Reckless Faith: A Missionary to Orphans

Our adoption journey is not about us.  It’s about glorifying God and honoring Him through our obedience.   It’s easy to let our focus turn inward – to focus instead on our own family and how long it may take to bring our child home.   But hearing about people like Beth Guckenberger and her husband help to remind me of the children and their needs.  Beth and her husband have been ministering to orphans in Mexico for 13 years.  They work for Back2Back Ministries, an organization that ministers in children’s homes.  Beth has written a book, entitled “Reckless Faith“, which is due to be released this summer.  You can watch a video of Beth talking about her work in Mexico by visiting the GodTube website.  I’m excited to hear about their ministry and how God is using them to minister to so many children!

HT: Billie’s blog 

Waiting

If you asked adoptive families what the hardest part of the process is, I think many would say that it’s what feels like endless waiting. It’s easy to get frustrated when your email goes unanswered, when delays slow you down, or the referral for a child seems like it will never come.

We recently set up a new aquarium. We decided it was time to add a couple more fish, much to our daughter’s delight. We took her to the store to buy the fish and all was going well until we got in the car to come home. It was at this point that our daughter had a tantrum because she wanted to hold the fish. We kept telling her that we would be home soon and she could have the fish then, but she continued her fit most of the way home.

How often do we act like this – throwing a fit or getting frustrated because we don’t get something we want, when God is trying to tell us, ‘Just wait a little while longer – you will have what you desire, you just need to be a little more patient.’

God’s timing is perfect and we know that He has already chosen the child who will eventually join our family. It may not be exactly on our timetable, but we are entrusting God with our family and our adoption. 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” – from James 1:2-4

Adoption Update: More paperchasing. . .

David was offered full-time employment this month with the company where he has been a contractor. This is something we have been hoping would happen. By accepting this new position, we set in motion the need to update our paperwork for our adoption. The social worker who completed our home study had to go back and update some of it. And our dossier, the file which our adoption agency will send to Taiwan, had to be updated with new employment forms and financial statements, along with the home study. I think the notary at our bank is starting to recognize us when we come in! I am hoping to have all of the updated paperwork ready to send to our agency by the end of this week. . .then we will sit back and wait some more!

One woman, her dream. . .an inspiration!

I learned today of a South African woman whose dream of living in China and helping orphans has become a reality. This woman is named Amanda de Lange and she started the Starfish Foster Home in Xian, China a few years ago. Her foster home helps care for children from a government orphanage who have special needs and require surgery or other special care. She shares on her blog how the home came to be named for starfish:

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a figure in the distance. As he got closer he realized the figure was that of a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”"Son,” the man said, “Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t possibly make a difference.” After listening politely the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the surf. Then smiling at the man he said, “I made a difference for that one.” - Shared by Amanda on her blog

I am so inspired to hear about this home, and the impact Amanda is having in the lives of these little children. I pray for God’s blessing for her and her work, and for all of the children in her care. She provides a list of items she needs on her website, and you can even visit and volunteer at the home if you are able. Recently she posted on her blog the need for donations to pay for surgeries for some of the children.  Wow – it really is incredible to see how God is using our adoption journey to learn about people like Amanda.

China Post features US adoption story

I came across an interesting news article in the China Post newspaper from last week.  It is about a US family who just completed an adoption in Taiwan of a baby boy. The child was born to a woman who is HIV positive and there were concerns that the boy may also carry the virus, but he has tested negative.

Some 50 newborn babies in Taiwan are suspected of being infected with HIV or having full-blown AIDS through their mother every year, said Lu Chun-yi, a pediatrician at National Taiwan University Hospital.

 “If we can provide appropriate medical treatment to the babies, the infection rate may be reduced from 40 percent to one percent,” Lu said. – From the China Post, April 2, 2008: U.S. couple adopts baby suspected to have HIV virus