Moving Full Speed Ahead

God’s purpose what is it?  Ever since Jon and I have discussed adoption with family, church, and friends it has been interesting to hear the responses we get.  Most are in favor and some are not.  I guess that is a typical response that anyone should receive.  Sometimes it hard to hear of someone else’s calling when it’s not a calling that you have received yourself.  All I know is that we are all different.  God uses our differences in life to fulfill his purpose.  We are now starting to realize God has a second purpose for this journey so far and many more up his sleeve I am sure.  The second calling is to share our journey that God has called us to do.  We have clearly stated to people that this is God’s calling and we have chosen to follow him.  It is going to be roller coaster ride with ups and downs and twists and turns.  One thing is for certain we will stay committed to our faith in God and trust his plans.

Last weekend Jon and I gathered all of the baby items from the house and packed them into the van and set off to sell them at a mommy market at Branch Creek Community Church.  I had realized that at this point in our lives that we were most likely going to adopt a child that was older than the baby stage.  I love babies and I know that Jon couldn’t believe how I just packed the items up and decided that I was going to sell them.  The Mommy  Market was a great day.  There were so many things that happended to me that day. 

As I drove to the Mommy Market, I was listening to some praise songs on the radio.  I felt a little emotional but in a good way.  I wasn't sad that we were selling the baby items.  I felt that God was giving me a peace about what I was doing that day.  I knew that he was going to be in control of the day.  I knew that he was preparing me for the journey to come.  I got the the church and they showed me where my table was going to be.  It happened to be next to a woman who had also previously adopted.  We had talked and shared stories.  It was great to be next to her.  As the morning progressed, I saw Alicia who is also in the process of adopting from Honduras.  I had just e-mailed her days prior but I had never met her before.  I saw her walking by and asked if that was her.  It was.  We hugged and talked some about the adopting and where we are in the process.  They had recently done a Both Hands project, where you help a widow and orphans.  I had e-mailed her to see if I could talk to her about this project.  We would really like to do this also.  We are going to be talking more about that soon. 

Soon after that, my friend Jenn passed by with her daughter that they had recently adopted.  She was beautiful!!  I just couldn't believe that they were there.  Jenn told Hayley to say hi to me.  She said "hi" with the sweetest voice and waved at me.  I immediately started to cry.  It was just a beauitful moment.  Jenn and I hugged and of course I made her cry.  She just said to me, "This is going to be you soon."  Just seeing how she was doing and just the fact that a few weeks prior she was in the orphanage.  Just to see her and how far she has come was just amazing.  It was just a blessing to see God's work. 

While I was at the Mommy Market, Jon had a to do list to get some things done for the adoption.  He had to go to the Boyertown Library to get his Passport Application completed and mailed in, and then he had to get bloodwork done to complete his Physical.  When he was done, he came to the church to pick me up and help load what didn't sell.  He came in and was surprised to see that I had sold most of my items.  I had sold all of my bigger items.  I had a baby swing left, which I knew someone had looked at it to buy, but they didn't.  At the end of the sale, I had decided to donate it to the Care Corner at Branch Creek Church.  As I walking to donate the swing, I saw this person again.  I asked her if she wanted it for free.  She was so happy and thankful!!  It was also great to see how that had really helped her too.  I had a bin left of Maternity Clothes and a few other things.  Jon had looked around and saw that other people still had a lot of items still left.  Later, I counted the money that I had earned that day.  I made $275!!!  Jon and I were shocked!!  He said how in the world did you make that much???  Praise God!!  All of the money earned was going to be going into our adoption fund to help pay for fees.  We were both just amazed that we had sold much more than we had thought.  One could say that we just lucked out and sold a lot.  I would say that God had his hand on the wheel of our lives and is directing our path and knew just what we needed.

After the sale, Jon and I drove to Plymouth Meeting area to a UPS store where we had to have our first set of Fingerprints done.  I just felt really good after the Mommy Market.  Jon said that there was something different about me.  I just seemed so lit up, smiling and happy.   I was happy.  This journey has been absolutely amazing and I can say that I see God all over it.  From things that just happen to things people say, things are coming together.  We start our homestudy Monday where we meet our social worker for our first meeting.  We have been doing a lot of paperwork to get ready for our Homestudy and to start preparing for our Dossier (the paperwork that needs to be submitted).  Things have just been coming together.  We had our fingerprints done and they said it would take 2-3 weeks before we got the results.  I recieved them a few days ago, so I can bring them with us to our Homestudy Meeting.  I also was able to get another cleaning job, which will also be a help.  I wasn't looking for it, it just kind of happened. 

We have also been working on our first fundraiser.  About a month ago, Jon was praying about direction for a fundraiser.  Immediately after praying, Sam Sandler came to his mind.  For those of you who don't know him, he is a magician and a friend of ours.  He is amazing!!!  He has appeared in theatres, churches, schools, homes, from Montana to Puerto Rico!!  He has also performed at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, Been on Good Morning America, as a guest on Good Day Philadelphia!,  and the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.  We are going to be planning a show in November.  Please stay tuned for information on tickets.  Your help and support is greatly appreciated!!!  Please continue to pray for us as we continue our mission to bring our daughter home.  

To see a sample of his show please see the link below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5VxEDwF7os