Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
My Rainbow
I am relieved to say that tomorrow morning we are heading to Ethiopia. There is a pile of bags and suitcases in the middle of my kitchen for proof. It has been a long and short week all at the same time, but we are all packed and ready to go meet our sweet children. Thank you so much for all your prayers they have held us up during this trying week and I trust will carry us through this journey to Africa.
God has been so faithful to show himself to us this week. Sweetly reminding us that this is all in His plan and HE is in it. After a particularly trying day this week the Lord spoke to me in a beautiful rainbow. I am pretty sure He put it there just for me ;) reminding me of the beauty that is in His promise. We are rejoicing with our heavenly father this week as we are reminded of His promise in John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
We appreciate all your prayers and support, they are a priceless gift as we continue on this journey to our children. If you would like to know what specific prayer needs we have go to the blog archive on the right of this page and click on the post from June 27th.
We will try to update this blog from Ethiopia but cannot be certain it will work. We are looking forward to telling you all about the new additions to the Rogers family when we get home!
Oh and for Clancy and Emma, we miss you already and can't wait to see you, have fun with Grandma and Grandpa, love you!
Grace and Peace and lots of love to you all!
God has been so faithful to show himself to us this week. Sweetly reminding us that this is all in His plan and HE is in it. After a particularly trying day this week the Lord spoke to me in a beautiful rainbow. I am pretty sure He put it there just for me ;) reminding me of the beauty that is in His promise. We are rejoicing with our heavenly father this week as we are reminded of His promise in John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."
We appreciate all your prayers and support, they are a priceless gift as we continue on this journey to our children. If you would like to know what specific prayer needs we have go to the blog archive on the right of this page and click on the post from June 27th.
We will try to update this blog from Ethiopia but cannot be certain it will work. We are looking forward to telling you all about the new additions to the Rogers family when we get home!
Oh and for Clancy and Emma, we miss you already and can't wait to see you, have fun with Grandma and Grandpa, love you!
Grace and Peace and lots of love to you all!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
15 years ago God gave me you!
James-
Fifteen years ago today we were getting ready to start our lives together. Actually at this exact moment I think you might have been fishing and I was probably getting my nails done. Never the less, we were planning a life together. On that day my head and heart were filled with dreams of what our lives were going to be like together. I never could have imagined what amazing blessings the Lord had in store for us!
In some ways I can't believe it's been 15 years and in other ways it feel like we have always been together. God has been SO good to us. I know we often joke that E-harmony never would have matched us but one thing is for sure GOD did! God knew exactly what I needed so HE gave me you, you are a gift from heaven and I don't ever want to forget that.
Walking beside you through this life has been an adventure and a privilege. You are an amazing man! I look at you and see strength, humility and passion. As I have told you before I have no doubt that you will accomplish whatever you set your mind to. I have seen you set your mind to things above and grow in leaps and bounds in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. You are a man who is passionately following Christ and God has poured His provision and protection over our family through you. Thank You Jesus!
As I think of how we are blessed to celebrate our 15 year anniversary in Ethiopia, I can't help but see that it is no accident. God knew all along where He was taking us, He has been preparing us for this day since we first put those rings on each others fingers. We have been through many wonderful adventures together and celebrated our anniversaries in many different ways but I believe this will be one of the best! I have been dreaming about serving the Lord along side you for over 15 years now, and while I know we have been blessed to serve in many ways this is my favorite! I am so excited to travel to Ethiopia with you, to pour the love the Father has lavished on us into the lives of His orphans together. God gave me you to walk beside on the streets of Ethiopia, He gave me you to embrace our children for the first time with and you to spend a lifetime loving and raising our 4 beautiful children with! I am amazed at the Goodness of our God and I will spend the rest of my life in passionate pursuit of you, my precious gift from above!
I recently heard the song on the video above and my mind instantly filled with thoughts of you, I truly am so grateful that God gave me you!
Happy 15th Anniversary, I love you!!!
Fifteen years ago today we were getting ready to start our lives together. Actually at this exact moment I think you might have been fishing and I was probably getting my nails done. Never the less, we were planning a life together. On that day my head and heart were filled with dreams of what our lives were going to be like together. I never could have imagined what amazing blessings the Lord had in store for us!
In some ways I can't believe it's been 15 years and in other ways it feel like we have always been together. God has been SO good to us. I know we often joke that E-harmony never would have matched us but one thing is for sure GOD did! God knew exactly what I needed so HE gave me you, you are a gift from heaven and I don't ever want to forget that.
Walking beside you through this life has been an adventure and a privilege. You are an amazing man! I look at you and see strength, humility and passion. As I have told you before I have no doubt that you will accomplish whatever you set your mind to. I have seen you set your mind to things above and grow in leaps and bounds in the grace and knowledge of our Lord. You are a man who is passionately following Christ and God has poured His provision and protection over our family through you. Thank You Jesus!
As I think of how we are blessed to celebrate our 15 year anniversary in Ethiopia, I can't help but see that it is no accident. God knew all along where He was taking us, He has been preparing us for this day since we first put those rings on each others fingers. We have been through many wonderful adventures together and celebrated our anniversaries in many different ways but I believe this will be one of the best! I have been dreaming about serving the Lord along side you for over 15 years now, and while I know we have been blessed to serve in many ways this is my favorite! I am so excited to travel to Ethiopia with you, to pour the love the Father has lavished on us into the lives of His orphans together. God gave me you to walk beside on the streets of Ethiopia, He gave me you to embrace our children for the first time with and you to spend a lifetime loving and raising our 4 beautiful children with! I am amazed at the Goodness of our God and I will spend the rest of my life in passionate pursuit of you, my precious gift from above!
I recently heard the song on the video above and my mind instantly filled with thoughts of you, I truly am so grateful that God gave me you!
Happy 15th Anniversary, I love you!!!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Next Week Ethiopia!
What a crazy week we have had. The kids and I were in Casper all week while Clancy attended Key camp. On Tuesday I went to the Library to check my email on one of there computers. I discovered we had received an email from our program director at AWAA and she was letting us know that our children's birth certificates were obtained and all of our paperwork had been submitted to court the previous week! I was so excited that I started crying in the middle of the Natrona County Library, I'm pretty sure the people there thought I was a flake. At the end of the email it stated that we should be hearing on a court date in the next one to two weeks for sometime early to mid July.
Fast forward a couple days to Friday afternoon. We were still in Casper and I noticed that I had missed a call and received a voicemail on my cell phone. I checked the message not really expecting anything exciting and heard the travel coordinator from AWAA on the other end explaining she had some exciting news for our family could I please call her. AAAAGH! I quickly dialed and tried to calmly ask for her only to find out she was unavailable at the moment, I left a message and hung up. Then I called James to tell him, I think we are getting a call for a court date, only he had already spoken to AWAA and had all the wonderful details!
So here's the deal... We "tentatively" have a court date for July 8th! Lord willing a judge in Ethiopia will confirm that date tomorrow and our travel plans will be made official. We are supposed to be in Addis Ababa Ethiopia by the 4th or 5th July, NEXT WEEK! AAAAAAGH! There is so much to do and think about so we are on a roller coaster ride of emotions around our house.
I am including a list of prayer needs we are currently asking for, we truly treasure your prayers through this wonderful, challenging, exciting, scary and God filled leg of our journey!
PRAISE GOD that He is the father to the fatherless.
PRAISE GOD for giving us a July court date!
Our Prayer Needs:
•That the Lord would hide us from the roaming eyes of the enemy and protect us from all evil.
•Our court date of July 8th would be confirmed and we would be able to obtain flights and get to Ethiopia no later than July 5th
•Financial provision for travel and in country expenses.
•For strength and grace to accomplish all that is needed to go to Africa in less than a week.
•That we would have extra time in the word and prayer so we might walk in the strength of the Spirit and honor the Lord through this leg of our adoption journey. We would be filled with the joy of the Lord!
•Travel mercies and safety.
•Health for all 6 of the Rogers.
•That we would all be free from anxiety and filled with peace that passes all understanding.
•The Lords blessing on our “Meetcha Day” that He would create a connection and bond between us and ****** and *******.
•Clancy and Emma would have health and safety while we are away and the Lord would use the time to further prepare their hearts for new siblings. Strength and health for Charles and Cyd as they care for them.
•Unity and clarity of thought for James and Andrea.
•JULY 8th at court all necessary people and paperwork would be present, the Lord would give us words to say and favor in the eyes of the judge. That we would pass court and legally adopt ****** and *******!
•That we would be able to meet our children’s birth family, for mercy and blessing in their life.
•For strength and faith in the Lord as we leave ****** and ******* and return home. That the Lord would use the separation to create a desire in them to be united with us and that He would comfort us during this difficult time.
•Our hearts would be open to the Lords leading and we would shine as a light for Him in Ethiopia.
THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOR INTERCEDING IN PRAYER FOR US AS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST!
Fast forward a couple days to Friday afternoon. We were still in Casper and I noticed that I had missed a call and received a voicemail on my cell phone. I checked the message not really expecting anything exciting and heard the travel coordinator from AWAA on the other end explaining she had some exciting news for our family could I please call her. AAAAGH! I quickly dialed and tried to calmly ask for her only to find out she was unavailable at the moment, I left a message and hung up. Then I called James to tell him, I think we are getting a call for a court date, only he had already spoken to AWAA and had all the wonderful details!
So here's the deal... We "tentatively" have a court date for July 8th! Lord willing a judge in Ethiopia will confirm that date tomorrow and our travel plans will be made official. We are supposed to be in Addis Ababa Ethiopia by the 4th or 5th July, NEXT WEEK! AAAAAAGH! There is so much to do and think about so we are on a roller coaster ride of emotions around our house.
I am including a list of prayer needs we are currently asking for, we truly treasure your prayers through this wonderful, challenging, exciting, scary and God filled leg of our journey!
PRAISE GOD that He is the father to the fatherless.
PRAISE GOD for giving us a July court date!
Our Prayer Needs:
•That the Lord would hide us from the roaming eyes of the enemy and protect us from all evil.
•Our court date of July 8th would be confirmed and we would be able to obtain flights and get to Ethiopia no later than July 5th
•Financial provision for travel and in country expenses.
•For strength and grace to accomplish all that is needed to go to Africa in less than a week.
•That we would have extra time in the word and prayer so we might walk in the strength of the Spirit and honor the Lord through this leg of our adoption journey. We would be filled with the joy of the Lord!
•Travel mercies and safety.
•Health for all 6 of the Rogers.
•That we would all be free from anxiety and filled with peace that passes all understanding.
•The Lords blessing on our “Meetcha Day” that He would create a connection and bond between us and ****** and *******.
•Clancy and Emma would have health and safety while we are away and the Lord would use the time to further prepare their hearts for new siblings. Strength and health for Charles and Cyd as they care for them.
•Unity and clarity of thought for James and Andrea.
•JULY 8th at court all necessary people and paperwork would be present, the Lord would give us words to say and favor in the eyes of the judge. That we would pass court and legally adopt ****** and *******!
•That we would be able to meet our children’s birth family, for mercy and blessing in their life.
•For strength and faith in the Lord as we leave ****** and ******* and return home. That the Lord would use the separation to create a desire in them to be united with us and that He would comfort us during this difficult time.
•Our hearts would be open to the Lords leading and we would shine as a light for Him in Ethiopia.
THANK YOU LORD JESUS FOR INTERCEDING IN PRAYER FOR US AS OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
REFERRAL!!!! We know who they are!!!!
We are so blessed to announce that last Thursday, May 13 at 2:40p.m we got what is known in the adoption world as "THE CALL". I was just heading out the door to go pick kids up from school and James was fencing out in the middle of No Where, which equals no cell signal...aaagh! Our family coordinator said we could wait until I reached him if I would like, but I knew that would mean another day so I sent him a quick text hoping it would reach him... knowing I couldn't wait. I also had to give mom a quick call and ask her to go get the kids at school. It was a crazy 60 seconds or so. As I returned to my conversation with our coordinator I heard those 5 words we had been waiting 7 months to hear, "This is your referral call!" My heart just about lept from my chest! I listened intently as she described a precious brother and sister from Ethiopia in need of a home and family, tears began streaming down my face and my heart filled with praise to the Lord. The moment I heard their sweet names I knew they were the children God had been preparing us for. As we wrapped up our conversation she told me she was sending all their referral documents complete with pictures in an email right away and that I could call with any questions, then we hung up.
The moment we hung up I fell to my knees and began thanking and praising the Lord. As I have said before, this adoption is His and I am in awe of the love He has lavished on our family through it! We are immensely humbled that He would entrust His precious children to us. Praise His Beautiful Name!
After a while I was able to pick myself up off the floor although my heart continued to feel like it was going to leap from my chest. I tried to call James leaving him an emotionally charged message that he probably couldn't even understand, followed by several more texts that looked something like this... Referral, Call Me ASAP!!! I considered trying to go and find him and contemplated what I should do about that information on my computer, should I look without him, I certainly wanted to. After a couple of frantic phone calls with family I decided to take a deep breath sit down and look at those sweet pictures.
Oh I wish I could share them with you, they are adorable, the perfect fit for the Rogers family. The same feeling I had when I first looked on the faces of Clancy and Emma after they were born, absolute love at first sight!
Later I drove to town to pick up the kids at moms, as I was driving I got a phone call from James. He had gotten my text and was racing home, the cell signal wasn't good so we agreed I would get the kids and meet him at the office. Once there we surprised Clancy and Emma with the news and pulled up the pictures on my email. There was a few seconds of silence as we all stared at those sweet faces, in that moment our family was changed forever.
We have officially accepted the referral for these precious kidos which means that our adoption agency will now begin working on a court date for us. This court appointment will happen in Addis Ababa Ethiopia most likely sometime in the next 6 weeks for which James and I will travel over meet and officially adopt 4 year old******* and almost 5 year old******. After we pass court we will be permitted to share more information with you all and look forward to that day! After court the children will remain in the AWAA transitional home and we will return to the U.S. to wait for a period of 6-12 weeks for an appointment with the embassy. We will then return to Addis for our embassy appointment and get to pick up our babes and bring them home!
Please continue to pray for the Rogers in America and those in Africa as we wait on the Lord to unite us.
THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS JOYFUL DAY!
The moment we hung up I fell to my knees and began thanking and praising the Lord. As I have said before, this adoption is His and I am in awe of the love He has lavished on our family through it! We are immensely humbled that He would entrust His precious children to us. Praise His Beautiful Name!
After a while I was able to pick myself up off the floor although my heart continued to feel like it was going to leap from my chest. I tried to call James leaving him an emotionally charged message that he probably couldn't even understand, followed by several more texts that looked something like this... Referral, Call Me ASAP!!! I considered trying to go and find him and contemplated what I should do about that information on my computer, should I look without him, I certainly wanted to. After a couple of frantic phone calls with family I decided to take a deep breath sit down and look at those sweet pictures.
Oh I wish I could share them with you, they are adorable, the perfect fit for the Rogers family. The same feeling I had when I first looked on the faces of Clancy and Emma after they were born, absolute love at first sight!
Later I drove to town to pick up the kids at moms, as I was driving I got a phone call from James. He had gotten my text and was racing home, the cell signal wasn't good so we agreed I would get the kids and meet him at the office. Once there we surprised Clancy and Emma with the news and pulled up the pictures on my email. There was a few seconds of silence as we all stared at those sweet faces, in that moment our family was changed forever.
We have officially accepted the referral for these precious kidos which means that our adoption agency will now begin working on a court date for us. This court appointment will happen in Addis Ababa Ethiopia most likely sometime in the next 6 weeks for which James and I will travel over meet and officially adopt 4 year old******* and almost 5 year old******. After we pass court we will be permitted to share more information with you all and look forward to that day! After court the children will remain in the AWAA transitional home and we will return to the U.S. to wait for a period of 6-12 weeks for an appointment with the embassy. We will then return to Addis for our embassy appointment and get to pick up our babes and bring them home!
Please continue to pray for the Rogers in America and those in Africa as we wait on the Lord to unite us.
THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS JOYFUL DAY!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
When Life Gets Hard
When life gets hard it is easy to feel we are alone in our struggles. All of us are facing a battle of some sort, it may be physical or financial, even mental or emotional. Whatever painful thoughts come to mind when you are alone in the quiet bring life to the battle you are facing. I say this because my heart is heavy with life and I know yours may be as well. If you are like me your mind races with what you can do to "fix" the problem or change your circumstances. The Lord spoke to me this morning and strengthened me for another day, I pray you too are encouraged by what He said... "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."Exodus 14:14
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)