Kenya, Uganda, adoption AND a guest post.

Today's post is a bit different from my usual post.  Today's post is a guest post from Shay over at Busy Budget Mom  Shay (whether she knows it or not) is dear to my heart! Why? Because she allows God to work in and through her. She is obedient to His calling for her life even when it takes extremely hard work. She doesn't mind rolling up her sleeves and working hard for the calling God has placed on her heart and she doesn't question it! I'm telling you she is ALL IN in her relationship with Christ!
Recently, I was chatting with Shay about a mission trip Stephen and I are planning on taking to Kenya with our church next year. She shared her heart for adoption with me. We shared our hearts about foreign missions..about Kenya, Uganda, she shared about the possibility of India and that was just the beginning. Here is where God has brought her and her family since!

I always had a thing for adoption. Ever since I was little, I remember dreaming about adopting a little girl from China after first learning about their one child policy and about how many girls need a home there. But, my dreams stayed just that, a thought. A wish, and my life went on.

A few years ago a new family joined our church, and we were blessed to get to know them very well. They were also in the beginning steps of adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. I have to laugh- because I did not have a clue where Ethiopia even was! But, my eyes were about to be opened.

I began hunting in scripture and doing my own research on adoption and orphans. I was surprised to find many, many verses telling us that we are to care for them. That pure religion is to care for the orphans, and how God adopted us as his children. I ran into videos from families picking up their children, videos of the children...the hundreds and hundreds of orphaned children in just one orphanage. I read the stories. I would stay up all hours of the night reading, weeping and praying. My eyes were opened to the need, to the plight of the orphan. God tells us that he knows when our eyes have been opened...and he holds us responsible to do something about it.

"Once our eyes are opened, we cannot pretend we don't know what to do. God who weighs our hearts and knows our souls, knows that we know, and holds up responsible to act.." Proverbs 24:12

In the next three years, after much prayer we became foster parents and fostered a sweet three year old little girl. After she was reunited with her family- my husband and I felt the call to do something more permanent about the orphan crisis and adopt. Might I say it again---it took three long years of praying! But, God's plans are never late and here we are, just a month in- adopting a child from Uganda!

I often look at our current four small children and laugh, because this is totally crazy! We are ready for what's ahead and excited to see how God is going to work in this and provide for us. We have learned, even over the past three weeks, that God funds what he favors. We don't have the money to adopt, but we are praying and believing that God is going to provide every single penny- and he will! He is already showing off, as we have raised $1825 in three short weeks for one of our fees! We have a bunch of fundraisers going on, and we'll pretty much sell you anything that does not have a birth certificate!

One our popular fundraisers right now is Ugandan magazine bead necklaces, from Uganda. For just $20, you can help us bring home our child and provide a home for one less orphan.

They are colorful, beautiful, and handmade! To order, contact Jennifer! Please pray for us as well! This is a long, hard road we're walking and will need all of the prayer we can! Huge thank you to sweet Jennifer for letting me blow up her blog, will you help us get our child home?