I Love Raising Boys!

My kids have me laughing every single day.  I really should tell more of their funny stories...maybe I will.  But there is this one story...one thing that happened today that I can't not tell.  These boys are hysterical.

Today I told my kids to take our older camera, go outside and take pictures of things that God made, that they think are beautiful.  I have a vision of them creating a little journal this year of each season and the beauty of God's creation in the seasons. 

They took their sister with them and I could hear them having a wonderful time together. 

As I put the card into the computer so that we could all ooo and ahh over their pictures, the boys started snickering.  (I knew something was up.)

They took some great pictures, like this:

Havyn's raspberry bush.

 

 

 

And this....I love fall pumpkins.

 

And trees with leaves just beginning to change.

 

They took lots of other great pictures.....

 

 

And then my creative boys busted out laughing as I clicked on this picture:

 

 

After he could control his laughter a little bit, Josiah looked at me, with as serious a face as he could muster and said, "Well, Mom, God made our bottoms and they're beautiful."

 

What more can I say to that?

 

I love raising boys! 

 

 

They took this one of themselves.

 

 

 

 

(BTW, the date on the camera is wrong)

Why We Educate Our Children At Home

I have often thought that I should write a blog post about why we educate our children at home.  We are blessed to live in an area where homeschooling is considered an appropriate option for education.  Our children have lots of friends who receive home education, and I haven't seen my boys get the look of pity from strangers when they say that Mommy is their teacher.  I know that not everyone who homeschools their children feels as surrounded with support as I have felt...and that makes me sad for those families.  I have read other blog posts about why families have decided to home educate, however, this post says it best for me.  So, instead of spending several hours putting our decision into words, I'll share this Mom's words (which I'm sure she spent a lot of time putting together).  (Click on the link below)
Growing Home Blog: If You Asked Me Why We Want To Homeschool...

"Were It Not For Grace"

I have so much to say in relation to this song, and yet, I feel that I should just let the words of the song speak for me.  "Were it not for grace, I can tell you where I'd be; Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere, with my salvation up to me.  I know how that would go; the battles I would face.  Forever running but losing the race, were it not for grace."

The title of my blog is This Grace Filled Life.  It did not take me long to come up with that title, because you see, my life has been filled with the Grace of God.  I'm not a great blogger...Oh the stories I could tell, maybe should tell...but I do hope that somewhere in the midst of what I write, you are able to see Jesus, to see the grace that I relish in. 

I was just on my knees, reading in Isaiah and remembered this song.  All my praise to God my Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ, for allowing me to live This Grace Filled Life.  Sometimes the battles are fierce, but grace always abounds.

Marra Frehiwet Olsson

It was a normal Sunday.  We went to church.  Greg took us all to Wendy's after church and then we came home.  While I was in church I heard my cell phone beep, and I thought, "Who would be calling me during church - must be a wrong number."  We came home and I listened to a message that was flashing on my machine.  My dear, adoptive mommy friend, Allyson, (we traveled to Ethiopia at the same time to meet our children), called.  It was a simple message, but I knew something was wrong.  I called immediately.  The words that she uttered did not compute.  I fell to my knees on the floor, weeping and at the same time thinking, "Surely I did not hear her correctly."  Little Marra was hit by a car....I could not have heard her say..."and she died".  Allyson was weeping too...It was true.  Sweet, little, 2 year old Marra, adopted from Ethiopia around the same time as my daughter and Allyson's son...how could she be gone?  Amy, her Mom, Oh God, how could you take her away from her Mom, her siblings, her dear Daddy who had to endure watching the nightmare unfold?  Don't you remember all that they went through to get her home.  Didn't you see the joy that precious Marra brought to that family?  We are told to mourn with those who mourn.  I don't know how to not mourn for this family.  Only God...only God can make beauty from ashes and I will pray fervently that Marra's family will SEE some of that beauty. 

 

 

I did not write this.  You should read it, though.  Read it and get to know this beauty that God blessed the Olsson's with and then called home to Himself.  Get to know her and pray for her family...them not having her smile everyday will never be ok.

 

 

I have to write this. It's not something I can choose not to do. It has to be written.
I am compelled to tell you about an amazing little girl. This little girl- this incredible, phenomenal spitfire of a girl was perfect. She was beauty. S...he was joy. She was sunshine.
She is Marra. Marra Frehiwot (or Marra Freh) as we all lovingly called her.
There really are no words...no witty quips or pretty adjectives that can ever come close to conveying all that which is and always will be Marra. But her mommy asked me to try. Her mommy, who in the midst of her soul shattering grief wants simply for us to celebrate her daughter asked me to help all of you "see" Marra as we all did. And so.... I have to write.
To know Marra was to know pure,blissful,joyous love. She was so tiny and yet had the presence of a
Giant. When Marra walked (ran was more like it) into the room-you knew it. Her laughter was the kind that comes from the soul- the kind that comes from those who know they are completely and unconditionally loved. And she was. And is. And forever will be. You couldn't help but love her. There's just something about that little girl.... Something about Marra.
Perhaps it was her smile. To be smiled at by Marra was like standing in the most brilliant sunrise you've ever seen. You could (and did) drown in those smiles. And if , by chance you didn't-well there would be no saving you from those giant round eyes of hers.
There really is just something about that little girl. Something about our Marra. The little girl with the enormous personality. The precious little girl who we have to say good bye to. The little girl who was called home by Our Heavenly Father just days ago. The beautiful little girl that touched and forever affected so many lives-including my own.
I have been so blessed to have been included in Marra's life by her incredible parents. And they are incredible. How could they not be? God wouldn't have chosen parents for Marra unless they were amazing people. Strong in their faith. Strong in their love for each other. And strong in their complete and total love and devotion to their children. Amy Olsson and Sten J. Olsson are all of those things and more. They are the kind of parents I have always wanted and hoped to be.
I wish it were possible for me to express through words the pain I feel for this incredible family. Pain at the loss of their precious Marra Freh. Pain for the road they will now travel. Pain for the journey of grief they will now have to endure. And pain-excruciating pain at the hurtful and judge mental things inconsiderate people have said.
Amy asked me to address that issue. And I said I would. But I'm changing my mind. I won't tarnish or dim the light that is Marra by wasting time on insignificant and ugly babble. Marra wouldn't want it. Instead I will pray. I will pray for those who choose to judge without knowing that Sten adored his daughter as he does each of his children. I will pray for their lack of compassion toward a grieving father who has been shattered by the death of his baby. I will beg that Our Father will shield them from ever being touched by the loss of their own child because then-and only then could they ever begin to fathom what Marra's daddy is feeling. And I will ask you all to pray it with me.
Now-I have a favor to ask. It isn't my favor. It's the favor asked of me by my dear friend,Amy.....my sister in Christ and fellow broken momma. Won't you help me share Marra? Please share this on your wall, in your groups, in conversation. Tell everyone you know. Tell them that there was a phenomenal little girl who came clear across the world with parents who moved mountains just for the chance to love her. Tell them about her giggles , how she loved her family, adored her doggy, was learning all about and loving God and teaching us all what joy looks like. Tell them there's just something about Marra.
And ask them to tell her story.See More

 

When you say yes.

Two posts in one day??  Yes, because I read this and couldn't let it go without sharing....

 

"When you say YES to adoption, you are saying YES to enter the suffering of the orphan, and that suffering includes WAITING FOR YOU TO GET TO THEM. I promise you, their suffering is worse than yours. We say YES to the tears, YES to the longing, YES to the maddening process, YES to the money, YES to hope, YES to the screaming frustration of it all, YES to going the distance through every unforeseen... discouragement and delay. Do not imagine that something outside of "your perfect plan" means you heard God wrong. There is NO perfect adoption. EVERY adoption has snags. We Americans invented the "show me a sign" or "this is a sign" or "this must mean God is closing a door" or "God must not be in this because it is hard," but all that is garbage. You know what's hard? Being an orphan. They need us to be champions and heroes for them, fighting.... to get them home. So we will. We may cry and rage and scream and wail in the process, but get them home we will."
--Jen Hatmaker

The Same God....

I had no plans of writing a blog post, but I couldn't let this pass with just a thought and a thankful heart.  I needed to put it in words, for me, for you and for our son. 

This morning I read Daniel 6.  I'll quickly set the scene.  Daniel had been taken captive as a young man and taken to Babylon.  Now three kings later, many years later and many miracles later, Daniel still served the God of Israel, the One true God.  He was a righteous man who loved the Lord.  The Bible says, "Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm."  That did not sit well with others who wanted to be the King's appointed.  They sought to bring a charge against Daniel, but there was no charge for them to bring against him.  They said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God."  So...to make a long story short, they convinced King Darius that he should make a law that no one should pray to any god for 30 days or they will be thrown into the den of lions.  Of course, Daniel was faithful to God despite the threat to his life, and he was seen praying to God.  So, the king had no choice but to throw him into a den of very hungry lions.  End of story, right?  Wrong!  The king was distraught about Daniel being thrown to the lions.  The next morning the king came very early to see if Daniel was still alive.  It amazes me that the king even thought that Daniel's God could save him.  He called to Daniel and Daniel responded.  He was alive!  God saved him from lions who would devour and destroy him.  The king said, "...For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end.  He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth,  who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions."

I hope you stayed with me and read that very quick account, because I want to share with you what the Spirit whispered to my heart after I read that.  Satan is said to walk the earth like a Roaring Lion seeking whom he may devour.  I always pray that God protects my children from the evil one, and that God protects my son, who is all alone and has no earthly protector. 

This morning I felt peace as the Spirit whispered to my heart that the same God who protected Daniel from the lions is the same God who is protecting my son from him who walks the earth like a roaring lion seeking to devour.  And dear friends, he does seek to devour our children.  He does not want them worshipping and serving the One True God.  He does not want my son in China to be in our home hearing the name of Jesus every day.  But God...But God is greater.  But God is more powerful.  But God is with my son, protecting him and giving his heart hope. 

In this I find peace as I wait....The Same God that set Daniel free from the lions will set my son free.

They've come so far....

Today I watched my boys have their last lesson with their Gymanstics Coach.  He is moving and we are so sad to see him go.  The boys have progressed so much under his coaching.  He believed in them, encouraged them and helped them hone in on their skills.  One of the most beautiful things about this for me was that he is Russian.  I know that it sounds strange, but I believe that in some way God used this to bring healing to my heart.  Anyone who knows our story knows that we were treated cruelly by the Russian court system.  And our boys, well, let's just say that they were not treated as the valuable treasures that they are by those who should have cared for them.  So, I think that God knew that in my heart I still had unresolved trauma and frustration with Russia.  Coach Andrei was a gift, not only to my boys, but to me.  I know it sounds so strange, but watching him treat my boys with dignity and respect and watching him enjoy the boys, smile at them, laugh with them and believe in them, brought healing to me.  God used this one Russian man to bring some healing back to them (and me).  Doesn't God work that way!

Here is a picture of the boys when we were visiting with them in the orphanage. 

They were 24 months old in this picture.

 

They had that 10,000 yard stare....

And here is a picture of them with Coach Andrei. 

 

 

It takes my breath away to see the then and now pictures.  Such beautiful healing that God has given to their hearts and bodies.  Their smiles light up my every day! 

 

New Pictures!

When your child is half-way around the world...

 

 

 

And you can't sit with them to read a story or tuck them in at night...

You can't kiss those chubby cheeks or hold those sweet hands...

 



 

 

You can't hear their laugh or relish in their sweet smile....

 

New Pictures make your heart do leaps and makes you miss them even more.

 

 

Why We Ask

I read a question/statement from a post on Facebook by Carolyn Tweitmeyer (http://www.projecthopeful.org/), which made me wonder if there are others in our lives that feel the same way.  The statement was from someone that she knew in response to her request for financial help for adoption/orphan care.  The person asked (may not be exact quote), "Why is it that every time you hear from God it costs me money?" 

We've had friends tell us that if we feel led to adoption then we should have the money for it.  They do not believe that we should be asking for help for adoption.  After all, we are the ones who want the child; why should they help us fill our home?  (As if we are asking for help to buy a boat or a new car)

Let me first say that it is not easy for adoptive parents to ask for help.  It is not easy to know that God is calling you on a mission that involves laying down one's pride and asking the Body of Christ to stand behind you.  But isn't that what God does?  Doesn't He use His body to complete His mission on earth?  The mission is to spread His glory and fame to all peoples of the world.  The heart of adoption is that same mission.

Adoption is about the business of the Gospel.  Allow me to give you an example of what I mean.  Our boys are Kumyk.  They were born in Russia, but their ethnicity is Kumyk.  According the Joshua Project ( http://joshuaproject.net/), the Kumyk people are all Muslim.  There are a little over 400,000 Kumyk's in Russia, and they are among the least reached peoples of the world.  That means that there are very few, if any, known Christians who are part of the Kumyk people group.  BUT, you know two Kumyk, little boys who know Jesus.  Because many of you helped us bring our boys home, there are now two Kumyk's in the world who are reached.  And who knows the heart of God and how He will use our boys to reach many more who do not know Him.  Adoption is about the Gospel.  And you are part of that!

Adoption is about fulfilling God's command to care for orphans.  James 1:27, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this:  to care for orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."  Yes, we adoption/orphan care people use this verse all the time.  It isn't the only passage that speaks of orphans and widows, but we use it because this verse brings it home. I was in a Sunday school class a while back and the teacher taught that the words "orphans and widows" in this verse were only used to describe the poor or downcast.  Let me tell you that it was all I could do to not stand up and say, "That is a lie!".  Satan would like us to believe that we are not all specifically called to care for orphans and widows because that is who he preys on.  He goes after the weakest, and they are the weakest and most vulnerable in every society.  My friends, we are all commanded to care for orphans and widows!  How is God asking you to care for them?  Adoptive families ask for help, because we know that the blessing will be yours when you glorify God in helping an orphan come home.  We know that it pleases God when we work in unity, as a Body, to rescue the weakest, the most vulnerable.  You may not be asked by God to bring an orphan into your home as your own flesh and blood.  We have been given this calling, and we are just wondering if God has given you the calling to help this little boy to no longer be an orphan, but a beloved Son who will hear the name of Jesus every single day.

I could talk about how much an adoption costs - we call it the ransom, because these children are being held captive as orphans.  I could go on about the fact that we are actually doing two adoptions at the same time.  Our adoption in Ethiopia is on hold, but we have invested quite a bit already into that process.  I could talk about how we have used all that we have for adoption, and we are not asking you to give what we are not willing to spend. 
But I doubt that you want to continue to read such a long and laborious post. 

So I will leave it at this:
We have two opportunities for you to help.

1.  If you want to make a straight donation, you can click on the Paypal button to the right, and follow the prompts to make a donation.

2.  We are selling sheets.  We need people to collect orders for us and we need people to buy sheets from us.  They are $37 per set or $42 per set if we have to ship them to you. We get $18 per set sold.  If you collect orders, we will give you a free set of sheets for every 12 orders that you collect.  Please let me know if you would like more information.  I am going to monitor the comments, so if you want more info. please comment.
(The sheets are super soft and really nice.  All sizes and colors are the same price)

Dear friends, we know that not all of you are in the position or will be called to help our son financially. But we are asking, because we think that some of you will be asked of God to help this little orphan boy, who will not be an orphan for long. 

May I ask that you all pray for him?  One of the hardest things for an adoptive parent is knowing that your child is half-way around the world in an orphanage, alone.  Oh my, how it pains my heart to not be able to get on a plane right now and let him know that he is wanted and he is loved. 
So please pray that we can get to him quickly.  Please pray that there is someone who is loving him and showing him affection until we can get there.  Please pray that God gives hope to his tender heart.  And please pray that all the government offices push through our paperwork quickly.  We are believing God for the miracle of a speedy adoption....and trust me, the words "speedy adoption" are true miracle words. 

Thank you so much for reading this and for your friendship. 

Our Children's Past

It is a common question that we adoptive parents get.  It is an understandable question.  People are curious.  I get it.  Really truly, I'm a curious person too, so I understand the question more than one might think.  One of my college professors (my mentor) gave me the nickname of "the reporter", because of my curious questions. 

The question is, "What happened to your child's parents?"  or  "How did they become an orphan?" 

Being the curious type myself, I have in the past indulged people's curiosity and answered the question.  Perhaps I also wanted them to see how amazing God is, and how God loves redemption.
But there's a problem with answering those questions.  The problem is that they are not my answers to give.  They are my children's stories, and it was wrong of me to share them without their permission.  They're not old enough to give me permission yet.  They're not old enough to even grasp the things that they have had to endure, let alone discuss them with others. 

So, I am letting you all know that I will from here on out I will be silent about my children's past.  And if you know their stories, I trust that you will respect my children's privacy and will be silent as well.

This is what I will tell you, because this is what is most important.  God has never forgotten my kids.  I believe that He has always been near them, with them.  And it was God who showed us where they were and gave us the courage to walk in faith to them.  It is God who is showing us how to help their hearts and bodies heal.  And don't we all need healing?  Haven't we all been wounded at some point in our lives?  Don't we just want people to know that we serve the Great Healer, without everyone always having to know what we needed to be healed from? 

Thank you for caring about our family, and for loving our children.  Our kids are so blessed to have wonderful people who care about them.  And you, my friends, are so blessed to know my kids, not just because they are amazing (and they are),  but because God has given you a picture
of Heaven through them. 

My three precious treasures (looking forward to having a picture of the 4 of them together!).

This totally shows Havyn's personality!  I love it!

A Surprise in China..

We have so much to share with you, our friends.  I think that the announcement will have to do for now.  As most of you know, we are on a waiting list with an adoption agency to go back to Ethiopia.  Lord willing, we will still adopt again from Ethiopia.  However, God showed us a little boy from China that we believe He wants to make our son.  Here he is, with a heart over his face.  Once we get approval to post pictures we will remove that heart and show you our precious soon-to-be son's face.

I was reading an adoption blog, as I often do, and this post referred its readers to a little boy in China who needs a family.  So, I clicked on his picture to see it better.  I wanted to pray for him and for his family to find him.  That click took me to an agency's waiting child website.  At the top of the list of waiting children was the little boy in the picture.  His special need is vision related, and since Greg is an optometrist, I asked him to look at his video and tell me about his eyes.  As we watched the video of this beautiful boy something stirred in the hearts of both of us.  I'm sure it was the Holy Spirit.  Greg looked at me and said, "What should we do about that little boy?"  After much prayer and Scripture reading, we could not escape that when we looked at the picture of this boy, we were looking into the eyes of our son.  And so, with excitement and lots of fear, we said, "Yes". 

Listen, friends, this is a leap of faith for us.  We did not just on a whim decide to adopt a special needs child from a country from which we were not even in the process of adopting.  However, Greg and I believe that sometimes (ok, many times) God's ways are not our ways.  And many times He calls us to "crazy".  This verse kept coming to mind as we were faced with this decision, "A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9
The question for us became whether or not we would trust the Lord and walk in the way we knew He was directing us to walk. 

So, as I said, we are on the waiting list for Ethiopia, and we will stay on that list and continue moving up.  We will be permitted to accept a referral from Ethiopia after we are home from China for 6 months or when we are ready.  We do hope to be able to go back to Ethiopia and adopt again, but right now we have a son in China and we must bring him home.  He doesn't belong in an orphanage.  He belongs with his family.

I like to listen to sermons online while I am cleaning the kitchen.  This is one of the sermons that I listened to during the days that we were making the decision to change course (for a time) and go to China.  It's a great sermon by Francis Chan: Click on this to hear Francis Chan.

"Take steps of faith...do things that don't make sense outside of Heaven." Francis Chan

What to do about the "Treasure of Darkness"?

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

Psalm 92:1,2&4

 

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you have seen a bombardment of information and pleas for prayer regarding the Russian adoption ban.  I have been so sad about this for many reasons, the main one being that children who would have had families now will most likely remain alone, hungry and without hope.  This isn't anything new, back in the early 1990's, Romania's door closed to adoption too.  Sadly, not much has been done by the Romanian government to correct the very poor care of Romanian orphans.  And then you have Guatemala, whose doors closed to adoption in 2007.  The main reason was corruption in the adoption process in country.  So, instead of snuffing out the corruption and punishing those who were profiting illegally from adoption, they punished the children who would have had families.  There are still hundreds of children who have families (they were matched with a family) in the States and are not allowed to come home.  Shall I continue naming countries, where orphans are not being treated as the treasures that they are?  Countries whose leaders do not fight for the best welfare of their most vulnerable citizens?   Countries who sit back and watch their littlest treasures being sold as sex slaves?

 

This month, as we celebrated the birth of Jesus, Jesus our Hope, I couldn't help but ask Him repeatedly, why do you linger?  Why do you allow such evil to destroy?  

I have been so broken.  You see, all I have to do is look into the eyes of my beautiful children and remember what they suffered at the hands of evil and think about what their "lot" would have been, and my heart breaks in pieces for the children who have no hope for family, no hope for love, no hope to be treasured. 

 

But the Holy Spirit continues to whisper to my soul....a time of redemption is near...yes, a time of redemption is near.  And this is what I hold onto as I continue to speak...no Yell...for those who have no voice.  Evil may triumph for today, but Jesus holds those little ones.  He came as a Baby to give hope to the hopeless, to set the lonely in families.  He came to bring them, to bring us all, a Father who will never leave.   

 

Psalm 146:5-10 says, "Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help,
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
⁶ Who made heaven and earth,
The sea, and all that is in them;
Who keeps truth forever,
⁷ Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.

⁸ The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord raises those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
⁹ The Lord watches over the strangers;
He relieves the fatherless and widow;
But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.

¹⁰ The Lord shall reign forever—
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

 

Evil will not always succeed.  But while it does, we must, as the people of the Most High God, fight for the "treasures of darkness".  We must pray vigilantly for those who don't even believe that there is a God who would hear them.  We must go to them and visit them in their distress.  We must use what God has given to us to help those who are sent to rescue them from traffickers, to show them the love of Jesus, to provide for their physical needs. We must bring them into our homes while we still can, to love them for the treasures that they are. We must use what God has given to us to help others to bring them home and then provide support to those families when they are home. 

We must ask God, as we are on our knees praying, "What more will you have me/my family do to love those whom you say are the greatest in the kingdom?"

While I have felt hopeless for the children of Russia and other places around the world, the truth is, they are not without hope.  They have never been without hope, and so I will continue to pray fervently, with hope, to the One who sent His Son to bring Hope to the world. 

 

(Side note - as I have read articles on the Russian adoption ban, I have been confronted with the ever present view (even in Christian circles) that Americans should only adopt American children.  This view troubles me immensely, and I will be dealing with this in my next post.)

Read before November 15th!

Well, I haven't been a good blogger.  I'm sorry that I haven't kept you all up to date with our happenings, but life and time have gotten away from me.  However, there are some exciting things on the horizon, and I think you should all know about them. 

Greg's brother and his wife just started the process to adopt this precious girl.  We can't disclose the exact country online, but you can probably guess. :)
 

Isn't she a beauty?  We all love her already, and can't wait to welcome her into the Robinson family!
Here is a picture of my brother and sister-in-law and their 3 sons. 

 

 

Some of you may not know this, but the country that they are adopting her from is the most expensive adoption program.  They are stepping out in faith in a huge way, and trusting God to provide.  Greg and I know exactly how this feels.  On one hand, you are scared to death and wonder what in the world you are doing?  There is so much unknown.  On the other hand, it is so exciting to see God's hand at work, orchestrating every detail and using His people to come together for the life of a child. 

And...that is why I am writing this blog post.  We need you.  We need you to help this precious one get home.

Last Christmas we decided that the gifts that our family would give to others would have deeper purpose and meaning. We chose to purchase gifts from organizations that sell fair trade items and use the profits to benefit those who have been trafficked, live in extreme poverty or

are enslaved. Delicate Fortress Creations became the main website from which I shopped, and I loved all of the products!

I am very excited to invite you to shop from Delicate Fortress this Thursday, November 15th. While purchasing gifts for others (or yourself) you will be blessing those who have lived with extreme hardship, and you will be helping my niece to come home!

Their financial need for this adoption is so great, but they believe that God will work miracles to provide. 

Will be part of this miracle? 30% of what you purchase will go towards their adoption expenses.

Here's how the fundraiser with DFC works. For ONE day only, Thursday, November 15, Jeff and Jen's adoption fund will receive 30% of all DFC website sales when you use the coupon code "ROBINSON" at checkout. Shop for Christmas, teacher, birthday and thinking of you gifts while helping their adoption and women and children world wide!

Thank you so much for your support!

Are We Going to Die in Our Religion.....

Bring Love In

On September 15th (Mark your calendars and keep this date free!! :), Greg and I are hosting the Benkert family.  This family left their suburban life in CA, and moved to Ethiopia.  They originally moved to help save children who were being murdered because of superstitions and fears.  They made a difference, saving many, many children, and finally getting the government to act on behalf of the children.  They also adopted one of the children who was left to die.  Now they are in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, and have started the ministry called Bring Love In.  To say that I love their concept is an understatement.  They are working with local churches and government run orphanages to bring widows and orphans together to create new families.  That statement does not do justice to what will happen in the lives of these orphans and widows.  Please visit their website http://bringlove.in/ and read for yourself.  AND...come September 15th (details to be announced), and hear Levi Benkert tell the story of Bring Love In and the marvelous thing that God is doing to care for widows and orphans in Ethiopia . 

This is a post from a blog that I just came across.  Dawn was in Ethiopia at Bring Love In. She talks about this ministry from her first hand perspective.  Please take a few minutes to read this and look at the pictures. 

From the blog Partakers of Grace
Bring Love In was a ministry I was excited to support and work with before I came to Ethiopia. I believed in their purpose and vision. But after visiting a government orphanage this past week for the first time, I cannot describe the way my heart is locked into what Bring Love In is doing.

I wish I could somehow expand my vocabulary to adequately paint a picture of what government orphanages here are like. I don't want to put down or be negative about the people who run them because I don't know enough about the system, country, or character of those in charge to be able to make those assumptions. I have heard some stories of things that go on, but have no concrete evidence, so I won't repeat them.

What I can do is tell you a little about what I witnessed, and then explain why Bring Love In is so special.

When the director of the orphanage (I'm not going to name the orphanage publicly) took our family on the tour of the facility, she began in the older boys' room. There were bunk beds lining the walls in a long, narrow room. Many beds had 2 boys in them. We were there during "quiet time", so the kids were mandated to be in their beds. A majority of the boys looked like they were sick (colds, etc.), and I could easily spot that the orphanage held HIV positive children that were not receiving medication, because they were covered in the warts that are typical in people who have had the virus for a while and are not on medication. Alan and I shook their hands and said hello (Alan walked the whole length of the room and made sure he touched each child and smiled at them). We saw the girls room, where most of the girls were asleep. When we moved on to the toddler and then baby rooms, the smell just kept getting worse and worse. By the time we were in the youngest baby room, we had to breathe through our mouths because of the overpowering smell of feces and urine. Many of the babies were laying in their waste, with it coming out of their diapers. Some cribs had 2-3 babies in them. I could tell that some of the babies were rarely picked up and many that should have been able by their age to roll over, pick their heads up, or sit up, could not. They didn't have developed muscle strength. I had tears in my eyes as I walked through and I was trying to hold it together in front of my kids and the director. There just weren't enough nannies to go around. The capacity of that particular orphanage is supposed to be capped at 150, but they run well over 200 at any given time.

While we were there, we delivered a very large duffel bag of supplies, from baby wipes to Tylenol, shoes, gloves, and many other much needed items. We also brought two large bags of cloth diapers and covers, formula, and the Little Dresses for Africa that the ladies at my church, EPC, sewed for the girls. To ALL of you that donated money for formula and items to deliver to orphanages here, THANK YOU. I wish I could show you where your items are going, but they strictly prohibit pictures at the orphanages. To all the ladies at EPC who lovingly cut and stitched all those beautiful dresses, please know how badly I wanted to be able to show you pictures of the girls that will be wearing the dresses. I apologize to you that I can't provide that. But, at the same time, rest assured that the dresses are going to be gracing the bodies of little girls who desperately need them, and you are giving them a chance to feel beautiful in a very depressing place. THANK YOU!!

This brings me to Bring Love In. Bring Love In will be pulling children from these government orphanages. The children that are chosen to be able to participate in their program will be getting a chance at a LIFE. A chance at a FAMILY. A chance to be picked up and loved and rocked and fed and bathed and schooled. A chance for a FUTURE that they otherwise would not get. Do you know what happens to you when you age out of an orphanage here as a very young teen? You go to the street. There's no program. There's no college help. No government coming to the rescue. Nothing. There's begging and stealing and sleeping on the cement or dirt with bugs crawling on you. I'm not exaggerating. Go to Levi's blog on the Bring Love In website and let him describe for you how it feels to sleep on the street. And if you're a girl? Don't ask. You don't want to know. Yet you NEED TO KNOW. Because it's real and it happens every second of every day.

So click on Bring Love In and read about their mission and vision and plan. Read how they are going to change lives here and build up leaders who can give back to their country and have pride to call themselves Ethiopians. Leaders who will hear about Jesus every day and know how important families are. http://bringlove.in/

This is the entrance to Bring Love In's office:

The room for their secretaries:

Part of the storage room that will field donations that will be given to the homes that Natalie and I will be organizing over the next few weeks:

This is the "transition room", where children can spend the first few nights they arrive while they are being put into a family.

Part of the nurses room:

Alan and I and Jessie and Levi outside the front door of the office:

We were also invited to see the very first family house. This is the front of the house:

And the very first child placed in a family here, Setota. Isn't she beautiful?

We had to say goodbye to Levi and Jessie this past week as they headed to the States to go on their tour. Here are the kids with their new friends. Please click on the link on the blog and if they're coming close to you, meet them. LISTEN. Then HELP.

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. 20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless ?" (James 2:14-20