The Ultimate Adventure

"The ultimate adventure that I've experienced in my entire life!"   That's how 10 year old Oscar described his day on Saturday.  The Explorers had a special rappelling session, led by extreme adventurer, Norberto.  71 kids braved the experience by rappelling the three story radio building.

Norberto explained that when you rappel, you have to trust in the harness, in the strength of the rope and trust in those that are belaying (holding the rope) down below.  As followers of God, we have to trust that he will hold us up, even when we can't see him; he is with us.

The hardest part is taking that first step off the platform and putting your faith into practice!  The kids can't stopping talking about the "awesome adventures" they had rappeling.  We'll keep you posted as to what the next ultimate experience will be!  In the meantime, pray that the faith of these little ones would grow leaps and bounds!

God's Hesed

The renewal for women in ministry that I attended near the capital two weeks ago was fantastic.  We studied the composition and the 5 divisions of the Psalms and specifically delved into Psalm 103. Personally, I love the Psalms; there is one written for almost every emotion.  When I am down I read them, when I'm upset or doubting God or needing forgiveness I read them.  When I am joyful and thankful I read them.

What stood out to me in our in depth look at Psalm 103, a covenant Psalm, is the Hebrew word, Hesed. Hesed is loving-kindness; it is faithful, steadfast love and loyal commitment.  It describes who God is and how he deals with us.  Even though we are uncommitted, faithless and full of sin, God's love for us is permanent and unconditional.

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, 
slow to anger, abounding in love.  
He will not always accuse, 
nor will he harbor his anger forever; 
he does not treat us as our sins deserve 
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, 
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, 
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

-Psalm 103:8-12

Wow.  Because of God's great love (Hesed) toward us, we have the freedom to show loving kindness to others, even when they don't return it.  As God's child, I too am filled with Hesed, His loving kindness, goodness and faithfulness. 

As I prayed and reflected during the week, I knew that I had not been reflecting God's Hesed to a few folks in my life.  Instead of showing grace and compassion to people that have hurt me, I have pulled away and built walls of distrust.  Because God's love flows like a fountain, fresh and new all the time, I have been asking God to fill me to overflowing with his love so that I too can pour out his life-giving love to those that have wounded me in the past. 

What a gift it is to move beyond the requirement of living in Hesed to experiencing the joy and honor it is to share it!

image credit:  http://www.thebibleistrue.org/2009/04/hesed-hebrew-word-study/

Dancing Doves

I just love how God's creativity and humor is revealed in nature.  I was doing my morning devotional and I saw the scene of a mother dove feeding her young with flair!

Home Study- Check!

Our home study lasted two hours yesterday.  We met with a social worker and a lawyer, which I thought was an interesting combination.  I wanted to make a good impression so I made sure the kitchen smelled like cookies, I fresh squeezed orange juice, picked flowers from my garden and had a beautiful bowl of fruit on the table.  Over and above outward appearances,we have been praying every day that during the interview they could sense the love of Jesus in us.

The two ladies were very kind and asked us all kinds of personal questions such as:

What has been the most difficult experience you've faced in your life?
What is your relationship with your parents like?
What is a normal day in your home like?
Why do you want to adopt?
What do you do for a living?
What is your educational background?

They did not ask us ONE question about what the particulars of the child we want to adopt.  While we're sure it's coming, it was somewhat of a relief they didn't ask.  We both freely expressed our faith in God and that our adoption journey started because we all are adopted by God.  We are not really sure how the women reacted to our expressions of faith, but there is NO WAY we can talk about adoption without referring to God and His love for me (and you).  The two go hand in hand.

They took a tour through our home and they shared with us more specifically about the Paraguayan adoption process.  Once our home study is approved and we complete the training, we will enter the waiting list!  

The interesting thing about the waiting list is that we will be assigned a child from our state (Itapua) and since there are very few parents that adopt from our region (we are the first in our city!), we could be high on the list.  We asked if there were children from Itapua and they told us there were children from our area!  They also try to make a "good fit" with the adoptive family and the child, so if they feel like we have a really good profile, they would try and match us sooner than others who have been waiting longer.  All that said, we really don't know how long this process is going to take, we just know we're one step closer!

What's New with Us

It's been a while since we've checked in.  Here's a sneak peak at what we've been up to.  Now that fall is coming and the school year has started we are getting into the groove with some fun activities...

Explorers have started up and Norberto is a commander again this year.  You can see the kiddos here in front of the new playground, which they have been testing out!

 Timmy started preschool and loves it!  Here he is with his teacher, the assistant and a few of his classmates.

"The Happy Hour" Saturday School is back in session.  I (Julie) am in charge once a month!

And now for our exciting news...

WE GOT A CALL FROM THE ADOPTION CENTER.  They are coming on Wednesday to do our interviews and home study!  We are moving one step closer to bringing our child home and are thrilled!  We will keep you posted on how that goes and what new information we will receive after this week. 

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!  We're looking forward to a great season.