In the sunflowers with Sunflower on my mind...as well as a couple of other blessings.

This is the first time I've gone on a mission trip as a mom.  I must say it is a very different experience compared to how it was b.c. (before children).  Whereas before the decision to go where there were people in desperate need of physical or spiritual care was as difficult as deciding whether or not to wear shoes that day, now I have hesitation.  Should I be home to see that my kids have healthy, three meals a day?  Should I be home in case one of them skins his knee?  Should I be home to make sure my kids learn their memory verse for the week?  Well, yes I should.  But the fact is that I am.  I'm home teaching them that Jesus says to give food to people who don't have any; clothe people who are naked; tell people about Jesus who don't know him...50 weeks a year.  It quickly became clear to me that actually going to DO these things for a week or two a year was just as valuable of a lesson to my boys as talking about it.

One of my new all-time favorite memories is sitting in my bedroom with J. this week while C. was taking a nap.  We had suitcases and aid supplies all over the floor, and J. helped me organize, sort and pack everything for Burma.  He'd say, "Mommy, you need more toothbrushes.  People in Burma don't have any; they'll have stinky mouth!  You need more toothbrushes!"  We're a little opposed to "stinky mouth" around here! ;)  He sorted VBS coloring pages and said, "Kids in Burma don't know Jesus.  They can color this picture of Jesus.  Jesus is praying in this picture.  Do kids in Burma pray?"  He helped me roll up 142 kids' tee-shirts and said, "Kids in Burma don't have any clothes.  You have to go give them clothes, Mommy.  They'll get cold."  I explained that I'd miss him so much when I was gone, and reminded him that I'd only be gone 10 days.  I asked him, "Why is Mommy going to Burma?"  He knew, at 4 yrs. old, that the answer was, "To help people.  Jesus says to help and love people.  You'll come back in TEN days!  I want to go help people, Mommy."

He wouldn't have learned any of that just talking about the Great Commission and going over memory verses.

So with that insight, I have great peace about going "home."  Have you ever been somewhere, away from your actual mortgage address, and was struck with the overwhelming feeling of, "This is where my soul was made to be"?  I get that feeling in much of southeast Asia, but nowhere as strongly as Burma.  The smell of Jasmine and Frangipani, the sounds of chanting monks in the morning, the lime juice, tanaka on little girls' faces, the sunflowers that grow too numerous to count in open fields, the most peaceful, yet strong and resilient people I've ever met, my Buddhist friends, my Burmese Christian family...all of it together feels like home to me in a way this English major just can't find words to describe, but I'm sure it's close to how a baby feels in the womb.

Please pray that God use us going on this trip for His purpose, that many see His light through us, that we're kept safe, that the aid makes it to Burma and to those who need it, and that those left behind-an amazingly supportive husband and two little boys in America and a baby girl in Ethiopia especially-are flooded with peace and easy living while I'm away. See you in ten days!

Prayer for a Child

Sunflower:

Bless this milk and bless this bread

Bless this soft and waiting bed

Where I presently shall be 

Wrapped in sweet security.

Through the darkness, through the night

Let no danger come to fright

My sleep till morning once again 

Beckons at the window pane.

Bless the toys whose shapes I know,

the shoes that take me to and fro

Up and down and everywhere.

Bless my little painted chair.

Bless the lamplight, bless the fire,

Bless the hands that never tire 

In their loving care of me.

Bless my father and my mother

And keep us close to one another.

Bless other children, far and near,

And keep them safe and free from fear.

So let me sleep and let me wake

In peace and health, for Jesus' sake.

-Rachel Field, 1945

This is one of the boys' favorite bedtime books.  I'm sure it's been a favorite for many children over the past several decades.  Each night that we read it, a different line stands out to me.  If it's storming, "let no danger come to fright my sleep" is emphasized.  If Caleb's asthma is bad, and he has a stuffy nose, I linger a little longer over "let me sleep....in peace...".  But tonight as we cuddled on the couch and read this prayer together, other lines rang forte.   Please continue to pray for baby Sunflower and "the hands that never tire" in their care of her until she gets home to the medical care she needs, especially this month as our family is spread out all over God's beautiful globe.

Meet Sunflower!!!

She passed!!!

Our agency director gave us the court date a day later than it actually was so that we could be surprised by good news on the day we were the most stressed.  VERY good news!!!

By the way, several have asked, and, "no" Sunflower isn't her real name, but it's her blog name. How many of us had our own internet identities before we were 6 months old!?  

We are so grateful that she passed court in Ethiopia today, and is now officially our daughter!  I could put a little "Woo Hoo!" here, but even in all caps it seems insufficient for the joy, relief, peace, and hope we feel today.  She is one less child to grow up in animism, one less child to grow up in extreme poverty, one less child to live without basic health care, education, shelter, food and hygiene, one less child to grow up in a war zone, and one less child to grow up without a mom and a dad.  She IS a child who will grow up with life abundantly in full knowledge of her adoption as a princess and heir to God's amazing kingdom, and as our earthly delight in a humble home.  We are now the parents of three, one of whom has the most beautiful, HUGE, brown eyes on the planet!  I know a certain Daddy who doesn't plan on spoiling her one bit! ;) 

These are actual pictures of OUR DAUGHTER.  Isn't she amazing?!?!  She is 4 months old in the middle picture and 7 weeks in the first and third.  I hope to be able to travel to Ethiopia in 4 weeks to go get her after her visa papers are processed.  

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!!!  Ok-here it is: WOO HOO!!!

One more day...

Please join us, if you're so moved and inclined, in prayer and fasting for Sunflower's court date Tuesday.  Ethiopia is a day ahead of us, so her court hearing will actually take place Monday night, US time.  Therefore, we are praying diligently tomorrow (Monday).  I will post the results of the hearing as soon as I get them, hopefully early Tuesday!  Thank you!

The Problem and the Non-Violent Examples of Solution

The Problem:

 Solutions:

More videos on the situation in Burma here:

http://uscampaignforburma.org/

Non-politically speaking:

I'll be in Burma with a friend for about 10 days the first of July.  There are still hundreds of thousands in need there from the cyclone.  We'll be bringing them aid, encouraging the little house church I worked with there, checking up on the well-being of some of my Buddhist students, teaching the stories of Jesus at a refugee camp I worked at years ago, and just try to be Jesus' light for those trapped in darkness.  Burma is called the "black hole of Southeast Asia."  Its tales of torture, agony, injustice, poverty, and oppression, led by the above video's star, Than Shwe, are endless.  But Christ's light, and the hope and joy that come with that, can shine even in Burma.  I've seen that light be the sole motivation to face another day in the eyes of my Burmese Christian friends, and they do it with a smile and a sense of blessedness that can only be described as humbling and Heavenly.  Please pray for us as we gather aid, raise funds, prepare our hearts and minds for His work, and travel.  I'll be home just in time to go get Sunflower in Ethiopia (as long as she passes court June 24th!!!!)  There will definitely be a new post here June 24th with news of her court date, so check back then, and please pray for that too!  Blessings,

The looonnnngggg journey home...is one step closer!

(Oromo-Sunflower's tribe- girl in Ethiopia)

Sunflower made it to the capital, Addis Ababa, today!  Yay!  She is out of harm's way at a furnished guest house, in the care of qualified nannies, in near vicinity to medical clinics and hospitals and prayerfully content, awaiting her court date June 24th!  Thank you for praying that she be able to make it out of war-ridden Kamashi and into the capital. Please continue to pray that her birthmom can make it out of Kamashi for the court date on the 24th, and that we pass court on the first try.  

J. and C.'s summer preschool program is having their Africa week this week.  Talk about perfect timing!  Both boys went and made African flags, wove grass mats, read African stories and learned African words.  They both proudly marched in this morning and told their teacher, "My new baby is in Africa!"  Yes, "MY new baby..."  They'll be great big brothers!  They wanted to save the crafts they made today to give to Sunflower when she gets home.  I'm sure by the end of the week they'll have a lot more to give her and a greater appreciation for her homeland.

Have a great week!

Summer Fun

A caption isn't really necessary, is it?  We love our C. and all his wild messy boy tendencies! :)  Have a great weekend!

In case you were questioning the power of prayer...

This is how we feel about getting a COURT DATE today!!!  Woo Hoo!:

Lyrics: The birdies in the treetops (or treepots, as J. sings it) sing their song;

              The angels in the chorus sing along.

              The flowers in the garden lend their hues,

              Waterlife, waterlife praise Him too!

THANK YOU for praying!!! Somehow, no one seems to know exactly how, Sunflower's PAPERWORK made it to Addis for submission before the deadline!  SHE is still in Kamashi at the orphanage though.  So thank you little bird or African antelope that mysteriously carried her papers to the judge 14 hours away through a tribal war!  Now that she's submitted, we have 3 weeks to figure out how to get her to the capital, along with her birthmother, for the court date.  Please pray the violence stops and the roads open up so that they can get to Addis for the hearing.  Some families missed their court dates this week because the birth families in Kamashi weren't able to safely travel to appear in court in Addis Ababa.

Sunflower will be presented to Ethiopian court to make her placement with us official on June 24th!!!  I can travel to go get her  about 6 weeks after she passes court, so we are well on our way to getting her HOME!  Yay!!!

There are other children, some much sicker than Sunflower, whose papers have not made it through the roadblocks yet.  Keep them in your prayers also.  All of these children need to get home!

All creation praises Him, and so do we!