Our little girl in Ghana on Easter!

hi's, bye's and letting go of the pen.

So, Brian got to skype with Juliana yesterday, on Mother's Day. The connection was a little rough, but he was able to articulate our baby girl saying "hi" and "bye". Amazing! I have to admit that it saddens me to have so many of the "firsts" happening without us. But I am grateful that God is allowing Brian and Debbie to share in so many special moments with Julie. Her life was so fragile and their were times when even Debbie thought she might not make it. I believe God is blessing their desire to see Julie thrive and grow. He is such a gracious Father!

Julie is doing very well while we wait. We received our I600 Approval early last week. This document was necessary to prove that Julie is indeed an orphan. That paperwork has now been forwarded on to the Consular in Ghana for our last and final step! The Consular will assign us a Visa Appointment for Juliana's Passport. Once we receive a date for this appointment and the visa stamp is in her passport to enter the United States, we will be able to book our travel dates to go and bring babygirl home! Wow. So many friends and family ask the "when" question. I think one of the things that God has been working on with me in adopting Juliana has been about letting go of the pen! As I look back in our process of adopting Ayantu and even in the beginning phase with Julie, I worked so hard at getting all of the paperwork done quickly so "I could push it through". And there were always hiccups along the way that "I tried to fix as best I could." God is teaching me more and more that this is His story to write and in His perfect timing-not mine. There are so many things that He has wanted me to see and be available to and I am grateful that my focus is changing so I that I can be. It's truly incomprehensible to figure out the ways in which God will allow things to happen just to get our attention. Over Spring Break, He used my passport stuck in Washington, D.C. to get me to slow down and let go. And now, He is using the unknown of the Visa appointment to have us live today and be available today to the encounters He wants us to be a part of.

So Julie...keep finding new words and trying with all your might to let go of Debbie's hands to take your first step. Regardless of wether we are there to see it happen, Mommy and Daddy and your sisters are cheering you on with so much love and adoration for you!

Unil soon...

The Body

The Body of Christ, The Church, is such a glorious and beautiful thing when it is compelled to lovingly serve and sacrifice out of obedience to God. Brian and I have experienced this love in real, practical ways since saying yes to adopting Julie. Here is a list of some of the ways in which people responded on behalf of Jesus to provide for the financial burden of this adoption. There were countless things that happened and I don't want to leave anyone out, but I am not writing these down to glorify people, but rather show how God moves and works through the hands and feet of his bride:

A friend I was just getting to know at work put an envelope in my pocket with a $500 dontaion in it that said "bring this baby home soon!".

Friends who currently have 4 biological kids of their own and were just about to start the adoption process for themselves handed us an envelope with $1,000 cash in it.

A man who only knows me through Costco came up to me while at work and said he was going to donate his catering services for our adoption fundraiser dinner. This man and his team served over 120+ people marinated chicken, a veggie casserole, salad, dinner rolls, mac & cheese and chicken tenders for the kids and dessert...no charge.

Our neighbor and friend who is a Photographer freely captured some of the nights memories for us [davidchandlerphoto.com].

The Starbucks Barista's where I go and get my morning coffe set up a donation cube with Julie's picture at their coffee counter for 1 week. There were 6 Barista's who are all college age ladies willing to donate their tips for the sake of the orphan.

My dear friend Rosa [decorator extraordinaire] offered her services for the fundraiser dinner. She came up with a "Love" theme that beautifully and tastefully brought pizazz to the room the night of our dinner.

On February 6th, 2011, we raised over 85% of the funds needed to bring Juliana home. This was done through people's generous donations, even in the midst of difficult economic times, because they were compelled to love and to serve.

Now, I want you to hear clearly that I am not trying to communicate something that says if you say yes to what God is calling you to that He will then bless you with money. This is Not at all what I'm saying. I am simply trying to capture the beauty of the body of Jesus Christ and what it means to live in community with those around you. God does provide sometimes in ways we would never even dream of.

Below are some pictures from the night of our fundraiser dinner. Such a gift. We are loved.

He knew.

My mind cannot comprehend that God picked Juliana to be our daughter before either Brian and I were even born. We are so unworthy. And yet He gives us tangible opportunities to experience His love. For you. For me. Below are more pictures of Brian with Julie from his trip in November.

Yes, Lord.

That night, after we got the girls to bed, I snuggled up on the couch and listened as Brian shared about his trip. It was amazing to think about the reality of what had just taken place. We were informed about a little girl in need of a Mom and Dad in Ghana. We prayed, sought counsel and made a decision to send Brian to Africa to spend a few days with this little girl. He boarded a plane on Wednesday afternoon and then 96 hours later he was back in our living room. Okay!

Now I know I mentioned in an earlier post that one of Brian's gifts is that of networking. He's so good at hearing about a need of some sort and knowing someone, somewhere that can meet that need. During Brian's long flight home, he had many hours to think about Juliana and what he had experienced with her. First thing first-he was in love with her! No doubt! But, he did notice and observe some physical things about Juliana that were a bit "off". Again, Julie was severely malnourished and estimated to be about 9 months developmentally behind her physical age. But what did that mean? Could she gain it all back? Would it just be a matter of nutrition and some physical therapy and we could get her caught up? We realized that there were no certain yes or no answers. But Brian's gifting, another reason why I love this man, stepped up. When he was in the Ohare Airport, waiting for his connection to Grand Rapids, he thought about an old friend of his who does early childhood developmental assesments. He wasted no time as he found Diane's phone number and gave her a call from Ohare. Brian gave her a quick update about the decision he and I were trying to make. He asked Diane if she would be willing to come over for dinner and watch some of the videos he took of Juliana in Ghana and to give us her feedback about some of the observations he made. Diane agreed and in fact she and her husband came over 2 nights later for dinner.

Diane and her husband, Fred, came over for a bite to eat on Tuesday night. After catching up, we showed Diane 15 videos of Brian and Julie together. Like Brian, Diane was in love with Julie! But, she also noticed a couple things that Julie did with her hands and her eyes that were different. At first, she thought she may have shown some signs of cerebal palsy, but then later dismissed that concern. Her overall assessment was that Julie was indeed behind, but that getting her here to the United States would do wonders. She affirmed that because of how young Julie is, she believed a significant amount of Julie's delays could be caught up with intervention.

After Diane and her husband left for the evening, Brian and I started cleaning up the dishes together. I didn't know if it was too soon to ask Brian what he was thinking. I kind of kept quiet for a bit and waited on him. I think we both knew in our hearts that this was never a matter of "is God calling us to do this or not", but rather Brian and Jen "will you be obedient?" Finally, after a few long minutes, Brian asked "are we on the same page regarding Juliana?" I knew where I was at...I was in! But I didn't know how to respond just in case I was way off as to where he was at. So I just went for it "umm, we're doing this, aren't we?" He looked right at me and I could see it in his eyes. Brian nodded his head yes and told me to email the McIntyre's in Ghana right away to let them know that we were going to pursue adopting Juliana!

In the days to come, we would begin one of the wildest rides we've been on. This whole idea of God's, that he would allow and entrust us to care for the orphan, has been beyond our comprehension. Sometimes we sit back and think we're nuts! And then, we're reminded again, that He has given us a choice to be a part of giving of ourselves now...loving others now...being uncomfortable now so that we would become more dependant on Him OR we could sit in our little corner of the earth in East Grand Rapids, Michigan and say "this is it"!

I can't wait to share what God's done in the past couple months to show us and remind us that He will provide and bless our obedience!

It Was OVER!

Knowing Brian was there safely put my mind at ease. Now, I just had to get through the next 3 days wondering what he was thinking, seeing and experiencing with Juliana. The day he arrived he was greeted by the McIntyre's and was able to stay with them in their home. Joe and Emily were also there. They had arrived several days earlier and had lots of opportunities to love on some of the babies.

I never got to see Brian's reaction to seeing and holding Juliana for the 1st time. But I do know that he fell in love with her immediately and it was over! Remember how I had been praying that God would lead us through Brian and not me...well, don't really think it mattered because either way we would have been sold out!

Brian was able to spend a couple days interacting with Julie. He got to wake her up, feed her breakfast, lunch and dinner. He was able to change her diapers, play with her and really just hold her as much as he wanted. I was told by Emily later that Brian got quite protective of Julie. He would be the 1st one up in the morning so he made sure Julie was able to see him when she woke up! How cute is that!

The temperatures were quite miserable during his stay. I remember it was in the upper 90's but felt more like 110 degrees. Brian also had the opportunity to help with Brian and Debbie's move into their new facitlity for the babies. It was great for him to be able to play a part in that and be able to see first hand what God was doing through the McIntyre's.

On Sunday, his flight back to the States went well. Everything was on time and he was back to our house in the early afternoon. I was at work when he got home. He gracioulsy stayed up with his jet lag so when I got home he could debrief on his trip and share what he was sensing our response was to be regarding Juliana.

The McIntyre's

So...I promised more information on the couple that has been caring for Juliana in Ghana. I have their permission to share a bit about them as well as their ministry. Brian McIntyre and his wife, Debbie, came to Ghana from Grandville, Michigan! It was a long process for them to get there but they finally did it. Brian and his wife, together, have had a long term heart for foster care and orphans dating back over 20 years. And Brian, who is a Pastor, has had a longing to serve in Africa for some time. Starting back in 2003, God unified Brian and Debbie's passions and began to open the doors for them to collectively establish and support Mercy Ministries in West Africa.

Their current ministry in Ghana is in relationship with the local Police Hospital in Accra[the capital city] where they reside. The Police Hospital receives all of the abandonment/abuse cases of children. They then contact the McIntyre's. Brian and Debbie have established a facility that serves as an emergency placement for these children as well as a hospice for infants and toddlers who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses. This facility will hold 10 babies ages 0-3 years. They are also working on a second facility that will be a fosterhome for older children.

Currently, they are trying to promote babybed sponsorships, which will provide financial support for the staff, medicine, and food required to care for the babies. Brian is the director, and together, he and Debbie oversee the Children’s Home. They have named it: House of Mercy (HOMe).

If you are interested in more information about West African Mercy Ministries or ways in which you can financially support one of the babybeds
you can check out their website at www.wamminc.org

Amazing, Amazing couple. And am so gratefulto God for them!