Rejoicing with the Dixon's!

Some of our dearest friends, Duane and Jenny Dixon, are adopting from Ethiopia! We are sooo excited for them! Check out their story and catch the passion!

Tanzania

Just wanted to post this video about some of the work that is going on in Tanzania. The team website is www.missiongeita.org . This is the group that I referred to last post. We are in contact with them via email. Please pray for their team and for the people in Tanzania. What a mighty God we serve--He is so active.... He does not leave us as orphans.

Shoes for Children and Africa Update

Here is an awesome way to help children all over the world!



Update:
For anyone who is wondering, we did hear back from the Drawn from Water group. Since they are in the beginnings of getting things up and running, they are not sure of all their needs. Right now they are not in need of additional staff, but could definately use prayer and financial support. There is a family from California that is going to help run the orphanage, and another family from Germany that is going to work with the tribe. Their prayer is that within 3-5 years they can eradicate the false beliefs of the tribe relating to "mingi" and return the rescued children to their families.

God is doing an amazing work delivering these children from death and working to free these people from Satan's grasp. We will continue to be in prayer for everyone involved. Who knows what all God has planned, amazing things I'm sure!

God did remind me this week, through His Word, to be careful what I claim as a word from Him. No doubt, God has planned for us to be involved with Drawn from Water, but perhaps not in the way I was thinking. (God even used Sat. morning cartoons to remind me of this! Hillarious!)

Jeremiah 23:38 Although you claim, 'This is the oracle of the LORD,' this is what the LORD says: You used the words, 'This is the oracle of the LORD,' even though I told you that you must not claim, 'This is the oracle of the LORD.'

And as is common around here, Mattie reminded me not to be discouraged. "So...," she said, "I don't care who we work with. It doesn't matter to me."

SO TRUE, So True! From the mouth of babes.....

Anyway we have been in contact with Blessing the Children for a while now. They are opening the 1st phase of their new Adana Education Center in Ethiopia this September. They have been eager to have us work with them from the very beginning, and they now have a financial plan for our family to be career missionaries (meaning 1+ years) with them. They would love to have someone there starting in September of this year, but they are very flexible as far as a start date and commitment length. They have been so encouraging and helpful to us as we seek to follow God's call on our lives.

Right now we are in prayer for a specific answer: when are we supposed to go to Africa? There are a couple of big things that need to happen before we could go: the sell of the business and the sell of our house. Again, right now we are just in prayer about when to take these next steps.

We are also in contact with some "friends of a friend" who just recently moved to Tanzania to start an orphanage and work on teaching sustainability among the natives. You can check out Carson's and Holly's blog to read about their journey.

It is soooo exciting to see all the ways God is at work! We just got word from some friends that God has called them to adopt from Ethiopia! One more precious orphan will be getting a forever family. Every child in a home is an answered prayer! Caring for orphans is definately contagious and has a domino effect.

Thank you God that it only takes 1 person listening to your voice to make a big difference!

YOU are that 1 person! Glory to God for all the people He has used to open our eyes to His heart.

Going Upstream

God is so faithful, so good. It blows my mind. I am having a hard time even putting thoughts together and typing. I believe that God has revealed where we are supposed to go and it is just like God to tie everything together.

If you take a look back at our first post you will remember that God called us to "go upstream". I remember Chad coming downstairs and saying, "We have to go upstream and find out who's throwing people in the water." He was sooo right. All along Mattie and I have felt called to go specifically to Ethiopia, but we didn't really know why or with who or how.........but God knows.

Tracy, a friend of ours posted this video on her page and told us to watch it. I was overwhelmed with the sense that God was saying "This is it". Please check out this video and the web site (specifically the page that tells "the story".) These children are called "mingi" or cursed and they are being saved from being drowned in the water by their tribe---www.drawnfromwater.org . I emailed the contact immediately (tonight). They are a family with 5 kids and they are moving to Ethiopia in 5 weeks to help run the orphanage for these precious children. I can't wait to see what God has planned. Please pray for us. Please pray for these precious children. And Praise God for His perfect plan!

Drawn from Water from Drawn From Water on Vimeo.

Thank you God for Tracy and her family. Thank you Tracy for listening to God and heeding His callings on your life. Thank you Elle for being so passionate for God and His children.

Waiting

I'm not very good at this............but, this is where we are right now. Waiting on God, waiting on answers from organizations, waiting on Maclain to sleep.

In the mean time, we are trying to listen and obey the "next steps" God is calling us to. Recently this has mostly revolved around finding ways to raise and save money. The kids are a constant source of encouragement to me. They are fully convinced of where God is calling us and they are eager to contribute anything they can to help us get to Africa to help the orphans. Tucker figured out we could use all their money in their piggy banks to get there. They all want to have a garage sale. We have started making and selling laundry detergent ($2/gallon if you're interested---cheap and it works really well!). Mattie has designed a couple of T-shirt ideas and is very ready to make and sell them to raise money.

I am planning on having a Green Gold Party for our families in the near future. It's a party where you can actually take money home instead of spending it and a percentage will go toward helping us help the fatherless! More to come on that.

Mattie continues to tell me that God is telling her that we are going soon and we need to get ready. Chloe hears God telling her to love people, even people she doesn't know. Tucker is realizing how many problems there are in the world, and he continues to lift them up to God.

From the mouth of babes! I am so thankful to have a God who speaks to each one of us.........I am so thankful that our precious children are listening to Him!

So I will try to be patient. I know God planned everything out before we were ever created and He will be faithful to do what He has called us to.

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil. 1:6

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Eph. 2:10

12 Years

I cannot believe that Chad and I have been married for 12 years today.  Time flies!  Many things have happened in those 12 years........some good, some not so good........the birth of 4 beautiful children, the purchase of 2 homes, the buying and selling of 8 vehicles, many family vacations and weekend trips, 9 ER visits, 2 serious back injuries, too many stomach viruses, fevers, and colds to count.  We have shared lots of laughter in joyous times, and we have shed many tears in trying times.  We have experienced way more highs and way more heartbreaks than I would have imagined.  Through it all Our God has been faithful.  He has been faithful to heal our bodies and our hearts.  Faithful to provide for our every need and more.  Faithful to take us by the hand and lead us when we have had no clue what to do next, or where to go, or how to deal with things.  I am so thankful to have shared 12 years with a wonderfully humble man who listens to God and to me and to our children.  I am so thankful to have shared our lives with a Wonderful God who has been so good to us.   The last 12 years have been an adventure for sure.  I look forward to the adventures of the next 12 years and more!  Who knows what all God has in store, but I know for sure He will continue to be faithful.  And I know for sure that I would choose Chad again and again to share in life's many adventures.  Thank you God for blessing me beyond my wildest dreams with a man who loves you and me unconditionally and will go anywhere and do anything for me and our family and his God.........even when it's hard.........even when it's scarry.  Thank you Chad for being open to everything God has for us!  I love you!

"For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

Alone

I hate feeling alone.  I'm not talking about being alone.  I actually enjoy that.  Quiet time is nice.  I'm talking about that feeling of aloneness.  That feeling like no one understands, no one cares, no one is there for you.  My kids hate it too.  Tonight as I was getting Tucker ready to go to bed he had a bit of a melt down.  Unfortunately, I became impatient and frustrated with him.  I needed a minute to calm down.  I told him he needed to talk to God for a while, and I left him.....alone.  Looking back, I really did leave him alone, not just by himself.  My attitude and behavior spoke to him, "I don't understand, I am not here for you, and I really don't care (or atleast I'm not acting like it)."  Of course the minute I left him he was in tears.  My heart breaks thinking back on it.  I remember that feeling.  I remember having that feeling at times as a child.  I remember having that feeling as recently as a few days ago.  I hated it then and I hate it now.  It has to be one of the worst feelings in the world.  It is enough to crush your spirit.

  "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"  Jesus knew the feeling.  Though I truly believe that God suffered right there with him every step of the way, He was still human, he still Felt alone.  None of us are ever truly left all alone.  God is always with us.  He has promised to never leave us, never forsake us (Duet. 31:6,8; Heb. 13:5).  But the enemy is powerful, and his lies are often convincing.

As I laid with Tucker and comforted him, apologized and talked with him, I couldn't help but think about the millions of orphans who feel ALONE every night....  "NO one is here, NO one understands, NO one cares.... It breaks my heart.  It literally makes me feel sick, those memories of the same feelings welling up inside me.  Like I said before, that feeling is enough to crush your spirit.  That's probably part of the reason why I have such a heart for the 180 million orphans in the world.  I cannot stand to think of how Alone they must feel.....continually.  I want them to know and feel that they are loved, by God and by me.  I want to show them that they are Not Alone.  Just like I want, hope, and pray to somehow show my own kids.  God wants all His children to know.....You Are NOT ALONE!

Only God can defeat the enemy, but He has armed us with weapons of love to fight against him.  He has given us the opportunity to bind up the broken hearted.  Will we?

Praise be to God that we are NOT ALONE! 

Isaiah 61:1-3

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair."