One Summer Update

Dear Family and Friends,

First, I want to start with an apology for taking so long to update you about my summer and what God did during my time overseas. Second, I want to thank you so much for your spiritual and financial support throughout this journey. And finally, I am blessed to have you in my life and the encouragement that you have provided in my faith. This past summer has been one of the most difficult yet most rewarding summers that I have gone through. It was difficult leaving my family and friends here in the States, and even more difficult to leave Colombia and my birthfamily after a few days visit. Yet in the midst of it all, God provided comfort and peace through His word. I went overseas with many different emotions, and I did not know what to expect. During the beginning of my trip, I struggled with the idea that my birthfamily did not know the Lord, and I also missed them as well. Even though I needed to figure out all these emotions, it was important for me to put them aside so I could fully take my summer trip in.

Every international trip that I have taken in the past I have been the leader. I would be the one that knew the spoken language and culture. I was always the one that people leaned on, and I have always loved it. However, when I got to Central Asia, all that changed. I had to become teachable and dependent on others. I had to learn, adapt, and understand a new language, culture, and way of living. It was hard to depend on others, but I was able to learn a lot.

Here are some interesting things that I learned:

Where I visited, two languages were spoken. Neither of them I know. Therefore, the only way that I could communicate at the beginning of the trip was through a smile. Well, that was not effective either. When I smiled at women, they would not smile back, but when I smiled at men, they would take it as flirting. After a week there, I finally realized that I had been flirting with every man in the city. Yay me. I was very shocked when my mentor told me about this because the only way that I had been able to communicate was through a smile, and now that was taken away. Another thing that I learned was that you will always be out of your comfort zone in the mission field. When I was there, I told myself to get out of my comfort zone, but the thing was that I already was. I did not have the control to be in my comfort zone in a place where I did not know the culture or language. Here in the States, we have control of whether or not to get out of our comfort, yet we choose to be in our little bubble. It is something we never think about.

We always talk about the missionaries that are jailed or killed because of their faith, but we never talk about the missionaries that struggle every single day. Here in the States, we think that missionaries are telling every single person about Christ and that many are coming to Christ. That would be nice, but in reality, it takes so much more than sharing Christ. I was able to watch the missionaries during my time overseas and it opened my eyes to missions. They had to adjust to a new culture, language, and beliefs. They built relationships for years, made a living, and did daily things that take more work compared to doing them in the States. Some missionaries are in a place for years and see no one come to Christ. Not only do these missionaries go to a new country, but they leave the people and places that they love behind. During all these things, they carefully share Christ through their actions, words, deeds, and more.

After seeing what I saw overseas, I still want to follow where God is calling me. I know for sure God is calling me to international missions. After seeing how hard it will be, I still want to go. Yes, sometimes I think God is crazy, but He is by my side. All that I am doing is not about me, it is about the One who died for me and I get the opportunity to share His testimony.

God is doing amazing things through my life, and I cannot wait to see what is next. Thank you for your support and for taking the time to read this. If you want more specific stories, please let me know 😊

Please pray for the missionaries, the people, and the governments in Central Asia.

Blessings,

K

How she got here

Last January I was looking ahead to June and thinking, “What the heck is Emily going to do when she graduates?”  We really did not have a plan.  But that changed in a few short weeks.

In February, we had a planning meeting with teachers and faculty at school and we learned about the PATHS Program at Texas A&M.  I devoured the info on the website and showed Emily with much excitement.  She did not quite match my excitement. 

I made her apply anyway.

Emily was invited for an interview in March and our hope was for her to at least have an open mind to the program, and NOT sabotage the interview.  If you look at the info online, you will find that this is an incredible opportunity for adults with disabilities.  I am super impressed with what Texas A&M is doing in this area!  

But there was just one problem….

Emily did not want to have her disability.  

She just wanted to be “normal.”

We have never shied away from the word “Autism” but we also didn’t focus on the label either.  In ARD meetings, we talked about Emily’s strengths and weaknesses and where she needed support.  The word “disability” was just not used.

When you graduate high school, the language really starts to change for a person who receives special services.  Whether we walk into Lone Star Community College, PATHS Program at A&M, or the TWC to apply for vocational services, the word “disability” is not only visible on the walls with “ADA” but it is used frequently in conversation.  This was shocking and set us back a bit. 

We walked through a couple hard months with Emily grieving all over again.  She didn’t want her disability.  She didn’t want a special program.  She didn’t want to have needs.  She didn’t want to have to depend on other people to help meet her needs.  All of this—she communicated to us.  I have to say how proud I am of her for being able to identify and communicate her thoughts in the midst of a really hard time.  

I wish I could do that as well as she did.

So how did she make it through the interview and get accepted into the PATHS Program?  The coolest thing happened the night before her interview.  All the times we brought up the PATHS Program, Emily would get upset and did not want to go or even talk about it.  When I say upset, I mean she was vehemently opposed to it.   It would always end in tears.

In an attempt to avoid her sabotaging the interview, Jeremy talked to her one more time the night before we went.  It started off rough again, but out of the blue, Emily brought up the story of Jonah.  Do you know the story of Jonah from the Bible?  It’s a short book (maybe shorter than this blog post)--I highly recommend you read it for yourself.

Emily began retelling an abbreviated version of the story and how God even used a big fish to get Jonah where he needed to be, and all of a sudden, we hear her say, “So if the PATHS Program is where God wants me, then I need to go.”

Right in front of our eyes, we saw how God used His living and active Word to soften the heart of Emily and give her a willingness to be open to whatever He has for her.  This too was a comfort for me—if God can speak to my daughter and change her mind about the PATHS Program, then I can trust Him with whatever is next.

When we got the news of her acceptance, we were excited!  

Mom and Dad might have been more excited than Emily, but by the time she left June 24, Emily was ready.  She was nervous and excited--like any normal college student leaving home for the first time.  
Drop off was hard as expected, but God is good and we got through it.  And later that night, when we were 140 miles away, we got a sweet reminder of just how much HE HAS GOT THIS.

Laura, Mari and Lily

"My sisters are very important to me." 

Laura is 13, the oldest among the three.  As I watch their video and look at Laura's face when she talks about her sisters, I recognize her face.  The worry, the concern, the sadness if they were separated.  

My daughter, Katerin, will tell you the first time she prayed was when she begged God to keep her and her siblings together. She prayed,

God, if you are real, keep us together...

At the same time, God was preparing us and we were asking, "Lord, where are our kids?"

He answered both of our prayers....in each other.

And in doing so, He drew Katerin into relationship with Him and grew our trust in Him.

You know these girls need a family, but what you may not realize is that your family needs them.

You can know more about them here and contact All God's Children International to learn more.

Jonas and Dylan

Just a little update on these boys--they are spending their first Christmas home with their forever family this year!!  YAY! Thank you, Lord, for their adoption! (December 2018)


Something about these boys remind me of my Saimon and Omar...they have the same age difference between them, they entered the orphanage at the same ages my boys did. But Jonas and Dylan are still there.
I remember days before heading to Colombia to get our kids praying with Carla and Mindy because I was shaking scared. It has been 5 years now and I look at my family and echo David's prayer to God, 

Who am I and what is my family that you have brought us this far?

There are no guarantees in adoption. We risk. We make mistakes. We fail. We pray. We ask God again and again for His strength to be made perfect in our weakness. We beg God to draw us all to Himself.
 
I know the thought of adding teenagers to your family is scary and then layer on from another country, culture, language...it might seem impossible. 

But what might you forfeit if you don't stop and consider? 

I have been abundantly, exceedingly blessed knowing that all of my kids have come to faith in Christ. On the hard days, when relationship is difficult and attitudes abound, I step back and consider eternity. 
My life, our lives, have been forever changed. When I consider their (&my) salvation and that God is just getting started with them (&me)--what impact they already have and will have for generations to come...

the risk is worth it.

  

Watch this short video to learn more about Jonas and Dylan...or message me if you want help starting the process.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/agcintl/videos/?ref=page_internal

How adoption changes....EVERYTHING (series)

Let me just go ahead and apologize right now because I titled this as a "series" but I know good and well that I may get one post written and then not come back for a long time.  Sorry!

I have been noticing changes in me and our life 

that are only so 

because we adopted.

Some unexpected changes.

Kinds of changes that you don't read about 

ahead of time in a book.

FOR EXAMPLE.....

You may have read a previous post A little bit about Emily I wrote 4 years ago.  At that time Emily was in a private school specifically for children on the autism spectrum.  This was a safe, nurturing environment where she learned HOW to learn.  As we looked ahead to adoption, we knew we could not afford the high tuition of private school, there was no way I would throw her to the wolves (have mercy on me) in public school, and so we decided to homeschool. 

Homeschool had it's advantages because it gave us flexibility to all travel when we adopted AND have bonding time when getting all our kids home.

Doesn't that just sound perfect??

(my goodness, I look back and I just die.)

Some of my ideals before adoption as a parent were (are) to overprotect protect, nurture (nice try, but not so much. still trying), and provide the best environment for my kids to thrive. 

I still want all of these things, but I am finding that the best environment for my kids to thrive LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I COULD HAVE IMAGINED.

LET ME EXPLAIN.....

We did homeschool (didn't last long), and we did all go to Colombia for 5 weeks to unite our family (you can't even...), and we did cocoon for 3 months after getting home with everyone (I survived it as long as I could).

But hallelujah, praise God, for public school!

5 out of 7 went in December 2012 to public school.  I only kept Emily and Wesley home to finish the program they were doing and to initiate processes with special services at the school for Emily to enter the following Fall.

What has happened since

has really blown me away. 

Have we faced wolves?  

Yes.  More than one child has come home with hurt feelings.

What do we do?  

Pray.  Pray for the one hurt and for the one who does the hurting.

We have also found teachers and coaches who LOVE my kids.

I have seen my kids get hurt and go back the next day, equipped with prayers and support. 

I have seen my kids fail and then succeed. 

I have seen them accomplish far more than they (we) ever imagined. 

I have heard stories of how 

they shine in darkness.

They have learned things and done things 

that I could not have taught them.  

Have they learned more than what I would like them to know? 

Yes.  But with that comes growing in faith (hopefully) in how to handle the things they learn.

If we had not adopted, we would have missed out on so much more than what our big family means to me.  I love my family.  I love all 7 of my kids. 

If I didn't have all 7, I probably would lean towards sheltering and protecting 

a little too much.  

So much so that I would miss 

seeing their potential 

and crazy, big obstacles they overcome.

(this mom would love to tell you more about that 

but I need their permission first.)

So this is the first post in this series...

the changed me who still wants to overprotect, 

but letting God define HOW we will thrive.  

P.S. Please don't think this is a homeschool vs. private school vs. public school discussion.  I have done all 3 and I highly recommend all 3--whatever works best for you and your kids at the present time.

Sentencia!

And when they arrived and gathered the church together, 

they declared all that God had done with them...(Acts 14:27)

We are not home yet, but we want to "gather" the church together and share all that God has done with us to bring us to this point today....

Sentencia.  

Adoption Finalization.

May we introduce you to our new kids

Marian and Katerin

Omar

Saimon

Our family at the Judge's office with our awesome agency representative,

Maria

God is good!  We are a new family of nine today.  Just 3 1/2 weeks after arriving here in Bogota, adoptions are final.  He answered our prayers for favor and quick finalization.  We are thankful.

I have been thinking about how all this started.  When Jeremy and I first talked about expanding our family back in December 2008.  We did not know how or when but we started praying.  I thought about that January 2010 when we told our adoption agency to put us on their radar for sibling groups or older kids.  That same month, 4 siblings were given to the care of the state and entered an orphanage in Bogota, Colombia.

I've been thinking about how God confirmed for us that we could love older kids just as much as we loved the babies on that first mission trip to Rwanda.  I remember first praying I Thes 3:11 "Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you."  And those 4 kids in Colombia were declared adoptable that same month.

And then we said "yes" to just hosting orphans for a vacation program last summer.  We did not commit to adopt them before they came, but we were willing to say "yes" to whatever God had in mind.

It was not a week after they left that Jeremy confessed, "I don't need to pray to know if this is the right thing to do, I know it is the right thing to do.  I need to pray for courage."  All those months we were asking the Lord, "Where are our children?"  And then He brings.them.to.our.home.

We said "Yes, Lord, do whatever You wish."

And we started the adoption process and only knew to follow Him one step at a time.  A hundred things could close the door.  He never promised that these kids would be ours.  And now we have passed through the final door.  

And they share our last name.

Here is a short video taken by Orphan Hope International last Fall as we began the adoption process

http://vimeo.com/32647939

Now what?

We will keep believing, trusting, following, depending, hoping. 

Thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement along the way!!

 God has done great things and we give Him the glory.  

The credit in NO WAY belongs to us.

We know that He has not called us to this task of parenting kids from hard places to leave us to ourselves.  We need you.  We need your continued prayers.

Give thanks with us today for ALL that God has done!

Enjoying some ice cream tonight as we celebrate!

Gotcha Day!

 BEFORE

 ANTICIPATING

 FINALLY

 REUNITED

BEAR HUG

HOLA NANA

LUNCH

 PLAYING

DOWN TIME

 BROTHERS

 ACTIVIDADES

 FRISBEE!

 GOTCHA DAY!!!!!!

Obedience is costly

I was reading about Abraham this morning.  Have you read it lately?  The one about how he and Isaac headed out to make a sacrifice, and the sacrifice was going to be ISAAC. (Genesis 22:1-19)

Can you imagine what Abraham was thinking for the 3 days he travelled? 

Can you imagine what Sarah would have done if she knew? 

Maybe she did know--it doesn't say.

Can you imagine what Isaac was thinking and saying when he was bound and staring at the point of Abraham's raised knife?

What if Abraham had said, "God, no way.  I can't do that.  He's my son.  I love him.  I can't do what you ask."

But he was obedient. 

Even to the point of losing his son. 

And God stopped him and provided a ram.

And He said, "because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son--blessing I will bless you, and multiplying your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.  In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

And I started thinking....

Do we tell God, "No way.  That's my family.  I love them.  I can't do what you ask."

And what blessing do we miss out on by not being obedient? 

What magnificent work do we miss because we think we can't do what He asks?

Did Abraham really fathom all that God promised? 

Did he really grasp it? 

Do we? 

He says He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

according to His power that is at work within us. (Eph 3:20)

What blessing, what power, what incredible work of GOD
we forfeit when we say, "I can't do what you ask of me."

Obedience is costly.

BUT the reward is immeasurable.