Please Pray

My heart is overwhelmed with the Lord! He has been speaking His goodness and faithfulness to me all week through His word and the voices of many. Today I sense His presence so deeply that I am driven to my knees in humility and prayer.

I believe that we are at the culmination of what God has planned for our three children and the Kulp baby. Since that first day we failed court in early December, the Lord impressed upon both mine and Kim's hearts that this journey God has asked us to walk is bigger than our four children. We have always believed that somehow it is about all the children of Infansi@, the orphanage our children are from. I have shared with some of you that the depth of sadness and brokenesses my heart has felt these past weeks is deeper than just about waiting for our three to come home.

Well today God has confirmed that through our case and the Kulps, that He is working on behalf of the children of Infansi@.

We need once again to ask our prayer warriors to join us in storming the gates of heaven this weekend.

On Monday a meeting will take place between the Director of Social Services for the southern region of Ethiopia, the Director of Infansi@, and our agency's Director of Africa programs. The one signature that we need for our case to move forward will be either granted or denied at this meeting. If this signature is obtained, Duni can present our case to the judge and request a new court date.

The details are complicated, but this meeting is political in nature, with a potential battle brewing between federal and local officials. The purpose of the meeting is to determine the long term plan for getting children out of Infansi@ and into adoptive families. The method our agency is attempting to get our children out is being questioned by the Director of Social Services. It could be determined that this method is fine and he will approve all Infansi@ children to be processed in this manner. Or it could be that Infansi@ needs to obtain a federal orphanage license. If it is the latter, he could choose to hold our children until this process is completed (perhaps 6 months, a year, or longer.) We are overwhelmed and humbled that our two cases are the catalyst for this meeting and for what will hopefully be the opening of a floodgate for the children of Infansi@ to be given a hope and a future. We are praying that our children will be released and will not be caught up in any potential political battles that may ensue.

Our God is sovereign and we KNOW that whatever the outcome of this meeting, it will be part of God's plan for our children, the orphans of Infansi@, and our family.

• Please pray for justice for Isaiah, Josiah, Lydia, and Micah.
• Please pray for the this one signature to be granted.
• Please pray that the gates would open for the orphans of Infansi@ to be able to adopted into families.
• Most of all, please pray that God's purposes would be accomplished!

I've also concluded that whatever God does,
that's the way it's going to be,always.
No addition, no subtraction.
God's done it and that's it.
That's so we'll quit asking questions
and simply worship in holy fear.
Whatever was, is
Whatever will be, is.
That's how it always is with God.
Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 (The Message)