13-14  Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

Thank you, Olsons!  The Lifesong team has counted it a joy to work with you and we are honored to be a part of your story!

Church Adoption Funds!

As the Church becomes obedient to God’s commands concerning the fatherless, the community will see Jesus Christ is alive and working in the lives of His people to care for those children who can’t care for themselves. 

 

So Much Bigger Than Us from Tapestry on Vimeo.

Remembering

Hello all!

I hope this eve of Christmas Eve finds you all well and not too stressed out over the busyness that inevitably comes with this time of year.  Oh how easy it is to let it all cloud out the true meaning of the season, isn't it?  Boy, am I battling that today...  I have gifts to get, make, and wrap... things to pack... a house to clean...  and Christmas get togethers on the next 3 days.  Goodness!

I have an idea.  Will you join me in a prayer?  A prayer to keep these next few days holy and intentional instead of rushed and chaotic?  Let's pray together:

Lord, slow me down today.  Remind me of the wonderful mystery of this season and the glory of the unbelievable sacrifice You made in coming to this earth... to live, suffer, and die for me.  Wow.  Sometimes I forget, Lord.  I forget how You gave soo much.  I forget how your journey to adopt me involved more pain than I can fathom.  Remind me, Lord.  Remind me today and help me to continue to remember in the midst of all that life may bring.  I thank You.  I praise You.  And, oh how I love You!

Amen."

On that note.  We're going to be skipping Tasty Thursday Treats today.  This is due to 1) my attempt at slowing down (refer to previous 2 paragraphs) and 2) apparently that flu bug that's flying around landed on my computer, so it's visiting the laptop doctor, hopefully to return sometime this evening. 

One more thought.  As we all strive to make this season count, can I just remind you again of a great opportunity to give.  We've been promoting our Gifts of Purpose catalog a lot this year, and I know some of you have given... and given big.  Thank you!  But I also know that as the Christmas season comes to an end, sometimes our giving ends with it.  Let's not let that happen this year.  And I don't care if you chose to give towards a Gift of Purpose in the new year, or somewhere else completely... that's between you and your Father.  But please... let's continue to live purposefully starting from this Christmas until the next.

Next Thursday will be another TTT as usual, and we just might have some sort of wonderfully taste bud tantalizing treat to help bring in the new year... so stay tuned!