Blown Away By My Lord

I have written the title for this post and have just been sitting, thinking, struggling to know where to start.  So let me start with His Provision for us in Safe Families.  We started the year with 3 approved Safe Families in Jefferson County and now, just 12 weeks later we have 7 families with at least 2 more who are very interested.   Four of those families are in our church and it has truly blessed me to see 5 different children being taken care of, just in the last month alone.

I have seen the Church step up and help each other as these families have had different needs as they minister to the kids.  We have even been told that our Church wants to hold a baby shower for Safe Families!!!!

I have seen His provision in the amount of clothes we now have to give to children who come with nothing but the clothes on their back.

He has provided backpacks for each child, which include a new toy, blanket, underwear, hygiene items and more.

The Lord has provided a Family Coach, who will work alongside the birth parents to help them navigate their way through the crisis they are experiencing.

I have seen relationships building between host families and birth parents.

I have seen Christ in my Church family - and I don't have the words to say how much this has blessed me.

And the Lord isn't done yet as He continues to open doors.   One of the items we discussed in our Steering Committee meetings was when we should make our services open to those in Jefferson County (right now we are serving the overflow of St Louis) ?  Well, the Lord has made that decision for us and it maybe sooner than I think we are ready for - but the Lord knows best. - right?   I won't go into all the details of how this has come about  but, there is a lady in Jefferson County Social Services Children's Division, who has heard about Safe Families for Children and is excited.  Excited because she sees the vision, and how Safe Families can help others, who would otherwise have their children taken into state care. So excited, that she has arranged a meeting for this Thursday evening where she has invited all 187 churches in our County, all the Children's Division contract agencies, juvenile officers and others to hear about Safe Families and how we as a Church can help meet the needs of our community.

I am excited about this opportunity, but also nervous.  It will be my job to present Safe Families to this group and while I know not all 187 churches will be represented I am hoping, and praying that many will.

Tomorrow I also have the opportunity to present Safe Families to the Baptist Churches in our County.  That one doesn't scare me quite as much, but I have to admit it still does bring a little anxiety.

What a week this will be.  I am anticipating the Lord will do incredible things.  Please pray with me.

• That the Lord will stir the hearts of many Pastor/Church leaders/Social Workers to attend these meetings
• That He will give me the time and ability to prepare well and clarity as I speak
• That hearts will be stirred and many churches will respond to the opportunity to serve those in our Community and we will be able to approve MANY more Safe Homes and Family Coaches.
• That the Child welfare agencies at the meeting will see the value of Safe Families and be willing to use our services.
• That the Lord will protect the hosting families, the children they serve and continue to provide for their needs
• That opportunities will be given where the host families can share Christ with the children and the birth parents - so that lives will be changed for eternity.
• Finally, to thank the Lord for all He has done so far. 

 May our service to the community continue because of our love for Him.

Thank you

Michelle

I Know God's Way is Perfect but ...

...  I just wish I could take that knowledge from my head and have it embedded in my heart.

Yesterday was a wonderful day, I went with a friend to pick up 7 week old twins which her family are taking care of for a couple of weeks while their birth mother recovers.  We are both grateful to Gary and Melissa's Mom for taking turns in caring for our children while Melissa and I ran around St Louis, picked up the twins, went out for lunch and took them to their Dr's appointment.  It was a great day with a good friend.

But this week I have been struggling with what the Lord is doing with me.  As I have written before  we (as a family) long to open our home to children in need, but are unable to do so because of the place we live.  So the Lord has placed on my heart the desire to recruit other families to help meet the need of families in crisis.  We now have a few families in Jefferson County who are licensed and 4 others in various stages of the application process.  He is also expanding my role as we are looking to open up a hub of Safe Families For Children here in Jefferson County and I have become part of the steering committee to make that happen.

The problem is I don't want that role.  I don't want a position of leadership, I don't want to be spending all this time reading the training manuals, I don't want to make phone calls, I don't want to have to go to meeting after meeting and be part of the decision making process.  I just want to take care of children.  I am not a leader.  I am a mother.

So yesterday morning I started to complain to the Lord about all of this.  And in His Goodness, He dealt so gently with me.  I was writing out Psalm 18:30 which begins:

This God - His way is perfect

and I knew He was speaking to me.  This isn't the path I would have chosen, or necessarily want but His way is perfect and I have to believe that.  As I said at the beginning of this post, it's easy to know in my head but harder to know it in my heart.

God is equipping me for the journey He has me on.  He is giving me many ideas of people to contact regarding Safe Families and even giving me a passion to see this expand in our community.  But it doesn't mean I'm not struggling anymore. Even as  I write this I have to wipe the tears from my face knowing it is not my place (at least not for now) to love on these little ones in need - maybe one day the Lord will allow me to.  Until then I keep working on being obedient and trusting Him and His perfect ways.

Michelle

So what is Safe Families for Children?

The quickest way to describe it, is that it is a christian alternative to foster care.  It is an opportunity for the Church to be obedient to Christ by taking care of those in need.

Safe Families for Children is in many States and preparing to be launched in Canada and England.  It has been established in St Louis since the summer of 2010.  In the first 6 months they were able to help 10 children, and last year they helped 98, but sadly had to turn away over 200 due to the lack of host families.  As of yesterday morning, there were 14 children waiting in St Louis for a family to be willing to take them in.

The need for the Body of Christ to serve theses families is huge, and only going to get bigger as Safe Families for Children is becoming more well known throughout the community.

Below is just one example of how Safe Families for Children can help.




Could you help your neighbor?  Could you be a host family, or a family coach, or someone to walk alongside the parents, or help with transportation, or help support the host family with their extra expenses etc, etc ... There are so many ways you could help.  So please pray.  Ask God how you can get involved and ask Him to raise up people in His Body to reach out to the weak and vulnerable.  What an incredible opportunity we have to share Christ to those in need. 


If you would like more information please, please contact me.

Thanks

Michelle

Off to England, AGAIN!!!

In fact, I am already here. I arrived on Wednesday. Sorry for the late notice. We had been so busy that I couldn't get a post up, nor finish the one about Texas. And then, I brought a computer with me that needed a bunch of updating before I could use it. I finally finished all the updates today, so now I am able to complete some posts.

I am here working with 2 other guys to build out a handicap apartment. We will be joined this next week by another guy from my home church.

The work is going great. The 2 guys I am working with had already started on the project and a lot of the demolition had been done. But they also left some for me to do too. One of the guys, Rick, is a bricklayer and has been teaching the skill. He has been on the mission field for the last 30 years, both in Senegal and the Netherlands. He is a very interesting guy and I have enjoyed getting to know him some.

Phil, you already know about, because he is the one who I left to finish the last project that I came out to do In February. He is still here and is managing the project for us.

The project is going very smooth. We have accomplished much in the few days that I have been on the job. By the time I return home we should have what they call "the first fix" completed. From what I understand that to be is: all the brick walls up, ceiling framed, insulated, windows and door installed, electrical rough, plumbing rough, drywall on walls and ceiling and the plastering completed (they plaster a lot here), as well as a few routine maintenance items completed around the campus, which I have already been working on. Wow! Sound like a lot of work? Well, it is. No time to rest around here, we have work to do.

Here are some pictures of the work.

Gary

The front of the apartment.

Reconstruction of the bath wall.

Laying the brick

Old Pillar removed

Old Lintel removed

New Lintels installed

My brick work inside

My brick work outside

Installing the ceiling beams with Rick

Ceiling beams complete

Texas

That's right I have been to Texas and back - Mission, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. Daniel and I went down with Aaron Sutton and Psalm 67 to check out a project for a church. It took us 23 hours driving straight through to get down there and about 21 hours to drive back not including about an 8 hour stop to get some sleep. We were gone for 6 days and was able to meet a lot of the members of this Hispanic church - some of them spoke English but not all. Aaron Sutton translated for those who couldn't speak both languages.

It was a good trip. I had a chance to get to know Aaron, his wife and daughter. Our Pastor and his wife flew down and spent the time with us. They came down to teach a few classes at the church. We are planning another trip late July to start on the work. It will take several trips to complete the work.

We are looking at approximately 250 linear feet of cracks in the drywall to be repaired throughout the building which means that we will have approximately 12,500 square feet of wall area that will need to be painted, not to mention the ceilings. The walls have the orange peel knock down finish and the ceiling have the acoustic finish. What fun!!!

We had an impromptu Bible Study with a family in the church. They came by one evening and wanted to  Study the Bible with us. This family is hungry for the Word of God. They want to know what it says so that they can live according to all that God commands. It is great to see the Holy Spirit working in their lives in this way.

The Mexican culture is very much a woman dominated culture because the men just aren't there to lead, for many reasons. So to see this man hungry is a real work of God in his life. He does not read and neither he nor his wife speak English but their kids, because they go to school in the U.S., speak both languages fluently. It is amazing to see these kids translating from English to Spanish for their parents.




We did take the opportunity to cross the border into Mexico for a few hours. A totally different way of life, such as it is in many parts of the world. We found prices to be so much cheaper.

Daniel also tried some tacos, which he liked. I was surprised that he liked them. They're not like Mom makes.










The Mexicans set up shop wherever they can to sell their goods.

Including using their bicycles.

The kids are very industrious. They will work hard to earn money to help support the family. Here is a boy that shines shoes. Don't they look GREAT!

This girl was selling gum.

I will be posting details of that up coming trip in July in the next couple of weeks. So keep watching!



Gary

Nicholas

Recently we had the privilege of celebrating Nicholas' 11th birthday.  What a blessing this young man has been to us and our family.  We have seen him grow over the last few years, not only in stature but in the creativity that the Lord has given him.  He has made several items out of left over wood and would much rather be creating with his hands than solving math problems - can't say I blame him!!!

The Lord blessed us with a wonderful day together, as a family, celebrating his birthday.  No school for the children, no work for Gary and no chores for Nicholas.  We took our bikes and went for a ride.












Not long into it though, a screw fell off Gary's bike and it seemed that our family outing was over, but after praying and searching for about 15 minutes Deanna found the lost piece.










Gary was able to get the bike back together and our ride continued.









A couple of hours later we moved onto the next part of Nicholas' day - fishing.





Daniel and Nicholas were the only ones with fishing poles, the rest got creative.

The fish were biting, eating the worms and swimming off before the kids could hook them.









There was one fish caught - by the birthday boy !!  I think that made his day.


Michelle

I Am Blessed

The Lord has blessed me so incredibly, beyond what I could ever have imagined.  I have an incredible husband, who loves the Lord, me and our children

and our six wonderful kids

Daniel

Elaina

Nicholas

Naomi

Jeremiah

Deanna

and praying that the Lord would give us more to love and raise for His Glory.

Michelle

Do Something!!!!

I struggle to find the right words.  I need to plead for the case of the fatherless, for the case of the 160,000,000 orphans around the world and specifically for over 200 that are in desperate need of rescuing.  Children who have been neglected and starved in a European orphanage.   I cannot find the words to tell you of how my heart is breaking for these kids, and how I struggle knowing we can't do much about it.  We give, we pray, but we can't go and rescue a child.  In this post I told you why we can't, (at least for now) but what is your reason?  Or for some, should I say excuse?!!  Could it be I'm not sure I could love another child?  or have you ever told yourself this - I just don't have the time or space or money or ..... you fill in the blank.

Sure some have genuine reasons why we can't adopt, but I don't think I'm understating the fact that many who can, make excuses not to.  

I know it's hard to take in someone you don't know and be prepared to commit to loving them for a lifetime.  I know it's hard to take on the financial responsibility for another person, including their medical costs.  But are these reasons or just excuses for not trusting God?  All too often in the Western culture, we rely on our own strengths and abilities NOT GOD'S!!!   Doesn't God promise to provide for our needs (Matt 6)?  Doesn't He command us to take care of the orphan (James 1)?


My heart is especially burdened today after reading the blog of a friend who is adopting a child from Bulgaria who is 14 years old and weighs only 14lb - yes, you read that right 14 pounds!!!!

This child, along with over 200 others are being starved and neglected and we sit here comfortable, complaining we can't do anything because we don't have anything to spare or even enough for what we want!!!   Really??

'Enough' is a very subjective word.  For one it will mean a nice house, two or three cars, vacations, 6 month emergency fund, retirement account etc, yet for another it may mean living paycheck to paycheck!  But seriously, even living paycheck to paycheck - what could you sacrifice for a child that is being starved?  

We live on an income that is considered below poverty level in America, and trust the Lord to make ends meet each month, but do we have extra?  My immediate answer would be no, there isn't any left at the end of the month, BUT do we really need to buy chocolate chips to put in the muffins? Do I need a birthday present from my husband?  Do I really need to rent movies for the family?  Do I really need _______________ what is in the blank for you?  Seriously do we need to drink soda when children in Bulgaria are being starved - wouldn't water be sufficient for us?  Do we need another pair of shoes when we have several in our closet already when children lie without blankets?   Do we need an emergency fund when children are dying of starvation - THAT is what I call an emergency!

If nothing else it comes down to this - we are so like the rich young ruler (yes most in the Western world are rich - including Gary and I) who thought he was doing everything right until Christ told him to sell all he had and give to the poor and follow Him (Matt 19:21).  That young man went away sorrowful because he had great possessions.  Aren't we the same?   When someone tells us to sell all we have aren't we sad and try to make excuses, such as I really don't have that much?  BUT, WAIT - look what we are missing if we don't obey Christ.  Jesus told the man that if he sold his stuff and gave to the poor THEN, he would have treasure in heaven!!! Not only can we help meet the needs of these starving children but there is also a reward for us in doing so.

The golden rule - Matthew 7:13 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets"  

Would we have wanted others to leave us alone in a crib 24/7 everyday of the year?  Would we want to have our diaper changed just once a day and left to lie in our own waste?  Would we want to be starved and abandoned or would we have wanted someone to rescue us and love us?  Please let us love our neighbor as ourselves, lets rescue these children (and many others like them around the world) or at least give to someone else who needs help to rescue them.  None of us would want to be treated that way so why are we doing nothing to rescue those that are?

We need to repent.  Ask the Lord to soften our hearts toward the suffering and show us how we can make a difference in their lives.  Is it to give?  - then give sacrificially.  Is it to adopt? - then trust the Lord to provide for your needs as you step out in faith to help the least of these.  I know $25,000+ is a lot of money, but I have seen time and time again how our God who owns the whole universe is able to provide.  Hey, what about the money that is sitting in your retirement account? What better use is there than to rescue a child with it?  So, you worry about how you will provide for your old age - don't!! Store up treasures in heaven not on earth where rust or moths (or a weak economy) will destroy (Matt 6).  Trust the Lord for your future, He is faithful :).

DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.

Michelle

The Reality of our war!

This is why...

...WE WON'T GIVE UP!!!!

We will not give up

Yesterday we had some disappointing news, that because of where we live we are not able to be a safe home to children whose family are in crisis.  This broke my heart, but not just mine,  the children's too.  BUT - we will NOT give up.  We CANNOT give up.  To give up is to say, 'that's okay, someone else will take care of them, someone else can be responsible for meeting their needs'.  But that goes AGAINST God's word!  God's word has told us to take care of those in need, to take care of the poor, the widowed, the orphan.  Matthew 25 tells us that when we take care of the least of these it's like we are doing it for Christ and also if we turn our back on them we have turned our back on HIM.  WE CANNOT DO THAT.

Do you hear my heart?  Do you hear my passion?  These families in crisis need help, need someone to love them, someone to help them walk through their crisis - someone to point them to Christ.  There is such a great need in our own community for foster/adoptive and safe families.

But, I have heard the argument that 'you have done enough - you have already adopted six!'  But while there are still those in need and there is still breath in my body then I have not done enough.  Please tell me where in the Bible it says we only have to do so much?!! Hasn't my life been bought at a price?!  Don't I owe everything I have and all that I am to Christ?!  Paul tells us to run the race, hard.  To train for it - does Paul ever mention giving up?  I don't think so - and I will not.  If my life ends early because I have worn this body out for Christ - then so be it!! but I will not live my life the easy way.

So what will we do?  That I am not sure.  I will continue to work at recruiting other families to be safe homes - I will continue to point others towards the joy of adoption, I will continue to do whatever the Lord puts in front of me ... and most importantly ... PRAY.

I will pray that the Lord would move us to a place where we can be a safe home or adopt.  This isn't just to satisfy my 'need' for more children.  Believe me when I tell you there are days when I don't want anymore, there are days when I certainly don't feel like I can handle the ones the Lord has already given me.  But it's not about ME!!  It's about Christ and what He has called us to do.  He has called the whole family to help children in need.  Our kids have the desire to share what they have with someone else.  They long for more children in the home.  God has not put this passion in 8 hearts just to drive us crazy!!!  I believe He will bring it about.  He will move us.

Last night as we talked about the situation we started recalling all the times the Lord has done the impossible in our lives and all the times He has proved Himself faithful.  This time is no different!  This time He will work again.  We need just be still, know that He is God, wait and watch as He brings His work to fruition and then give Him ALL the glory :)

Michelle

So where did I end?

Sorry that this has taken so long. It has been a very busy week. I have had to get over jet lag, a cold that I have had for more than 2 weeks now, that I still have some lingering affects from. I have also been busy doing projects around the house that desperately needed to be done. I built Naomi and Deanna a bunk bed, they now have their own beds after 2 years of sleeping together. I am putting 2 windows in our family room to let in some outside light and air. This room is so dark that we have 5-60 watt light bulbs burning all day long to light the room up. We have spent a lot of time together as a family this past week, it has been a great time together.

Well, the project in England had its ups and downs. When I left we had everything and everyone in place so that the project would be finished. As I said in another post, Phil, a local guy who used to be a builder, was lined up to complete the project. In fact, he had entered the picture sometime around the 2nd week that I was there, so he had been involved in putting the pieces together with me.


As far as the work that was accomplished while I was there, all of the walls had been framed up and insulated. Most of the drywall had been hung and taping of the joints had begun. The electrical rough-in work was complete and all of the bathroom plumbing was done. We had leveled the floor in both the bathroom and kitchen after removing the tile floor. All of the kitchen cabinets were on site just waiting to be installed. All of the colors had been chosen for flooring, countertops, paint, and the wall tile for the kitchen and bathroom.


I have to say that I really enjoyed my time with the folks there. They were so good to me and my family. They fed me a meal most days and provided me with money each week. They sent me home with gifts for Michelle and the kids, as well as a financial gift at the end. Thank you so much to all of you at Springhead Park House for your hospitality and your generosity. We have been so blessed by you all.

Thank you for your prayers for this trip.  They were really appreciated and I would ask you to continue to pray as I consider the next project the Lord has for me.


Gary

Sara

Sara's Story from Trinity Grace Church on Vimeo.

I made it home!

I just got in. It has been a very long day and now for bed. It was an uneventful day of traveling. The only problem we had was a delay at the Atlanta airport. First it was delayed by 15 minutes and then they sorted out some problems at the gate. The pilot said that we would have turbulence most of the way to Saint Louis but I thought it was a pretty smooth.

I will post about the project after some sleep.

Gary

To top it all off...

I came down with a really bad cold this week. On Tuesday evening, after dinner, I started to get a sore throat, achiness and heat flashes. I went to bed and woke up Wednesday with a bad sore throat and all my joints hurting. I spent the day dragging just trying to keep going. I took some Ibuprofen before I went to bed that night and sweated all night long. When I woke the next morning I felt GREAT, having a lot of energy, I was able to do my work with ease. I thank God for His healing so that I could continue with all my work that is still ahead of me. I am feeling much better now, still not completely over it.

Thank you all for praying. Please continue to pray, it has certainly been a battle here as well as on the home front.

The work is going well. The electrician is nearly complete with his Rough-in. The Plumber still has not been able to start his work yet, because of the problems we have had the Plumber had to go start another job and has not been able to get back to us. He is to start his work on Monday. The apartment is coming together despite all the set backs that we have had. We have all the walls framed up and have started insulating and hanging the drywall. It is looking like an apartment now. We should be able to hang some kitchen cabinets on Monday.

I have a very busy week. Some friends want to see me on Monday evening, my Brother-in-law is coming up to see me on Tuesday evening, I have a meeting planned with another friend and I still need to do some shopping, as well as do some work on this apartment.  Don't get me wrong, I am very excited about this week with all the busyness seeing everybody and all, especially the fact that I will be seeing my own family on Thursday, that is the day I will be traveling back home. So, I can't forget to pack too!

I have some very exciting news too! My phone rang today and I answered it to hear Elaina tell me that she has repented of her sins and is now trusting Christ save her. I am choking back tears just writing this. Oh that was so good to hear! Thank you, Lord! Michelle hugged her for me but that just isn't the same. I am so looking forward to going back home.

Gary