WE ARE HERE! and on internet

Patience June19th, 2013
After our sermon at church on Sunday using Galatians 5:22-23, we have decided to journal the fruits of the spirit while away. I am wondering if we will be tempted to use Patience more than once!
We are nearing the end of the longest of our plane rides. We are 35 minutes from landing in Accra Ghana. We then have a short layover and cannot exit the plane. Then on to Liberia!
Sleeping was quite hard, and a 10 hour flight is LONG! But we expected to be tired and are ready to be off the plane. We have even tried to imagine how the flight home will go with a 1 year old!
We upgraded to economy comfort, and for this long of a journey, I suggest it to everyone. I cannot imagine traveling this long without it!
We are anxious to find out if we will see Shadrach today or tomorrow. I am a little hesitant to grab him from the orphanage and say….”ok let’s go to bed!” So part of me would be content to wait until tomorrow and get to know him throughout the day and then work on putting him to bed! A day full of “yes” to start gaining his trust.
Please pray for our children at home. They are all in good hands. But it is hard being so far away from them!
Shannon
We are at our guest house, after about a 45 minute journey in the car. IT is clean, and has 24 hour power, running filtered water. Jessica Neal….we are spoiled!
We have already run into a bump in the road. Apparently we were to make the embassy appt. Even after we heard last week that Acres of Hope was making the appt. So we are feeling anxious about this. It was to be done online, and we do not have internet here. So tomorrow Rebecca is to be taking us to the Embassy AFTER we go see Shadrach. So pray for this to happen by Monday or Tuesday. Our plane leaves on Wednesday at 6:25 pm.
On the plane, a former Professional Soccer player from Liberia was sitting in front of us. He was coming back to Liberia to play the Peace games on Sunday. Was fun to chat with him. He has lived in many countries since he left about the time the war started.
I was planning to try to keep on MN time…but here it is 8pm Liberia time, (five hours ahead of MN) and I am ready for bed.
We are missing our kids. We have been able to text a bit, but we are unsure of that cost. So we are trying to keep it at a minimum!
PEACE June 20th ,2013
I think we both slept pretty well. We are in a double bed, but it didn’t seem to matter last night.
The rain started full force during the night, on a tin roof, and has not stopped since then. Coming down in sheets. We did get to go on the beach last night. We walked a bit until we saw little crab’s walking all over. That was enough to get me in!
We heard from the Neal’s that there are dogs running all over. There was one laying in the yard last night. Wayne thought it might be dead. But when we got back from the beach (which is right across from our guest house) the dog had left.
This morning Wayne was out trying to get some video, despite the rain. And he saw a BIG lizard. A huge gecko looking thing.
On our way from the airport, there were little villages. People mulling all over. The streets are filled with adults and children walking all over. When our car past a motorcycle Rebecca would honk to let them know she was passing.
We are leaving to meet Shadrach in about an hour. We are unsure yet if we take him from that time on or not. So many unknowns right now. Plus we are wondering about being able to get on the internet and post things, and let Nate, who leaves on Sat. know what to expect. We are anxious for him to get here too.
Shannon
June 19th….still
We saw Shadrach for the first time about 10:30 this morning…or at the crack of dawn for all you Minnesotans. We walked into the sleeping room of about 10 children, and they ALL started to cry…the white people came! But Shadrach didn’t cry! LOL. I picked him up and he seemed tired, out of it. When we left he slept for about 3 hours. He slept through traffic the US Embassy visit, and much noise. YAY a heavy sleeper in our busy household. When he woke up, Wayne fed him his bottle and he has been a happy, goofy, silly boy ever since. He chats, laughs, smiles and is simply a happy boy. He actually does love his stroller, loves to snuggle, and loves to play with his feet. He is sitting up by himself, although with a little bit of a bottle butt. It won’t take him long to get up on his knees. Which will be interesting having a mobile blind boy. Wayne has affectionately named him our chocolate chunk..he has the BIGGEST CHUNK ever! Jessica sure had that right on!
We need lots of prayers going out for our US Embassy Consular visit. We just learned last night that we needed to request an appt. last week online. So pray that they get our email and we can have that visit take place, to get his medical Visa, so we can leave Wednesday. We let Nate know to get his made. So hopefully things will go smoothly for him. (he is bringing home James who needs an esophagus transplant) Nate arrives Sunday night.
So our lives are full of listening to baby giggle fun right now.
A couple other fun things, we had some boys come and sell us stuff at our Guest house. Which was fun…I probably over paid a bit. But still cheap by American Standards. We talked them down some. But so many things have meaning….We will try to post pictures. But it is something to see. Items made out of mahogany.
Last night I believe I journaled about the crabs that came out on the beach….well during the day, there are little tiny crabs that are out during the day. They match the sand, and you can hardly see them…yuck!!!
So I am leary about the beach. There are VERY hi waves, and people still swim a lot. Which amazes me. Cannot believe how dangerous it might be.
JOY/ amidst some heart ache…. June 21, 2013
I learned a couple of things this morning.
First, when we were at the orphanage to pick up Shadrach, his sweet mama was there. Wayne said we were introduced to her, but with the thick Liberian accent, I didn’t catch that it was his mama. I feel horrible. I did get a picture of her, but it is on my camera and I didn’t bring the computer cord!
Second, we are staying at Trinity guest house. Part of Samaritans purse and SIM International. This was no accident. A Divine intervention….amazing. I would love to tell this story in person, but I cannot wait to share!
Queen is the guest house cleaner. She is the adopted daughter of the Arizona couple who run the ELWA compound….where we are staying. Queen comes every morning to clean, chat and clean some more….Today she told me that she knows Shadrachs aunt and has met his mama! I said….” Please tell me the story!” So here goes…..
Shadrachs mama came down from Nimba when he was 5-6 months old. Her village said he was cursed and they didn’t want him around. So she made the trek down to Monrovia to her brother and sister inlaw’s house. From there they got hooked up with Acres of Hope. If his mama were to bring him back to Nimba, the village people would throw him out and be left to die.
When we were a couple of weeks into the process to adopt Shadrach, we had to write a letter to his mama to let her know we were not going to harm him. That we wanted to love him and care for him. To call him our own. At the same time, here in Liberia, Queen was talking to the aunt. The aunt asked, Queen, should we let him go, or should I raise him. Queen told her “ Let God take care of Shadrach. You cannot help him like some in America can. He has a future there.” She was worried about him being trafficked and that he would be taken advantage of. Queen cannot wait to tell the family that he will be at a good home..with so many people excited for him to get home.
His mama or aunt would come every day to visit him and play with him in the orphanage. She loves him….and she is letting me take him home…to another country, to another part of world….that is so different from her own. My Joy…her sorrow.
Can you believe how God has worked this out for us to care for Shadrach. We knew we were in for some surprises, but I never imagined something as awesome as this. Queen told me the story and kept saying “God works in mysterious ways”
We are currently waiting for Amos to come. He is the social worker. He is now an hour late. Smile….Liberian time. He is suppose to take Shadrach to the doctor. I am not sure what is the ok time frame to wait, or simply go down to the Golden Key so we can get on the internet…..I am anxious to post updates, and get in touch with Christina and Jessica.
To close…..When I heard we were staying at Trinity guest house, I thought….that sounds about perfect. Little did I know, God has us right where he wanted us!
Shannon (Wayne has lots of updates to. I will try to get him to post

Last days....home....

We are down to our final two days home! I can hardly believe it!

While there we are staying in a guest house on the beach....We are eager to see if this is a luxurious as we think it sounds!

We can hardly wait to post pictures while we are there.

Our plane lands at 4:25...which is 11:25 am on Wednesday. But due to time difference and the airport being over an hours drive away, we probably won't be able to post until Thursday...but I will be sure to have tons of pictures by then!

Happy Father's Day to all dads out there....and if you want your own Liberian Journey to pick up a wee one...I will be sure to take pictures of other children needing a mom and dad!

Shan

Persevering Through the Tough Days

Today for some reason I am feeling ill equipped for this journey. I think for the most part it is funding. Every adoption has this challenge. So, i was expecting that. We are borrowing funds interest free from a dear friend. Which i am thankful for.  But it is the paying back part that scares me! just being real in the journey!So I am taking some time to look back on this journey to remember the blessings....

Today marks officially 7 weeks from the night we decided to pursue adopting Shadrack. And in one week we are going to meet this sweet boy.

For the most part things have gone pretty well. Communication to Liberia remains a slight frustration. It is at times hard to get a straight answer. But all in all the process has been wonderful. I think we have had just enough time to dream and plan for ways we will care for a blind boy. But we know we are on a journey of a lifetime.

There have been a few comments we have come across that we wanted to address.
1.  Why are we going all the way to Africa when so many children need homes right here?

Well, Wayne and I have pursued adoption from the foster care system. But timing was never right. We had planned for a teen. But Shadrack has been placed in our path. And God is working out the details. So we are trusting in His plan. Not ours. And I would then ask you....why are you not adopting locally.?

2. This is selfish to your current grandchildren.

Adoption is anything but selfish. Wayne and I happen to be passionate about people. We love our hobby farm life. Mixed with jobs of helping people. Our lives are anything but selfish. Shadrack doesn't replace any of our kids. Nor does he replace grand kids. We didn't plan to take on a one year old. But we are. Simply obedience to our Maker. We are living out the Gospel call.

Any other questions? We are not offended. We are aiming to educate and give you some things to think about.

What are your thoughts on adoption? Either physically adopting. Or supporting those that do? It isn't an easy road. Especially with medical needs.

Shannon

The Journey Started

Our journey began on April 24th. A chilly April. With snow yet to fall in the next couple of weeks. Wayne and I were out in Farmaritaville by ourselves. Chatting. I showed him the above picture and said "I cannot find a home for this guy". " He is blind and needs a place to come back to for care." Wayne actually siaid. "Ok. Lets do it". I can tell you I about fell off my chair. This was a way different turn of events for us.
1.  We were planning to adopt an older child from the foster care system.
2.  Wayne is comfortable to stay in the US borders.
3.  We have mission work in our backyards. Why travel else where?

So. We are not adopting a teen.
We are traveling out of the country.
We are doing mission work in another country, along with the work we are doing here

But just to be sure Wayne and I were on the same page, I came home late Thursday morning from getting a hair cut. I asked him. Do you actually remember what we talked about last night?

Ha! So the journey has begun!
By Saturday I had our list of things to get done. Lots of notarized letters. Doctors appts. And more paperwork.

Loved:Deeper Still

I had the privilege of spending the Season of Lent reading a gentle book on experiencing God. Experiencing His deep love.
I grew up going to Lent Services for six weeks every Wednesday evening. Then we finished strong by Maunday Thursday service and Good Friday Passion Services just before Easter. I feel as if many churches are not celebrating these timeless traditions anymore. What more could you ask for than to reflect back  on why you are forgiven...and know exactly what God sent His one and only Son to do. Priceless....Deeply loved.
I remember singing on Good Friday without an organ playing. Or the times the Pastor would take the Bible on the alter and slam it shut. But in my younger years, I was ready for the Easter Bunny!
In recent years our church still celebrate and remembers these important and necessary days before Easter...often with a Seder Meal on Thursday. And Good Friday...many years ago we started a new tradition. My husband made a huge cross that is placed on the alter.  It is about 8 ft tall...possibly more. Very heavy and filled with nail holes from years past. We simply sit in our chairs during the service. Write out our hearts on a red sheet of paper and nail our sins to the cross...one by one....the cross is filled with red. It is awesome to participate in this! My favorite part. It has taught our kids that Jesus really paid it all. It is a practical example of what He did for us.
I wish all Churches would reflect back on these traditions. I wish we could be more simple. I remember a devotion from the Book mentioned above...Deeply Loved, that was titled Simplicity. About half way through the book....Reflections of a simpler life. The older I get the more this means to me. It is hard to not get wrapped up in what the world says we need.
Find a church that celebrates these two important holidays! Revel in the simpler times and find a simpler life!

50 Shades Rage

I was very tempted to jump on the 50 Shades of Grey bandwagon...I had heard, some people can handle it, but the Christian Community as a whole was saying stay away. These books have been tagged as soft porn for women. But oh how I wanted to check it out and see what the rage was about.
Fast forward a couple of months, I was given a fantastic opportunity to read and review The Fantasy Fallacy. I follow Shannon Ethridge on Facebook, so I knew a little about her already. I jumped at the chance to see what her thoughts on 50 Shades of Grey were...
I have to say, The Fantasy Fallacy was about way more than the 50 Shades series. I figured it would give me more details into the book...a way to read the taboo series without actually reading it...
Even though the book wasn't about the series, I can honestly say it gave me such a greater knowledge of the Biblical perspective on marital sex. Sex is something to be shared by two married adults...man and woman. Shannon E. helped break down some barriers that this world shows us...or put up barriers that this world we live in has taken down.
Shannon helped me to gain a greater understanding of where my marriage should be. It is ok to fantasize...and is even healthy...as long as your spouse is involved. God created Sex to be a good thing between two married adults.
Please read this book before you dive into the 50 Shades of Grey phenomenon. Your spouse will thank you...It is hard to keep marriage sacred with so much sex coming at you. And if you were sexual abused when you were younger...your view of sex is already skewed.

From Thomas Nelson Publishers...enjoy the Fantasy Fallacy.

I recieved this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I have not been compensated in any way for the review of this book.

The Trouble with those Cowboys

The Trouble with Cowboys, by Denise Hunter

I started reading this book, and loved it! It is a light, funny romance. It is somewhat predictable, but most romances are!
Annie is the main character who has been through her share of heartache while growing up. Which sets the stage for why she chooses a predictable boyfriend.
The character developement is good in the sense that when you've been given lemons, make lemonade. She has been through enough adversity, and has really made a life for herself. She struggles, is helping out her sister who is raising a 4 year old alone.
The book also has witty characters. I love the interaction between her and cowboy Dylan. They feed off each others quirky remarks. They feel the chemistry with each other....but can she get past the old feelings of not trusting anyone?
When I first started reading this book, I noticed it was a third in a series. I suspect that alot of what goes on in with other characters were portrayed in the other three books. Makes me wish I had read them first.
I loved this book, am a avid reader, but had never read Denise Hunters books. I think they will become a collection on my shelf!

I recieved this book fromThomas Nelson publisher for the sole purpose of reading this book and submitting a reivew. I have been in no way reimbursed for reading this book.