Friends, this has been a long journey. We have been praying for over 2 years and have felt that God was leading us to adopt again and recently felt that should be from Malawi. Well, we won’t be leaving Malawi with a child at this point. Jackson’s extended family has decided not to consent to adoption, so he will continue to stay in the nursery.
We are seeking the Lord and what he has for us in the midst of calling us to follow him here. At this point we don’t know all the whys, but we do know that He is in control and we have been called to surrender to him and trust him. One thing I taught in Tanzania was Christ is King, not us. As I prepared, it was clear to me that Jesus is my King and he gets to set the direction and lead. I don’t get to set the path and plan. He does. So I am to surrender all to him, be his servant and follower. So we are trying to trust and surrender all to him. It is with heavy hearts and a sense of grief that we will return to the US Friday (9/4). Our tears have come easily but our trust in him has grown in the midst of it all.
We are still looking for the opportunity to adopt and our attorney will continue the process while we are in the back in the States. (I still would love to adopt Farook, the HIV positive child, and hope to follow up our options with him.) It now becomes even harder with us not being here.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tanzania Fellowship of Evangelical Students (TaFES)
InterVarsity is part of a worldwide movement of indigenous campus ministries in almost all the countries of the world. TaFES is a small movement with 12 staff. 8 are new staff this year and the rest are all under 10 years on staff.
So to have Patrick who has been on staff 17 years and me (14 years) was amazing to them. These young people were so amazing. Their faith and commitment inspired me. Patrick and I taught, challenged and encouraged them about the faith journey of Abram and following Jesus as staff.
I was so impressed with the staff especially the young ones. One young man, Simon, was especially sharp. He is starting his second year and was teaching the new staff how to inductively study the scriptures. His training was excellent and I was so blessed to get to know him and talk about life and ministry. He is from the Massai tribe. (You have probably heard of the Massai warriors.) He has a heart for his people and longs to help them come to Jesus. He will be leading the community development ministry for TaFES this year.
The community development wing of their ministry works in rural villages to bring about positive change and to fight against poverty and injustice. 5 of their new staff will be joining this project and be stationed all over the country. I believe these young people will make a great difference as they serve God in the villages.
One of these intelligent young people was Kristen, who just graduated from college. Her insights and faith were amazing. After one of my sessions, she came up to me to talk about the Bible and Jesus. She said I had encouraged her trust of Jesus and that she was now even more committed to trusting Him and to bring his love to her work.
Thank God for the opportunity to serve Him and bring Him Glory.
Some other highlights:
Seeing the Indian Ocean, buying Ice cream from a vendor in the midst of a traffic jam, seeing the fish market (smelling it was not a highlight), spending over 40 hours driving and talking with Patrick (a great opportunity for encouragement and building our relationship)
Thank you for your prayers. They were needed.
So to have Patrick who has been on staff 17 years and me (14 years) was amazing to them. These young people were so amazing. Their faith and commitment inspired me. Patrick and I taught, challenged and encouraged them about the faith journey of Abram and following Jesus as staff.
I was so impressed with the staff especially the young ones. One young man, Simon, was especially sharp. He is starting his second year and was teaching the new staff how to inductively study the scriptures. His training was excellent and I was so blessed to get to know him and talk about life and ministry. He is from the Massai tribe. (You have probably heard of the Massai warriors.) He has a heart for his people and longs to help them come to Jesus. He will be leading the community development ministry for TaFES this year.
The community development wing of their ministry works in rural villages to bring about positive change and to fight against poverty and injustice. 5 of their new staff will be joining this project and be stationed all over the country. I believe these young people will make a great difference as they serve God in the villages.
One of these intelligent young people was Kristen, who just graduated from college. Her insights and faith were amazing. After one of my sessions, she came up to me to talk about the Bible and Jesus. She said I had encouraged her trust of Jesus and that she was now even more committed to trusting Him and to bring his love to her work.
Thank God for the opportunity to serve Him and bring Him Glory.
Some other highlights:
Seeing the Indian Ocean, buying Ice cream from a vendor in the midst of a traffic jam, seeing the fish market (smelling it was not a highlight), spending over 40 hours driving and talking with Patrick (a great opportunity for encouragement and building our relationship)
Thank you for your prayers. They were needed.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Travel to Tanzania
My week in Tanzania was such an adventure a blog will not do it justice, but today I will give you a brief look at our travel then later I will let you know about the training.
Day 1: collided with bicyclist. He broke a rib and our side mirror was broken off. Saw Malawi emergency care in a hospital up close, maybe too close. I am glad I haven’t had to use it yet. Day 2: In Tanzania, we drove through clouds way up in the mountains and saw giraffe, monkeys, impala and zebra along the road and slept a cold 4 hours in the truck. Day 3: traffic violation #1. No fire extinguisher on board and chose to pay the fine not the cheaper bribe that was requested so we could avoid the higher fine. In Dar es Salaam, capital city of Tanzania, the power goes out just as we are about to enter a very busy, very large intersection with a stop light. Insane, aggressive gridlock followed with cars going every which way.
Return trip Day 1: traffic violation #2 passing in a no passing zone when the other car was virtually pulled off the road! We paid the fine, but only after arguing our point. Saw more animals including an elephant. Then we towed a broken down van 100 km through the mountains and it almost pulled us off a cliff. We slept a couple hours in the truck while waiting for the border to open. Day 2: Non-eventful, and arrived home safe and in one piece. Praise the Lord!!
Day 1: collided with bicyclist. He broke a rib and our side mirror was broken off. Saw Malawi emergency care in a hospital up close, maybe too close. I am glad I haven’t had to use it yet. Day 2: In Tanzania, we drove through clouds way up in the mountains and saw giraffe, monkeys, impala and zebra along the road and slept a cold 4 hours in the truck. Day 3: traffic violation #1. No fire extinguisher on board and chose to pay the fine not the cheaper bribe that was requested so we could avoid the higher fine. In Dar es Salaam, capital city of Tanzania, the power goes out just as we are about to enter a very busy, very large intersection with a stop light. Insane, aggressive gridlock followed with cars going every which way.
Return trip Day 1: traffic violation #2 passing in a no passing zone when the other car was virtually pulled off the road! We paid the fine, but only after arguing our point. Saw more animals including an elephant. Then we towed a broken down van 100 km through the mountains and it almost pulled us off a cliff. We slept a couple hours in the truck while waiting for the border to open. Day 2: Non-eventful, and arrived home safe and in one piece. Praise the Lord!!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Tanzania
Chris left for Tanzania today to speak at Tanzania's National Staff conference for the IFES movement (of which IVCF is a member). Please pray for safe travel for the 18 hour drive. Also pray for minimal delays so they can get there in plenty of time. He is traveling with Patrick, the General Secretary of the IFES movement here in Malawi. Pray that Chris could be an encouragement to him and the good work that he is doing in this place that is very difficult to minister in. Pray for Chris's talk, that he could communicate the Word of God clearly, and the Holy Spirit would use him to say what he wants them to hear. The conference lasts the week, so they plan to head back next weekend.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The mountain hasn't moved
We are still facing the mountain. It seems like God might have other plans for us and for Jackson. Some of the family members met with the social welfare director for the area Saturday, but are hesitant to sign the adoption release. Adoption isn’t a common thing here, so they can’t understand how this could be a better option for him. So we continue to wait. Yet the possibilities have virtually run out with 3 weeks until we leave.
Our hearts are heavy as we think of what future Jackson has as it seems there is no one to care for him, yet the relatives won’t give up custody. We drove up to Mzuzu this week to meet him and talk with the social welfare department there. It was great to see him and hold him and Dudley was able to feed him. He is a beautiful little boy. Please pray for God to provide the best family situation possible for him.
It has been a time of soul searching for both Dudley and I. It has been interesting to see how we each grieve and struggle through these days. Our questions are different yet similar.
DUDLEY:
Though this whole process we have really felt this is what God had wanted us to do. Yet when things don’t look like they are going to work out I start to question if he really did call us to this. I was reading in a book that talked about faith and how Noah followed God in building the ark. He made sacrifices, was laughed at, with possibly no concept of rain, and he didn't see the reality of his faith for maybe 100 yrs. So I feel like we are also doing something crazy God has lead us to, we’ve made sacrifices, people have laughed at us, but I don't want to wait 100ys to know we are doing the right thing. But in this, I have come to trust God more not in that he will do what I want him to do, but in his loving character towards me, that he will do what is best for all of us.
But if he did really lead us here, and we do all we can, and we pray and lay it all in his hands, and he doesn't bring it about, what then? Somehow we need to pray for an insight into God’s eternal viewpoint. Maybe our summer here isn’t about adoption, but about helping us take a step into something bigger God has planned for us. It is just hard to wait for God to reveal is plan.
CHRIS:
My question has focused on making sense of God’s call for us this summer. It has been “If adoption is not the reason we were to come to Malawi this summer then what is this summer all about? Why did we feel so clearly God’s call to attempt this crazy thing?” The short answer is I am not sure yet. I have thought a lot about faith and what it is and isn’t. It has been an emotionally hard summer. I have prayed and cried more than I have in a couple of years combined. I have thought about these three kids and the pain that their lives will be filled with as they grow up without parents. I also have wept for the millions of kids in Africa that are struggling to survive as a result of the millions that have died from AIDS. It is a good lesson for me to learn that I can’t fix every problem even with God’s help for one little child. God is in control and I never will be. The world is unjust and systems are broken. Tears can be healing yet I still am not comfortable with them. What is God doing in me and us? We have to wait to find out. He is sovereign.
I have been praying and thinking a ton about James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
He will show us His plan in His time. Thank you for praying with us and for us. Please continue to pray. We need it and the children of Malawi need it too.
Our hearts are heavy as we think of what future Jackson has as it seems there is no one to care for him, yet the relatives won’t give up custody. We drove up to Mzuzu this week to meet him and talk with the social welfare department there. It was great to see him and hold him and Dudley was able to feed him. He is a beautiful little boy. Please pray for God to provide the best family situation possible for him.
It has been a time of soul searching for both Dudley and I. It has been interesting to see how we each grieve and struggle through these days. Our questions are different yet similar.
DUDLEY:
Though this whole process we have really felt this is what God had wanted us to do. Yet when things don’t look like they are going to work out I start to question if he really did call us to this. I was reading in a book that talked about faith and how Noah followed God in building the ark. He made sacrifices, was laughed at, with possibly no concept of rain, and he didn't see the reality of his faith for maybe 100 yrs. So I feel like we are also doing something crazy God has lead us to, we’ve made sacrifices, people have laughed at us, but I don't want to wait 100ys to know we are doing the right thing. But in this, I have come to trust God more not in that he will do what I want him to do, but in his loving character towards me, that he will do what is best for all of us.
But if he did really lead us here, and we do all we can, and we pray and lay it all in his hands, and he doesn't bring it about, what then? Somehow we need to pray for an insight into God’s eternal viewpoint. Maybe our summer here isn’t about adoption, but about helping us take a step into something bigger God has planned for us. It is just hard to wait for God to reveal is plan.
CHRIS:
My question has focused on making sense of God’s call for us this summer. It has been “If adoption is not the reason we were to come to Malawi this summer then what is this summer all about? Why did we feel so clearly God’s call to attempt this crazy thing?” The short answer is I am not sure yet. I have thought a lot about faith and what it is and isn’t. It has been an emotionally hard summer. I have prayed and cried more than I have in a couple of years combined. I have thought about these three kids and the pain that their lives will be filled with as they grow up without parents. I also have wept for the millions of kids in Africa that are struggling to survive as a result of the millions that have died from AIDS. It is a good lesson for me to learn that I can’t fix every problem even with God’s help for one little child. God is in control and I never will be. The world is unjust and systems are broken. Tears can be healing yet I still am not comfortable with them. What is God doing in me and us? We have to wait to find out. He is sovereign.
I have been praying and thinking a ton about James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
He will show us His plan in His time. Thank you for praying with us and for us. Please continue to pray. We need it and the children of Malawi need it too.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Will God move the mountain?
Chris has returned safely from the mountains on his quest for Jackson’s family. It was an adventure. He drove for over 30 hours in 2 ½ days with much of that being in the mountains of Malawi on dirt roads with inclines of close to 75 degrees in some spots. He made it back safely. Praise God!
Our first miracle is that Chris was able to get the social welfare director for the area to actually go to the village!! Twice!! We haven’t been able to get social welfare to lift a pen for us the whole time we have been here. Sadly, they were unable to locate Jackson’s grandmother, who has the say in his future. But, through the village elders they set up a meeting with her and the social welfare person for Saturday. So we stand here before another set of mountains. The 70 plus year old grandmother will have to walk for several hours down and up the mountains to meet with the social worker. He will have to journey for over an hour and half on those mountain roads to meet her. Then they will have to discuss what is best for Jackson and come to a decision. We need this meeting to actually happen tomorrow for anything to move forward.
We are trying to trust God and yet we have experienced the broken systems here this summer and know there are many obstacles that could thwart our adoption dreams. Everything is now at critical stage. If this doesn’t happen we have very few options left.
So will you join us in praying that God will do what is best for Jackson and give us the insight to know what our response should be if the meeting doesn’t happen
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Prayer for this week
We are humbled and very grateful for the many people that have said they pray for us every day: Cayla, Bonnie, Jeremiah, Sharon, Sylvia, Lyn and many others. A special thank you to our small group that has been praying for our adoption desires for almost 3 years. Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
This week we are making our last ditch effort to get something moving on adoption. Chris has been fighting his natural inclination to make things happen, instead he is trying to trust God and wait. (Not easy for him.) This last week we have sensed freedom to try something. So he is driving 12 hours north to Chitepa in a very remote section of Malawi in an effort to encourage social welfare to find Jackson’s extended family to verify his orphan status. He will take them to lunch and then drive them to his village to try and locate the family. He has an appointment with them Tuesday. Patrick has lent him his pickup to navigate the dusty roads and Madaritzo is going with him, because he is from there, knows the area and speaks the languages.
There are so many areas here we need God to work. Many we don’t even know to ask you to pray for. But do pray that they would be able to find the family, and get the necessary paper work, that we could file papers soon to get a court date before we are due to leave. Also pray for safety on the roads. They will have to travel some at night and that can be dangerous.
On the quiz:
Everyone guessed well. It was my toilet at the Nsaru conference.
This week we are making our last ditch effort to get something moving on adoption. Chris has been fighting his natural inclination to make things happen, instead he is trying to trust God and wait. (Not easy for him.) This last week we have sensed freedom to try something. So he is driving 12 hours north to Chitepa in a very remote section of Malawi in an effort to encourage social welfare to find Jackson’s extended family to verify his orphan status. He will take them to lunch and then drive them to his village to try and locate the family. He has an appointment with them Tuesday. Patrick has lent him his pickup to navigate the dusty roads and Madaritzo is going with him, because he is from there, knows the area and speaks the languages.
There are so many areas here we need God to work. Many we don’t even know to ask you to pray for. But do pray that they would be able to find the family, and get the necessary paper work, that we could file papers soon to get a court date before we are due to leave. Also pray for safety on the roads. They will have to travel some at night and that can be dangerous.
On the quiz:
Everyone guessed well. It was my toilet at the Nsaru conference.
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