We are SO excited that our plane tickets are booked! Three weeks from tomorrow, Brian and I will be boarding a plane to BRING OUR GIRLS HOME!!!!!! Looking back, it's hard to believe it was just 7 months ago that we first saw their sweet faces. God has accomplished AMAZING things and we are blown away that our precious little girls will soon be home! I lay awake at night thinking of their sweet little faces and what they might be doing. I am so thrilled that in just a few short days, I will get to hold them in my arms and never have to leave them again. To tell them how much our family loves them and to watch the delight in their eyes (or hold them close if they are afraid) as they experience so many "firsts" in this new world.
I am writing today to ask for some specific prayers. As mentioned in a previous post, the girls VISA appt is Aug 5. Please pray that they are granted VISA's (it is extremely rare but kids have been denied before) and that they would be returned to our attorney quickly so they are ready for us to pick up once we arrive. Once we are there, we will start the Exit Letter process. We will report to the DGM (Director General of Migration) with our attorney and four little girls and request that he sign a letter allowing our girls to exit. This letter sometimes takes him days, sometimes weeks. We would ask for your prayers that it would be days. Ideally, that it would be ready before the 26th of Aug when we booked our tickets to return. If we don't have the letter that day, Brian will more than likely still have to return (because of some work trips he has scheduled) and I will stay there with the girls (5 tickets changed + more nights at the guest house = lots more money). We also would love your prayers for these last funds... We thought we had most of our travel money saved but when we had to travel to file our paper work, we depleted most of it. The tickets we just booked (Brian and I round trip, 4 girls one way) were over $10,000. If we can leave on the 26th, our Guest house total will be over $2,000, then we will still have to pay for food and taxi's for anywhere we go over those couple of weeks...I think I mentioned on a previous post, but the cost of food and travel there is crazy! We know God has brought us this far and that HE WILL PROVIDE for the remainder! We still have quite a few necklaces if you know anyone who might be interested please pass this along, they are shown on the fundraising tab!
We are SO grateful for your continued support and prayers!! I CANNOT wait until you all get to meet them. And YES, we are going to be having one, BIG airport party and you are all invited!
Story of adoptive family and their journey to adopting from Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo
Friday, July 19, 2013
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
VISA APPOINTMENT!!!
I have been waiting and waiting for today. So much so that I honestly have been waking up almost every hour in the middle of the night checking my email. No, I am not proud that I am so impatient but I am missing my four little girls so much it has been so hard to enjoy life without them. For those of you who haven't adopted, it's similar to when you are pregnant and everyone keeps telling you to enjoy your current children and the "easy life as you know it". However, you have prepared and are preparing your heart for your new child/children. Therefore, it is much easier said than done. I would add that it is even more difficult when we know our girls are in an orphanage in an unsafe, third world country. So...here is what the email said:
There were more details but I included what's important! So, that means a) I can start sleeping through the night again-at least until we pick up the girls ;) - things are a little different in the Congo than Ethiopia. Our agency's attorney actually takes our girls to that appointment and we will travel around a week after that to pick up our girls. When we get there, we will then apply for exit letters for the girls from the Congolese government. The DGM (Director General of Migration) issues these letters and it can take up to 2 weeks for them to get the letters prepared. There has been some talk of them not issuing these letters for kids from the region where our girls are from so please pray that is untrue and that things keep moving forward!
Thank you for your continued prayers! We have a lot to do to finish getting our house ready for 4 little girls!!
Your children’s visa interview is scheduled on August 5, 2013 at 9:00am.Dear Hopkins family,The Immigrant Visa Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa has concluded our initial field investigation and is ready to schedule a visa interview for your adopted children....
There were more details but I included what's important! So, that means a) I can start sleeping through the night again-at least until we pick up the girls ;) - things are a little different in the Congo than Ethiopia. Our agency's attorney actually takes our girls to that appointment and we will travel around a week after that to pick up our girls. When we get there, we will then apply for exit letters for the girls from the Congolese government. The DGM (Director General of Migration) issues these letters and it can take up to 2 weeks for them to get the letters prepared. There has been some talk of them not issuing these letters for kids from the region where our girls are from so please pray that is untrue and that things keep moving forward!
Thank you for your continued prayers! We have a lot to do to finish getting our house ready for 4 little girls!!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
POSITIVE INVESTIGATION!!!!!
We got word from our agency yesterday that the investigations in Mbuji Mayi went well and that the families with our agency that filed in-country WERE investigated!!! Praise Jesus!!! Thank you for your prayers!!!!!
The next step is, we will receive an email from the U.S. Embassy in the DR Congo, telling us that the interview with our girls is scheduled. Our agency staff will take our children to the embassy for the interview for their Visas. Once that is completed, the Embassy will issue their Visas and the letter confirming our girls can enter the U.S.
Once the girls Congolese passports contain their U.S. Visas, we will be notified to book our tickets. We will more than likely have a weeks notice...
We could get the first email as soon as this week or it could be several more...it is likely that we will travel about a month after the first email...it's a guess but probably 4-8 weeks at this point until we go get our baby girls!!!!
Obviously, there are still several hurdles to overcome but as I've said before, we know God has perfect timing for all of this. Please continue to pray for our girls and that all of these steps are completed without any issues. Thank you SO much for journeying with us!!!
The next step is, we will receive an email from the U.S. Embassy in the DR Congo, telling us that the interview with our girls is scheduled. Our agency staff will take our children to the embassy for the interview for their Visas. Once that is completed, the Embassy will issue their Visas and the letter confirming our girls can enter the U.S.
Once the girls Congolese passports contain their U.S. Visas, we will be notified to book our tickets. We will more than likely have a weeks notice...
We could get the first email as soon as this week or it could be several more...it is likely that we will travel about a month after the first email...it's a guess but probably 4-8 weeks at this point until we go get our baby girls!!!!
Obviously, there are still several hurdles to overcome but as I've said before, we know God has perfect timing for all of this. Please continue to pray for our girls and that all of these steps are completed without any issues. Thank you SO much for journeying with us!!!
Friday, June 14, 2013
NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE
A few weeks back, I received an email from one of the religion reporters for the New York Times. He said he had found our blog and that he was interested in talking to me/us. I forwarded the email to Brian and asked what he thought. He said that we should talk to him, so I wrote him back and explained a bit more about our process and that several families in our church were also in the process of adopting. He immediately responded asking if he could come out to Bozeman and talk to us. I/we were quite caught off guard...not exactly sure why he would be interested in our family and church. We cautiously said "yes" to him and out he came, hiring a local photographer, asking questions and taking pictures of others who are a part of our church, friends who have adopted, and our family.
Some weeks later the reporter sent us an email letting us know that the article and photographs would be published on Saturday June 1 on page 1. Brian and I were on our way to the Democratic Republic of Congo, so we picked up our copy of the Times at the Minneapolis airport on a long layover. We are of the opinion that the article was very "factual" and left the reader to decide for himself/herself what he/she thought of our family's desire to adopt children. Although Brian cautioned me against it, I insisted on reading the "comments" section of the online article.
Yes, many of the comments people left behind were hurtful, but as I have processed them over the last couple of weeks I have asked myself one question "Are we adopting kids to be featured in the NY Times and to have the world sing our praises?" In case you're wondering, the answer is absolutely "NO!" Brian and I both feel strongly that God has led us to each and every one of our kids. For those of you who haven't followed our story over the last 4 1/2 years, Brian met Silas, Josh and Mahlea in their orphanage when he was in Ethiopia trying to figure out how our church could help make positive change in Ethiopia. We were not planning on adopting at the time. Almost 2 years ago, we met our sweet Kenzie, who was here for a summer hosting program. Again, we were not pursuing adopting at the time but we felt God nudging us to make her part of our family. Last December, we were at a Christmas concert and a friend showed us a picture of our four little girls...we were actually on the waiting list for a baby girl from the DRC at the time but after many conversations and much prayer, we knew we were supposed to adopt our four little girls.
Part of me has wanted to respond to many of the comments on the NY Times page but I have refrained, knowing that, for the most part, my words would land on deaf ears. Most commentators are not interested in who we really are or how we are raising our children. They do not know that we have tried hard to encourage our children to keep their Ethiopian language nor that we have taken our kids back to Ethiopia and were able to spend time with Josh and Mahlea's birth mom and give Silas space to see many of his close friends and caretakers. The critics do not care that we love ALL our children as our own and would do anything for them. Which, after much reflection, is what hurts most about what the Times commentators said. I am not a perfect mom, far, far from it. I do know how amazingly special and unique God created each of my children and I believe that I am blessed beyond imagination that I get to be a part of their lives, even if it is for a few short years. One of my favorite things that Brian has told our kids is that if they want to "squeeze us for every opportunity possible and go back to their country, we will always love them and will support them doing so."
After being in the Congo with our girls for a week, and watching their very visible need for love and affection I would boldly say to any of the NY Times critics that they have NO IDEA what that looks like. I don't care if the child is here in the US or on the moon. EVERY, SINGLE child that God created in HIS image is deserving of the love and adoration that only a parent can give. After just 7 short days, I watched each of our four amazing and beautiful girls begin to rest and trust us. In everything from the amount of food they would be given to the space on my lap being enough for four sweet girls at once. I love each of them so much that it hurts and I know that it is only because of Jesus' love for me that I am able to love them in that way. So, what I must conclude is that each of the often-angry commentators has not allowed Jesus Christ to love them and love others through them and so, instead of being hurt by their comments, I must pray for them, that their hearts would soften and be open to Jesus and His redeeming love and power.
My Wisdom Hunters Devotional this week said this:
"Yes, be shameless and humble to declare your focused allegiance to your Heavenly Father and no one else. Take your marching orders from your Master Jesus. Let the Lord define your lifestyle, not those whose style of life tip God and flirt with sin. Culture and less honorable friends and family will attempt to mold you into their definition of a meaningful life. But, you look to heaven for your standard of living on earth. Embrace by grace an uncompromising lifestyle.
Above all, accept and enjoy your identity in Christ alone. Yes, rest in the way your Creator has created you. Be who you were made to be. Be content with the lot in life the Lord has given you. If you strive to be someone you’re not, you will have an inner knot of anxiety that haunts you. However, you enjoy peace when you accept yourself for who you are in Christ. Indeed, you are loved and forgiven by your Heavenly Father. His Spirit strengthens your uncompromising life!
He [Job] is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you [Satan] incited me against him to ruin him without any reason. Job 2:3
Prayer: Heavenly Father give me the righteous resolve to stand uncompromising for Christ."
It has been an excruciatingly painful week for me. Overcoming jet-lag and a broken heart at the same time has been much, much tougher than I imagined. We are praying that our girl's case does get investigated while the US Embassy Staff is in Mbuji Mayi (where the girls are from) but at the same time we are trusting that God will unfold HIS perfect plan in HIS perfect timing. Thank you for your prayers for us and our girls as we are apart from one another.
Some weeks later the reporter sent us an email letting us know that the article and photographs would be published on Saturday June 1 on page 1. Brian and I were on our way to the Democratic Republic of Congo, so we picked up our copy of the Times at the Minneapolis airport on a long layover. We are of the opinion that the article was very "factual" and left the reader to decide for himself/herself what he/she thought of our family's desire to adopt children. Although Brian cautioned me against it, I insisted on reading the "comments" section of the online article.
Yes, many of the comments people left behind were hurtful, but as I have processed them over the last couple of weeks I have asked myself one question "Are we adopting kids to be featured in the NY Times and to have the world sing our praises?" In case you're wondering, the answer is absolutely "NO!" Brian and I both feel strongly that God has led us to each and every one of our kids. For those of you who haven't followed our story over the last 4 1/2 years, Brian met Silas, Josh and Mahlea in their orphanage when he was in Ethiopia trying to figure out how our church could help make positive change in Ethiopia. We were not planning on adopting at the time. Almost 2 years ago, we met our sweet Kenzie, who was here for a summer hosting program. Again, we were not pursuing adopting at the time but we felt God nudging us to make her part of our family. Last December, we were at a Christmas concert and a friend showed us a picture of our four little girls...we were actually on the waiting list for a baby girl from the DRC at the time but after many conversations and much prayer, we knew we were supposed to adopt our four little girls.
Part of me has wanted to respond to many of the comments on the NY Times page but I have refrained, knowing that, for the most part, my words would land on deaf ears. Most commentators are not interested in who we really are or how we are raising our children. They do not know that we have tried hard to encourage our children to keep their Ethiopian language nor that we have taken our kids back to Ethiopia and were able to spend time with Josh and Mahlea's birth mom and give Silas space to see many of his close friends and caretakers. The critics do not care that we love ALL our children as our own and would do anything for them. Which, after much reflection, is what hurts most about what the Times commentators said. I am not a perfect mom, far, far from it. I do know how amazingly special and unique God created each of my children and I believe that I am blessed beyond imagination that I get to be a part of their lives, even if it is for a few short years. One of my favorite things that Brian has told our kids is that if they want to "squeeze us for every opportunity possible and go back to their country, we will always love them and will support them doing so."
After being in the Congo with our girls for a week, and watching their very visible need for love and affection I would boldly say to any of the NY Times critics that they have NO IDEA what that looks like. I don't care if the child is here in the US or on the moon. EVERY, SINGLE child that God created in HIS image is deserving of the love and adoration that only a parent can give. After just 7 short days, I watched each of our four amazing and beautiful girls begin to rest and trust us. In everything from the amount of food they would be given to the space on my lap being enough for four sweet girls at once. I love each of them so much that it hurts and I know that it is only because of Jesus' love for me that I am able to love them in that way. So, what I must conclude is that each of the often-angry commentators has not allowed Jesus Christ to love them and love others through them and so, instead of being hurt by their comments, I must pray for them, that their hearts would soften and be open to Jesus and His redeeming love and power.
My Wisdom Hunters Devotional this week said this:
"Yes, be shameless and humble to declare your focused allegiance to your Heavenly Father and no one else. Take your marching orders from your Master Jesus. Let the Lord define your lifestyle, not those whose style of life tip God and flirt with sin. Culture and less honorable friends and family will attempt to mold you into their definition of a meaningful life. But, you look to heaven for your standard of living on earth. Embrace by grace an uncompromising lifestyle.
Above all, accept and enjoy your identity in Christ alone. Yes, rest in the way your Creator has created you. Be who you were made to be. Be content with the lot in life the Lord has given you. If you strive to be someone you’re not, you will have an inner knot of anxiety that haunts you. However, you enjoy peace when you accept yourself for who you are in Christ. Indeed, you are loved and forgiven by your Heavenly Father. His Spirit strengthens your uncompromising life!
He [Job] is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you [Satan] incited me against him to ruin him without any reason. Job 2:3
Prayer: Heavenly Father give me the righteous resolve to stand uncompromising for Christ."
It has been an excruciatingly painful week for me. Overcoming jet-lag and a broken heart at the same time has been much, much tougher than I imagined. We are praying that our girl's case does get investigated while the US Embassy Staff is in Mbuji Mayi (where the girls are from) but at the same time we are trusting that God will unfold HIS perfect plan in HIS perfect timing. Thank you for your prayers for us and our girls as we are apart from one another.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
COUNT DOWN TO MEET OUR GIRLS!!!
Yup!! You read it right! We are counting down the days until we meet our girls. Unfortunately, this meeting will be the true definition of bitter sweet. We are leaving on Saturday to file our I600 in country. Our agency found out last week that the US Embassy is traveling to the region where our girls are from sometime mid to the end of June. They told our agency that only the cases that have I600 approval (for those of you who don't know adoption paperwork lingo, this is just code for "they have all the documents they need, have looked over them and approved that they all look good") OR the families who have traveled to Kinshasa and filed your I600 in person to the US Embassy in Kinshasa. AND, even still, they are NOT confirming that they will for sure investigate our case, they will take our paper work with and IF they have time, will investigate our case. So, we REALLY need prayers and lots of them PLEASE! If they do investigate our case, we could be going back to get the girls and bring them home in 4 to 12 weeks!!!!! If they do NOT investigate our case, it could be up to 6 months before the return to the region to investigate cases :(
So, in addition to prayers that they DO investigate our case, would you please pray for our girls. They are about to endure a whole lot of transition and my heart is just aching for them. They got on an airplane today and flew to the Transition house where they will remain until they are allowed to come home. We are going to arrive on Sunday and if we want to spend time with the girls, they have to be brought to us at the hotel that we are staying at and they will stay with us there. I am THRILLED for myself about this but so torn for them. At their young ages they are just going to have such a hard time understanding it all. In addition, they will then have to be taken back to the Transition house after spending the week with us. And to top it off, they speak a tribal language called Tshiluba. We tried to find a translation book to English, so that we could maybe be able to communicate a word or two and there is no such thing. So, if nothing else, we should have some pretty hilarious stories to tell about trying to communicate :) We know God is bigger than language barriers and He can give them a sense of peace with us and an assurance that WE ARE COMING BACK TO GET THEM!!!
The other piece of bad news is this trip is quite a spendy one. We were notified on Friday and are leaving the following Saturday...incase you were wondering, those weren't exactly cheap tickets :) We also had to express send our passports and immunization records to apply for a Visa to enter the DRC, we are praying that they get back to us Friday!!! Our agency had to return a whole bunch of paper work back to us this week so we can take it with us!!!!! So, you will notice that our thermometer has increased in total. We aren't positive what this trip will cost but we are estimating at least $7k or $8k.
We will certainly keep the blog updated in the coming week and will be filling our private FB page with all the fun pictures we can--that is if the internet is good enough to :) If you aren't added to our FB page and would like to be, let us know :) Thank you for all your love and support, we are so grateful!!!!
So, in addition to prayers that they DO investigate our case, would you please pray for our girls. They are about to endure a whole lot of transition and my heart is just aching for them. They got on an airplane today and flew to the Transition house where they will remain until they are allowed to come home. We are going to arrive on Sunday and if we want to spend time with the girls, they have to be brought to us at the hotel that we are staying at and they will stay with us there. I am THRILLED for myself about this but so torn for them. At their young ages they are just going to have such a hard time understanding it all. In addition, they will then have to be taken back to the Transition house after spending the week with us. And to top it off, they speak a tribal language called Tshiluba. We tried to find a translation book to English, so that we could maybe be able to communicate a word or two and there is no such thing. So, if nothing else, we should have some pretty hilarious stories to tell about trying to communicate :) We know God is bigger than language barriers and He can give them a sense of peace with us and an assurance that WE ARE COMING BACK TO GET THEM!!!
The other piece of bad news is this trip is quite a spendy one. We were notified on Friday and are leaving the following Saturday...incase you were wondering, those weren't exactly cheap tickets :) We also had to express send our passports and immunization records to apply for a Visa to enter the DRC, we are praying that they get back to us Friday!!! Our agency had to return a whole bunch of paper work back to us this week so we can take it with us!!!!! So, you will notice that our thermometer has increased in total. We aren't positive what this trip will cost but we are estimating at least $7k or $8k.
We will certainly keep the blog updated in the coming week and will be filling our private FB page with all the fun pictures we can--that is if the internet is good enough to :) If you aren't added to our FB page and would like to be, let us know :) Thank you for all your love and support, we are so grateful!!!!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
SO, last week, Donna and Matt (Cameraman from KZBK) came over and spent an evening with us...and, well, here it is:
http://t.co/EDTWZDfegd
Our kids sure are great, and as for me and Danna, well, suffice it to say that we both strongly dislike seeing ourselves on-screen...I (Brian) am a geek...but at least Danna is hot...;-)
Brian
Friday, April 19, 2013
4 More Hopkins!!!
We are SO excited to share that our precious girls are legally Hopkins!!!! It is fantastic news... although there is a bit of bad news as well. The increase in adoptions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the new investigation process has caused a MAJOR slow down in the process. The US Embassy in the DR Congo is understaffed and we are told there are at least 300 families ahead of us. So, although our girls are legally ours, we will not be able to go pick them up and bring them back to the US until the US investigation is completed and their VISA's are created. We are told that this could still be 8 months away. As I am sure you can imagine, this is gut wrenching. Every day that passes is another day that our sweet girls are without a mommy and daddy and their brothers and sisters. Living conditions in the DRC are not good. They are currently eating 2 meals a day and more than likely have parasites and scabies. It breaks my heart that they could potentially continue living in these conditions for another 8 months. God has performed HUGE miracles in our adoption so far and I know He will continue to answer prayers. So PLEASE continue praying our girls home!!! We are SO excited to hold them, love them and get to know them! And if any of you have connections with US leaders who may have influence in getting our girls know, please let us know!!!
We are now allowed to share pictures of them and we have some great ones! We have decided because of some recent issues that we are only going to post them in a secret FB group. If you are interested in being added, please message me on FB! Thank you for being a HUGE part in bringing our sweet babies home!!!
We are now allowed to share pictures of them and we have some great ones! We have decided because of some recent issues that we are only going to post them in a secret FB group. If you are interested in being added, please message me on FB! Thank you for being a HUGE part in bringing our sweet babies home!!!
Saturday, March 23, 2013
GOD FINISHES WHAT HE STARTS!
Thursday, we got the invoice from our agency for the remaining balance to be paid to them ASAP. I looked at the total...$12,050 I knew we had money in our adoption account but I also knew it wasn't this much. I am embarrassed to confess after the AMAZING, MIRACULOUS, ways God has provided, I began to get anxious! Brian was out of town so I didn't talk to him about it, I just forwarded the invoice to him. Yesterday, Brian sent me an email. It said there was a mix up in some funds and our account actually has $12,456!!! WOW! I am BLOWN away! God is so incredibly faithful!
That's not all our incredible news either!!! A little over a week ago we got an amazing email from a precious 10 year old boy. He gave us $100 of his own money and then proceeded to write an email to his friends and family requesting that they match his gift. His dad sent us this email:
"It's sure been a pleasure to watch this unfold - both the adventure of this most recent adoption for you and the adventure of our boys taking it on as something of their own. I just wanted to send a quick note to say that we've shared the story and Bridger's response has been completely of his own making. What a cool thing to watch a 10 year old do. Caid has had a very emotive response all his own. He can't believe that any force in the world would be horrible enough to try to separate siblings and vowed at one meal he would NEVER let that happen. It's been a really cool deal. We're praying for you and your whole clan - the new ones too. If there's anything else we can do, let us know."
How humbling it is to be part of the body of Christ and to be loved on and supported by SO many incredible people. Today I read this "Daily Hope" by Rick Warren and it was so perfect for our week, I thought I would share! Thank you for your love, prayers and support!! PRAISE JESUS!
If you were to build a memorial, what would you want to remember? What would it stand for? What do you want to make sure you don’t forget? It’s not the things that matter — your job, your house, your salary, or your accomplishments. You are God’s legacy, and your legacy is made up of the moments that made a difference for God’s Kingdom, the relationships that had eternal significance, and the ways you worshipped the Savior. I invite you to pray a prayer of remembrance right now. Say these words back to God in your heart: “Father, I remember right now the love of Jesus. Thank you for the miracles you’ve worked in my life. God, help me to remember your grace and to be gracious. I remember your generosity toward me. I ask you for the strength to be generous toward others. I trust that you will be with me, and I trust that you will finish what you have started in me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Yesterday was a sad day... it was our little M’s 3rd birthday and all I could think about all day was... she doesn’t get a cake, she doesn’t even get a present! Will anyone even tell her happy birthday or how much they love her or how happy they are that she was born three years ago today? My heart is aching because I want to do ALL those things for her. I want to make a cake and give her presents, but more than anything I want to hold her in my arms and tell her that I am so grateful that God brought her into this world and that He allowed me to be her mommy.
We also got news yesterday that there are enormous issues on the U.S. Embassy side of things. Right now, they are saying there is more than a two month back log before the 3-6 month period they are saying it is taking. Notice I said it is the UNITED STATES EMBASSY in the DRC. Not the DRC Embassy. I am sick at the thought of our girls (and all the other kids) waiting, because the U.S. doesn’t have enough workers to get these adoptions processed and get the kiddos home with their families!
We DO know that God is much bigger than all of this and He has shown us over and over in the last couple of months that He has it ALL under control! Please join us in praying for miracles!! That things will get straightened out and that we would be approved to get our girls in record time! We are ready to go get our girls!!! On a happy note, I found some party dresses that they definitely NEEDED – Brian agrees 100% :). Thank you for praying that we will be holding them in our arms SOON!!
Monday, March 4, 2013
Luke 18:27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
Our son Dylon came home from school and handed this envelope to us. His little buddy in his 3rd grade class brought it, filled with his hard earned money to help us bring our girls home. We are utterly blown away by these precious kiddos and their hearts for others. That they would care so deeply about our sweet little girls half way across the world is simply amazing. Thank you all for your love and support! It has me in tears daily!!
God just keeps continuing to show us that He has a plan and that He is going to accomplish it, even using these precious kiddos. We are humbled and SO encouraged that so many of you have chosen to join us in our adventure!
How do believers develop this kind of childlike faith? Risk! Hear the word, obey the word and trust Him for the outcome. Pastor Cho, leader of the largest church in the world in Sol Korea, shares his church growth methodology by saying, “I pray and I obey, Ha, Ha, Ha” Western analytical thinking wants to understand first, then act. In the Kingdom, the reverse is true. When it comes to spiritual growth, hear His voice, act; then understanding will come. Faith comes by hearing the word--the last word spoken and the current word.
- See more at: http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/christian-principles/approaching-jesus-as-little-children/approaching-jesus-as-little-children-childlike-faith.html#sthash.pS2696vm.dpuf
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