Dying Well and Adoption

I was listening to Matt Redman's song, "10,000 Reasons" today and it dawned on me that in order for us to die well, we must practice dying well throughout our lives.  It's not something that will just drop into our personalities when our time to die has come.  Let me explain a little bit how this thought dawned on me and also how it relates to adoption.

Redman's song relates how our hearts have 10,000 reasons to be singing praise to God day in and day out, never ending, never fading.  There is no reason for anyone to cease to praise God.  There is always a reason to praise the Lord.  The last verse of Redman's song is where it came to me that we must prepare now to die well.  Here are the lyrics...

And on that day when my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing your praise unending

Ten thousand years and then forevermore. 

In this section of the song, he's saying that when the time of death hovers over us, there will, even then, be every reason to sing praises to God as we await the eternal dawning of never ending worship. When that time comes, even in the moment of earthly departure, "my soul will sing your praise unending."  When strength fails, when organs cease to function, when hair is gray and trips to the bathroom become more cumbersome than worth it, God is still worthy to be praised.  How then do we look forward to the day when we can glorify God in our death?  How do we know that when our time has come, we WILL sing praise unending?  I think the way we die for the glory of God is by living for the glory of God now.  

When morning dawns, is praise on our lips?  When darkness falls, is praise on our lips?  When children are born, is praise on our lips?  When children are lost, is praise on our lips?  When we worship at church, is praise on our lips?  Will our hearts, even now, sing praises to the Lord "whatever may pass or whatever lies before me"?  When praise and satisfaction in the Lord become our ever-present anthem, there is no reason to think that this anthem will be drown out by something as fleeting as death.  For those in Christ, death is just the beginning of "ten thousand years and then forevermore."  Sure, we leave those we love, but we enter into the joys of everlasting satisfaction and delight when we see Jesus Christ face to face.  Let the joys of eternal delight in Christ motivate you to rejoice today in Christ so that when your time comes to face death, praise will be the "natural" and automatic response of your soul.  

How then does this relate to adoption?  As our adoption has changed over the last few months, we haven't been affected as negatively as some other couples have.  Sure, our process has changed, our plans have changed, and our peace of mind has been shaken.  However, we've heard stories from other families that could, at times, feel like death.  For some in the adoption journey, the day to day wait for documents, referrals, or even pictures may feel like an eternity.  And yet, do we delight enough in the Lord in those moments to sing praise unending?  Do we use these moments as "practice" for when we will worship around the throne of the Lamb who was slain?  

This "strategy" for dying well sounds stoic, I know.  It's not easy, and in this life, it does not come naturally.  But maybe it will just be helpful to keep it on the front of your mind as you face life's challenges.  Maybe you can bring to mind the joys of God's provision while you are waiting on that USCIS document.  Maybe you can remember that God has a chosen son or daughter out there for you who will fit into your journey of sanctification so well that only God could have orchestrated the beauty of your family.  The Lord is good, his love endures forever.  Praise him and die well.  

Adam<><

How to Help Us Financially: Lifesong

Just thought this would be
a funny picture to include.

Many of you know that Liz and I were graciously given a matching grant from Lifesong and Orphan Care Alliance around Christmas of last year.  We not only met the matching aspect of the grant, but we exceeded it!!!  This was an amazing blessing to us, and many of you were part of that effort.  Since we haven't moved along much in our adoption process, those funds are still at Lifesong and our account is still open.  This is good news for you if you would like to help us bring our Congolese baby home.

We still need between $5,000-$6,000 to get us closer to the end financially.  We're not sure about the timeline and it's possible there will still be unexpected costs, but at the moment, $5,000-$6,000 will get us closer.  The benefit to giving to Lifesong on our behalf is that they are a 501(c)(3) agency whose sole task is to help families fund adoptions.  This means that you can give to our adoption journey AND it is a tax-deductible gift.

For those who have already helped us along this journey, Thank You.  For others, if the Lord leads you to help us through this Lifesong account, here's how you can do it.

Make your check out to "Lifesong" with our family name and account # in the memo (Howell/ #2240 Adoption).  This will get that amount applied to our account.

You can send the check to:

Lifesong for Orphans

Attn: Howell/ #2240 Adoption

PO Box 40

Gridley, IL 61744

Keep in mind that we have already matched our grant, so your gifts won't be doubled at this point, but we will still be incredibly thankful for any support the Lord leads you to donate.  

Adam and Liz<><

Paperwork Journey... Again

So after several changes, we've begun the paperwork journey again.  Well, sort of.

We got our dossier back from our previous agency and I spent that last several hours scanning each document in order to send it to our new consultant for review.  We've basically moved to an independent adoption, but we are working closely with a lady whose former position at the U.S. State Department was the Adoption Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa, Congo.  Her role was to review adoption cases in the Congo and issue visas once the cases were approved.  So, if anyone is going to know about how to adopt a child from the DRC, Danielle will know.  She's the one that we are sending our scanned dossier documents to.

So we've kind of started the paperwork again, but we already have much of it in place.  We'll probably have to get some updated medical letters and background checks, but overall we have what we need.  We got our newest I-171h in the mail from USCIS reflecting our pregnancy last week.

It's fun to feel like things are moving once again.  Please pray for us as we make a decision about working with a particular attorney in the Congo.  Danielle has connections in the DRC with people who run orphanages and have children available for adoption.  She recently presented us with an attorney who will be able to locate a referral for us, and we are praying about jumping on board with him.

The recent changes in our adoption journey have set us back a little bit financially.  I've found out by talking to others that this is not uncommon to encounter unexpected costs or increased fees even after you agree to a certain estimate.  The independent adoption is cheaper than adopting through an agency, so our total costs at the very end will be almost identical.  However, over the next few months, we will need to do a couple of fundraisers and perhaps recruit more Lifesong support to cover travel costs and other miscellaneous costs (visa fees, DGM fees, etc.).  So, keep your eyes peeled for fundraiser opportunities.  We've got a couple in mind that might prove to be quite fun.  We also still have some t-shirts for sale ($20).  If you want one of those, you can contact us here or via Facebook and we'll get it to you.

As always, thanks for your continued prayer and support.  This has already been a longer journey than initially expected, but we know the Lord's timing is best and we are more than comfortable resting in His timing.

Adam and Liz<><

Despicable Adoption

Ok, so maybe the title was a little over the top, but it got you to click on the link, right?

With the weather outside pushing 100+ degrees, we've decided to stay inside, which inevitably leads to some movies on the tube.  Today we watched Despicable Me.  We've seen it many times, and for those who know the plot, you may know why we love that movie so much.  The movie's been around long enough that I don't mind to ruin it for you. :-)

Gru, the main, despicable character, decides to adopt these three precious girls, but with entirely wrong motives.  Hence, he's despicable.  However, in the process, he falls deeply in love with these girls and in the end, he fights to get them back.  He rescues his little girls from the other villain, Vector, and takes his girls home to safety.

When watching this movie today, I was especially struck by the title "Despicable."  For Gru, this adjective is, in fact, true.  Whether he becomes "respectable" in the process, I'll let you decide, but in the end, he adopts these girls and appears to love them as his daughters.  Although Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures probably didn't intend this message, the thought came to my mind today that we are all "despicable" due to sin, and yet God can take our despicable hearts and break them for a particular oppressed people.  For Liz and I, God has broken our despicable hearts for the orphan.  He regularly uses broken vessels to extend the joy of Christ.  In our case, we can't wait to introduce our little Congolese warrior to the Christ who died for his soul.  Why would we be so excited to complete this adoption?  Because God, through Christ, has rescued our despicable hearts by adopting us into his family.  Adoption is a picture of how God can take what was once abandoned, broken, and despicable and transform it into something that is glorious.

We are certainly not completely transformed, nor are we even on our last leg.  God has much work still to do in our hearts.  This is where we get the idea of a "despicable adoption."  The adoption journey itself is not despicable; in fact, it is remarkably glorious (even with the bumps).  This adoption journey is "despicable" because God is using obviously broken people to carry out his glorious purposes for the orphan.  I mentioned yesterday that God never changes and that part of his character is to execute justice for the orphan.  Using broken, "despicable" vessels to care for the orphan is but one way that God executes justice for the millions of orphans in the world today.  So, are we broken?  Yes.  Are we despicable?  Yes.  Does God have a bigger purpose using despicable people to carry out his glorious purposes?  Absolutely, YES!!!  So in some sense, if we think about it rightly, the title "Despicable Adoption" is exactly what Illumination had in mind with the title "Despicable Me."  We are thankful that God has chosen to use our family to defend the fatherless.  Broken people advocating for broken orphans in broken situations.  Needless to say, we are resting in the security of a Heavenly Father who takes what is broken and makes everything glorious.

In Christ,
Adam and Liz<><

God's Consistency is Deeply Satisfying

I can't even begin to tell you how much has changed since the last post.  The details would be too time consuming, but suffice it to say, we've had major changes with our adoption journey in the last week.  Liz and I believe these changes are positive, but they were not easy.  We may share more about this journey at some time in the future, but for now, we want to ask that you would pray that God would continue to be the one thing (person/entity) that DOES NOT CHANGE.  God has been graciously sovereign during our entire journey, and we know that anything He brings our way is good for us, even if it is painful and difficult.

In spite of all of the unknowns in this entire process, here is one thing we know more now than ever.  God cares more about our orphaned son than we do (and I can assure you, we care ALOT).  Reading the Psalms the other day, I came across Psalm 10:14, 17-18.  Here it is for those of you who haven't memorized the Psalter. :-)

"... to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper to the fatherless. O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more."  

Being an Old Testament guy, I can't help but share some of the original Hebrew with you.  When David says that God is "a helper to the fatherless," he uses a grammatical construction that portrays God's occupation or inherent character.  In other words, the Helper to the orphan is who God is by trade.  It's what he does so often that it can be said he IS this.  So, since helping the fatherless is one of God's "occupations," and since God never changes, we know now more than ever that God is fighting on behalf of our little guy in the Congo.  He is helping him.  He is executing justice for him.  He is intricately working the events of human beings in such a way the He will be most glorified by the ransom of this fragile Congolese soul into a family that desperately wants to love him.  God is most glorified when we are most satisfied IN HIM.  God is in control.  God loves our orphan more than we do.  God never changes.  Liz and I are satisfied with that.

So we journey on.  One foot in front of the other.  One document after another.  One signature after another.  The same glory, the same pursuit, the same God who loves us through Jesus Christ.  Please continue to pray for us.

In Christ,
Adam and Liz<><

A Much Needed Update...

So, as you can see, it was December the last time we updated our blog.  Sorry about that.  This year has been a busy one for us to say the least.  I'll see if I can give you the long story in a few paragraphs.

In November, the Congo held its second "democratic" elections.  As a result, we've been told that the adoption process for most families in the Congo program was delayed about 3-4 months.  That brings us to now.  In the meantime, we've been waiting for a referral and have found out some good news at times and some bad news.

Some of the good news is that we are expecting another biological child in November of this year.  So I guess you could say we have two kids and two on the way.  Liz and I found out about our newest biological addition in March and so we began the process to update our home study to account for this "change of condition."  In October 2011 (I'll freely jump all over the calendar) we found out that our home study agency had to shut down, so for this second home study, we basically started over.  Childplace in Jeffersonville, IN helped us out tremendously and made the process quite simple the second time around.  We sent off our second home study to USCIS for updates yesterday and we will now wait on them to send us a new I-171h to add to our dossier.  This addition of a biological child was a hurdle we were worried about.  At the beginning of our process, our agency told us that Congo will allow adoptions to families with two children already.  This new child would make our third, so were a little concerned about what this might mean for our entire process.  Thankfully, our agency has placed children from the Congo with families that have as many as five children already, so our case worker didn't think another biological child would be a problem.  So, we updated our home study and are still trucking.

In the Congo, our agency has now opened a second orphanage.  For those who don't already know, one of the reasons we chose One World Adoption Services was that they have an orphanage in the Congo.  Now that they have two orphanages, there are more places from which our agency can care for children and supply referrals for adoptive families.  This was good news to us hoping that we would have a referral soon.  This news came about 3 weeks ago, and still no referral.  We've talked to our case worker several times and she tells us that it will probably be soon for a referral.  However, just in the last two weeks, we heard that the director of the orphanage in the Congo was let go from her position, so the agency has focused their attention on hiring and training another direct in country.  This again has slowed down our process.  We've yet to receive a referral.

Liz and I feel like we prepared ourselves to be patient, and somehow we've not jumped off the deep end with all these delays and changes.  However, we still deeply desire to see the face of our little Congolese orphan.  But for now, we wait.  I saw via Twitter this week that the agency congratulated two people for their new positions in the orphanage in the Congo, so I'm assuming that they have placed people in the proper positions in country and will be training them to gather the necessary paperwork from the Congo for referrals to be processed.  Pray with us that these people will work with integrity and precision for all those families who are still waiting on referrals from the Congo.

So, here we sit.  Summer schedule; time on our hands; still waiting.

We don't regret any of this process so far and we know that the Lord has led us the entire way.  Here are a couple of stories that show Liz and I how the Lord has worked so far.  Financially, the Lord provided all but $300 of our expected costs for this adoption.  This amount included ONE home study.  However, we had to do two.  Our church graciously has set up an adoption grant for families who are adopting, and because the Lord was so good to provide what we needed, we have not yet needed to apply for that grant.  We found out during this second home study that the price of our second home study was exactly the amount of the grant we can receive from our church family.  What a blessing to see how God has provided even before we knew we needed it.

A second example of God's providence and goodness is related to our wait.  Liz and I CANNOT complain about our wait.  God knew that he would give us a third biological child.  The Lord knew that we would have to redo our home study.  The Lord knew that this school year would be the busiest one of our lives and that we probably couldn't handle adding an adoptive child to our family yet.  However, in the midst of our waiting on a referral, we've had time to unwind from a difficult school year.  We've had more than enough time to redo our home study without the pressure of deadlines.  Now, we have a second home study completed and in the mail, our dossier is translated, and we are back in the waiting game knowing that God has delayed our process until now.  We are thankful that his timing is perfect, and we continually pray that we will rest in his timing.

We would continue to covet your prayers.  Pray for our little guy in the Congo.  Pray for our agency as they train new staff in the Congo.  Pray for us that we would continue to be patient and trust the Lord.

Adam and Liz<><

Inaugurated Orphans Who Eagerly Wait: Adoption, The Nations, and Future Glory

As I was reading Galatians this morning, I noticed one of Paul's common phrases.  In Galatians 5:5, Paul says, "For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness."  Paul's notion of eagerly waiting reminded me of Romans 8 in which this idea of waiting for redemption as heirs and sons is also used.  In Romans 8, Paul points out the difficulties of this world and the fact that the whole creation longs for the day that Christ will return to make all things right.  In Romans 8:23, Paul again points to eager waiting, but puts it in the context of adoption.  He says, "And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."  In some sense, Paul puts forward an "inaugurated adoptionism" similar to the common theological idea of an inaugurated eschatology.  It is true that we are both already adopted, and according to Paul here, not yet fully adopted.  In other words, there is an adoption that the people of God are eagerly waiting for, namely the final redemption and resurrection of our bodies into a state of future glory as "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (Rom 8:16-17).  So, while we live in the truth of our final adoption decree, we eagerly wait for our final adoption decree.

Going back to Galatians, the phrase "eagerly waiting" is in the context of Paul's ministry to the Gentiles (i.e. the nations).  He argues that in Christ, there is neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, etc.  Basically, there is no racial, gender, ethnic, or national distinction in the inaugurated kingdom of God.  Rather, all are equally valuable to God.  In tandem with equal value, all come to Jesus on the same terms, namely faith.  This is Paul's point in Galatians.  Faith saves us, not the law.  The same Spirit in Romans 8 by which we live is the same Spirit in Galatians 5:5 through whom our eager waiting finds its culmination and validity.  Not only do we wait eagerly depending on the Holy Spirit, but we wait eagerly "by faith."  Finally, that which we eagerly wait for in Galatians is "the hope of righteousness."  In other words, with no racial or ethnic barriers, we, the people of God, wait eagerly for the day when Christ will give the final decree of our adoption and glorification as sons.

I can't help but find parallels to these thoughts in our adoption journey from the Congo.  I can't help but feel like there is a little child in the Congo who is as good as adopted (because Liz and I are coming for him), but has not yet received the final decree of adoption.  I imagine that child eagerly waits for his adoption even if he is not old enough to consciously realize his situation.  Our prayer is that this child will eventually eagerly wait for his adoption as a fellow heir with Christ.  With no racial or ethnic barriers, no Congolese or American labels, Liz and I pray that all our children will eagerly await the day that Christ returns to make all things new.  We certainly recognize that ethnicity is too visible to hide.  But in the inaugurated Kingdom of God we are, by faith, all inaugurated orphans from every tribe, language, people, and nation.  By the Spirit we live, by the Spirit we wait, by faith we walk.

"God-incidents": A Random Meeting with Orphan Care Alliance

I'm always amazed at how God works to orchestrate our lives together, including the details that otherwise would seem insignificant.  On Saturday morning, I was about to leave work when a young lady walked in with a handful of flyers.  I work at an athletic club, so this was not an uncommon scene.  Many folks bring in flyers for 5k's or bike races regularly.  This one was different.  As she was explaining the flyer, I saw on the top of it the logo for Orphan Care Alliance (OCA), the organization that has partnered with Lifesong to provide the matching grant Liz and I just received.  I think I half scared the young lady when I stopped her in mid-sentence to tell her that she could advertise whatever race she wanted to at our athletic club because she was part of the organization that is helping us get our Congolese child home.  Needless to say, we talked for a little but and she left some flyers informing runners about the opportunity to run in the KY Derby Marathon and Half-Marathon with "Team OCA" in order to raise money for Orphan Care Alliance to continue to help people like us advocate for the orphan.

So, there were a couple of reasons for this post.  First, as I said in the opening line, I'm amazed at how God orchestrates our lives to run into people like this in situations where we would normally call it a coincidence or happenstance.  Secondly, I wanted to give you the information to run the KY Derby Marathon with Team OCA.  You can find the info you need at http://www.active.com/donate/orphan.  At this site, you can register for the Marathon and mini-Marathon as well as become a fundraiser for OCA.  You can also simply go here and donate toward OCA's goal.  


Liz and I have talked about running the mini this year.  We'll have to fit it into our busy schedule, but we'll see.  If we do, you can bet you will see more info about how to raise money for OCA.  At the very least, I want to encourage you to check out the website above and pray about how you can contribute to the work that OCA is doing to help families financially bring their kids home.  

Prayer for the Congo

Here is a good video from PrayerCast on the Congo.  I found this video on the website Operation World, which is a phenomenal prayer resource for the nations.  Hope you enjoy both the video and the Operation World website.  May God bring his glory to the nations and bring the nations to his glory in the face of Christ.

Condition in the Congo

If any of you subscribe to National Geographic, you may have seen the most recent edition in which there is an article on the Albertine Rift in eastern DR Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Rwanda.  This is the area in the DRC where the civil war has had the greatest impact.  The fighting between the Hutu and Tutsi in the 90's during the Rwandan genocide spilled over into the DRC simply because of the small size of Rwanda.  This led to the destruction and mass pillage of the small villages in eastern Congo.  To this day, fighting persists in this mineral rich area.  The warlords (who have the money) force their fellow Congolese citizens into slavery in the mineral mines and they capture, drug, and brainwash young boys (12-14 yrs old) into forced militia service.  They learn to kill and they learn to love to kill.

The National Geographic article doesn't intend to portray the demise of this ravaged area.  The article is about the abundant mineral resources of this area.  However, because of the fighting, these rich mineral resources are often squandered by the government, so this naturally leads to the inclusion of warfare into this article.  Warfare and corrupt government are the primary reason the Congo does not sustain itself economically.  Some have said that the Congo is the most mineral rich country in the world, but because of the political and civil unrest, they are unable (or unwilling) to benefit their nation as a whole; individual warlords take the booty for themselves as they enslave their own people.

As I read this article, I found some interesting "quotables" that I'd like to share.  I've also included some pictures from the National Geographic web article, which can be found here.

"Rule of the gun prevails in North Kivu, a conflict-ravaged province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The Mai-Mai Kifuafua, one of many local militias, flaunts its power on a road where it extorts money from villagers and travelers.  For nearly 20 years near-constant fighting over land, mining riches, and power has terrorized the people." (caption, pg. 84-85, photo taken by Pascal Maitre)

"A metal-roofed metropolis, Goma sits at the crossroads of conflict in eastern Congo, its population exploding with displaced villagers, soldeirs, profiteers, and aid workers.  The lava-rumpled city sprawls between Lake Kivu, full of dangerous gases, and the restless Nyiragongo volcano."  

(caption, pg. 88-89, photo by Pascal Maitre)

"Crowded and impoverished after decades of war and instability, Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC rate near the bottom of every index of human development, which measure indicators such as life expectancy, literacy, and income."  (pg. 97, italics added)

  

DRC fertility rate (children per woman): 6.1

DRC Income per person per year: $300

DRC Life Expectancy: 49 years

 National Geographic cites information in this section from the latest information in 2009.


"1994: Burundi's and Rwanda's presidents are killed in a suspicious plane crash, setting off a three-month rampage in Rwanda.  About a million Tutsi and moderate Hutu are killed during the genocide, and more than two million flee, many into neighboring Zaire (now the DRC).  Paul Kagame leads a Tutsi takeover of the Rwandan government, and Hutu militias retreat to eastern Zaire."  (pg. 98, italics added)

"2010-present: Despite peace agreements, armed conflict continues in the resource-rich DRC.  The ongoing tensions still pit ethnic groups against each other, but underlying the fighting are grievances over scarce land and conflict over mineral profits." (pg. 99)

"Attacked in their homes and fields, impregnated, and often cast off by their families, shattered women bring their babies to meet an aid worker in Shasha in North Kivu, a province terrorized by what activists call Congo's epidemic of rape as a weapon of war.  Soldiers and rebels moving through the area have raped more than 800 women in this village alone."

(caption, pg. 110, photo by Pascal Maitre)

 There is much more in the article than I'd like to put here.  I think we all get the picture though.  The DRC is a difficult place to say the least.  This entire area of Africa is in the same boat as it relates to scarce resources for the common person, but abundant resources for the rich warlords.

The thing that shatters me is that God intends his glory to shine in the DRC, Rwanda, and Uganda as much as he desires his glory to shine in our Sunday morning services.  When will help come to this area?  Who will help this area?

When Liz and I were first praying about adoption from the DRC, we were afraid to travel there.  I spoke with an international lawyer at my work who has done some contract law work in African countries, and he did everything he could to sway us away from adoption in Africa (especially the DRC).  He spoke about the corruption and lack of trust as if these things were the "law of the land" and therefore expected.  Because of the fears to travel to the DRC, Liz and I asked our adoption agency for a reason to adopt from the Congo rather than adopting from another country.  Our hearts were set on the Congo, but we needed someone to tell us it was going to be worth the risk.  They told us that although there are millions of children in the world who need families, the Congo, of any country, is the most torn and desperate place from which to snatch a child.  As Liz and I read more and more about the conditions and situation in the DRC, we are more and more convinced that the Lord has us in this process for his glory to shine through at least one Congolese native.  No one knows exactly what the future will hold for the Congo.  But what we do know is that our God is a good and gracious God who upholds and establishes justice for the fatherless.  May this prove true in the Congo sooner rather than later.

Please pray with us for the unrest in the Congo and for our little guy particularly, that he would be safe until we can get there.

Lifesong Matching Grant: Approved!!!

We want to say thanks to everyone who has been praying for our adoption process, especially regarding the financial aspects of international adoption.  Liz and I found out last week that we were approved for a $3,000 matching grant from Lifesong and Orphan Care Alliance.  You can follow a link to these two ministries in our last blog post.

This morning, we've been drafting a Matching Grant Support letter to send out to folks in an attempt to maximize this matching gift from Lifesong/OCA.  You can find a Dropbox link to our support letter here. If you feel led to give financially to our adoption journey, we would be tremendously humbled and grateful.  All of the instructions should be in the letter.

We would love to keep in touch with everyone who has prayed for us and helped us along the way.  If you haven't received anything from us, we probably don't have your mailing address.  You can send it to us by emailing Adam or Liz and we'll keep you updated on our progress and send you a letter with pictures of our little Congolese guy when our adoption is completed.  As always, you can stay in touch with us through Twitter (@howelladoption) or Facebook (Sojournings - Congo Adoption Page).

The Latest...

So, I think I've discovered that neither me nor my wife are good at this blogging thing.  I supposed we just can't find the time to sit down and relay all of the amazing things that God is doing for us through this adoption process.  Many of you know where we are in the journey, but for those who aren't in our immediate circle, here's an update.  Sorry for taking so long to bring this to you.

After sending in our dossier about 2 months ago, Liz and I were put on a waiting list for a referral of a child.  For those who don't know, a referral is basically where we get the paperwork and as much information as is available on a child in the D.R. Congo.  This is when we will get the chance to review all of the paperwork and decide if we will be a good fit for this child and vice versa.  When we were first on the wait list, we were number 11.  They told us then that the estimated wait time was 6-9 months, so we decided to settle in, read a lot about adoption, and I was going to try to write a dissertation (or at least start).  We expected to move about 2 spots each month if we were going to be on the "fast" end of the spectrum.  In the last two months, we've moved from number 11 to number 5 (six spots!!!).  We've been quite surprised at how quickly we've moved on the wait list, but we are still scared to say that things are moving quickly. We still want our hearts to be content with 9 months if that is how long it will still take.  So, we are currently number 5 on the wait list for a referral of a child.

Once we receive a referral and agree that we are the best fit for this child, we will send our paperwork to D.R. Congo for review and approval by the government.  This process, we are told, will take another 4-6 months before we would travel to pick up our child.  Although this seems like so far away, we are keenly aware of some dear friends who have waited so long to get a referral or to even go pick up their children.  For those who are in that boat, know that Liz and I are praying for you guys.

Financially, the Lord has helped us raise nearly $14,000 now.  We have been blown away by God's grace and provision.  According to our beginning estimated costs, we still lack about $9,000, but I'm sure there will be other expenses that pop up even after that goal is met.  We found out last week that Lifesong for Orphans and the Orphan Care Alliance have given us a matching grant in the amount of $3,000!!! This was amazing news for us, and the next boost in our fundraising endeavor.  With this grant, anything that you feel led to give will immediately be doubled up to $3,000.  Liz and I are currently preparing letters to send out with all of the information about this grant and how you can partner with us to help bring our little Congolese child home.  If you would like to read more about Lifesong for Orphans or Orphan Care Alliance, just click the name and it should take you there.  Liz and I feel unbelievably blessed to have been given this financial gift from these ministries.  Please stay tuned for more information about how you can partner with us to help maximize this matching grant.  Our deadline for the matching funds is December 26th, so we'll be sending letters out soon.  If you haven't gotten anything from us yet, it is probably because we do not have your address.  We'd love to have a way to get in touch with you if you feel led to partner with us.  You can find us on Facebook or just leave a comment here at the blog.

So, there's the update.  The Lord is moving us forward, both in the process and financially.  As always, we covet your prayers.  We leave updates more often on Twitter (@howelladoption) and Facebook, so if you're familiar with those media sites, you can find us there.

Fundraising Golf Scramble? ... Check!

Over the last four months, we have been planning our fundraising golf scramble, and this past weekend, we were able to see the fruits of all that work.  On Saturday, we hosted the Sojournings Adoption Golf Scramble at the Jeffersonville Elks Country Club in Jeffersonville, IN.  It was an amazing day even though the Lord made it very clear around 6:00 that we were DONE with golf for the day.  Most teams finished 15-16 holes of the 18, and then the clouds opened up with some vicious storms.  We had one team still on the course, but they were able to get into a shelter.  Ironically, they were the only team who DIDN'T get wet.  Other teams came blazing into the clubhouse running to get clubs and personal items into the clubhouse before the deluge.  Since we were done with the round of golf, we decided to go ahead and begin raffling off the items people had bought tickets for earlier that day.  My heart dropped because I realized that my raffle list was still in the cart I was driving around.  I blasted out of the clubhouse toward my cart.  I was soaked within seconds, but that bag (with all our adoption paperwork, my computer, chargers, iPod, adoption receipts, records, etc.) HAD to get inside.  I grabbed the bag, darted back inside and laid the bag in the floor, expecting the worst.  As I flipped open the front flap to my Timbuk2 messenger bag, I saw that the only water inside that bag was what was dripping off of my arms and face.  AMAZING.  I got everything out of the bag just to make sure there wasn't a puddle down in the bag... there wasn't a drop from the storm.  So, needless to say, I am thankful to Timbuk2 for making a quality product.  We finally got everyone rallied in the clubhouse and had a wonderful time with the post-round raffles and prize distribution.

All in all, I have to say that I am glad the golf scramble is over.  The Lord was once again tremendously gracious with this fundraiser.  We raised a little over $4,000 on this event.  That includes business sponsors, registrations, games, etc.  It was an administrative/planning fiasco, but the outcome was remarkable and we give praise to God for his provision during this adoption journey.  This event put us over the $12,000 mark, getting closer to our goal of $23,000.  Again, a testimony to the grace and provision of our Lord.

We are thankful to everyone who supported, encouraged, prayed, and helped us with this event.  I could use the rest of the day to think of everyone who helped, and I'm sure I would miss someone.  Liz and I are thankful that you decided to support our adoption journey by playing golf.  Throughout the day, my dad took pictures, some of which you see here.  Liz and I hope to show these pictures to our Congolese baby someday and reminisce about those who helped us get him/her home.  You are amazing, and we thank God for you all.

Update on our Adoption:
Our next major project is to get our dossier paperwork together.  We found out last week that we can go ahead and send in our paperwork and get it in the translation wait line (our dossier has to be translated into French).  This will also get us on the wait list for a child, which we have been told is at about 6-9+ months for a boy infant to 18mos.  With the golf scramble last week, we didn't have time to start getting our dossier together and notarized, so we'll hit that this week.  We also just got confirmation that our Lifesong Grant application was received and is being processed.  We should hear back from them in the next couple of months, and we will let everyone know how that goes.  We also got our appointments for biometric fingerprinting for our USCIS paperwork.  This will be the next step in getting our I-600a processed.  So... all that to say that things are moving right along.  It seems like there is so much to do that the waiting times so far seem short.  I expect that this will be different now that the golf scramble is over and we are submitting our dossier and on the wait list.  We are trusting the Lord with his timing for our journey and look forward to whatever the next step(s) is/are.

New Information on our Adoption Process

Ok, so things just sped up... at least compared to what we were expecting.  We mailed our I-600a to USCIS last Monday (8-1-11), and yesterday (8-4-11), we received our I-797c from USCIS.  This form (I-797c) is really only a recognition that USCIS received our I-600a and that they are going to process it.  (You like all the technical lingo, huh?)  The thing about all these numbers and forms is that we can actually send our dossier to One World Adoption Services (OWAS) to be put in the list for translation.  Once we get them our dossier documents, they will also put us on the wait list for a referral.  Then, once we get our I-171h back from USCIS (the actual pre-approval I think), we will send it to OWAS for translation.  While this is happening, we will be waiting for a referral.  If we get a referral of a child during this time frame, our dossier will be moved to the front of the translation list and we will send our Tribunal Letter to be paired with our dossier and translated.  At that point, it will be a matter of finances and God's good grace to get us to Congo and get our Congolese boy home.

So, what is the time frame, and how has it been sped up?  Good question.  We don't know yet.  But I can't tell you how excited we were to know that we can be put on a wait list this early.  We totally didn't expect that.  It may not mean much even at this point.  We may still have to wait for several months before anything significant can happen, but to know that our dossier can be translated and that we get put on a wait list was encouraging to us.  I suppose the wait list is just that... a wait list.  But it is still movement in the right direction as far as we are concerned.  We're praying diligently that the Lord will continue to help us emotionally through this process and not let the excitement of such news cause us to fall even harder if we get bad news.  In the meantime, we are going to bask in riches of God's mercy to keep us excited about our process.  Please continue to pray with us and we look forward to bringing our Congolese baby home.

Adam and Liz<><

Fundraising Milestone... and then some.

Sometimes Liz and I sit and wonder why the Lord is so good to us.  We know that his goodness is infinite and it is somehow his delight to care for his children, but we still sit here and wonder, after 4 months in the adoption process, how we have already raised $10,000 of our $23,000 goal.  God is certainly good.  If anything, this milestone shows us that God loves and cares for the orphan and desires that they have a home.  I am consistently drawn to Deuteronomy 10:18, which indicates that God "executes justice for the fatherless."  The execution of justice could mean several different things in this context; legal justice, moral justice, etc.  However, I don't think it is out of the scope of God's execution of justice that financial resources would be pooled together to care for an orphan.  It is just, it is right that God would raise up a group of people (through fundraisers, donations, t-shirt sales, etc.) who are determined to see family-less children have a home.  So, we want you to rejoice with us in God's work in our family and our adoption process.  We ask that you continue to pray for us in or fundraising efforts.  Even though we have passed the $10,000 milestone, we still aren't even halfway there.  We know the Lord will provide for us, and if it is anything like the last 4 months, I can't wait to see what he has in store.  We are humbled, excited, and thankful.

In the midst of our excitement about this fundraising milestone, we know that there is a long way to go.  Here are a few ways you can still help us with this process.

Sojournings Adoption Golf Scramble
August 13th
Shotgun Start at 2:00pm
Jeffersonville, IN Elks Country Club
Registration Deadline is August 6th
www.sojourningsadoptiongolfscramble.weebly.com

Sojournings Shop
We have a sort of online store where you can buy hand-made items.  Most of them right now are afgans that my mamaw made.  We would love for you to see those and if you want any, please let us know.
www.sojourningsshop.weebly.com

T-shirt Sale
We just got our order for T-shirts and they are available for $20 each.  We will cover shipping to you if you don't live in the Louisville area.  There are two different colors you can see in the photo.  The Scripture passage under "Defend" is Deut. 10:18.  We have sizes S-XL.



Rossman's Run for Orphans
One of our good friends Matt Rossman is running in the Bluegrass Half-Marathon in Johnson City, TN on September 25 to help us raise money for our adoption.  You can sponsor Matt for a certain dollar amount per mile or you can make a single donation.  The website below will get you to our Paypal button where you can donate.  This was one of the most creative ways I have seen so far to help us out.  We're very grateful to Matt for partnering with us in this way.  www.run4orphans.weebly.com

Matching Grants
Now that we have gotten our Home Study back (wooohoooo!), we can start applying for grants such as the Lifesong Grant and Show Hope Grant.  A couple of these are matching grants, which means your donation will be doubled up to a certain amount.  These could be huge for our fundraising efforts and we are thankful the Lord has given people like Steven Curtis Chapman a vision to support adoptive families in this way.

There are a few more opportunities still coming we think.  We have some other friends who are trying to organize a "Zumba-thon" at a local Mexican restaurant, and we are potentially going to have a fundraiser night at Chick-fil-a in Clarksville, IN where a portion of the proceeds that night will go toward our adoption efforts.  So, at the end of the day, we have a long way to go, but we are excited to see what the Lord will do.  If you can partner with us in any of these ways, or if you can think of another creative way to defend the fatherless, we would greatly appreciate it.

Gospel "Attachment"

This morning, I am reading an education packet about adoption and adoptive parent preparation.  It's for the most part.  It is fairly straight forward parenting issues, but particularly relates to parenting an adopted child.  In the section on attachment I found this sentence.  The author was talking about the "bad" behavior of the child as a result of being fearful of rejection by his new parents.

"Ironically, his negative behavior may be designed, on an unconscious level, to provoke the very rejection he fears.  He is rejecting you before you can give up on him."

This is an interesting thought to say the least.  It is almost reverse psychology from an internal point of view.  The child probably can't express in words the he is doing this.  He can't tell you, "Daddy, I can't appreciate your love for me now because I don't trust that you will always be my daddy.  Because of that, I'm going to hit my new sister."  The child simply can't (and wouldn't) communicate the cause of his behavior in this way.  And yet, I think the sentence above is correct, that the child's rejection of his new parents is pre-emptive of his imagined rejection by his new parents.  The adopted child has potentially been tossed around from orphanage to orphanage.  The child found primary care givers at each of these locations, but shortly after identifying that person he could trust, he was shipped off to another orphanage, another situation, another care-giver.  He fears rejection more than anything, and in order to have the upper hand and be in control of his situation, the child is likely to reject the trust of the parents before they can reject him.

Of course every illustrative situation only goes so far, so take this next thought with a grain of salt.  However, this "internal" reverse psychology from the adopted child is a picture of our "internal" reverse Christianity.  Here's where I'm going with this.  Why do we not seek God's hand for help more often? (i.e. reject his love)  Why do we not look to Christ to fulfill all our longings and desires? (i.e. reject his sufficiency)  Why do we not trust that the Spirit of God will help us in times of need and encourage us in our Christian life? (i.e. reject God's gifts).  We, SPIRITUALLY ADOPTED CHILDREN, are just like all other adopted children.  We are likely, indeed, we are inclined to reject God's merciful hand, because we don't really trust that he will NOT reject us.  We want to be in control of our own situation and we want to decide who even gets the chance to reject us.  Hence, we push God to the side while we fulfill all our earthly desires.  We "reject" God so that he doesn't have the chance to reject us first.

As I said before, the illustrative picture breaks down, but not completely.  As ADOPTED CHILDREN, we don't "reject" God as in rejecting the gospel.  We don't "reject" God as in rejecting his grace and salvation through the blood of Jesus.  What we "reject" is God's continued fulfillment of our needs when we cry out "Abba, Father."  We don't really believe that God can/will work on our behalf for his glory.  Don't get me wrong, we are in the family; we've been ADOPTED and God is faithful to his covenant in Christ.  But we act out in disobedience, unconsciously, thinking that we can somehow control our life to the point that we don't need to be dependent on Christ.  We fear rejection.  And yet, we reject the very one who is able and willing to help us face all our fears.  Paul's argument in Romans 8 (a chapter rich with adoption language) presents the dichotomy of walking by the Spirit or walking by the flesh.  This is the difference between obedience or disobedience.  When we walk by the flesh, we walk in disobedience, relying on ourselves.  When we walk by the Spirit, we walk as those who cry out "Abba, Father," dependent on God's sufficient grace.  In other words, when we walk by the Spirit, we walk as children who are comfortable trusting God with our lives.  We walk as children who are comfortable to be called by a new name; the name our heavenly Father gives us as members of his kingdom.

This sentence from our adoption education materials is written from a child psychology/child development point of view.  And yet is says something significant about our spiritual condition as adopted sons and daughters of the one who defends the cause of the fatherless.  I don't want to proceed in our adoption thinking that I planned our fund raisers, I planned our interviews, I controlled our paperwork gathering, I controlled my life while God stood on the sidelines cheering ME on.  I want to cry out "Abba Father" so often that it becomes a joyful cry.  Will you pray with Liz and me that our hearts would reflect this attitude of dependence on God so that by the gospel we will be "attached"?

Adam and Liz<><

Adoption Golf Scramble

Once again, an opportunity to raise money to defend the orphan.  For our Congo adoption, Liz and I are hosting a golf scramble on August 13th at 2:00pm in Jeffersonville, IN.  The golf event will be at the Jeffersonville Elk's Country Club.  You can go to www.sojourningsadoptiongolfscramble.weebly.com to find out more information.  The registration information is there, or you can click on this link to access our registration brochure.  We would greatly appreciate it if you would spread the word about this fundraiser event.  We will be having raffle prizes and prizes for the top 3 winning teams.  Thanks for looking into it and hopefully we will see you there.

Adam and Liz<><

Another Way to Support Adoption

Many people use handmade crafts or gifts to help support the adoption journey.  Well, count Liz and I into that group now too.  We have set up a website where we will post handmade items that are donated to us throughout our journey.  As of now, we have some blankets (probably more like baby blanket size) that you can purchase to help us with our adoption fundraising.  We have a couple of scarfs from Liz's sister that I haven't been able to get on there yet, and we will have more items later hopefully.  Visit the website to see all the blankets.  Thanks for supporting our journey.

www.sojourningsshop.weebly.com

A City not Forsaken

Isaiah 62:12 

"And they shall be called the Holy People, 

The Redeemed of the Lord; 

and you shall be called Sought Out, 

A City Not Forsaken."

I am sitting here listening to a song by Sojourn Music called "A City No Longer Forsaken."  The base passage is Isaiah 62 above and it is a remarkable cry of and for the day when we will be finally redeemed by our Savior.  When we will be given new names in a new city under a new King who rules with love and premier authority.  A couple of lines brought me tears and caused me to continue to repeat the song over and over again.  

"A brand new name

Straight from the mouth of God

The orphaned ones now take

through the waiting years, he preserves his own

in a city no longer forsaken."

We've talked much about the parallel between our adoption in Christ and adopting a child into our family.  I'm always moved and affected by thoughts of the end of the age when Christ will make all things new.  In the same way the Jewish people looked for the Messiah, we wait for our Savior to return and conquer sin and death for good.  When I heard this line from the song, the Lord allowed my mind to connect the longing for Christ to return with adopting an orphan.  I've been given a new name in Christ.  I've been given the name Redeemed, Holy, Sought out.  There is nothing special about the name, "Howell," but this is the name that will be given to our adopted child.  He/She will have a new name as part of a new family, and Lord willing, he/she will also have their new name written in the Lamb's Book of Life.  We can't cause or guarantee our adopted child's salvation, but we are thankful for the opportunity to give a child a new earthly name and to give him/her and environment in which he or she is given the opportunity to respond to the gospel so that he/she too will be given the names Redeemed, Holy, Sought Out.  These thoughts moved me today.  By God's grace he will bring our little one home.  We long for the day when the earth will be called "A City No Longer Forsaken."  

Prayer Request - Fundraiser Event

We are hosting a fundraiser this Saturday with Jennifer Jacobs from the Biggest Loser this season.  She will be teaching some cycling classes at the Louisville Athletic Club in Clarksville, IN and all proceeds will go to support our adoption.  We are excited and grateful to Jen for being willing to do this for us.  If you are interested in joining us, you can go to www.spinwithjenclarksville.weebly.com to register.

The prayer request, like all other fundraisers, is that the Lord would provide exactly what he intends us to gain from this fundraiser, AND that we would be grateful for whatever that amount is.  When planning a fundraiser, my mind automatically goes to the maximum amount that we could get from it, and most of the time, we just aren't going to reach that maximum.  So, we want to be grateful for what the Lord provides through this event this weekend.  We've asked that the Lord would provide for us, and even if it is only $5 here and there, he is providing.  We want to trust him.  Would you join us in praying for this heart of gratitude?

Adam and Liz<><