Rachel, Sharpay and a Trooper

What do EVOO, a musical and the Force have in common?

They all have the same parents on Halloween night!

Meet Rachel Ray from the Food Network..

Sharpay from the High School Musical...

and a Clone Trooper from Star Wars

Motley Crew

Remember "J"?

In a previous post I told a story of a scared little boy on his way to a bright future. I just got an emailed photo of this same sweet babe and I thought those of you who aren't near him might like to see how he is thriving in his new environment. I cropped the photo for his protection. Check out those smiling eyes!

Look out world, here comes "J"!!

Pray for him as he continues to transition into his new life.

Forgotten No More

Each morning during the week I get an email from Proverbs 31 Women's Ministry. It never fails..it is right on time and usually strikes a familiar chord. This morning was no exception. The message below is the very beat of my heart. I have never been to Ecuador, but the message is the same around the globe.

October 25, 2007

Forgotten No More
By Rachel Olsen

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure…” Hebrews 6:19(NIV)

Devotion:
I was having lunch at a quaint outdoor café all by myself. Actually, I was trying to spend a little time with God so I’d brought along a small devotional book called Daily Prayer from the New International Version. Flipping through its pages, my fingers stopped suddenly when I saw the entry’s title: “Ecuador’s Forgotten Ones.” My eyes ran eagerly across the words on the page:

“You see them on the well-worn, two-foot wide median that divides the city’s busiest street. Vehicles zip past at alarming speeds while preschoolers play tag, oblivious to the danger. But when the traffic halts, these little ones press their dirty faces against closed car windows, begging for pennies. At night older children join them and spit gasoline into the air, lit by matches into flaming, dragon-like plumes, hoping for a coin from a passing motorist. These are Ecuador’s forgotten ones: slum-dwelling children with no hope for a future.”

Tears filled my eyes. I couldn’t shake the thought of the damage that gasoline was doing to their young bodies and minds. But I knew even more damaging was the feeling of having no hope. No help, no anchor, and no future. I silently pleaded with God to send help and hope to these fire-breathing forgotten ones. For I know God has not forgotten them. He sees them. He is their help, their anchor and their hope. And we are His mouthpiece and hands.

My mind drifted to the reason my fingers had stopped on this page in the first place: Mauricio. My husband and I sponsor a young Ecuadorian boy through Compassion International. The Compassion organization had recently taken me to Ecuador to see the children impacted by poverty, and to visit “my” Mauricio. The people I met there – adults and children alike – were so very precious.

The country’s economic structure has been suffering for awhile. A few years ago their government abruptly switched their money system to the US dollar. Overnight everyone’s bank accounts were frozen. Many people were not able to get to any of their money for many months … others never got their money back at all as their banks folded. Even those who were too poor to have bank accounts suffered. I was told that overnight the cost of basic goods including food went up by as much as 300%.

Multiple government leaders have taken office, made drastic or selfish changes, and then defected the country – leaving the Ecuadorian people forgotten. But God has not forgotten them, and He doesn’t want us to forget them either. Someone has to pray for them, someone has to help them, and someone has to hand them the anchor of hope. Someone has to declare to them the words of the author of Hebrews: “We are confident that you are meant for better things, things that come with salvation” (6:9, NLT).

God has not forgotten the Ecuadorian people and He has not forgotten you either. Are you in need of an eternal anchor yourself today? Is your soul adrift in the traffic of life? If so, click here to meet your Hope.

Are you able to be God’s hands of hope to Ecuador’s forgotten ones? If your heart is quickened to help a child from Ecuador or elsewhere, click here to find out how from Compassion International. Hebrews 6:10 assures us, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them” (NIV). Perhaps you can demonstrate to one child that he is forgotten no more.

Dear Lord, my heart aches for your people facing poverty, injustice, and infirmity in this world. Help them, Lord. Be their anchor and hope. And help me as Your servant to know when and how to help them. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Sponsor a child through Compassion International

To read Rachel’s description of her August trip to Ecuador, visit her blog “My Life in Chapter and Verse.”

Application Steps:
Pray for the children of Ecuador today. Pray for their salvation, their health, their economy, and their leaders. Pray for God to send workers and support to help them. Consider how you can get involved.

Reflections:
Imagine what daily life feels like for one of these children.

Read Matthew 25:34-40 and reflect.

Power Verses:
Matthew 25:34-40, “Then the King will say to those on the right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, 'I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'” (NLT)

Proverbs 31 Ministries
616-G, Matthews-Mint Hill Road
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org

"The Fair is a Veritable Smorgasbord"

I can never go to a fair or carnival that I don't hear Templeton, the rat in Charlotte's Web, singing the song from the title of this post. I can just see him swirling and gorging himself on all of the popcorn and candy apples amidst all of the kaleidoscope of colors. You remember it, don't you? This weekend was no exception when our family attended the NC State Fair. It has been years since we have been. Jon and I went every year while I was in college in Raleigh. We always got a kick out of going and we have never taken our children until this year.

Jon's cousin, Heather and her husband, Dale met us there for a day of fun and visiting with family. We had a blast! It was great to see them and spend time with Dick Van Dyke and the kids (did I mention this was my name for my dear husband? He is always bringing stuff home for the children and they run to him like little Ricky or he is taking them to some type of carnival or arcade. I just sing in my head "doot, dadoota doota doota, da doota, da doota... No wonder they think he hung the moon)

First things, first. If you are northern, be prepared, the first sound you will hear while walking toward the fair is an extremely loud engine type sound. Do not be alarmed, welcome to NC. It is the sound of the tractor pull and if you don't want to pay to see it from the arena, you can always squeeze between two vendors and peek out over the fence from the top of the utility box. At least that it what I heard...

Dick Van Dyke and his sweet cousin Heather. They are a pair!

Let it not be said that I am a weenie. Check out who is in the back row..

Yes, I love my kids enough to let them ride this ride, but not without a proper escort. Heather and I weren't sure how we got so far in the air. I was just thankful that blasted ride did not flip over! Sheesh!

Uncle Dale..such a good sport. He rode the swings, took the kids to see two headed animals and even had a doozie of a time in the fun house. *Hut-hem* Dale, I won't tell them how you got lost in the glass house. I was feeling a bit clausterphobic just watching them navigate that maze. The kids think Dale and Heather are great..they are just grown up kids and a lot of fun!

You may have trouble trying to decide who was having more fun...

Jon, Dale and all of the children rode the bumper cars. I believe it was Wilson's first time, and he got the hang of it rather quickly.

Bumper Cars is just another form of therapy, some say. I wasn't sure until I saw this photo:

Okay, how many of you know Jon? Have you ever seen this much expression on his face? I LOVE IT! I just asked him why he was so intent and his answer, "I had just told Wilson I was coming to get him". There you have it. Now we know.

Where else can you see a tractor pull, buy honey fresh from the hive, see a 700 pound pumpkin and see every winner from every 4-h contest in the state all in one place? I like calling NC home.
Heather and Dale..(and Kim and Chuck) we had a blast. Lets do it again next year. Ya hear?

Legals!

We got an email from our worker (Jill, she is wonderful!) with Children's Home Society and Family Services in Minnesota stating that our LEGALS are here. Yahoooooo! This is an important step in the process that allows Stephen to be ready to exit Korea and enter the US. It is a compilation of papers that basically declare him officially an orphan in the eyes of his country. Sad, but a harsh reality. Now, three things have to happen in order for us to get that famous Travel Call, but they can happen all at the same time now that legals are here to get that ball rolling. Stephen has to have a visa physical (c0uld have already happened), we have to receive I-600 approval (Customs and Immigration) and he must also have an Emigration Permit (EP) from Korea. These can happen very quickly and then they set the ball rolling for the Immigration Visa to be issued at the embassy for him to come to the USA. That is then faxed to our agency and hopefully they will call us ASAP to let us know we are free to buy tickets to Seoul and bring home our boy. So, depending upon how quickly everyone is moving..we should be hearing some good news soon!!

Here is a bit of our timeline for those of you who are wondering (okay, my mom is probably the only one who really reads this)

February 8, 2004 : God spoke to my heart about adoption.

February 21, 2004: Stephen was born

March 20, 2004: Calling confirmed by God after much prayer and burden. Isaiah 43:5-6

2004-2007 Three years of much prayer and longing and saying "When God? When?"

February 11, 2007: Cried all day for no apparent reason and prayed about this longing and asked God to take it away (for the 900th time). He, in turn, showed me the face of an angel on Rainbow Kids ( I never got on the computer..his face just appeared as I prayed) who had been waiting for almost three years...hmmmm.. I had seen him many times. He was much older than I expected he would be, but after repeatedly popping in my mind throughout this day, I knew God was confirming in my head what I already knew in my heart. (There is a much longer version, a very bizarre one, as to how I originally noticed him). Later that day, I got online and read a little about him and inquired. Peg with CHSFS was very helpful and sent medical records and info from Korea. He was immediately taken off RBK while we reviewed his information, and we did not even have our study done!

March 20, 2007 (three years to the day) we confirmed our intentions to make this sweet Korean boy our son. This was also the day he was awarded a $5,000 grant from Brittany's Hope Foundation. Just one more affirmation for us.

March - May 2007 Homestudy process

May-July 2007 Insurance delay

August 31, 2007 returned referral information to Korea.

He is ours!

October 11, 2007 Got legals.

Stay tuned.........

Plans to give you a hope and a future.....

I have been amazed over and over at how God truly weaves our lives together through seemingly non-significant events and out of nowhere shows up on the scene just to prove that it was all for a divine purpose. I am just one who notices details, so in turn, I almost always note the way in which His fingerprints blanket the path that lead to his plan. I am a bit crazy, I'll admit that, but nonetheless, He does love to display His splendor! This week has been and continues to be just one of those goose pimply weeks...

If you are not already aware, I am an adoption counselor for a christian agency here in NC. I work with moms who are considering placing their unborn children for adoption. The road that led me to this job is an amazing story in itself, and that is for another day. I was born for this...I love my job. It is a new adventure and I get to minister to hurting people all the time and get this, they find me. How cool is that?

These past few weeks I have been working with several moms. One, an escort right here in town who has been married,robbed and pregnant several times. She grew up in the foster care system and married an abusive man at 16 just to emancipate herself..out of shear desperation. Another, a mom of four, soon to be six (twins) who was living in a battered women's shelter hiding from the father of two of her children. She has recently been evicted from her small trailer and totalled her only source of transportation. We will call her "L", because she is the mom I would love for you pray for as I am about to share some of her story. I share this because sometimes we see the world of adoption as so neat and warm and fuzzy, but the harsh reality is that it mostly starts with pain and loss. "L" contacted me initially because she wanted to place the babies she was carrying. She was raising four children alone already and was staying with her dad in a tiny (I only saw one bedroom) house in a VERY impoverished crime laden area of town. As time progressed, she began to inquire about placing one of her older children, "J". "J" is 3.5 years old and the only child from a particular father who has more than ten children already. For some reason "L" did not think she was being a very good parent to "J" and she admitted she was afraid she might hurt him. We began to discuss plans for her to place him later this week.

She contacted me while I happened to be in her town (1hour away) for an appointment and she asked could I take him within the hour. Okay, I am no dummy, but there is not exactly a text book for "How to remove a child from his mother when he is old enough to know what is going on". I admit, I almost freaked. I prayed as quickly as I was speaking to her. Within the hour "L" and little "J" were in the car and we were signing her rights away as his mother. She had told him a little about what was going on (can you imagine?) and allowed his siblings to tell him goodbye. My heart was breaking for her and for this little guy. The whole time I was thinking, this is exactly what our little Stephen will feel in a few weeks when strange white people come and smile at him and give him things and then take him away from everything he has ever known. Just like in the book of Romans, what the enemy meant for evil, God will turn it around for good..that's the good news.

I must mention that my middle daughter was with me during this whole adventure. I am not sure she will ever be the same. She kept trying to make little "J" smile, but the look of terror on his face was not leaving for some time. I noticed she kept checking out "L", almost like she wanted to really understand her. In total, we were there three hours and I don't remember my nine year old girl uttering a word..

We fed mom and child and drove her home. She got out of the car and turned on her heel. Looked at the babe and simply stated "Remember what we talked about? You are going with her now". I hugged her and told her everything would be just fine (would it?) and she went into the house.

Over the next several hours, we stopped by our home to drop off Landon. "J" began to slowly talk and enjoyed sifting through some of Stephen's things to wear (perfect fit. coincidence?nope!) He was quite proud of brand new Spider Man underwear and pj's. Wilson was a complete doll face with him. He was so tender and tried to give him every toy in the house. This is one of his most endearing qualities...such a tender hearted little man. Proof that he will be an excellent big brother. Soon, we were on the road again to transport little "J" to my dear friend who is a foster parent for the agency. Austyn came along for the ride this time.

For most of the two hour ride, I prayed for little "J". I prayed for his life, his future. I spoke the words from Jeremiah over him as he slept.."J-, God has big plans for you. He plans to make your life prosperous. He promises to give you a hope and a future. All of this is not intended to bring you harm, it is so that you can go on to be the man that God called you to be."

We reached our final meeting point and transferred the sleeping prince to his chariot.

He was on his way to a bright future..it was just really dark right then.

As we pulled onto the highway, Austyn, who had awakened from the transfer, burst into tears.

Through her sobs she cried "Mom, it isn't fair. He doesn't know what is happening to him. He may never see his mom again..". She gets it, she totally gets it and it broke her heart.

Wonder how many of us skip through life, worrying about what car to drive, how much money to put into an IRA and what we will wear to so-n-so's wedding, and yet never even pray for the millions of little "J"s.

It has been four days since these events unfolded and I just got off the phone with my "boo"

("J"). He exclaimed "I dot new shoes and some new sots, too". He is settling in quite nicely and seems genuinely content. He has made some new friends and quite an impression on those around him. There are several folks that would take him in heart beat. He has a family already..a brand new mom and a brand new dad that are delighted and very eager to come take him home. I keep having visions of him running through the front door some years from now saying.."Mom! I got an A on my science test!!"....

Yes, He knows the plans he has for you "J", plans not to harm you, but to give you a hope and a future.

Sunday Grace

Saturday night Jon and I decided it was time for a little date with mommy/daddy night. My handsome son asked me to take him out and the princesses left with the king. It was great fun for me as I don't get to spend much time with Wilson anymore, just the two of us. He chose to dine at his favorite restaurant (Not McDonald's, phew!) and had a blast playing songs on the jukebox. We headed for the dreaded mall to make one stop for church shoes and he decided he wanted to play with puppies at the pet store (that's my boy!). We spent 30 minutes playing with the sweetest Lhasa apso (sp?) that looked exactly like a dust mop and a lot like Chaya when she was a pup. It was hard for both of us to let him go back, but that $650 price tag made it easier (you can breathe now, mom. I know you were just having a fit over the germs in that store and the thought of playing with a pet store puppy! LOL). Then we headed to Chuck E Cheese (ugh) for just a few games (not before I swung thru Starbucks) and our date concluded with a trip to Walmart to pick out a board game to be played when we returned home.

When we arrived home the girls and the king were snoozing in the castle. They were exhausted from their date as well. They had been to dinner, played games, too and then rented a movie and piled on the couch to watch it together. It must have been a slow one, because they were all out cold and it was only 9pm. Needless to say, Wil and I played our new game all alone. He says his best moment was just playing with that little dog...and it was free (as long as you don't fall in love). Who knew?

Precious.

Sunday morning we woke up late and decided to take advantage of the day, since we had already missed the early service at church.

We grabbed a picnic lunch and headed to one of the parks we have been wanting to visit. This one had a disc golf course and we thought that would be a neat adventure. I scrambled to find all of the frisbees that were collecting in the garage and came up with two. Nothing like rotating turns on a disc golf course. The kids really liked it and were quite skilled at zinging that frisbee with ease.

This was an easy one. At least #9 showed a straight shot, most of the others were much tougher. I guess like anything else there are people out there who take this very seriously.

First time kite flyer. This was the best Dollar General Dragon kite I have ever seen. It was perfect and we had such a blast flying it and taking turns crashing it to the ground. The trees were tricky, too :-) Is it sad that we have lived near the beach for over a year and this is the first kite my kids have flown? Life just gets away from you, doesn't it?