Please pray for our trip to Nicaragua, 9/20-26th

Safety & health: air/road travel, food, water

Conference leaders:
John, Shirley, Stanley, Brenda, Harold, Mike, Vince, Alisa, Terri, Rebecca, Alvaro
Proclaim God’s Word, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, compassion & respect for the people of Nicaragua; unity among our group
(I will be teaching from the Beatitudes)

Conference attendees:
Bonding & trust between us & those in attendance
Rain to NOT hinder attendance
Pastors- a commitment to be challenged by God’s Word, despite cultural beliefs/practices; passion to accurately study, apply & preach truth of God’s Word
Pastor’s wives- deeper understanding of respecting & serving husbands, despite cultural beliefs/practices; devotion & compassion to the women & children in their congregation & community

Congregations represented at conference:
Conviction of sin, and repentance
Assurance of salvation (by faith, not works)
Commitment to their local body of believers; commitment to their families

Last, but not least, our adoption & our child’s paper work…the details are coming together on the other side of the world, but until things are finalized in Ethiopia, we continue to wait to meet God’s child for us.

Still (joyfully) waiting for Baby Martin...

Ps 25:21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I WAIT for you.

Ps 27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; WAIT for the LORD!

Ps 39:7 And now, O Lord, for what do I WAIT? My hope is in you.

Ps 130:5-6 I wait for the LORD, my soul WAITS, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Isa 26:8 ...O LORD, we WAIT for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.

Isa 33:2 O LORD, be gracious to us; we WAIT for you.

Another Quick Update

~~We had a conference call with our agency on Tuesday, and it sounds like things are going well. Vince & I are still hopeful for a referral by the end of the month (but, realistically, it could be October...ugh). The greatest part of this journey so far is that God has shown me the freedom I have to cry-out to him on behalf of this adoption, and this child. Yes, in confidence to ask that His will be done, but also in confidence to bring to completion the work of adoption that He planted in my heart!

~Remember the family I mentioned who lost their Ethiopian daughter to pneumonia? I am very pleased to share they have received another infant girl referral & hope to travel in November to get her. They had a memorial service for their first daughter and have expressed their joy because God has allowed both girls to be apart of their life!

~~Our adoption ministry at SBC, Chosen Lives, is hosting a lunch on Sunday for families interested in/pursuing/completed an adoption. We're expecting about 80+ people to attend -- we're very excited!!! Our goal for the event is to help families network & share theirs stories!

~Next week, we're heading south for a few days - and then Saturday, we're headed to Nicaragua. SBC has hosted Pastor Schools in Nicaragua for several years, and this year I have the awesome/humbling opportunity to teach for Pastor's Wives conference.

Where were you seven years ago, today??
I was at home getting ready for work (LSU Medical Center) when I received a call from a friend, who told me to turn my TV on. I did, and in disbelief, watched as plane #2 crashed into a WT tower. In a daze, I went to work only to sit by the radio and sneak to various waiting rooms to catch the news. That night I attended a prayer service at Broadmoor Baptist Church. I still don't think I fully comprehend how deeply the events of 9/11/01 have impacted our lives/society. God bless the people of America!!

PS- thanks for checking in :)

Quick Update

Over the past two weeks our agency has issued eight referrals (that I know of) -- so, we are unofficially among the top-1o families waiting for a referral!!! Vince & I are getting sooo excited...it is very likely that we might receive our referral some time during the month of Sept! Through the grape-vine, I've heard there may even be referrals issued this week...we have some dear friends in town, the Blackwells, that are in the #1 spot for a boy referral!!!

Stay tuned...I'll let you know how you can pray for us & Baby Martin!

Waiting for their cousin!!!

My sister-in-law, Kim, shared this with me last week about our niece, Mary Claire:

I wish you could hear Mary Claire pray for you, Vince and your babies. She always prays that you will get them soon, and then she prays that the babies will like you and Vince ...it is funny, and sweet, too.

Mary Claire, we ask God for those very same things!!!

Last fall, we shared with our family that we were pursuing an adoption from Ethiopia. Some time during the Christmas holidays, Spence (Mary Claire's 7 year-old brother) appeared and asked Vince, "Will he be able to play baseball?"

And Vince -- who was utterly confused because the question was so random; we had not even talked about the adoption that day -- responded, "Will who be able to play base ball?"

And Spence said, "You know, that boy."

Still confused, Vince said, "What boy?"

Frustrated, Spence exclaimed, "That boy you're getting from Africa!"

Ah ha! Vince then told Spence that he'd get to teach him (or her) how to play baseball!!

Spence grinned and said, "OK!" His heart obvioulsy at peace again, knowing that little kids from Africa are athletes, too!

Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!

The Bitter-Sweet Reality of Adoption

Down - up - and down, again.

This week an AWAA family received news that their little girl (still waiting for them in Ethiopia) had developed pneumonia and was in the hospital.

Our agency also gave three referrals for families waiting for toddlers/older children. Although we are waiting for an infant, my heart absolutely soars when I hear of older children being matched with their forever families. Maybe it's because they are older and can somewhat grasp the gravity of their situation. Some are old enough to dream, or despair, about their future...old enough to wrestle with their desire to belong & be loved...old enough to understand families are adopting children, but perceive they've been left behind. I can only imagine the explosion of hope an older child experiences when they learn that a family is coming for them this time.

Back to the AWAA family's sick baby. She didn't make it. Devastating. This family received their referral almost a month ago...a month of planning for their daughter, looking at her pictures, praying for her, celebrating with friends and family... but, The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Even in the midst of this tragedy, we Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.

What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has the eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.

Saint Augustine

Eureka Springs!

Take what you can get...at least that's my opinion when it comes to getting-away with my hubby! Yesterday, we made a mad dash to Eureka Springs for an over-night stay. We lodged at a wonderful bed and breakfast, had dinner last night, and did some shopping this afternoon. We've not been to Eureka Springs before, and I highly recommend it if you're ever in the area. It's a charming town in the mountains -- actually, reminiscent of New Orleans -- with fun places to eat, nature to explore, and a quite eccentric atmosphere.

bed and breakfast...

complete with wild-life...
YES, Mr. Healthy ate the french toast souffle!

loved the shops...

and more shops...

NOTE TO SELF: do not plan get-away during major televised sporting event, unless destination has no TV's..hee hee