The Great Isolation....

ScottyB - You called it right!

Me and ScottyB [as opposed to Me and Bobby McGee] had a discussion Sunday night about the single greatest threat to the Great Commission.

The easy answer is - Sin: meaning the sin of believers who refuse to be obedient. But the deeper answer is why they refuse - A desire for isolation.

Jesus said "Go". An isolated heart says "Stay". Jesus said "Make disciples". The isolated heart says "Make friends, but don't get messy". Jesus said "Teach them to observe everything I have commanded you." The isolated heart says "Make suggestions that are comfortable and convenient and make people good citizens....but don't legislate morality."

It was easy for me to say - Yeah, some people do this, but not everybody. I know I get that way sometimes. But is the isolated Christian life really a universal problem?

Then today I read this:

"Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgement. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in expressing his opinion." Prov. 18:1-2.

Ahhh. When people are isolated, they don't have any accountability. They don't have anyone to say - "I don't think that's what the Bible says."

I don't know what I'm going to do with this nugget of truth yet. I just know that it exists. And because I don't want to isolate myself and seek my own understandings and opinions, I want to put it out there and see what happens with it.

L8R

A Whole Lotta Nuthin'

I understand how the amounts of that fee schedule could seem imposing to anyone looking on from the outside. I know how unlikely it seems that we will ever be able to raise that much support. Aside from the worldly wisdom of home equity loans, grants, rich relatives, and corporate gifts, we still have something in the back pocket that puts favor on our side.

Have you met my God?

He seems to incline toward creating something out of nothing.

Barren womb? Meet Isaac.

Thirsty desert wanderer? Check out this boulder-turned-water fountain!

Hungry desert wandered? Try the Kellogg's Manna-Flakes!

Impenetrable fortress? No match for the Invisible Army and the Hebrew Jazz Ensemble!

Forgot to pack a lunch? Fish -n- Chips!

Wedding reception faux pas? Try the Vintner's Reserve.

....Got the drift?

As overwhelmed as I feel sometimes at the expense of adopting, I am even more so by the expense of NOT adopting. The wars of kingdoms are often fought against children first. Look at Pharaoh's decree against Hebrew sons. Herod tried the same thing at the time of Jesus' birth. Sons of God threaten the Evil One's kingdom, and he attacks children.

I follow the blog of a family I met through the Nepal program. They were one of the few to get their referral before things shut down. Now they are raising their funds for their trip. In the most recent post, they shared a letter from a long distance family of friends who was making a huge sacrifice on their behalf. The husband had received a retirement cash-out as he was laid off and in search of a new career. The family had accumulated some debt in between the time his last job ended and that check came in. They had planned on paying off that debt with part of the money and making up their monthly deficiency with the rest. After seeing the need of their friends, the adoptive parents, they decided to take out only what they needed to make their ends meet and give the rest toward the adoption.

In their own words, the wife wrote:

M and I agree that if the option is to pay off our credit card or help you get your little boy.....we choose choice B.

We still need to hit our first milestone of $10,000 by September 1 - which is a week away! We are closer to the target than the ChipIn widget indicates, because of local gifts from church friends. But we are still a good 60% or more from the goal. This amount is due to accept our referral. Maybe you have an option A in front of you for some cash you have lying around....not that many people do these days. The family giving the gift didn't really have it lying around either. But as we established earlier, God delights in creating something out of nothing. Sometimes we fill ourselves with so much that we leave no "nothing" for Him to fill.

Well, I got a whole lotta nuthin' just waiting for Him.

The Cost of Adoption

INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE GROUP

BREAKDOWN OF ADOPTION FEE SCHEDULE

Non-Refundable Agency Application Fee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $275

(Includes review of home study, interview with clients, assemble dossier documents.)

Document Preparation Fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9,225

(Submitted upon signing agency Service Agreement. Includes review, notarization,

apostilles, translation and legalization expenses of all documents for dossier, notarization of documents by foreign country, translation and preparation of documents for American Embassy, transfer of documents to foreign country, translation, legalization and transfer of post adoption reports. Please note: This fee also includes additional costs related to processing expenses for changes to your documents (if required by Russia) during the process of your adoption.)

International Agency Expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000

(Submitted upon acceptance of a referral. Includes all international administrative and adoption related expenses, administrative and operational expenses of foreign program,

salaries and expenses of foreign employees, preparation of documents for court, expenses of obtaining child’s documents in foreign country (decrees, birth certificates, passport), coordination of all aspects of adoption in foreign country including invitation to travel and visa, coordination of travel for family while in foreign country, interaction with foreign officials, court, etc., interaction with American Embassy on behalf of family, including registration fee with Russian Embassy, confirmation of cable receipt, appointments for visa interview, etc., arrangements for pre-immigration physical exam.)

Agency Fee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000

(Submitted approximately 30 days prior to travel. Includes agency operational and administrative costs, communication with client (telephone, fax, postage, Federal Express), communication with baby homes, foreign officials and employees; overall coordination and monitoring of entire adoption process in U.S. and foreign country, educational programs and materials, arrangements for travel to and within foreign country, arrangements for drivers and translators, extensive post-adoption services, education, and information adoption and medical issues, organization of reunions for adopted children and family.)

Russian Travel Expenses - Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$11,500

Includes airfare for two roundtrips for two adults, visas for adults and children, lapfare for two infants, all Russian accommodations, translators, drivers.

Filling two empty bedrooms with brown eyed girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Priceless

This post is so you can know how to pray specifically and how to give specifically. We're asking that all donations be routed through Immanuel Baptist Church of Hattiesburg, MS. From there, we can direct it to one of a few grant agencies that will match all gifts received.

Thank you.

God Moments

In times of ginormous change, like that from Nepal to Russia, doubts begin to creep in: "God, is that you?" "If this is the destination, why didn't we start out in this direction?" "Am I so ambivalent or oblivious to the will of God that I couldn't see this coming and already be prepared?"

I have had a little of these, but more than doubt, I have received confirmation upon confirmation that this is the way it was always meant to be.

Back in March of 2009, when my devotion pointed us away from fertility treatment and back toward adoption, one of the passages that day came from Psalm 121.

"I will lift my eyes unto the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth."

In my wisdom (please try to control your laughter), I thought that was a "sign" for Nepal - home of the Himalayas and Mount Everest. You can't find a higher hill than that. All along the way, this verse drove me on until I saw the help of the Lord. Every door that needed to open as we completed our homestudy was opened. Every obstacle that needed to be bound was bound. And when it looked months ago like the closing of Nepal might happen, we never once received a peace to leave the path. If we had, we would have already switched programs and missed this opportunity.

As a little, "See, I told you so" from the Lord, on Tuesday night we announced our referral to our church family. Among the well-wishers and the surrogate grandmothers who couldn't wait to see our little ones, one of our deacons handed Joe a wad of cash. When we got away from the church that night, I counted it.

$121.

God is awesome!

Russian Angel Fund is up and running!!