Author Archives: admin In yesterday’s post, I was able to share what the Lord has been doing through Wiphan Care Ministries. One of the coolest thing about Wiphan to me is—is that we are a grassroots ministry…just 3 years old…but the Lord has blessed us greatly through other believers joining us. For the first couple of years, in […]  First–I want to say how much I appreciate the comments left on this morning’s post. How beautiful it is to know there are others out there who are in the SAME EXACT place and the Lord is doing the same things in your hearts…thank you for doing this journey of life with me and for […] I’m spent today…. so just wanted to say, AMEN! I love you and I love BACON!!!! 🙂 ♥ great post..i love upcase too 🙂 kj  ***They told me adoption was not for the faint of heart. And this post isn’t either. This is just my heart and where I am today. It’s not fluffy or pretty—it’s just real. It’s a part of our family’s faith journey…to look back and remember every question we asked and to later see how His […] Beautiful and so true…. Obedience and living in HIS will is truly filled with the only true beauty on this earth. Because through the good and the bad, HE remains true and will lead you exactly where He has planned for you to be. love love love this post. the ministry of wiphan care is so beautiful. i appreciate your heart so much. loved the juxtaposition of the disneyworld trip and many family trips to your child’s birth country. what is it all supposed to look like for this little family? i struggle with this so much. great question to ponder…where do the roads meet. you’ve given me much to ponder, pray about and praise god for today. Trust and Obey. Andrea, God will make it chrystal clear His will for each of you…it is too big for man to figure out…it is truely a God situation…place All of your TRUST and OBEDIENCE in His palm and He will lift the cloud to make His will so clear in your HEART ! I know you do this …tell Satan of doubt ,the theif to destroy JOY to GO AWAY…Jesus ,the gentleman as Father Dan refers to HIM, KNOCKS at the door…open it and talk to him..tell Him to make it CLEAR !!! Be prepared for the JOYS ahead for you and your family. Andrea- what a wonderful ministry! I just love how it came to be, and how God tugged at your hearts as well. I have learned so much through our own adoption journey. God placed adoption on my heart in 2004, and it was 4 long years later when our adoption was finally completed. At times He seemed so silent, and at times I couldn’t even begin to see the road through all the fog. But I have learned that his timing and his plan are perfect. As I was reading I was thinking it may even be through this child you will adopt from Ethiopia. This new babe may grow up to be the orphan and widow advocate that God intends…. I am reminded of Hannah and how she prayed for her child. I can’t wait to see how He unfolds your adoption journey and how he grows this Wiphan ministry. LOVE THIS POST! it is SUCH a struggle, and almost too heartbreaking to bear most days. If we are seeking Him then He will guide us in how He wants us to raise these precious children. Your heart for your son and his birth family is beatiful and what a blessing that is going to be for him but also in the midst of this struggle it is blessing you too. And I’m sure you hear this a lot but I have noticed how many people tell me I am going to bring so much hope to my children, I try to gently remind them that bringing them to the US is not giving them hope but pointing them to the Lord is pointing them to the only hope any of us have! I think we must have been separated at birth!!! Oh how are hearts are equally yolked. =) This is the part I try to get my poor husband to see. When he doesn’t understand me, when he thinks I’m going crazy because I cry for no reason. I don’t just want to add to our family, I want to save them all! To restore their own families. To feed every hungry PERSON, child and adult alike. Some days my heart is so overwhelmed I feel I will never be able to do enough. They say be careful what you wish for, and I definitely didn’t foresee what was ahead when I ask the Lord to break my heart with the things that break His. I can’t wait for you to read ‘The Hole In Our Gospel’ A quote from the book–“if Jesus was willing to die for this troubled planet, maybe I need to care about it too. Maybe I should love the people who live on it more. Maybe I have a responsibility to do my part to love the world that Jesus loves so much.” I hope you don’t buy it yet, I’m sending you my copy when I’m finished! ♥ Thinking of you and praying for you and with you today! wow. I have been STRUGGLING with this exact thing as well. Thanks for struggling right along side me! Vanessa so incredible that someone that I have never met in person just spoke the words of my heart perfectly! I struggle every day knowing that the daughter that I am yearning for probably still has a mother who is yearning to keep her – how do we function daily with these thoughts and feelings tugging at my heart and soul! Thank you so much for putting on “paper” what I have not been able to! Perfectly written. Know that we are praying for you all as you make this journey… this is so good – super encouraging. thank you for speaking truth! praying with you and your family. Thank you for sharing your heart today… It is E’s birthday, and a year ago today was when we really opened our hearts to the idea of adopting an infant instead of an older child. Now she’s asleep in her crib! Adoption is amazing, but my passion doesn’t end there, either. I know my role in Ethiopia isn’t over, and I can’t wait to see what will happen next! thanks for sharing and for being real. don’t apologize! my heart feels the same way on this “adoption journey” and i get to the point some days where i will get so worked up…but then i have to give it to HIM…HE is the Father to ALL the children in the world…and He will show you and me how to help Him care for them… So true, this is something we have discussed and struggled with as well. With my husband and I both having multiple trips to Africa you are ‘ruined for the ordinary’ and that constant prodding from the Holy Spirit reminds us that we can’t just settle into life here and be OK with that. 5 years ago we looked at a ministry in Uganda to work with over there, and God didn’t open those doors. But we’re reminded that just becuase that wasn’t His plan, it doesn’t mean that something like that won’t happen in the future. We are called to walk with faith – waiting to see how and where God will lead us. For now, adoption is in His plan, maybe another time – we’re running an orphanage or living there doing some other ministry. Either place we are – we are to follow – through the good times and bad, and those tough thoughts that don’t allow us to become complacent. So very true….that is something we have really learned. It seems so distant and hard, but in the end it is God’s Story. That is why it is sooo important for all to know that AGCI offers them a chance to keep a child if all they need is monetary support. Makes my soul rested to know this fact. I think God works sooo deeply in our hearts on this journey that there is no real way to describe it. There is no “easy” adoption. There is no way we can be left unchanged. It amazes me that through all of our very dark tunnels as we have been through the adoption process 7 and now on our 8th time…..that God has changed our hearts in tooo many ways to even begin to describe in a comment. Praise God for your journey. Praise God for changing our hearts to live radical lives! Praise God that HE ALONE GETS THE GLORY for our lives. May we really see what HE IS DOING….not just what number we are on the waitlist. Praise God! Thanks for sharing your heart! You are such a gifted writer and such an inspiration. I just love your spirit!!! Oh thank you for putting words to all that is on MY heart as well! I totally understand and have the same thoughts. It is my drive to continue with our orphan care ministry as well! We were told that we would not get any info. on our child…just the way the country works. Ended up getting WAY MORE than I thought and it was quite a process for me working through our little girl’s story, understanding the culture, mindsets, etc. Also opened my eyes to organizations like Smile Train and how a $250 surgery can change a life and the families’ living conditions (families with a CL/CP child are basically shunned in the village). God is good and I believe with all my heart that God has chosen Abby to be in our family for the call He has on her life! Thank you for this post Andrea! Ever since we started our adoption journey, we have prayed and prayed that the Lord would direct us in how we can help children who have living relatives keep them instead of having to make the heartbreaking decision to relinquish them for adoption. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for our family and yours!!! I pray that the Lord will use each of our adopted children as emissaries to draw attention to the great need and bring help to the children and families of their beautiful birth country. Praying for you!!! Sarah This road we are on is definitely a hard one. I’m so glad that God is in control of all the details…I certainly can’t handle the pressure alone! Glad for friends who are like minded and trudging through the hard stuff with us! Jenn Awesome post…and that is exactly WHY i’m still at it and can’t STOP!!! I know God is asking MORE of us!! I can’t wait to see HOW that plays out 🙂 kj […] in the middle), is on the board for an organization called wiphan…you can read about it here and here on andrea’s […]  The Sound of His Faithfulness… Over and over again in the old testament as we have been reading together, we have seen God’s people build alters…stones of remembrance…that thank Him and honor His faithfulness in their lives. When they would pass it, they would remember how the Lord delivered. They would remember His faithfulness. I […] Andrea! I emailed you back from a long time ago the other day…and then I read your post today and realized that not only do we live close…we are both Auburn girls!! I actually lived on Glen Avenue too!!!! We have to get together some time soon:) My hubby and I both are graduates and met in Auburn…it is one special place! Thrive and a big War Eagle! Andrea, do you realize the power of the wind chimes is from what we can not see….. What a beautiful post 🙂 I seem to be stuck on the same comment, but I speak the truth ~ another amazing post! =) I just love reading and learning from you and your family experiences, and your writings on the Bible readings. Enjoy your day. I thought the same thing! How messy that must have been & how grateful I am that JESUS died on the cross for the ultimate sacrifice! I’m so thankful for His sacrifice! […] who asks–how He was the one who did this and who was faithful. Maybe your memorial will be windchimes in your yard that sing…maybe it’ll be a necklace bound around your neck for others to […] […] been in craft mode lately—but I needed some time out with my girl. Laney passed the windchimes, and she begged to buy one for Isaac. I told her no, that we’d let him pick his out. Really […]  The First Day of Lent…DAY 1 ORNAMENT: THE MUSTARD SEED Ahhhh…Wednesday, February 17th! The day we have looked forward to so we can begin our Lent Tree (GO TO CRAFTS and scroll down to EASTER – LENT TREE to download our guide to do one yourself!) When the children wake up–we’ll begin our first day […] Yum, that ham recipe looks wonderful. May have to add that to our list of things to try. And I’m all for a yummy dish that’s easy too! Thanks for passing it along. And love your weekly dinner with your friends. What a sweet blessing to have friends to live life with! Have a wonderful day! Love your lent tree…… 🙂 Love Matt 17:20 too! You’re killin me with the recipes girl!!! Must…. have…. ham!! lol I’m stock piling recipes for next weeks menu. And where did I miss the Lent tree? I want details! That looks like a great activity for my kids. I still have a mustard seed bracelet that a woman gave me when I was about 8 years old. It’s always been my ‘lucky charm’. 30 years later and it’s still one of my favorite most cherished possessions. Link me up for the tree! Oh…. and I made my very first McKlinky today! And it worked! lol Check it out. The guide to the Lent tree is under CRAFTS…under Easter:). It’s going to be a really meaningful 40 day journey!!!!! “How many of us avoid digging into the world’s issues and problems for fear we might have to do something?” — This statement you made really hit me hard. That used to be me. I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want to feel guilty. I didn’t want to have to do something. How funny that God turned that person into a mother with a heart for adoption. Now I DO know. Now I DO cry. Now I DO feel guilty. Now I DO want to do something. I don’t know where the verse is found…but goes something like, “once your eyes have seen you can not turn back”. How true it is. Thank you for being a stepping stone for opening my eyes to the truth. Congratulations on your new addition! Adopting is such an awesome way to add to your family! Lindsey Petersen I caught that too this morning about the sin offerings. They had to be burned outside of the camp no where near the Tabernacle. That just reminds me that I need to be pure & holy before God. I need to ask for forgiveness of my sins, even hidden ones, & ask Him to reveal them to me so that I can make my requests known to Him. God can’t be near sin, so we need to purify our hearts before we come before Him. So excited to get started on the tree! Doing it a little different since I slacked on getting all the ornaments. For this year I’m just pulling together some clip art to represent all of the items. Might not be as fun as the actual ornaments but I’m hoping the end result is the same! Megan, I really appreciated your comment! I totally relate…I didn’t want to know, didn’t want to cry or feel the guilt but now I stand asking God to send me. How can I serve them Lord? He is AWESOME! Proverbs 24:12 […] was special and like no other for our family?! Well–guess what day he arrived??? ON THE VERY FIRST DAY OF LENT! Guess what ornament we placed on our Lent Tree on this day? A mountain and a mustard seed! On this […] |
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by admin
I am starting my support of Wiphan with prayers,a blue tshirt, and spreading the world on my side of the USA!! =)
Awesome! Must share on my blog, and I gotta have one of those blue shirts. It would be even more amazing to travel there someday. Thanks for giving us so much information on this ministry! Praying for it’s success.
Elle and Renea–thank you for spreading the word for these kiddos!!!!!!! SO THANKFUL!!!!
LOVE your heart!!! Love the disclaimer & LOVE the ministry!!! 🙂
Going to order my t-shirt right now and I’ll put a link on my blog!
just ordered shirts for the whole fam 🙂
i have been wanting to donate since this summer…but kept forgetting. love seeing what God is doing through the wiphan organization!!
[…] middle), is on the board for an organization called wiphan…you can read about it here and here on andrea’s […]
We’re going to order shirts for the whole family soon. Thank you for sharing about this ministry. I am really hoping that we can get involved with you. This speaks very deeply to my heart’s desire to bless both the widow and the orphan and to keep kids with their families if at all possible. I am very excited to learn more and to see what we can do. It inspires me what you have accomplished in such a short time by simple obedience and faith! I am hoping to share this ministry with our church as well.
LOVE the disclaimer! 😉 You’re too cute!