Here I am....Send Me!

Isaiah 6:8 says....Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?"  And I said, "Here I am, send me!"

It's kind of funny.  Just a very few years ago after my second son, Carter, was born I was privileged to have a young lady live with us.  She helped me with the house and with the boys while I ran a business and Doug worked.  She felt very drawn into medical mission work at that time and was hoping to be a missionary some day.  Specifically, she wanted to go to Africa.  I thought she was nuts!  I believe I even told her so.  I think I vaguely remember telling her how crazy she was and that I would NEVER go to Africa.   I should've known I would eat those words.  LOL


So much has changed....mostly me and my heart, and I'm so thankful.   My prayer for the past year and a half or so has been, "Here I am, send me!"  I am so very honored that He has seen fit to send me right where I said I would never go....not once but TWICE..and hopefully more!  


We are SO excited about another trip to Sierra Leone!  Doug and I are going to go together this time, with another couple.  We actually met Tiffany and Rich through their adoption blog and learned about Sierra Leone and The Raining Season from them.  We have grown to be great friends and we are all so excited to be going back.  Tiffany and Rich have both been once already.  This will be Doug's first time, though, and I'm so excited to see how God is going to move his heart for His people there!  

I'm SO excited to wrap my arms around these precious kiddos!

We'll be flying out on March 31st and returning April 9th.  It was a little unexpected that we would be going so soon, but God completely made a way and worked out all the details.  We are just thrilled!


Stay tuned, because we are working on putting together a project or two that you might be able to help out with, if you feel led to do so.  


Oh...I forgot to address the question of whether or not we are bringing kids home in my last post.  The honest truth is that I just don't know for certain.  We have started the process of paperwork.  Our homestudy is finished.  Our hearts desire is that God would grow our family through an adoption from The Covering.  The legal process in Sierra Leone is just not an easy one, though.  No international adoption is easy, but there are many roadblocks in our way at this point.  We are praying that God would move mountains in the government there and would open doors.  God is in control, though.  He is sovereign and His will in Sierra Leone and in our family will be done.  We are just standing with our hands up saying, "Here we are.  Send us!", and waiting to see where, exactly, that is.

He Funds What He Favors....

AND HE FAVORS THE ORPHAN!  


I know that since we've begun this journey to Africa and started the discussion and process of adoption, many have asked, "All this travel and international adoption is so expensive.  Why would you want to do this?  How can you do this?  Are you going to bring kids home?"  Well, my new answer is this (thanks to Suzanne)...He funds what He favors!


Since we have jumped into the mission field and adoption arena, I've seen it time and time again.  When He calls you, He WILL provide.  Story after story in family after family...all over the world.   Miraculous things happen when you step out in faith.  It's AMAZING!  It's EXCITING!  It's and ADVENTURE I want to be in the middle of!


He funds what he favors, and He favors the orphan.  It's all over scripture.  Here are just a few.

Hosea 14:3  "...In you, the orphan finds mercy."

Psalm 10:14 "...you have been the helper of the fatherless."

James 1:27  "Religion that is pure and faultless is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."

Psalm 10:17-18 "O Lord, You hear the desire of the afflicted; You will strengthen their heart.  You will incline you ear to do justice for the fatherless and the oppressed so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Here is just one example...In a nutshell, it was Suzanne's birthday.  Her BFF, Gwen, surprised her with this.   She asked, in Suzanne's honor, for people to donate toward the adoption of a little girl.  God is awesome!  It's amazing to see Him work through people who are just willing to listen and follow.  Incredible!

30 Days of Nothing: Update

Just after the first of the month, we began a little project here in the Widhalm house to help us understand a few things about how it might feel to be among the world's poorest people.  We've talked a lot about the fact that even though we are not rich by American standards, we are very rich compared to the world as a whole.

Honestly, it has been very hard to curtail our diet as much as I had planned or hoped.  We visited my mom's house for about 3 days the first week, where we ate just like we always do at Nana's house.  We've had company over for dinner, made a second trip back to Nana's and had an early Christmas celebration this weekend.  So, in the area of food I have completely failed.  This was not a good month for a huge change in our diet.  I should've taken more time to plan before we dove in.  Maybe next time.

We have accomplished a couple of the smaller projects I wanted to do.  The first one was a laundry experiment.  My boys routinely help with sorting dirty laundry and helping with the folding and putting away of clean clothes.  However, after a short lesson and some research about what doing laundry looks like in the poorest of countries, we gave hand washing a try.

I ran some water in the bathtub and gave them each one pair of pants and one shirt to wash with a bar of soap.  For the first little bit, they had fun and thought it was cool.  That attitude didn't last too long, though. It was about 5 minutes or so before they started complaining of hurting hands and boredom.  They kept scrubbing, though, until I thought they sort of had the idea.  Then came the rinsing....which didn't bring nearly as much relief as they had hoped.  It was quite a chore to get everything rinsed and rung out.  Along the way, we talked about how many, many children do laundry all day instead of going to school so that they might earn enough money to help their family survive.  Jackson did really ponder that for a while and seemed genuinely thankful that he didn't have to live that way.

Project number 2 was carrying water.  We filled a 5 gallon bucket with water and explained how there are millions and millions of people who don't have a water source nearby and therefore are forced to carry water long distances for drinking, cooking and cleaning.  Of course, with the bucket full neither of the boys could carry it.  We emptied it out until Jackson could lift it and it was only about 1/3 full.  We walked around our block having the boys take turns carrying.  Jackson did fairly well but Carter really struggled.  Half way around the block, Jackson was struggling, too, and our pace wasn't much faster than a snail's.  We emptied out more water and by the time we finally made it back to the house, we had maybe 15-20% of a bucket.  When I told Jackson he was going to have to make that trip another 8-10 times just so we could have water for the day, he nearly started to cry.  Of course, we didn't make him but it was a good lesson, I think.

I took pictures that I hope to post soon.  I'm having a little technical difficulty with my photo editing software.

I would like to get in another project or two before the month is over, but I'm honestly not sure it will happen.  A few things have come up that we are having to deal with that are a little higher on the priority scale.  If not this month, we'll pick it up again later.

The Essa's Story

Well, there is SO much going on here at the Widhalm house that I have not had time to post this month like I had intended.  My plan was to share stories of orphans and adoption throughout the month and the month is nearly half over already!  Oh well...that's still half of the month left.

I've posted this picture before and have talked about these kiddos alot, but I couldn't help but put them first on my list because they are just so special to me.....meet Muhame, Mamie, Jinnah and Sao Essa.  I am reposting their story from Save The Orphan.  They are currently living at The Covering in Sierra Leone, West Africa.   

This is their intake picture the day they were left at the center almost a year ago.

The Covering had the honor to welcome a sibling group with 4 adorable children. Our social worker in Sierra Leone shares their story...

"Jinah & Sao Essa are twins, they are the siblings of Mohamed who is 4yrs and Mamie who is 3yrs old. There are eight children in their family and they are from Tongoh Village were there was a large scale of mining that was going on before the war. You can still see tremendous poverty in the village.

The children's mother died during child bearing of the twins two months ago as medical facilities are not available in their village. Their mother sufferedexcessive bleeding as they were trying to go with her to the big town for proper medical care. Now the father is left with the eight children and unable to farm any more because he has to take care of the twins with nobody to help him.

Two of the oldest kids were brought to Freetownafter the funeral and as of now, TRS does not know if they will be going to school. TRS came in contact with a nurse at the hospital where another TRS child was being treated. Since this case was out of Freetown [235mile away from Freetown] TRS contacted one of the elders that confirm it to us that the kids need assistance. TRS paid for their transportation and they arrived safely where we rescued the children from the nurse who was the contact person. The birth father and one relative came with the twins and the other 2 children. When the father entered The Covering he said, "My children have a future now."
In Sierra Leone, over 2000 women die each year during child birth. That is the worst statistic in the world! Can you imagine if in South Carolina, a state the same size of Sierra Leone, were to loose over 2000 women during child birth in one year? The people of the United States would be outraged and change would be made.

I think of the father of these 8 children and my heart breaks as I try and put myself into his shoes. It is incomprehensible to me. I am so grateful that TRS is able to rescue these 4 children and follow up with the other 4 siblings. They are now covered with hope and love at The Covering and the joy we will gain from their presence will be a blessing to us all.


I can tell you that these children have surely been a blessing to The Covering and a blessing to our family as well!  They are currently still in need of sponsors to help ensure that there are enough staff at the center to care for them and that there is enough quality food to keep them healthy.  Please leave me a comment or send an email if you are interested in helping us out.  

A Bushel And A Peck

A Bushel And A Peck has become one of my favorite blogs to follow.  Lisa and her family are just amazing!  She writes about her interacial family life with eleven kiddos - 3 adopted from Ethiopia.  If you are considering adoption or interested in large families, I encourage you to hop over there and check out even just a fraction of the tremendous information she has in HIV+ orphans, reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and just the everyday occurences when you are raising children from hard places.  With her permission, I'm re-posting one of her posts along with a video of her own adoptions.   I chose one of her archived posts about HIV+ orphans, which is something I had not even considered when our process of research began.  This post also has great info about what you can do to help, even if you aren't interested in adopting.  I hope you'll be blessed and inspired!


WORLD AIDS DAY:  5 THINGS YOU CAN DO    posted Friday, November 20, 2009

December 1st is World AIDS Day. My life has been turned upside down by AIDS and its devastating effects. In Ethiopia, I doubt there is a single person who is completely unaffected by HIV/AIDS. So often I am overwhelmed by this desperate crisis in our world and I wonder what on earth I can do? But here is the secret. Each one of us can make a difference – we can reach out and care about somebody whose life has been touched by HIV/AIDS.

Five Things You Can Do

1. Read: If you only have time to read one book, I recommend There Is No Me Without You: One Woman’s Odyssey to Rescue Her Country’s Children. Written by Melissa Fay Greene, an adoptive mother, the book tells the story of one Ethiopian woman who responded to the AIDS orphan crisis with practical compassion. It is a compelling and interesting read.

If you have time for two books, get 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen. My exposure to AIDS in Africa had been limited primarily to Ethiopia, but this book broadened my education by featuring a short story about twenty-eight different people across the continent and how AIDS has affected them. 28 will give you a quick education about HIV/AIDS in a captivating style.

A reader also recommended the book, Scared: A Novel on the Edge of the World, about orphans and AIDS in Swaziland. I have not read it yet, but after reading the reviews, I just added it to my Amazon cart.

2. Sponsor: For as little as $10.00 a month, you can provide care for an HIV+ orphan. ThroughCircle Embrace, a sponsorship program recently launched by From HIV to Home, you can join with others to create a Circle of sponsors for a child living with HIV/AIDS. Consider giving holiday gifts with a purpose by creating your own Circle. It is easy and only a click away.

3. Care: At the end of 2007, there were 11.7 million AIDS orphans in Africa alone. These are actual children, not just numbers. If the AIDS crisis seems remote to you, take a few moments to watchthis video of the children of AHOPE. If you want to get even more personal, watch my family’s videoof our Ethiopian adoption.

4. Shop with a purpose. The holidays will be here soon; this year purchase gifts that will benefit children with HIV/AIDS. In honor of World AIDS Day, From HIV to Home has a wonderful new necklace available. Make a donation of $50 or more and we will send one to you. I love the concept of embracing those with HIV/AIDS and the necklace looks great. All proceeds from this necklace go directly to the Circle Embrace Child Sponsorship Program.

Shop at the AHOPE Store which has everything from clothing and jewelry to aluminum water bottles.

I know both of these organizations personally, having previously volunteered for AHOPE, and currently working with From HIV to Home, and can confidently say that your donation will be put to good use.

World Vision is also an excellent organization offering gift-giving opportunities. You can give a gift to a child in the developing world in honor of your friend or family member. The options are endless, from two chickens ($25.00) to a sheep ($105.00).

5. Adopt: Consider adopting an HIV+ child. It isn’t as complicated as you might think. The last three years have seen an explosion in the number of families adopting HIV+ children. When we began the process, a handful of HIV+ children had been adopted from AHOPE, our daughters’ orphanage. Now, the children are finding families very quickly. For more information on HIV+ adoption, contact Adoption Advocates International.

Don’t wait until December 1st to wear a red ribbon. Do something today and when World AIDS Day arrives, you will be ready to tell somebody else what it is all about.

~Lisa

National Adoption Awareness Month

Why Love Orphans? from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month and next Sunday has been deemed Orphan Sunday.   I've been contemplating for a while now, just what exactly we could do in honor of this.  I think I've come up with a few things.  First, I want to share a list of resources I have become of aware of through our own research that might help you if you are contemplating adoption or if you are just in the beginning stages.  Second, I want to share some great opportunities that are available to you as a way for you to reach out to orphaned children all over the world even if you are not interested in adopting.    I am also going to share my journey through '30 Days of Nothing'.

The first couple of items are pretty easy.....just providing a list of links and some explanations for your perusal.  The third, 30 Days of Nothing, is a challenge we are taking on so that we might possibly have even a little smidge of understanding (although it really isn't possible, I know) about how 95% of the world lives....many of whom are orphans.  I think we will learn more about God and about ourselves through what will most definately be a huge challenge for us.  Please keep us in your prayers.  I'm sure we'll need them.

https://www.adoptioncouncil.org - National Council for Adoption

http://www.nationaladoptionawarenessmonth.com - National Adoption Month website