HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOYS! 
Forgot candles, daddy brings matches..smart guy.
Ben and that mischievous boy look.
Ben and his Bumble Bee car.
Richard. Love it when they want learning toys.Today we celebrated Ben's (age 5) and Richard (age 10) birthday. So hard to believe that Ben is five...
It seemed like it was just yesterday that I picked him up from a Liberian orphanage. He is still so down to earth with his requests for life, a bumblebee car was all he wanted. His eyes just lit up when he opened the package with a bumblebee car!
Now Richard, he takes getting presents a little more serious. He had already showed me what he wanted when we went shopping last week. He gave me several selections..
Richard even though small in size is big in life! He knows what he wants, leads wherever he goes and is sure to succeed in whatever he does. I would of never guessed that the little African American. shy 18 month old boy, they brought us from foster care would have been so full of life.
Just another testimony to the GOODNESS OF GOD!
Before I started working with Africa I volunteered to work with an organization who had an orphanage in Haiti. I collected donations, did sponsorship coordination and fell in love with the country and it's children.
It branched off into trying to help special needs kids and a boys home that was destitute.
I traveled with answered prayers to Haiti and although I spend a lot of time crying (and sweating) I loved every minute of it. And not surprisingly, fell in love with a little two year old with Hep. C there.
Before I started working with Africa I volunteered to work with an organization who had an orphanage in Haiti. I collected donations, did sponsorship coordination and fell in love with the country and it's children.
It branched off into trying to help special needs kids and a boys home that was destitute.
I traveled with answered prayers to Haiti and although I spend a lot of time crying (and sweating) I loved every minute of it. And not surprisingly, fell in love with a little two year old with Hep. C there.
I was so sure God was calling us to adopt her and called my husband to see if he would agree. He immediately said yes and we started the process.
Adopting from Haiti is not a easy or cheap task. The Dossier is very involved and expensive. Phychiatric evalutations, everything has to be translated into French and the list goes on. After spending hundreds of dollars, tons of time, my husband said he felt God was now saying no.
If you have ever had a child already placed in your heart and then had it ripped out you know the pain it causes.
If you have ever had a child already placed in your heart and then had it ripped out you know the pain it causes.
I felt like I had a miscarrage.
The stubborn woman that I am I refused to accept it. I KNEW he had to be wrong, God never would of said that. I prayed, I begged God to help, went to my pastor for support, surely he would see this wasn't from God.
Then one morning in my devotional God spoke to me, will you sacrifice this child to me, your wants, as I asked Abraham to sacrifice issiac on the altar? You know that voice in you that KNOWS God is speaking, but like a rebelous child you don't want to hear?
Genesis 22:1-19In this eighth encounter with the voice of God, Abraham's faith is put to the test. Seemingly, God tells Abraham to do the unthinkable by sacrificing Isaac, the child of divine promise. Amazingly, Abraham wastes no time and departs with Isaac the very next morning.
I didn't even have time to ponder my disobedience when I got a e-mail, from a complete stranger that said "Tanya, I feel the Lord is telling you that there is something in you life you have to lay down as Abraham had to lay Issiac down at the altar."
Then I broke..... it was God speaking and I just refused to listen. How I cried out to God for forgiveness.
I hurt my husband and God by refusing to listen, but putting my own wants before his.
I know now that God was calling me out of Haiti and to Liberia Africa. He had four precious jewels waiting for us there. All the things I had learned in Haiti God would be using to DO HIS ministry in Africa.
Sometimes we never know why God says no. Trusting that he just has a plan to prosper us and not harm us. Oh how I pray I can always hear the voice of God when he speaks. That my needs never outweigh his commands.
Then one morning in my devotional God spoke to me, will you sacrifice this child to me, your wants, as I asked Abraham to sacrifice issiac on the altar? You know that voice in you that KNOWS God is speaking, but like a rebelous child you don't want to hear?
Genesis 22:1-19In this eighth encounter with the voice of God, Abraham's faith is put to the test. Seemingly, God tells Abraham to do the unthinkable by sacrificing Isaac, the child of divine promise. Amazingly, Abraham wastes no time and departs with Isaac the very next morning.
I didn't even have time to ponder my disobedience when I got a e-mail, from a complete stranger that said "Tanya, I feel the Lord is telling you that there is something in you life you have to lay down as Abraham had to lay Issiac down at the altar."
Then I broke..... it was God speaking and I just refused to listen. How I cried out to God for forgiveness.
I hurt my husband and God by refusing to listen, but putting my own wants before his.
I know now that God was calling me out of Haiti and to Liberia Africa. He had four precious jewels waiting for us there. All the things I had learned in Haiti God would be using to DO HIS ministry in Africa.
Sometimes we never know why God says no. Trusting that he just has a plan to prosper us and not harm us. Oh how I pray I can always hear the voice of God when he speaks. That my needs never outweigh his commands.
NEWS FROM HAITI, THE ORGANIZTIONS I WAS INVOLVED IN.
Dear Friends,
We have amazing news! All 54 US-bound chldren that were in our care at the orphanages have flown out of Haiti and are in the United States. We are so grateful to them many wonderful people who made this possible. Thank you to the wonderful Diana Boni for her incredible efforts that set these children free, both in the last few days and in many years previously. Thank you to Jamie and Ali for their wonderful work on the ground, and for refusing to lift off without every one of our kids. And thank you to every one of you, for praying and supporting and making these efforts possible.
We will be in touch in the coming weeks to let you know where we will head from here, there are many newly orphaned children and much work to be done.
Thank you friends,
Answered Prayers
Child Hope international.... great organization.
Wow thank you for sharing this with me. At this time we have nine children. Four with special needs. It is interesting how my husband and I rarely hear God's voice at the "same" time. At this time I am in prayer about a little boy with SN that I "think" God has laid on my heart. I would be grateful if God would speak as clear to me as he did to you.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Tiffany
OH how self centered of me.. .
ReplyDeleteGreat lookin kids... love the faces of the boys above. Also I did send out your post from below.. hopefully some have taken the time to cover the children in prayer.