Come to the Table

The adoption journey is an amazing, gut-wrenching, joyous and tear-filled experience. You give your heart to little faces that are so far away, and there are so many obstacles between you and them that it sometimes feels like you’ll never be united. And in an incredible instant...the big day finally arrives and your lives are forever changed. Each adoption story is unique, with its own ups and downs, valleys and mountain top experiences.

Our adoption story has been no different. When we knit our hearts not just to one kid but to two, we knew we were in for a wild ride. Waiting to bring them home is hard, but knowing our kids have special needs makes the waiting that much harder.

We have prayed and pondered ways we can help to bring them home. That’s when it hit us: we’ll make a cookbook. But not just any old cookbook. A cookbook that honors the many people who have shared our table. The recipes we've assembled tell a story. God has used food to connect us to others and now, the story continues as He is using this cookbook to connect us to our children across the world.

If you donate, you not only will get a great collection of tested recipes and accompanying stories, but you will be making an eternal difference in the lives of our children. We want to get both of our children home as soon as possible, but our daughter especially needs life saving surgery that amplifies the urgency of our desire.  

People who know us know that we love having folks over. We love opening our home and sharing our lives. From the beginning of our marriage, we’ve loved cooking together and  gathering around the table with family and friends, new and old, from all corners of the globe...toasting life and love as we have spent time fellowshipping with others. It is our prayer that through your generosity, you will have recipes to share with others and make new memories of your own, build community with others and make an eternal difference on the lives of our children as we bring them to their forever homes and invite them to come to our table. 

To make a donation, click the button below. Suggested donation for the cookbook is $25. Cookbooks should be shipped in February.

You Can't Miss This!

I just had to share how awesome this family is. I hope and pray that you are blessed to have friends who inspire you, lift you up, and love you the way our friends to do us. Check out what's happening in the heart of this amazing little girl:

http://jacksonfamilyjoys.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-heart-for-fatherless.html

Big Things

What happens when you say yes to God? Big things happen...

As we have been continuing on our adoption journey, we’ve seen God do some amazing things. No surprises there. But the flip side of that coin is that He has also asked big things of us.

You know those old game shows where the person wins a big prize, I mean really big, like bigger than they can imagine? And then the host says, “But wait, there’s more! Tell them what else they’ve won, Bob.” That’s kind of our adoption journey.

We’re excited to let you know that we’ve been matched with a child. We feel like we’ve won the grand prize of life. We’ve been matched with the sweetest little boy. We’re not allowed to blog details about him yet, like pictures, but we would appreciate your prayers for him and us. 

“But wait, there’s more! Tell them what else they’ve won!”

As we have been seeking God throughout this process, it has become clear to us that we should adopt two children. (Yes, we are a little crazy.) So, we’re also pleased to share with you that we have been matched with a little girl as well. Two kids! We can’t wait to get both of them home.

Both our children are considered special needs, and in fact their needs are great. We’ll create a separate post to introduce each of them individually in more detail in a couple months when some more paperwork is finalized, but one thing that you can pray about now is that our daughter needs rather urgent medical care. We are looking in to a lot of options to expedite our adoption process, so please pray for guidance for us as you pray for their health.

God is in the business of doing big things when we say yes. We can’t express to you how much we value your generosity and we are so thankful for your prayers as we navigate this new journey He has us on. 

So what happens when you say yes to God? He says, “I am able to do immeasurably more than all you ask or imagine, according to my power that is at work within you.” (Ephesians 3:21, paraphrased)

Winter Solstice

Today is a holiday in China, called Dongzhi. It celebrates the Winter Solstice. Traditionally, it is a time for families to be united together. In the past, all people with the same surname would gather to celebrate and renew family ties.  

A big feature of this holiday is the eating of tangyuan, balls of sticky rice. The rice is bound together, which symbolizes reunion. Dongzhi celebrates families coming together.

As you read this, would you take a moment to pray for our family? Our desire is for our family to be bound together with our Chinese child, and this holiday reminds us that we are not there yet. 

We appreciate your prayers and your support in helping us make this family union a reality.

The Pancake Report

Well we did it...we had a pancake brunch/auction! And it was a beautiful thing. For those of you unaware, we gathered together this past Sunday at our home church and our family, along with another adopting family in our church, joined together with our growth groups and several other volunteers in the church. We collectively made over 600 pancakes, along with bacon and eggs. We also auctioned off over fifty items donated to raise monies to help bring our children to their forever families. Watching all these people come together to help us “have” a baby was humbling to say the least. I was in tears multiple times throughout the whole experience. I have to say, out of all the treasures of the day, by far watching our fifth grade Sunday school classes serve was the most beautiful experience. You see...out of the class of about 14 girls, over half of them have been adopted. It was their job to cut, paste and place the adoption statistics on all the tables. As these girls hurried through their task, they couldn’t help but read some of these jaw dropping numbers about orphans. Numbers like: EVERY DAY, 5,760 more children in the world become orphans. It is estimated there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide (recent UNICEF report.) Studies also show that 60% of the girls become prostitutes and 70% of the boys become hardened criminals. Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but… 

Each year 14,505, 000 children grow up as orphans and age out of the system by age sixteen. And their response was the most beautiful thing. They saw these numbers about other children...not themselves. Why is that? Because these beautiful little girls, who where once orphaned, left alone and unknown are now in loving homes where they are cherished, built up and valued. They have full hearts. And what were they doing with those full hearts? They were helping two families bring home another child that no longer has to be a statistic. So the ugly cycle is stopped in its tracks and a new cycle begins...one of love, generosity and compassion. We ask you to continue to pray for our little one...but not only our little one but the countless children that are longing to find a home where they too can stop the cycle.

“Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.  Deliver the weak and needy from the hand of the wicked.”  Psalm 82:3-4

TED Talk on Orphanages

I came across this TED Talk, and I thought it was worth sharing. It is about 10 minutes long, but it captures some good thoughts on orphans and orphanages. The fact that the US and UK and other developed Western countries have stopped using orphanages should tell us something about the detrimental effects of life in an orphanage. As you watch the video, please pray for our child and all children who begin life in this context.

A Touching Video from an Unlikely Source

We're still so early in our adoption process, yet God has already given us some awesome stories to share with our future child. (You can read some of our stories here, and here, and here). But what is cool is that everyone comes to adoption with their own story. We came across this story of a Chinese adoption by Seven Levitt, an economist and author of Freakonomics. It's a bit long, like many good stories, but I hope it inspires you, as it has us. 

We'd love to hear your reactions and feedback, too. Let us know what is on your mind.