Praise God! After about 3 weeks of a Daniel Fast, Doug and I really feel like we have been blessed to know that we have truly been called into orphan ministry.
We have debated and discussed for months now, exactly what we should do. We definately felt that James 1:27 needed to be applied to our lives, but didn't know exactly how. Do we adopt? If we are going to have another baby, do we want another child of our own? Are we too old for this? Should we get involved with a sponsorship program? Should we go on mission trips? Should we support Katie Davis and Amazima or one of hundreds of other organizations that seem to be doing a great job? Which one? Which country? There are SO many...where do we even start? Should we invest our money for the "greater good" than for just one child to come to our home? Etc, etc. You get the picture.
When the new year began, I really felt that I needed to start a fast. I've never fasted before, but truly felt like God was calling me into a Daniel Fast. Doug wasn't so sure, until the next Sunday he heard a sermon on fasting. God IS right on time! So, we began. Our prayer was to complete the fast with some clear direction about what God wanted us to do.
We spent time praying together and alone as well as reading all sorts of scripture. Along the way, we discussed and debated more. Praise God that each decision we made was made with Doug and I both in agreement about how and when to proceed! That is a blessing in and of itself!
We have just complete our time of fasting, and we both completely feel that we are being led into orphan ministry. This is not about growing our family. Believe me, we are SO happy with the three boys we already have! My days are full and busy! And, even though I am happy with my boys, I would be ok to have one or two more, if that's what God chose for us.
But, instead of being about growing our family, this is about God using our family to minister to "the least of these" in whatever way He wants. Truly, we feel that we are to procede in a way that we are prepared for another child, but not planning for one. We have had the AMAZING pleasure of coming in contact with a group of people right here in Springfield who are working with The Raining Season in Sierra Leone, West Africa. (I'll be posting later about Sierra Leone, so come back for that info soon.)
We feel that God has brought us to a place of being advocates for the orphans of Sierra Leone, through The Raining Season and Warm Hearts Group. We will continue to sponsor four children at The Covering, the orphanage in Sierra Leone, as well as travel as often as we can in order to help in whatever way is beneficial. The Raining Season is a new organization, so we are excited to see all that God is going to do through all of us in Sierra Leone!
I have sung a song for many years that says, "Where He leads me, I will follow. I'll go with Him, with Him all the way." I've often wondered if I really WOULD follow Him WHEREVER He took me. Well, it's time to put the action behind my words and follow Him to Sierra Leone, West Africa!!
I hope you'll come with us and enjoy our journey!
No comments:
Post a Comment