..Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.Proverbs 24:12
I love this passage. For me it means no excuses, do something now to help. Something significant. Something big.
Number of children in the world - 2.2 billion
Number in poverty - 1 billion (every second child)
Shelter, safe water and health
For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world, there are:
•640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3)
•400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5)
•270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7)
Children out of education worldwide
121 million
Survival for children Worldwide
•10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (same as children population in France, Germany, Greece and Italy)
•1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation
•2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized
•15 million children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS (similar to the total children population in Germany or United Kingdom)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
First week home.........
Well tomorrow it will be an official week since I kissed my daughter good-bye. Not even sure how to begin to explain how that feels. I feel like I've been in a dream. I feel like I wasn't actually there. Like I just woke up. Getting back into life here has proven to be far more challenging than I ever imagined. My son and I have been catching up on some well needed mommy and son time, but it's like a day never passed. We just picked up where we left off.
Emotionally, I'm a wreck. I cried in the grocery store because of all the food that I was able to buy and I know most people in Uganda don't spend that in a year. I cried at the movie last night because I know the children of Africa don't have the opportunity just to go to a movie or even have fun like we do. I cried driving down the road because there are no street children tapping at my windows begging for food and I wonder why do I live in a land that spares me from that?
I feel like my heart aches for Uganda, not just because my Abigail is there but it just seems to ache for it. My friend Nicolas explained how God uses his people through suffering and knowing that I'm positive he has amazing plans for the people of Uganda.
I am glad to be home with my family. I missed them so much its too painful to think about. I love being able to be here and cook dinner for the family again, spend the afternoons with Nolan, go to t-ball games and just spend the evenings at home.
With that in mind we are trying to prepare ourselves for the next step of the journey. Jason will be leaving in the next 3 or so weeks to return to Abigail and wait until she can come home. I am honored that God has chosen my family to endure this. I know in the end we will have an amazing testimony and I will always remember to give the Glory to Christ our Lord. Praise Him!
Thank you Thank you for your continued support of the beads. It has been nothing short of awesome! You all have such a beautiful part of this adoption and I can't wait for Abigail to one day know all the blessing our family received on behalf of her.
In the midst of trying to adjust back to "normal" life and await the departure of my husband and the glorious arrival of my daughter I am comforted in the words of Paul, he tells us: "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength but with your testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Emotionally, I'm a wreck. I cried in the grocery store because of all the food that I was able to buy and I know most people in Uganda don't spend that in a year. I cried at the movie last night because I know the children of Africa don't have the opportunity just to go to a movie or even have fun like we do. I cried driving down the road because there are no street children tapping at my windows begging for food and I wonder why do I live in a land that spares me from that?
I feel like my heart aches for Uganda, not just because my Abigail is there but it just seems to ache for it. My friend Nicolas explained how God uses his people through suffering and knowing that I'm positive he has amazing plans for the people of Uganda.
I am glad to be home with my family. I missed them so much its too painful to think about. I love being able to be here and cook dinner for the family again, spend the afternoons with Nolan, go to t-ball games and just spend the evenings at home.
With that in mind we are trying to prepare ourselves for the next step of the journey. Jason will be leaving in the next 3 or so weeks to return to Abigail and wait until she can come home. I am honored that God has chosen my family to endure this. I know in the end we will have an amazing testimony and I will always remember to give the Glory to Christ our Lord. Praise Him!
Thank you Thank you for your continued support of the beads. It has been nothing short of awesome! You all have such a beautiful part of this adoption and I can't wait for Abigail to one day know all the blessing our family received on behalf of her.
In the midst of trying to adjust back to "normal" life and await the departure of my husband and the glorious arrival of my daughter I am comforted in the words of Paul, he tells us: "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength but with your testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Friday, April 23, 2010
Agony of Defeat. Or is it Da Feet?
Home at last. Ahhhhhhhh.........I wish it were that simple. For now I'm just going to enjoy the quiet moments.
In the midst of all the hang ups with our case and my injured foot I was lucky enough to be part of the Ash Cloud delays. My flight on Sunday was canceled so I unpacked and bunkered in for a few more days. Yesterday at 11:00 a.m. I arrived in Detroit and at last had my arms around Nolan. I can't even begin to tell you how that felt. 52 days without seeing my son was pure torture. Amidst my excitement I was uncontrolably sad because in order to rejoice with Nolan I had to leave my beautiful daughter in Africa. I can't wait until my family is all in the same country under one roof!
The worst feeling about coming home was that I felt defeated. I spent tireless days and hours fighting for Abigail and in the end I have to go home without her. But then again this whole process has been about releasing my control and again I am brought to my knees and humbled. I find myself staring at the walls and wondering what God's plan for me is. How is he going to use this experience for my growth? I think leaving a child is possibly the hardest thing a mother could do. I feel like no matter what country I'm in I'm rejoicing with one child and yet grieving for the other. I do believe that one must endure suffering in order to grow so I will keep my eyes on His plan for me.
I walked into my home to find my amazing dogs jumping for joy and my beautiful home. My home felt like a castle. I will never again take for granted the things that I have been blessed with. I will never again seek more material things that are not needed and I will never again speak that I want more. I have taken 3 showers since yesterday just because having water pressure and hot water is so so nice!! A washing machine! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? (That ones for you Melissa). No more hand washing is going to be so great!
Through it all Abigail has been amazing. On Wednesday prior to leaving I received the long awaited guardianship of Abigail. She is officially ours! She is so patient and talks of coming to America to see Nolan all of the time. At this time we are still waiting for things to be resolved to bring her home. As I feel very frustrated with that I know that God can do the most awesome things. I know if are called to wait longer then there is purpose behind it and I'm reassured because I know it's His plan and not my own.
The awesome news yesterday is that I don't need surgery. Now I understand why I had to come home in that regard. They were prepared to do surgery in Uganda when in reality I'm having physical therapy 3 times a week for recovery. I was told it would be 6 weeks before I would begin to feel relief. Although that seems long I'm so grateful for no surgery!
I wish I could tell everyone details of my experience I just don't even know where to begin! I'm sure as the months pass the stories will be retold. It's just now when someone says "How was it?" it's hard to know where to start. Because of the sensitivity of the governments I fear I would offended someone unintentionally therefore I cannot discuss our case in public posts.
So tonight I am going to baseball! YEAH! It just feels so wonderful to have "normal" things again. And although my arms ache for my beautiful Abigail I know that Jason will be going soon to be with her. What an amazing day that will be for her to come home. Although this is so emotionally devastating for my family I know that she will be here time and I know He has amazing plans for her. She is so strong.
I can't thank everyone enough for the countless emails of support and prayers. If you could continue to keep our family in our prayers I would greatly appreciate that. We are so close and I believe that God will seek favor on our Abigail and bring her home safely.
Be blessed.
Heather
In the midst of all the hang ups with our case and my injured foot I was lucky enough to be part of the Ash Cloud delays. My flight on Sunday was canceled so I unpacked and bunkered in for a few more days. Yesterday at 11:00 a.m. I arrived in Detroit and at last had my arms around Nolan. I can't even begin to tell you how that felt. 52 days without seeing my son was pure torture. Amidst my excitement I was uncontrolably sad because in order to rejoice with Nolan I had to leave my beautiful daughter in Africa. I can't wait until my family is all in the same country under one roof!
The worst feeling about coming home was that I felt defeated. I spent tireless days and hours fighting for Abigail and in the end I have to go home without her. But then again this whole process has been about releasing my control and again I am brought to my knees and humbled. I find myself staring at the walls and wondering what God's plan for me is. How is he going to use this experience for my growth? I think leaving a child is possibly the hardest thing a mother could do. I feel like no matter what country I'm in I'm rejoicing with one child and yet grieving for the other. I do believe that one must endure suffering in order to grow so I will keep my eyes on His plan for me.
I walked into my home to find my amazing dogs jumping for joy and my beautiful home. My home felt like a castle. I will never again take for granted the things that I have been blessed with. I will never again seek more material things that are not needed and I will never again speak that I want more. I have taken 3 showers since yesterday just because having water pressure and hot water is so so nice!! A washing machine! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? (That ones for you Melissa). No more hand washing is going to be so great!
Through it all Abigail has been amazing. On Wednesday prior to leaving I received the long awaited guardianship of Abigail. She is officially ours! She is so patient and talks of coming to America to see Nolan all of the time. At this time we are still waiting for things to be resolved to bring her home. As I feel very frustrated with that I know that God can do the most awesome things. I know if are called to wait longer then there is purpose behind it and I'm reassured because I know it's His plan and not my own.
The awesome news yesterday is that I don't need surgery. Now I understand why I had to come home in that regard. They were prepared to do surgery in Uganda when in reality I'm having physical therapy 3 times a week for recovery. I was told it would be 6 weeks before I would begin to feel relief. Although that seems long I'm so grateful for no surgery!
I wish I could tell everyone details of my experience I just don't even know where to begin! I'm sure as the months pass the stories will be retold. It's just now when someone says "How was it?" it's hard to know where to start. Because of the sensitivity of the governments I fear I would offended someone unintentionally therefore I cannot discuss our case in public posts.
So tonight I am going to baseball! YEAH! It just feels so wonderful to have "normal" things again. And although my arms ache for my beautiful Abigail I know that Jason will be going soon to be with her. What an amazing day that will be for her to come home. Although this is so emotionally devastating for my family I know that she will be here time and I know He has amazing plans for her. She is so strong.
I can't thank everyone enough for the countless emails of support and prayers. If you could continue to keep our family in our prayers I would greatly appreciate that. We are so close and I believe that God will seek favor on our Abigail and bring her home safely.
Be blessed.
Heather
Monday, April 19, 2010
A Volcano? Really?
Several things have happened recently. First, we found out Heather has two fractured bones in her foot. We need her to get home quickly and have a procedure done to improve the circulation in the foot. The injury actually occured before she left for Uganda when she fell down the stairs. After walking around on steep and uneven ground for six plus weeks, she could no longer take the pain. I admire her strength and desire to be with Abigail.
In the middle of all this, visas are being handed out again at the US Embassy. Praise the Lord! Hopefully, we can get our court ruling, with the correct wording, to make a visa appointment soon. With Heather coming home for a procedure, I will be going back to Uganda for the final stage of things. I pray that I can have the determination and strength that Heather displayed during her seven weeks away from Nolan.
Finally, we have this volcano to deal with. Really? A volcano has shut down air travel? What is this another big budget Hollywood film where the earth is almost destroyed again? Through all the unique twists and turns with our adoption process, I quietly look forward to the next thing that we will overcome in order to bring Abigail home. First, it started with a lack of money in the very begining and now we are taking on volcanoes. Yes! Stay tuned next week for sea monsters and pirates. : )
Just for the record, we have sold almost 200 beads in the last week. That leaves only 300 left. Thank you for the love and support we continue to get from people across the U.S. and, now, Ireland.
Have a Blessed day! - Jason
In the middle of all this, visas are being handed out again at the US Embassy. Praise the Lord! Hopefully, we can get our court ruling, with the correct wording, to make a visa appointment soon. With Heather coming home for a procedure, I will be going back to Uganda for the final stage of things. I pray that I can have the determination and strength that Heather displayed during her seven weeks away from Nolan.
Finally, we have this volcano to deal with. Really? A volcano has shut down air travel? What is this another big budget Hollywood film where the earth is almost destroyed again? Through all the unique twists and turns with our adoption process, I quietly look forward to the next thing that we will overcome in order to bring Abigail home. First, it started with a lack of money in the very begining and now we are taking on volcanoes. Yes! Stay tuned next week for sea monsters and pirates. : )
Just for the record, we have sold almost 200 beads in the last week. That leaves only 300 left. Thank you for the love and support we continue to get from people across the U.S. and, now, Ireland.
Have a Blessed day! - Jason
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
NOW AVAILABLE: 500 Magazine Bead Necklaces
Looking for a great Mother's Day gift? How about some early birthday or Christmas shopping? We are looking to sell about 500 recycled magazine bead necklaces, from Uganda, to offset costs we were not expecting during our trip to get Abigail. In two days, we have already sold 50 necklaces. Praise the Lord!
Necklaces can be bought through me (Jason) at school or purchased safely on this website through Paypal. Thank you for considering buying one, ten, or hundred. : )
Necklaces can be bought through me (Jason) at school or purchased safely on this website through Paypal. Thank you for considering buying one, ten, or hundred. : )
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)