When God Rains Down Love!!

I rejoice!!

New pictures of Toby have come to us this morning!!!

(This after I was having a very overwhelming morning that began VERY EARLY and many details were going wrong in some adoption paperwork I was working on for our Chinese visas...I had just cried out to God for something...and WOW did He answer!!)

Just look at this adorable face!!!

I cannot get over that he is holding our pictures! That whole book was prepared on our behalf by the wonderful women, Gretchen and Lillian, at China Adoption Help. If you are a waiting momma for a child in China, go here to visit their site! I was able to upload files from our computer and have them make this book and deliver it to him! AMAZING!!!

And then we ordered a "stuffed animal" to be sent to him. Is there any shock to anyone else that they "happened" to choose a cow??? Daddy is a dairy farmer! (Around here, we call that a God "wink" when He does some tiny detail to show you His love!)

(Anyone want me to pick you up some fun Chinese curtains while I'm there?)

And then another picture with the awesome pillow that Gretchen and Lillian made for us:

So cool!!!

And they added one final picture...this one makes my heart physically hurt. This must have been snapped randomly in the orphanage. He's totally got the "look" of living in an institution--the mismatched clothing, the shoes on the wrong feet...

...this sweet boy needs to come HOME!!!

And...funny you should mention that...

                                     ....because when it rains, it POURS!!!

This morning we ALSO got approved for a matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans!!!!

That means that if anyone gives to help us bring Toby home in the next few weeks...all donations will be DOUBLED!!!

Here's how to be part of this:
Go here to the Lifesong for Orphans website.

Then click "give" on the right side of the blue menu bar. Then select "Make a donation."

Then choose "Give to an adoptive family."

When you fill the form out, use our name "SHAW" and the number "3330" so that it will go specifically to bring Toby home.

Your gift will be 100% towards Toby's adoption expenses and you will receive a tax deductible receipt.

Please note that any donations given to our "Adopt Together" account do NOT qualify for the matching grant.

Thank you SO MUCH!

We are currently waiting on something called "Article 5" which is the final paperwork approval for Toby's visa to become an American and fly home with us. Then we get our Travel Approval (known as "TA") and we GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew! Turning out to be a rather exciting Monday!!!

Children and their FAITH!!

Want to hear a really cool story? 

How about two?

Would you stick around for THREE?

Well, I got 'em!

We officially began fundraising for Toby's adoption yesterday. Our need was steep. (And any need is steep when you don't have it!) The number needed for today (Friday) is $1,891.25. We didn't have it.

I am not proud to admit it, but I was stressing about it on Tuesday.

And Wednesday.

I lost sleep over it Wednesday night. :(

Thursday a friend was sharing with me that SHE had faith for me. She had been praying with thanksgiving for how God was going to do it.

She prayed as if it was done.

"If we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently..." Romans 8:25.

I was so encouraged by her faith.

I was like the disciples who watched Jesus feed the 5,000 with 2 loaves and 5 fish and then again saw him do it with a crowd of 4,000. The next paragraph they were in the boat freaking out that they only had one loaf of bread between the 12 of them. Jesus was like, "Dudes! Haven't you learned ANYTHING!?!?!?" (see Mark 8 for this story. My "dude" quote is verse 21.)

Yeah. I'm that dude in the boat.

God has SOOOO provided in the past.

He brought Zebby home to us in lightning fast speed and with money that only He could provide.

And I was lying in my bed with knots in my stomach wondering about this agency payment, "but HOW Lord???"

I could not foresee a way. I wish I had someone smack me upside the head with a fish. (that MIGHT have helped, you never know!)

Instead, God kindly gave me this verse, (because He is so gentle and is not a fish slapping kind of God!)
  " I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make rivers in the wilderness." Isaiah 43:19

Then, while having family devotions, our kids ran to grab their pennies and loose change. "There! Now we can bring Toby home!!"

Oh, the precious faith of a child!!


Then yesterday I got a private message on Facebook.  My friend's son read the last post with his mom and was asking good questions. "Why does it cost money to give a child a family?" "I want to adopt too!" "How can you hear God call you to do something?" Then, he came and gave her all his money to help bring Toby home.

$4.

I can assure you that those four dollars given in faith have BALLOONED into what we are seeing now in our Adopt Together account!!

Then, as today began, God filled me with faith. I had not a hint of wavering. I KNEW that God would do it. And as I am learning, faith is not something we conjure up, but it is a gift of God. (See Romans 12:3.)

Yesterday afternoon, I was also reminded by my friend that we didn't need the money THURSDAY, we needed it FRIDAY. That I should hold on and see what God did FRIDAY. God then put double rainbows in the sky that night. One for her, one for me. :) God's so cool like that!

Then this afternoon, as I was watching all these donations come in and fill up the need, one story in particular brought me to tears. Three siblings gave from their jars. Then their lovely mother messaged me the story:

This morning on the way to bball camp we prayed, asking God to show us what we could do to help orphans today.

Came home, saw your post, told Zoë. She said, "I'll give $5 to help that baby." then we remembered the jars they keep tithes and savings in. She decided to empty hers for Toby.

Greta saw what was going on. I told her about baby Toby in China who needs to come home to his family and needs doctors and medicine. Greta said, "give him my money jars, too."

After Caleb's playdate I told him about it and he didn't want to participate because he's saving for a science kit. Then he saw the girls' jars and said, "ok, I'll give everything in my jar, including my 8 gold coins from the tooth fairy."

So it's not much, but $57.45 was every cent the kids had. Their compassion speaks to my soul.

I thought you might like to hear these incredible God stories so YOU can have YOUR faith built up and encouraged like mine has been. (I Thessalonians 5:11)

God has taken these "loaves and fish" of these children and turned it into $1,736!!  Nope, just got another donation! Now we are at $1,836! (We had some cash given to us today as well...so it is not reflected in the amount on the Adopt Together page.) And truth be told, I have to keep changing this number as I type because the money keeps on coming!!! HALLELUJAH!

God is bringing our Toby home!! And using adorable children and precious adults to do it! 

Yahooooo!!! :)

Please meet...Godfrey!! (A giveaway!)

As I have been in the Ugandan cyber adoption world, going on 6 months now, I have heard soooooooooooooo many wonderful and amazing things about

  a man named Godfrey.

I have lost count of the amount of people who sing this man's praises. Truly, not one word has been anything but glowing praise for this brother in the Lord!

Godfrey, his wife Tina and their family (including foster children!)

Now I have yet to meet this man in the flesh, but we have "met" in spirit.  This is a man greatly filled with God's Spirit! He is a loving husband and father and takes in orphans into his home without batting an eyelash. We were in a situation once, with a referral we lost to another family, when Godfrey told me on the phone, "Just come and get him out of the orphanage, I will keep him here with me until your paperwork is ready." He's just that kind of man. You need it, he gives it. He'd even do more than give you the shirt off his back! (yes, that's a link! Click it!)

Two non profit organizations: Sixty Feet and Awaka have loved and employed him as a driver. He generously and selflessly helps out the international adoption community. He is truly a brother in Christ! 

And now, Godfrey needs OUR help. See that sweet baby girl in his wife's arms? Her name is Elizabeth and she needs medical care that is only available in the United States. A

lready in one week's time, friends of Godfrey near and far have supplied his family with enough money to purchase plane tickets, visas and passports to deliver them to America. 

Sweet baby Elizabeth

The next item of need is a doctor and hospital who will treat baby Elizabeth for free. If you are an American reading this, you know how that NEVER happens here!! Yet do roadblocks stop our God? Ha! NO WAY! Please join us in praying for the perfect doctors and hospital situation to be worked out entirely on their behalf. (There are good leads!)

That leaves the financial needs of their family while they are in the States. This current need is what is being fundraised currently on the Awaka website. For a simple $5 entry, you can have your name in the hat for a gorgeous print of this adoption painting by Melissa Carter entitled, "The Messenger." 

You can read all the details about this gorgeous work of art here, including what the artist says went through her mind as she painted it! (It's so cool!)

And there's more! That $5 donation will also enter you to win this cool coffee table book about Kampala, the capital city of Uganda:

                                                  

I'll encourage you to scoot on over to the Awaka blog to discover the third item up for the giveaway! You can make a donation if you like to help out Godfrey's family there too.

Let's come together to support Godfrey, his wife Tina and their daughter Elizabeth in their hour of need! Bless you!