Answered Prayer

I was doing a study this morning as part of facilitator training for our church’s women’s ministry called Friend 2 Friend.  We’re going through a book called “Growing in Christ” by the Navpress. I’ll be willing to confess that I wasn’t all that thrilled to be asked to go through it.  I mean, I’ve been a Christian since I was 19 (wow, is it really almost 30 years). This is pretty basic stuff, I thought. I was reminded that even the most basic stuff is what we need sometimes.

We’re still anxiously awaiting news from Haiti. We know that four or five dossiers from our orphanage have received presidential dispensation in the last two weeks.  We still do not know which dossiers. Why? Because as soon as this news was received, Haiti began to erupt in political violence. A prominent police officer was killed prompting riots throughout Port au Prince. In addition, seven kidnappings took place. A group of 50 ex-military men stormed parliament demanding back pay. A prominent governmental official was accused of killing a store owner. The list just goes on and on…..

As I went through this study this morning, I was reminded again of the battle that is taking place in the spiritual realm in Haiti.  There is active opposition to children coming home both spiritually and in the natural world. As much as I have written about this spiritual battle, you would think that I would have been girded and praying and engaging in that battle. Instead, I heard these were signed and have been fretting and pestering the director of the orphanage trying to get any information at all, to no avail.

Lessons from today:

1. Don’t stop asking in Jesus’s name

John 16:24 Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”

2. Ask according to His will – I John 5:14-15

3. Abide in Jesus, trusting in Him, reading and applying His words. – John 15:7

4. God’s answers to my prayers will be great and mighty, beyond what I ask – Jeremiah 33:3 and Ephesians 3:20

5. The wrong reaction to this uncertainty is for me to become anxious; the right reaction is to keep asking God with thanksgiving. – Philippians 4:7

6. When I do, He will give me peace and guard my heart and mind. Philippians 4:7

I’m thanking God today for the reminder.

Prayer Requests for the adoption this week:

• Those with dispensation will be told this week.
• Dispensations will be published in Le Moniteur even this week.
• Files will exit IBESR by Friday next week.

Hope

One of my favorite daily devotionals is Jesus Calling written by Sarah Young. Every day that I remember to open it (I wish it were every day), it seems as if the daily entry had been written directly for me. Today’s (March 26) entry begins with three small words that I have come to know so well over the last year, “Waiting on Me…”

Would that we would all learn how to patiently wait on Him.

In yesterday’s blog, I posted the verses from Isaiah 40:30-31. But there are some other great verses about learning to wait on Him. Like this one from Lamentations 3:24-26, “I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

As I looked for more verses today on waiting, I was blessed when I looked again at Isaiah 40.  Starting at verse 21:

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

He (our God) sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and wear, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:21-31 NIV)

What a great picture of who it is I am waiting on!  Our God calls out the stars by name every night and because of His great power and mighty strength each one of them lights the sky!  How can I say that my cause (or in my case my dossier in Haiti) is disregarded by God?

For all my friends who are in the process of adopting from any country, who are growing weary and weak as the process drags on, I say this:

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Our God sits enthroned above the circle of the earth and our ways are not hidden from Him! He will not grow tired or weary and He will renew our strength. Lift up your heads and sing His praise!

A Good Friend Comes to Stay

We’re blessed to have one of my close friends and her daughter join us here at OLTCH. TJ and Anna came this afternoon, just in time for a tour and then dinner. I have been anxious to share this place with her because of her love for fatherless children.

After dinner, I asked her what her impressions of this place were so far. She responded, I’m overwhelmed.

It’s a great thing to be able to share a place that has stolen your heart…. and OLTCH stole mine the minute I walked through the gate.

I invite you to learn more about their ministry here. Like them on Facebook at OLTCH for a ton of pictures. You can also visit their website to catch their vision for the new property called “Isaiah’s Grove”, 13 acres of property right on the beach. We are blessed to have the aid of Samaritan’s Purse and EFCA and numerous donors to build a wall, grade a road and the land and build a well.

Our hope is that Isaiah’s Grove will be a light to Leogane and the surrounding area.

Please add the orphanage to your prayer list. There is always a lot of opposition in Haiti and we need to raise up the canopy of prayer of this place and the new property.

Thank you to all of you who have faithfully praying for us.

It’s a Great Day at OLTCH

Multiple games of foursquare and PIG, coloring, and chatting.  What a great day!

God brought four gentlemen from Arkansas to the door wanting to learn about what is being done here. They left impressed. Thanks to Mandi and Shawn for telling them about OLTCH.

Having a wonderful time!! The kids are happy and it is great to see them.

While we aren’t bringing them home on this trip, Brian and I are so grateful for the time to spend with our boys.  Thank you for praying us through!

And thank you to those of you who have donated towards the battery pack. As of noon today, we were 1/3 of the way there!

 

Here’s a Challenge for You!

As you may or may not know, the orphanage operates on generator and battery backup power.  There is no electricity here other than what they provide.  We were blessed to be able to raise enough money last fall to purchase a hefty generator.  Here’s a picture of it:

This generator does a great job of providing power, but costs about $100/day for the diesel to run 24/7. This is the reason why we have a bank of batteries operating during the day.  Here’s a picture of them:

Unfortunately, the four banks of four batteries is not really enough to supply power during the day for the orphanage’s needs. That means the generator is running on diesel more often.  One more bank of 4 batteries would mean that the generator would be able to be run only at night.  This will reduce the amount of funds spent on the diesel.

The cost of another bank of batteries is $600.  How fast do you think we could raise that?  The challenge is yours.  Please visit http://www.oltch.org and click on the donate link to paypal, please notate the donation for the battery bank.  I’m donating, I hope you will too! Even $5 would make a huge difference!

Thanks everyone!

I Feel Great and a Thank You

For those of you are closely following my blog, you know that I was hospitalized last weekend through last Tuesday.

I just wanted to say, “Thank You” for faithfully praying that my health would be of no concern on this trip. I am feeling great.  I still wouldn’t say I am 100%, but probably 95%.

The meeting at the embassy went well, even though I didn’t have everything they wanted. Praise God, I have been able to gather it all and by tomorrow afternoon, I will have a clear process in place for all other families adopting privately from our orphanage and our I600 will be filed.

The boys are great. it has been wonderful to see them. Their English is so much better!

Keep praying. God is still on the throne and we know he hears.

Remember I Said, “Not My Will, But Only Yours, Lord”

Our lawyer essentially said tonight there was no way we’d be taking our boys home on Sunday.

We do not know anything beyond that, but nevertheless I am here, we’re making some important contacts and I will be eagerly waiting for God’s will.

Please keep praying. This is God’s fight to win, not ours, but we can keep praying.

Daniel 10:1-19 is a great picture of continuing to pray when prayers are not answered in time. Often we do not understand why there are not immediate answers to our prayers. This may be why:

Daniel 10

Daniel’s Vision of a Man

¹ In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war.^[a] The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.

² At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. ³ I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, ⁵ I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

⁷ I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. ⁹ Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

¹⁰ A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

¹² Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³ But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”

¹⁵ While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. ¹⁶Then one who looked like a man^[b] touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. ¹⁷ How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”

¹⁸ Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. ¹⁹ “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.”

When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”

While I’m waiting, I’m going to be reading some books to pass the time.

• A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God
• Norman Grubb, Rees Howell Intercessor
• John Eldredge, Epic: The Story God is Telling

Your continued prayers for yesterday’s list is coveted, especially for my youngest son in the US.

So, I’m Here

The hotel is nice and I have a meeting with the lawyer in about an hour.  I’ve been asked by our government friend to push the lawyer into moving more quickly.  So, if you know me at all, you know I’ll be pushing.

We’ve had a bit of a hiccup unfortunately in the embassy processes.  Somehow, I managed to only email one of the birth certificates for translation into English.  In addition, the hotel’s business center is 1998 style.  So printing is a big issue.  I’ll try again tonight, but the computer I was working on didn’t have acrobat reader on it and it wasn’t downloading easy.  Oh for a travel printer right about now…. It looks like filing the I600 might have to wait until next Monday or maybe on Thursday when Brian comes down.  Who knows.  We’ll see what happens at the appointment tomorrow morning ’cause I’m still going.  At least I can get some questions answered.

On the upside, we are working on a better communication method between our lawyer and the adopting families.  I’ll post more on that in the OLTCH Adopting Families private group. So if you’re one of them, be looking for a post soon.

The Battle

I’ve been writing a lot about the battle these past few weeks.  I must admit it is getting pretty fierce. Yet another attack yesterday on a personal level. But I won’t be stopped. I will continue to follow God’s leading.

It’s easy for us here in the states to forget about this battle.  Attacks here are rare because we tend to live our lives in such a way as to nullify the need for them. There’s no need to bring a full-on attack to someone who doesn’t believe there is a battle. There’s no need to bring a full-on attack when we succumb to an arrow now and then. Satan sends a little arrow of hate in our direction and we do the rest of the work for him by attacking ourselves, believing the worst about others intentions, and hiding in a corner to lick our wounds.

But there is a full-blown war going on in every part of the world, even in our very homes.

The good news is that we are not alone in this battle.  We have a warrior king who is sending warriors to fight it.  Like this guy and the host of others behind and beside him:

 ¹² “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”

¹³ “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” ¹⁴ Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

¹⁷ And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. – 2 Kings 6:12-17

When I am tempted to fear the battle, I will stop and pray and look to my right and my left with my spiritual eyes and nod at those who fight with me, strap on the armor of God and stand.

In the battle today, please pray for:

1. The orphanage, the children and the missionaries who serve there – Pray for protection, for wisdom, for strength.

2. Haiti Health Ministries – an EFCA-supported clinic in Haiti. They are in a pitched battle – pray for protection, for favor with the government and that God will supply a lawyer to help them.

3. Please pray for me personally – that as I leave tomorrow, that I will listen to God’s voice alone, that I will depend upon Him solely for my strength, that I choose to gird myself in His armor and that I seek His will and not my own.

A Memory of What I Am Called To Be

My husband and I are leading a growth group at our church and we are studying John Eldredge’s amazing book, The Sacred Romance. This is not a book on marriage as it’s title suggests, instead it is a book on “drawing closer to the heart of God”. It’s a book about discovering who and what you were made for. And the sacred romance is about the love God has for you.

We’re studying the second chapter and one of the assignments in the workbook is to write about one of your best memories from childhood, so I decided to share it with all of you.

Every summer at least from first grade on, my parents made the sacrifice of sending both my sister and I away to summer camp for a week with the Camp Fire Girls. By sacrifice, I mean it couldn’t have been cheap. We went to Camp Sealth on Vashon Island in the middle of Puget Sound and we had to ride a boat to get there. This is the place where I first remember hearing a call to a grand adventure.

I remember standing on the dock with suitcase and sleeping bag nearby. The air was salty and warm and the sun was out. I’d give Mom and Dad a hug and board the ship for the 45 min ride to the camp. The first time I went, I probably cried the whole way, but every year thereafter, it was like I was sailing off on my own adventure. As we docked at the camp and hefted our stuff to our cabins, the smell of Douglas fir and the crunch of the needles under foot accompanied us. My first cabin was on Blueberry Hill.

Camp Sealth was a magical place. Each year, I learned a different adventuring skill. One year it was how to ride horses, another was a week-long canoe trip, and another where I learned archery. I loved being under the canopy of trees where sunlight would reach down in shafts to kiss the ground, where the carpet I walked on was fir needles and where at night we sang songs about adventures we would have.

The roundhouse was our dining hall and it was the first place I learned that there are fairies on the edge of the table, so don’t squish them with your elbows. That Mr. Pepper was married to Mrs. Salt and so we always passed them together. I remember it’s warm, varnished cedar interior.

After dinner we would gather near the shore for campfire. One of my favorite songs was “Barges” and I sang it over and over again in my childhood, always at night and always with a longing for the lapping of waves on my barge as I went sailing along.

Barges, I would like to go with you, I would like to sail the ocean blue. Barges, are there treasures in your hold, Do you fight with pirates, brave and bold?

The Ship – The name was a promise!

Camp Sealth – View from the water

One of the Blueberry Hill cabins – nestled up under the trees.

The Roundhouse

The Campfire Setting

Where were you when you first remember hearing a call to a grand adventure?

P.S. – Many thanks to my parents for all the wonderful memories!! I love you!