One Stone

One Stone

You know the expression, "Kill two birds with one stone."

I think it speaks to our desire for efficiency, economy.  No wasting of effort or resources.  When it seems to happen coincidentally, killing 'two birds with one stone' might refer to good luck or fortune -- double the outcome for half the effort (or something like that).

But have you considered God answering two prayers in one way?

_______________

Today marked our second day 'home' in the village.  Ellie had been chomping at the bit to see Squanto (her beloved pet cockatiel), and we had endeavored to retrieve him from "the sitters" the evening before but failed to bring him back Thursday night to his familiar perch on our balcony (our friends happened to be out when we dropped by).

So we muddled through another day of unpacking and settling in, slowly acclimating to the heat a bit better, strategically planning to shift our work to various rooms throughout the day as the sun moved across the sky.  

All thought of relative comfort flew out the window when the power went out for 3.5 hours and our next door (upwind) neighbor conveniently decided it would be a good time to burn her trash.  All windows went closed and we dropped all shades to keep puttering around our apartment re-organizing shelves and emptying suitcases of supplies in clean, if not fan-cooled moving air.

This evening was to be the first church service of the fall season but some folks were still on holiday, a number of our neighbors were seen walking down the hill in formal wear to a wedding, and the traditional text message didn't get out.  Attendance was slim.  Nevertheless it was good to continue greeting old friends and neighbors as we opened the front gates and introduced the village boys to "Can Jam", a frisbee game that Steve and Rachel taught us last Saturday (we managed to pick up a few sets at Target and stuff them in our suitcase at the last minute) while we tried to figure out exactly what time we would begin service.  (The start time is rather fluid, influenced more by the amount of relative daylight and the time of year).

After church Ellie and Reni got permission to go down to Xhesi and Ambra's house to play and get reunited with Squanto while we continued to visit until it was appropriate to close up the center for the evening.

We eventually made it down the hill to hear all about Squanto and Ellie's enthusiastic reunion.  Apparently Ellie had not been forgotten. I wished I had been there to record it!

We went inside and caught up with our friends, discussing current events like the refugee crisis in Macedonia and the mass exodus of Albanians this year to Germany. We also talked about our respective summers and it was reassuring to me that we hadn't completely lost our ability to communicate in Shqip!  

I can't remember exactly at what point in the conversation switched gears to school this fall.  We were proudly told that Xhesi had been hired as a teacher at the Kopsht where Reni would start attending come September 14.  

[insert sound of scratched record]

Wait. I could scarcely believe my ears, but the nods of their heads confirmed that my foggy, jetlagged brain had indeed heard and processed the words correctly.

Xhesi had just completed her degree in education in July.  We have all prayed that she would find a job as employment options for university grads in Albania is pretty bleak. Neither of her parents have consistent work and resources are always stretched thin. 

Now, I was hearing that not only did she have a job, but she would be one of Reni's teachers.  I couldn't keep from tearing up.

All summer we have been lightly approaching the subject of Reni attending Kopsht this fall.  It's a sensitive subject because Ellie longs to attend traditional school (which she can't this year), and Reni hasn't been exactly thrilled about going to a new school alone.  In fact, there have been quite a few tears shed to the point where we have shared our concerns with some of our friends and family this past summer. It broke our hearts to see Reni so fearful, yet as his parents we felt pretty strongly that we needed to push him to do this. 

Now here I was hearing that one of the members of the family he is closest with -- of all the families we know in our entire village -- will be with him every day at school.  When we told him, he raised his arms and started jumping up and down. 

Tonight as we put Reni to bed we tried to express to him how much God loved him and provided for him in this moment of uncertainty. With one fell swoop the giant called "fear" had been defeated. There have been so many moments like this for our Reni that I shouldn't be surprised at God's provision on his behalf, yet here I am again as if it is the first time. 

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee -- Psalm 63:3

One stone.  David slew a giant with one stone.

Two prayer requests.  One answer.  

Do you have any giants that need slaying?

Meet Ida

Many have asked us what we've been doing for childcare since Abby and Anna returned to the States.  Understandably, it can be cause for concern to find someone you trust to take care of your children!  Especially when you're in a foreign country and have a limited network of connections! Sometime in early April it dawned on me that I needed a game plan for childcare post Abby and Anna's departure mid May. Through friends at the homeschool co-op I learned of a Christian young woman who loves kids. We got her number and prayed that she might be willing to work with us!

Meet Ida!  Due to changes in another missionary family's schedule, she was free to watch Ellie and Reni for the three weeks we had remaining of Shqip 2, and now watches the kiddos during our Monday/Friday morning summer school sessions.  It was very reaffirming during our first meeting with her to discover a number of interpersonal connections outside of the folks who originally recommended her.  Furthermore, she's fantastic with the kids and they really like her!

For those of you prayer partners who had been praying for this need!  See how God answered your prayers on our behalf!

Big Day. A Big, Big Day.

with Uncle Jack and Aunt Ruth in Indiana a week ago last Sunday, the 21st.

Today our Reni boy turned four.  He requested donuts for breakfast (a special treat -- I don't even know where he got that idea!). Later we joined up with Gigi and Gjyshe, Tua and Pippa for an afternoon in town. He got a Happy Meal for lunch (which he called a present to himself, whatever that means) and time at the play place.  Then he jumped, and rolled, and bounced, and giggled, and slid, and laughed some more at Monkey Joe's.  He was the perfect age for the bounce house and amazed everyone with his ability to access just about everything independently.  We had the family over for supper tonight, including "all the cousins".  He was excited about his cake, his presents, and all the special attention. Nonna and Papa called on the phone and chatted a bit, then he wanted to get back to enjoying his gifts.  Our hearts are a pile of mush about this little boy who is our son and I'm glad someone had the idea to make a big deal out of birthdays so we can 'push pause' on life to have a day to celebrate those we love.  I promise photos will be forthcoming...

As if all that wasn't enough we had two other momentous experiences today...

If you are a frequent visitor to our lil' blog, you might remember the photo of a special little boy from Reni's former orphanage in Elbasan.  It's been sitting on the right hand margin of this blog for fifteen months. We met him three years ago as an infant, then during our return trip in February 2012 the Sisters BEGGED us to 'find him a family.'  Oh, if only it was that easy.  It's been a long wait and I had even considered taking his photo down, but on Friday I was contacted by a couple who was hoping to call him their son. Unbeknownst to me, they had been pursuing him for a while... BUT, they just learned last week that they were not exactly eligible to adopt from Albania.  Yesterday a special meeting of the Albanian Adoption Committee was called (right before the August recess) and I learned today that the committee granted an exemption to this couple so they could continue working towards bringing him home!!!  Nathan and I were high-fiving each other in the kitchen and remarking over and over throughout the day how happy we were to get this wonderful news. JM has a family!!!  Praise God!

Finally, I can't believe I'm typing this but (drumroll)... we bought our tickets to Albania today!  It's remarkable the provision that has come in during this past month-- just the past couple of days!  It's all part of God's confirmation for us that we don't want to forget.  The travel agent warned us, "They're non-refundable!"  We assured her that we had had time to think about it and we most definitely wanted to buy these tickets.  Now that we have a departure date, (September 9) we can start planning the next pieces of our transition to Albania. We can't wait to share this news with all of those who have jumped behind us with their support. God has been so good to us.

Now, to try to go to sleep tonight. What a day.... what a day.

He Did It Again

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Psalm 91:9-12

Tuesday afternoon we were driving west on I-90, not far from the Ohio/Pennsylvania border.  The roads were rough.  Probably all that lake effect snow.  Then we heard that sound.  You know the sound. A bang, bang, bang of the tire tread hitting the wheel well and falling off.  Nathan immediately slowed down and eased the RV into the shoulder.  A guardrail hemmed us in on the right and the shoulder was just wide enough for our vehicle.  Waiting for a break in traffic, Nathan hopped out into the interstate and walked around to quickly assess the damage.



The tread had stripped off, but the tire was still inflated.  Given Winnie's size, flat tires are not something we can deal with by ourselves.  We needed a tire service, but there was no way a tire service could assist us at our present location with the affected tire blocked by the guardrail.  Nathan said he thought, "I can't wait to see how God provides for us today!"

We looked on our GPS and saw there was an exit just a mile and a quarter ahead, so we slowly, slowly crept up the road to the exit while I jumped on our Facebook page and solicited prayer.

Within just two minutes, our Epaphras Team prayer partner for the day had commented, "Praying!"  She lives in a time zone 7-8 hours ahead of us, and in spite of the late hour of the day, she was awake and on Facebook!

We reached the top of the exit and spotted a truck service business with a large, empty parking lot.  We pulled in and I called AAA.  They were nice, but told us that they were unable to help us because our plan did not include RV coverage (oops! -- thankfully they had helped us earlier in our trip!).  They offered to call us a truck tire service, but we would have to pay out of pocket.  And after having used a tire service when our rear tires blew in Kentucky in January, we knew it would cost us about $200.



Nathan decided to inquire of the trucking company about a recommendation for a tire service, but the business was closed.  At the end of the property he spotted another building that appeared to have a bit more activity.  He introduced himself and described our problem.  The three guys at work dropped what they were doing and invited us to bring Winnie down to them and let them help us.

They drove their forklift over to pick up Winnie's front end, then Tom got his tools and slipped off the affected tire.  Nathan brought him our spare and it was quickly put on.  Kevin came back from the break room with a box of Little Caesars pizza which he offered us to eat while we waited.  Ellie and Reni had fun playing with their two boxers, Wyatt and Dixie.

We tried to give payment, but they refused.  We were humbled by their kindness and generosity.  But it didn't stop there.  Kevin had left and returned a few minutes later, not with pizza this time, but a lightly-used tire to replace our spare!  Wow.  It had been left by another individual who had sought similar assistance on a previous day.

Thank you, Steve, Tom, and Kevin, for showing such kindness to strangers!  It was a joy to see how the Lord provided for us through you!

We got back on the interstate and would you know, we immediately entered a construction zone with no space to pull over for a break down for several miles?  Can you imagine if our tire had lasted just 1.25 miles longer?

During our incident in Georgia when we discovered that 6.5 of our lug nuts had sheared off the rear right tires, I told someone we must have had an angel holding those tires on the Winnie while we barreled down the interstate.  After a third tire incident on the Winnie (each one affecting a different corner of the RV), I can't help but believe we've got angels, fueled by your prayers, on all four corners of our vehicle while we travel. Thank you, dear friends!

I have to tell you, building our Epaphras team has been such a faith building experience for me.  I've tried to put specific prayer requests for each day on the reminder e-mails.  Wouldn't you know, God has answered those requests?  If you would like to be a part of this team, please e-mail me (cydilwaggoner@gmail.com) and I'll get you set up!  Just like all of those individuals who went out of their way to help us in our adoptions of Ellie and Reni, those of you who are holding up our family through your prayers and finances to help us get to Albania, you have a special place in heart!  We thank the Lord for your generosity!

HMA: Not a Vacation

I snapped a photo of the book above 'just for fun' the other day at Camping World (where we had to have an appliance replaced that we broke).  Then I realized today how much I probably should have read this book before we started our adventure in the Winnebago on this journey called Homeland Ministry Assignment (smile).  

I'm pretty sure, though, that this book would NOT have a chapter on the fervent and effective prayers of the Body of Christ for traveling mercies.  It would probably not have a chapter on the goodness of God to direct us to interstate exits and repair shops where we could get the assistance we needed and encouragement for our hearts that chases away fear. It wouldn't have a directory listing on where to find Brothers and Sisters in Christ who run such shops. 

I REALLY do not like blogging about the adventures Ms. Winnie has brought us, but God has been so good in going before us, that I can't NOT share it here.  Plus, I know that some of you are prayer warriors for our family and I want you to know that your prayers are being heard and answered.  

You may recall that before we left on this trip on April 2, we had the transmission rebuilt.  On Saturday Nathan sensed that it wasn't wanting to shift into the highest gear.  When he took his uncle out with him for a drive on Sunday, he couldn't replicate the issue.  We left Port Republic on Tuesday and not even 20 minutes down the Garden State Parkway, the problem re-emerged.  We pulled off the interstate and stopped at an auto shop.  They recommended we call another shop.  That second place thought the job was too big for them and told us to call a third business.

Enter Mr. George.  We learned that not only is he extremely knowledgeable on what we desperately needed help with (he's owned his business for 30 years), he's a fellow brother in Christ and he wanted to help us.  To make a long story short, after looking us over and driving Winnie down the road, he delivered the news that Winnie needed 'major surgery'.  She needed another transmission rebuild.  A phone call back to the shop in IL took some of the sting out when they offered to reimburse us the cost of the first rebuild.  

We settled in to the waiting area where Ellie was thrilled to find a beta fish, Reni a kids table with puzzles and Twizzlers, and for Nathan: coffee and ESPN.  After getting a better handle on the state of affairs under the hood, they dropped the transmission out, rolled the RV back out in the parking lot and plugged us in.  We were going to be here overnight.  But it doesn't stop there.  George gave us the use of his courtesy van and recommended we take the kids out and maybe go to the movies.  Then told us that it would be most of the following day too and keep the van as long as we needed it, suggesting we check out the local light house on Long Beach Island in the morning.  All we could do was shake our heads at the kindness shown us by George and all of his staff at Bay Transmissions.  What an answer to prayer, to be treated like friends and family, by someone we didn't even know.

It's now a little over 24 hours since we've arrived.  We just received word that the underlying source of the problem has still not been discovered.  Could you please pray for discernment on the part of the mechanics to find what is wrong so that we can get back on the road in time and safely without concerns that we could find ourselves back in this position again?  

We still have a few more weeks (three Sundays of church services) to go before we head back to Illinois in mid-May.  We also still have several days of the month left to be covered if you want to join our Epaphras (prayer) Team!  Thank you SO much to all of you who have responded!  We'll send you an e-mail reminder the night before so you don't forget! :-)

I'll close out with some photos from our time last week in Northern Virginia!  We spent some time with our friend, Jan.  She spoiled us by redeeming a Groupon at Fluffy Thoughts.  Yum!  She asked me not to post the photo of she and Ellie.  I guess that makes me a bad friend.  Sorry, Jan!

Then we did what good parents do investing in their child's education, and courtesy of Jan's driving, took the kids into the city to see some of our capital's landmarks.

We missed the height of the cherry blossoms, but found a few places where they hadn't all blown off yet.

We got into Ford's theater at the end of the day.  Reni waited anxiously while the National Park Service guide gave his spiel down by the stage.  After waiting long enough, Reni finally asked. "When is the MOVIE going to start?"

We paid a couple of visits to Nathan's sister, Rebecca, at her home in Reston.  Having just had knee surgery less than a week earlier, she understandably wasn't up for going out, so we came to her, bringing breakfast one morning.  It was so nice to see you, Aunt Rebecca!

We finished out the week with a few more visits including...

The Lu Family.  Kristie was involved in leadership at the student center back when she was at Asbury more than ten years ago!

We then got to see the Raudenbush family outside of Philly on Friday night!  It was a real treat to fellowship with these folks who, like us, are in the midst of a big vocational transition.  Mark and Kelly have developed some excellent resources for adoptive families including the website We Are Grafted In, The Sparrow Fund, and Together Called (a faith-based annual retreat for adoptive couples).  Kelly writes over at My Overthinking -- be checking her blog out next month for special giveaways as they embark on their third Build the Nest campaign to raise funds for adoption grants.  Thanks, Mark and Kelly, for all you do for the Christian adoption community!  It's been a blessing to us!

On Sunday we were super blessed to worship and share at Port Church!  That will be up on the blog next!

God's Provision | the Stroller

On December 12, Aletha Hinthorn published the following thought on her blog after sharing the miraculous story of God's provision for her in a particular situation:


God wants us to go forward believing He will not only see the need before we do, but will also have provided the answer. God's provisions are much like those of a mother who thinks ahead about what her child will need on a trip. She packs little surprises, toys, games, and foods that she knows he would enjoy. God promises to provide for us "superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think-infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams" (Ephesians 3:20 Amp.).

As you can imagine, Reni is growing and getting stronger and heavier -- such that we dare not leave the house without double checking that we have the stroller with us.  It's an adequate little stroller.  We bought it 6 years ago in anticipation of bringing Ellie home.  Since we were adopting her as a toddler, we didn't think it made sense to invest in one of those higher-end strollers with the infant carrier and all.  Though we found the handle bar on our economy version a bit narrow and low in relation to our height,  it did the job... most of the time.

This fall when we visited the bee hives at the Allen Farm, we had to walk a ways down a long dirt lane.  At one point the ruts and rocks were just too much for our little stroller's small, wobbly wheels.  The carriage was obviously built for the smooth tile floors of the mall and not "off-roading it."  On the steepest part of the lane, it was easier for one of us to carry Reni and another carry the stroller, than to push.    We were reminded anew that our stroller was lacking.

hiking to the bee hives

Travel with me in your mind's eye to the city of Tirana.  Thankfully the streets around our apartment are now paved, but many of the sidewalks are uneven and occasionally broken, many paved with cobblestone or bricks.  The curbs are high (none of those ADA dips for wheelchair access) and because the traffic is SO bad, we will walk to do most every kind of errand we can.  Then imagine the village... with gravel roads on a hillside, and many a path just like the farm lane at the Allen farm.  We've known for sometime that we would need to invest in a good, off-road stroller that would hold Reni for a few more years until he gets good legs, but those are not cheap.

You can imagine our joy when a church in Kentucky expressed a desire to bless us with something to help with Reni's needs.  We proposed the stroller and they thought that was a great idea. After consulting my friends on the Yahoo limb difference group, a particular brand was recommended to me which I investigated further. Upon reading the reviews for this stroller, I knew it would suit our needs perfectly.  Thanks to the generosity of God's people (and one-click shopping), we came home from Ohio last week to this,  Reni's new chariot:  

Isn't that a sporty color, like the race cars he admires?  The seat is padded, the shocks on this buggy are truly impressive, the wheels are sturdy (the front wheel is fixed) and the handlebar (with hand break) is at the perfect height for Reni's taller parents!  You can feel the quality construction through and through.  It holds up to 70 lbs so given that he barely scratches 30 lbs today, he should be able to use this for years to come.  It apparently also comes with an optional rain screen which we may just have to get... and in that case I may just ask Nathan to push ME down the street in it!  Oh wait... what was that weight limit?  

But really, the greatest blessing is less tangible than shocks and wheels and handbreaks... the greatest blessing is that Reni will be included in so much more of what we do and where we go (in the mundane, the fun, and in ministry).  And if you've ever met our Reni boy, you know that his mere presence touches and blesses those he meets.  He's a valuable part of our ministry team. That's a blessing that extends beyond our family's convenience.  Thank you, friends!  You know who you are!  Thank you for being an instrument of God's provision!

This whole faith journey in raising our support to go to Albania has been an indescribable experience of seeing God's provision through His people, sometimes like this, in many unexpected ways.  It's faith-growing and call-confirming.  If our adoption experience is any indication, God's miraculous provision today will be a signpost at which we can reference in times of doubt and hardship to reassure us that He is indeed with us, and that we are on the right path.

Aletha's closing echoes our prayers:

Thank You, Jesus, that You will provide in the future as You have in the past. Some day in heaven I'll be amazed to see how carefully You planned ahead for every detail of my life. 

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).

Read the entire devotional message here.

Gift of Love

The night before we left Kentucky we had supper with some friends.  While we were chatting at their picnic table in the backyard, their 8-year-old daughter disappeared for a short time and returned with a box in her hand.

She told us, "I have a box that I keep my loose change in.  That way, when I see someone that I want to give money to, I have money to give!"

At this point, I started to reach for my purse to contribute to her collection.  But before I could follow through she continued, "I decided that I wanted to give you my coin box to help you get to Albania."

Peering inside and seeing a dollar bill on top of the loose change she said, "There's at least a whole dollar in there!"

That dollar bill (which I  kept before sending a check for the total in her name) is under the glass top of my computer desk, under my wrists as I type, so I never forget that God's provision and encouragement can come from the least expected places.

What is in your hand?

I've had a thought running through my head since last night as I've reflected on the latest of God's blessings.  That thought comes from a sermon given by our friend, Dr. Roy Lauter.  In examining the story of the call of Moses, we all remember Moses' list of excuses for not qualifying as the chosen deliverer of the children of Israel.  In reply God asks him (Exodus 4), "What is in your hand?"  It was Moses' shepherd's staff, a staff that was turned into a serpent, was used to part the Red Sea, and draw water from a rock.  It was a rather simple tool but it was used mightily to show God's power.  Dr. Lauter's message challenge was to examine what was in your hand.  What did I have that God could use for his purposes?  

This weekend  we were blessed by someone who offered to use what was in his hand (a truck) to help us move our belongings out of the student center to storage on the farm in central Illinois.  And it wasn't just any truck, no, we basically could have moved all our worldly goods had we so desired.  Traveling down from Roanoke (IL), my parents' friend, Joe (now our friend too!), his driver David, and my dad (also) David came down Sunday evening and with the help of some amazingly selfless friends, loaded up the contents of our apartment.  What would have taken us much, much longer to do alone, friends were able to accomplish in just a few hours.

navigating our small parking lot to find a good parking place.

Pictured:  Peter, Thad, Bryce, and Ben M (not pictured:  Isaac, Siobhan, Jonny, Sarah, Ruth, Dr. C, and Ben S)

This super truck had a nifty hydrolic lift that provided us our Ellie quote of the weekend while she rode it up:  "I'm going up to heaven!" she exclaimed!

Reni kept a close eye on things.  We could tell he wasn't quite sure what to think of all this packing. 

We took a short break for Ale 8s and ice cream bars.  Loved how Reni joined in with the guys.

 I don't know if you can tell, but the sky was looking threatening pretty much the entire evening.  A few drops fell as we loaded the last of the items and then 10 minutes after going inside, the heavens opened (for only the third time since the beginning of May -- oh how we needed that rain)!

The kids were quite excited to check out the cab of the truck.

This morning after breakfast we got a quick pic by the truck.  You would have thought that the kids had helped with carrying boxes for sleeping in until past 8AM (VERY unusual).   Forgive the bedhead and mis-matched jammies -- we were pretty pleased that they had appropriate clothes at all given the state of our house.  Ellie begged to ride in the truck, so she got to take a brief trip while David negotiated his way out of the parking lot.  When we went to get her out, we couldn't figure out was was taking so long.  Turns out she had kicked off her shoes and crawled into one of the bunk beds in the cab and crawled under a blanket!  I think she's going to like RV-ing!

We received word that everything has been unloaded in Illinois this evening!  We are thankful for my parents, Joe, David, and a group of Stephen's friends who unpacked the truck on the other end.

Of course our empty apartment will not remain empty for long.  We are settling into new digs in the student center's lower level guestroom this evening.  Tomorrow we should finish moving out our few remaining belongings (mostly groceries) so Jonathan and Faith can begin painting and bringing in their own things to make it their new home.  So far the kids seem to be doing well with the change (aside from Reni being a bit more clingy than normal).  They are excited about the prospect of sharing a bed (we'll see if that even lasts one night) and they are finding new ways of entertaining themselves. The challenge remains explaining what the next days and weeks will look like!  For now, though, it feels good to have the move behind us!

Meet Winnie

You might remember a post about a month or so ago where I mentioned that Nathan had a seed of an idea planted in his mind by some missionary friends.  That idea was to travel in an RV while we do deputation over the course of next year. As homeschooling parents, our friends had expressed the difficulty of doing school each day in a different place.  One day at a library, the next day at a home, the day after that at a fast food restaurant... (you get the idea).  Then, when one of their children had a meltdown (usually from the stress of frequent transition, something we had little difficulty envisioning happening with our Els), often the only private place they could find to retreat would be a bathroom.

Add to that, the cost savings of having a place to sleep, a place to make simple meals, a place to 'spread out' all the while traveling with a little boy in the midst of potty training (with short legs, mind you -- there are some challenges to which we still haven't figured out solutions) ... it seemed ideal for our family at this particular stage in life.

After doing a little bit of preliminary searching, I quickly dismissed the idea of traveling in an RV as a pipe dream because the only way we could afford such a vehicle would be if God literally dropped it in our lap.  About a month after sharing this idea with a very few close friends and family, we get a phone call from my parents.  Driving through Green Valley, they took a street they had never been on before and guess what they found in a driveway at the dead end?  An RV for sale!  And the price was within our meager budget!  They sent us photos and we pondered it for a couple of weeks, mulling over the decision of purchasing a vehicle that was older than the students who had just graduated from Asbury.

It had a few things going for it besides the price tag... The interior appeared to be in excellent condition.  The mileage was a mere 69,000 miles (not bad for a 1985!) and the engine was diesel (which, when made in that era, tends to last much longer than their gasoline equivalents).  Nevertheless, wanting to be good stewards of the little bit of savings we had, we debated and waited.

Then in early June we had our meeting with the team at Cincinnati Childrens about creating strategies for working with Ellie and all of a sudden, the decision to purchase the Winnebego was a no-brainer.  We gave the green light to my parents and a few weeks ago they drove it down the road to their home.  Tonight we got a phone call that she's been all tuned up:  new fuel pump, new wipers, new belts, new AC... She's been declared road worthy!

So, as we begin planning our months of homeland ministry assignment, we have an extra measure of excitement and a little less concern as we see how God is taking care of details like a cozy home-on-wheels where we can drive and sleep and eat and do school, regardless of which state we happen to find ourselves in!

My God Shall Supply All...

...  your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19, NASB)

Late this afternoon we took a spontaneous family outing.  Well, it was more like I had two errands to run in Lexington, but due to scheduling issues, we were going to have a couple of hours in between dropping one item off (before closing) and picking up something else (when a friend got home from work). So in the spirit of summer's arrival we decided to take the kids to see a dollar movie. (I know -- we know how to have FUN! But seriously, that's a big treat for us.)  After finding a film that was agreeable to all parties (not an easy feat, mind you) at a theater in close proximity to where we would be, the most difficult decision was actually finding a place to grab a quick bite to eat.


Now if you know us, we are creatures of habit.  It's hard for us to branch out and try new restaurants.  And at those restaurants, we typically have our 'favorite' dishes and stick to those.  Unfortunately, we were in a part of town with a variety of restaurants, but none that were really familiar to us.  Laugh as you might, it was actually a fluke of how we hit lights and lanes and rush hour traffic that we found ourselves at a strip mall offering "Confusing Confections," "Buffalo Wild Wings" and "Penn Station."  In the interest of time and taste, our decision was pretty much made for us.


I was happy that it wasn't difficult to find something appealing for every member of our party so we placed our order then I took the kids pick out a booth while Nathan paid.  I was getting the kids situated at our table when Nathan came over with our drinks and said, "Did you see that guy over there running the cash register?  Does he look familiar to you?" 


I told Nathan that I thought I recognized him and asked if he was an Asbury grad to which Nathan said, "Yeah.  And you won't believe what he told me.  He said that while he was at Asbury the student center and Global Cafe really meant a lot to him and he wanted to pay for our supper!"


We just looked at each other and could only shake our heads.  It was really touching.  And humbling.  I don't know how to describe the feeling of receiving that kind of gift, so unexpectedly. 


As we transition to a new phase of life and leaning on God in new ways to provide, I have an anxious excitement about how that's going to unfold.  I know we are going to learn a LOT and if God's provision for our adoptions is any indication, the conduits of that provision will be as unexpected.  As such, I don't want to forget stories like these, where we saw God say, "You're taken care of."  Where He used a young man, working at a sub shop, to treat us to a $20 supper.  Thank you, Daniel.  You have no idea how you blessed us.

Shutterfly.com Features Ellie's Adoption Book

A few months ago I wrote a post about some of the unusual ways in which we have seen God provide the finances for Ellie's adoption, and now how we are seeing the same again for the second adoption we are embarking upon. At the time that post was written, we were aware of another possible provision in the works but nothing had been finalized yet to where we could share it with many people.

In December I received an e-mail out of the blue from the creative director of Shutterfly.com, an online photo company which I have used for sharing photos, ordering prints, and creating photobooks of images from our various trips or family get togethers. In his note, Robert told me that Shutterfly was going to launch a new baby microsite and wanted to feature our story. If selected, we would receive compensation for the use of our photographs. A few weeks ago, they contacted us again, this time to use an image from the book in print publicity (it's literally the size of a postage stamp) but they are going to pay us again! Wow!

Anyway, it's been hard not to share this until we knew for sure that it was going to happen. Today I got an e-mail that the site is live!

Click here to visit the site and read our story.

I've shared a link to the book on this blog before, but if you want to view the book, click on the box with link below our article titled "Explore Their PhotoBook". Below the book you can read viewer comments.

Funny How God Provides

Whenever I discuss the topic of adoption with others, finances are the main reason people give for why they are afraid to pursue it. That's an open door for me to share the miraculous ways in which God provided for Ellie's adoption, at specific times, just when we needed it -- amazing provision that allowed us to complete her adoption debt free. Those miracles, and especially the timing of those provisions, were the confirmations we needed to build our faith and showed us just how much God cares for orphans to provide for those who step out in faith to bring them into a family relationship.



Since Nathan and I have a practice of putting any unexpected monetary gifts into our adoption savings fund, the e-mail we received from World Gospel Mission today was a pleasant surprise. Our adoption fund is going to get another deposit soon (this is especially welcome news since we just paid a large chunk last week to our adoption agency and the savings fund took a dip). The e-mail today revealed that for the last two years we have had too much money taken out of our paycheck for health insurance. Since it coincided with the first month we had Ellie with us, we assumed that the bump in the withdrawl was associated with adding her to our insurance. Wrong! Turns out that for two years we've been paying too much into our insurance fund and we're going to get nearly $3,000 back! Yippee! Thank you God for this unexpected blessing! (even if it is "our own" money) (And extra bonus -- my paycheck will go up a bit going forward as this mistake is corrected)!