Standing together

God is so faithful!!! Last night, many of the people who are adopting from Drawn from Water met together for the first time. What a feeling to know that we will most likely be in relationship with these friends for many years to come! The unity in that room, for me at least, was almost tangible. The bond I already feel with these new friends is ...... honestly, I cannot even find the words to express my joy. I have been praying for these families for weeks now, and what an awesome feeling to now be able to put faces and families with those prayers. It's all becoming so real!!!! Some families are farther ahead in the process and are giving us tips on how to handle all the paperwork. My prayers are with them as they go down this road ahead of us. I continue to pray for the children also, for their transition to their new families and homes.

As I was reading in 1 Peter 2 this morning, I got to verse 4 and had to stop and praise the Lord. Verse 4 says, 'He was rejected by people but He was chosen by God for great honor.' Then, in verse 9, it says, 'But you are not like that (stumbling because you do not know God's word), for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God for He called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.' I felt like these were key verses for our children on the way. They have been rejected by man, but never by God. He has chosen them, literally, drawn from water, to give Him the glory and to show others His goodness. He has called them out of darkness into the light of His love!!! I am amazed by God's faithfulness yet again as I contemplate all of this. His hand on their lives, for 'such a time as this' to be saved and brought into families that will love them unconditionally, as they always should have been.

My heart and mind are still trying to wrap themselves around the reality that doors continue to open for these little ones to be adopted. They have been moved into a new home and are being cared for by awesome people who love them very much. They are all healthy and happy.

Our next step in this process is to begin our homestudy. We are currently preparing for a fundraiser, tomorrow, selling pies. The Lord has been so faithful in bringing people into our lives that actually want a pie and are sowing into this ministry along with us and also people that don't want a pie, but are willing to give a donation anyway. So far the count is at 33, so we will be up early, baking. I'm very excited about all of it. I keep saying to the Lord, 'another drop in the bucket' as order by order comes in. Enough drops will fill the bucket to overflowing, and that's what we are believing God for.

We continue to be thankful for all your prayers, emotional support, and financial blessings. We pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by family and friends.

As always, thank you for taking this road with us,
blessings,
Anne

Baby steps

Hello,
Wow!!! So much has happened, starting with my lack of computer skills that kept me from posting sooner. Well, a couple weeks ago, I was approached by a friend who offered to pay for the first stage of our journey. I was shocked, amazed, blessed, confused, thrilled, scared.....yes, lots of emotions were going through my mind all at once! I knew God was going to provide, but was honestly shocked (but thrilled) when He did. So, after praying about it, we accepted the money and sent in our application. We received word today that our application was accepted! We were all so excited!!!! Truly, words cannot express the thankfulness in our hearts for this opportunity to continue with this journey.

We continue to pray for our journey as well as those families in our church who are at the same place and for those ahead of us in their own adoption process. The Lord is drawing all the families together, and soon we will begin meeting on a regular basis to pray for all the children, to encourage one another, and to strengthen our relationships so that when all of our children make it home, we will continue to meet so they will have relationships with each other.

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and for those who will continue. We are believing God for great miracles in this process and give Him all the glory.

As Ephesians 3:20 states, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory."

Thank you for walking along side us on this journey, we continue to be blessed.
~Anne

The beginning

Wow! We are starting on a very exciting journey here as the Lord leads us through this adoption process. Last February, our church, the Rock of Roseville, showed a video called "Drawn from Water." It told about a tribe in Africa that forced parents to kill their own children because of tribal superstitions. Our church has been very instrumental in helping 10 of these children after they were literally rescued from drowning in the river.

A family from our church packed up and moved to Africa to care for these children. They left in May and have been instrumental in caring for and providing tons of love to the children. In August, it was decided that these children need moms and dads permanently, not just temporary guardians.

Bruce, Emma, Sam, and I spent weeks praying and fasting over whether or not this was for us. We have decided that "Yes, definately!" this is a road we want to take. We continue to pray for the children, the families they will be united with here, their adaption to a new life, and for other families in our church who are in the process of adopting as well.

We look forward to what the Lord has for us as we wait for Him to show us when to send our initial paperwork in. I am so eager, but will gladly wait. As Proverbs 19:21 says, 'Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.'

Thank you for taking this journey with us. We are truly blessed!
~Anne