Please pray for the Stark family. They are an adoption family who live in Lawrenceville, Georgia. They have I believe 3 biological children–and they also adopted 6 special needs children. Cheryl, the mother, passed away after a sudden stroke on July 21st. Her husband has been out of work–and just received a job offer a […]
The Young Family Farm »
Author Archives: admin “Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act.” We live in such a fast culture…waiting patiently for anything doesn’t seem to come natural. Through a crazy connection, I learned that the sweet one we are praying for isn’t available for adoption. Regardless of being a double orphan (both […] this is SOOOO timely for me. Waiting on the Lord and not rushing through where he has me now… so SO what I need to be reminded of. THANK YOU!! so sorry for the news you received. we just painted our girls room grey and as i was staring at it i was thinking how beautiful it is. not because of the starkness that white and black have, but because of the blending. so much blending happens in our lives during the grey. thanks for another poignant post. enjoy your fun weekend with so many dear ones. What a beautiful post, Andrea! I know this feeling of waiting on God so well…and when I can remember to be still before Him and leave the details up to Him, amazing things always happen. He is so good…always! Today’s Jesus calling by Sarah young was this same verse…thanks for sharing it helped me to read this… We’ve been in a holding pattern now for over 18 months…thank so much for the encouragement today! I know how disappointed you were hearing the news. So proud of your choice to find the joy in the situation and continue to listen for God’s leading!! We are praying alongside you continually for guidance. Sometimes waiting is easier too if you know you have a friend living through it with you! Oh Andrea I am so sorry. I know how crushing it is to hear “not adoptable” yet orphaned. I just received the same news in the beginning of May and my heart still aches, still waits, still longs to hold these little girls that God showed me their face 11 years ago in a different country in the most remote part of a nomadic tribe. Yet the twins my heart tugs for look JUST like my little girl whom my heart was drawn to years ago. Hard part is, my husband despite us just moving, having a newborn on the way (which he is 3 weeks old now) and lots of other changes in our lives, was ready to move forward with the girls… in which he at other times had told me that he did not feel like it was our time to adopt. I know HE has not put this tug on either of our hearts for nothing. He is not cruel to allow us to fall in love just to rip them out of our arms. Although, some days I will admit it feels just like my miscarriages… as soon as i fell in love they got snatched from me. But when I really pull close to God I know that He has used, even the heartache in my life for His glory. I am praying for you today and when my heart aches for the girls He put on my heart, I will be praying for you and the one your heart is drawn to. Love your JOY Andrea! I can’t wait to see what and how and WHO brings out of the grey. My heart broke when the Lord pulled us from Africa and showed us that a domestic infant adoption was where He would have us. It made NO sense. My heart screamed no! But 7 months ago today He placed 2 babies in our arms….and made all of “the rough places smooth.” Their story is one that I would have never imagined with a domestic adoption, and has opened us up to a future and is leading us down paths we never dreamed. We had to be out of the grey to praise Him for it…but now we do!!!! Thanks for this precious reminder. We’re not in the grey right now, in fact, God’s call is so crystal clear right now. We know we are on the path He has called us on, but the wait is oh-so-hard! But their is joy and beauty in it too! Andrea, I am so sorry for the news you got. So hard. There are so many thoughts and feelings… I also get to the point where the heartache gets so intense that I want to rush in with both feet & run in the direction I think he is calling. However, this is when it is the most dangerous to run because we might run the wrong way, even if the cause is just. We NEED the wait, he loves the tears, he loves the heartfelt prayers, he loves that the pain of those in need breaks us down so low that we have no choice but to fall on our faces, pray, & beg for the answers. That SURRENDER is what pleases him. Then when we are all but broken down to nothing he begins to slowly reveal that the wait, the pain is what inspires us to BRING OTHERS ALONG WITH US. The pain we feel leaves us no choice but to CRY OUT to others to HELP SOMEONE, anyone…to be a VOICE for those who are too weak to cry out for help. Think of all of the people who cannot get Mumi’s story out of their hearts or their heads, so they had no choice either, they had to ACT…It’s all part of his plan…Praying for discernment & peace for you! Girl, I hear you on the waiting! We have been there ever since my hubby’s eye diagnosis 2 1/2 yrs ago… knowing God is stripping us, calling us to do more for Him, watching others do amazing things, but it never being the time yet for us to act. I have been enjoying Alison’s blog posts on The Land Between book and if you have a Kindle, it was free – not sure if it still is? Praying for you, and thankful I’m not alone in the wait. Your blog is always such an encouragement to me! Thank you for your timely reminder to wait patiently for the Lord to act. It is so neat to think that God already know the specific child(ren) He has for us.  I’m folding laundry. But all I can really think about is her. And millions of others–just like her. Another pair of shorts. And another. And another. How many shorts does an almost 7 year old boy need anyway? Yet, those like her…only have the clothes on their little bodies. That’s it. I live in a […] Praying for you and your family, Andrea! That pretty much sums it up 😉 You are an inspiration to me…your passion for being right in the center of God’s will is refreshing, exciting and motivating! Thank you for your obedience to His Spirit. For your love for the orphans and the widows. For your willingness to share your poetic voice with all of us here. May You continue to be blessed in all that you do. Sometimes, there is so much on my heart that I don’t even know where to begin. I want to move, but He says wait. I want to act, but He says “Be still.” I want to see and understand, but He says, “Not in this lifetime, my child.” Thank you for the reminder…the reminder that, when we are following God’s call to care for the least of these, sometimes what we need to DO is “Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act.” Because He will. He WILL act on behalf of these precious ones. If I sometimes feel lost and confused HERE, without having taken the journey you have just taken, I can only imagine how you are feeling…maybe overwhelmed and unsure where to begin after seeing raw NEED in its purest form. Praying for your heart as you sit before Him and wait patiently for Him to ACT. yes! awesomely beautiful! praying with you dear friend… that the Lord would make it clear. Maybe you are to have two new babes – one from Zambia AND one from China… wouldn’t that be incredible?! I will pray for direction with you! Beautiful. And why not consider it?? What can look like a winding road to us is a straight path to the Lord because He knows where He is taking us the whole time. Don’t worry about what anyone says! xoxo! How painful the wait can be. Praying that God reveals to you which direction to take. You are such an inspiration Andrea! I know how much I am uplifted just by READING your words/thoughts/ect. I knew it was her. I knew because you hold her like she is yours already. Your body language spoke volumes and I was sure from Moment #1. See how your head cocks towards her? How your arms cradle her? Now look from those photos to all of your FB photos of you holding Frank, Issac…it’s the same, Andrea. You hold her like she is your daughter. Enough said. Mommy. Go and bring her home. I once again am challenged by your words, as I look at the news of the world and the US is urging for help for the horn of Africa as refugees are pouring in to Ethiopia and other surrounding countries and the scripture that comes to my mind as I read ur blog tonight and the news is in ISamuel 17:29 and David said “what have I now done? Is there not a cause?” The devil is out to occupy our minds and are time to stop what God has planned for our lives. The answer for me is prayer and fasting,it will always move the hand of God to bring answers. Praying for you and your family right now… beautiful, heartfelt post. “Your comment was a bit too short. Please go back and try again.” : the message I got when I tried to leave my comment, which was simply… “love.” ha, ha. 🙂 anyways…love!! Oh I so hear the longing in your post. Praying for you. And no you can’t “save them all,” but maybe God did call you to this one. If all Christians answered the call as they should, then no one would appear to be trying to “save them all” as they would all have families. Exactly!! You said it all. I had a conversation with two friends yesterday and I know they think I am a freak but we were made for so much more than just living the American dream!! Laying it all down for Jesus! Thank you for sharing! Wow, will be praying that God makes His will perfectly clear to ya’ll Andrea! Excited to see where He leads! I get it Andrea! I totally do….I’m with you bloggy friend…praying, waiting, interceding for the Lord to show you what to do next!:) I’m not saying I’ve heard from the Lord or anything, but this is just the kind of thing that bears His mark. Is it crazy? Sure by all the rationale of the world. It’s the good kind of crazy. And by saying that I’m not trying to make it sound like the answer is all sewed up neat and tight. What I am saying is that I will be praying and fasting for you today. It is a privilege that you share your heart with us and we will protect that. It is going to be awesome and evident as the hand of God begins to work in ways we can’t even imagine, and you will keep in perfect peace as your mind stays steadfast on Him. beautifully written. i could repost your exact words (but i wont) on my blog as its the tears that flow down my face as i walk through each day. although i have never held these two particular girls and although there are mountains in the way of adopting them… they are on the forefront of my mind and prayers daily. not to mention that i REALLY struggle living in America- would much rather sell everything and move to Africa, but thats not where He has lead my husband at this time, so i sit and pray while i wait. your words bring a lump to my throat. there is so much more than this life we are living. Praying that the desires of your heart will lead you to your child. You are so evidently sold out to God, He will not confuse you. He will lead. It’s not by chance that your children are your children. God brought them to you and you to them, He’ll do the same now, no doubt. WOW! I love how you are so willing to be obedient to the Lord. He has you in the palm of His hand. You are living a life exactly how God wants us to live life. We are made for soooo much more. Something I heard in a sermon just a couple months ago really spoke to me….”delayed obedience is disobedience” I believe that if you’re feeling this strongly about this little girl…you know it in your gut, you have to jump! God will be there! I will be praying for you, the little girl, all the children that have so much less then my four and for your family as you step out and see what God has in store for you next. You are an inspiration to me…radically living out the Gospel. I feel so blessed, once again, that God led me to your blog and that you are so willing to share your heart with all of us. Thank you. I am reminded of a Francis Chan sermon I saw one time where he was talking about setting up a fund that he could not access so that all the royalties from his book could go there. Elders from his church said he should save some for himself: “What if there is an emergency,” they asked. Francis Chan then replied, “You don’t think [the child sex trade in Cambodia] is an EMERGENCY?!!!” Sister, follow God! KEEP YOURSELF FROM BEING POLLUTED BY THE WORLD! (I think that too often we all forget that part of James 1:27!!!) And, I don’t like smog, anyway! !) Love you Andrea! The Lord will show you what you should do…and when He does…do it regardless of how it will look or what others wil say! (Though I can promise you that you will have a host of mommas and sisters in Christ here praying for you and cheering your family on every step of the way:) You will probably have a group of mommas wanting to bring their kiddos and come with you to Zambia for 3 months:) Hi there! A good friend of mine lives in Zambia with her 6 kids (one of whom they fostered/adopted recently). I’m sure she would Love to chat with you about it and might even be able to help with housing and all the little logistical stuff. Not sure if you already have connections there, but just wanted to throw out a line to you…message me if you think it might help. God bless! Andrea, reading your latest blog made me excited that there are people who are willing to live way outside the “norm” of our society. It hit me how sad it is that no one wants to adopt because they have enough with their own children. Yes, I understand that thought also. But it seems like God has called you to be a Mom in the best way. I read from your blogs that you have plenty to give, you have room for them to live and your heart is plenty big enough to follow God’s will. Ask God if your heart and longings are what his will is. If you prayed about it and you can’t seems to let the desire go away, isn’t that God speaking. Andrea, I don’t know you beyond your blog, but I love your pure heart. I love that you question the normal in our society and wonder what else we are called to do. I love that you make me feel normal, because so many people look at me like I’m crazy when I question those same things. Many blessing to you as you pray and listen to the Lord. Andrea……your heart is the Lord’s. Your eyes have seen, and your hands have touched those that most don’t want to know about. Because that is where HIS HEART is…….you are no longer the same. I want to tell you – YOU ARE NOT CRAZY!! You are loved by a Savior that is wild and does things no one else would. You are filled with a Spirit of compassion that is overflowing! I LOVE YOUR HEART!!! Not just saying that. I LOVE IT because I get it!!! We all have to do what we are being called to do. Whether it is move to another country, do the amazing work you are already doing, or adopt 8 children and drive a 15 passenger van. DON’T LET ANYONE tell you that you can’t save them all. Because you are soo very right….we can’t save anyone- only God can. BUT we can act. We can act in ways that make others laugh at us. I say – let them laugh!!! Because the JOY in our hearts was given to us by our Heavenly Father and that is worth MORE than 20 sets of clothes, and more stuff that won’t satisfy. Thank you so much for being soo honest and open. You inspire me! PRAYING for you and for your amazing family and what God is doing in and through you all for HIS sake!!!!! 🙂 so well said – you (or I, or anyone)cannot save even one. but the incredible, incredible news is that the world has a Savior! and that He would allow us the privledge of serving Him, of hearing His voice – beautiful! How I love your heart. Join the friends who are praying for you! Love & Blessings, Kim I just can’t stand not sharing this video as it was made by one of my dearest adoption momma friends Jenn Cooper. To say we have just a little bit in common–is an understatement. She is a kindred spirit through and through. Jenn and her husband were led to also adopt after their 3rd biological […] Thanks for sharing friend! And yes…the feelings are ALL mutual. I’m praying we’ll just continue down this path together for quite some time 😉 And SERIOUSLY. We have GOT to meet in person 😉 What a beautiful story of God’s love, grace, and faithfulness. Tears are streaming down my face after watching the journey of this family. Thank you for sharing! Loved this! Thanks for sharing!  After my first trip to Zambia four years ago, I received several surprising comments from people who would ask me about my trip. They were from other moms, asking me HOW in the world I could leave my children to go to Zambia. How could I risk making my kids orphans to go see orphans. […] I am learning that even when we are stuck at home God will bring people into our lives daily whom we can serve; the mother working at the gas station struggling to pay bills or the child at school who doesn’t have any clothes. Organizations like Wiphan are such a blessing because you can make a difference with a click of the mouse to give. It’s pretty miraculous how he changes us, molds us, & shapes us through bringing us in just the right place, at just the right time, with just the right resources if we are open & willing…It just makes me smile…I can’t wait for the day I can go to a church without the video, the audio & just the voices of the fatherless raised in his honor… I fretted SOOO very much about leaving my Lil’ Man to go to Ethiopia to meet our Lil’ Miss….but when I was there, I was FINE. It was the leaving that was the hardest. I definitely missed him…but I was surprised that it wasn’t impossible. I know its probably a little different going to Africa to meet your daughter {or pick her up} vs. a mission trip….but even THAT doesn’t seem impossible to me anymore. What a great post – looking forward to hearing EVEN MORE! =) You have explained my outlook on missions and mission work EXACTLY!!! Favorite part? “I don’t always feel called to go to Target, but I go.” I’m totally using that next time I hear that excuse! !) Sometimes I just WISH people could HEAR how they sound to the Holy Spirit! What if you’d listened to THEM instead of HIM?! This is me, standing up and clapping. My favorite line, “Well I don’t always feel called to Target, but I go…” I agree that the Great Commission is for everyone. I rarely leave my children, as in my husband and I haven’t been away but like two nights in the last 3 years (only to celebrate our anniversary). God opened up the door for me to serve in El Salvador for a week at the end of October this year and I went through all those things you talked about above. But in the end I came up with the same answer, as did my husband. I don’t go galavanting across the globe. My children ARE my mission field for the majority of my time, and I love them deeply. So hard to leave them! But… Where God leads I will follow, and I can’t wait to take my children with me someday. Keep it up Andrea! Oh, I love EVERY SINGLE WORD. I’ve faced the same questions, but I’ve never seen the answer spelled out so beautifully. Thank you! I can’t tell you how you’ve increased my faith by just hearing these words! I totally believe everything you have just said, and I feel the Lord calling…..WITH ALL my family(6, soon to be 7 kids;))! Just waiting for that “invitation” to come…wherever He will lead! It’s freeing to know you are held in HIS hand wherever you go! Keep preaching Sister! And let me know if you hear of any “job” openings in Africa:)! LOVE this, Andrea! Jody and I got to take our first mission trip together last summer to Vancouver. We left our kids for 9 days, and my parents were so sweet to keep them! I thought I would miss them like crazy, and I did…but I knew that God had called us to minister in Vancouver that week, and He gave us such peace. I know He will give us that same sense of calling and peace when we leave them twice to go to Ethiopia for their baby sister…and anywhere else He may call us to go in the future! 🙂 i so appreciate this post, trying to get ready for my first trip to west Africa and so nervous yet waiting to see how God pulls this all together Andrea, I have never heard of read someone speak of this issue before, so it was refreshing and so true. We mums have NO excuses, but we do like to hide behind our kid-size excuses. I am serving the Lord full time in Thailand with my husband and 3 kids. It’s so true: the leaving is the hard part – but once you’re here and you can see what God is doing in your life to mold and make you more like Jesus…well, I wouldn’t want to be back in Australia….and I don’t! I am honestly exited about what else God is going to change in me so I can bring him more glory – but yeh, it takes going, and totally dying to myself. |
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by admin
Oh my goodness, we will be praying & will reach out…
Thanks for posting this! As of yesterday, they’ve raised $200,000!! (in one week!) God is so stinkin’ good!