Trusting....
As I write this words can not express the heaviness our hearts feel for the people of Haiti and especially the orphans. Many people have asked what does this mean for us and right now we don't know the answer to that question. What we do know is that as I stated in our last blog “We know that God has gone before us and we can trust in HIM for what the year has in store for our family.”. We know that now more than ever the need for adoptive parents for Haiti will be even greater. There were already about 380,000 children in orphanages pre-earthquake and now that number is expected to grow tremendously. David has actually said a few times in the last months that he didn't think our child was at the orphanage yet and the realization has set in that our child or children may have just now become orphaned. Last Monday night we were working on some paperwork for the adoption and I was having a bit of spiritual warfare going on because our process seems to be going slower than “I” would like for it to go. Then Tuesday just a couple of hours before the news of the earthquake I was listening to a christian radio station and the gentleman on the air stated “Do not let the enemy steal the seed God has planted in your heart”. That statement was so profound to me because of the way I was feeling the night before and then it became even more profound when the news of the tragedy in Haiti broke out across the media. I then realized that is why I was in the car at that exact time to hear that exact statement. We as a family know that God planted this seed in our heart to rescue a child or two from Haiti and we are not going to let the enemy take that from us!
We have realized that our slow paperwork process has been part of God's plan because all of it would have been lost when the administration building went from a five story building to five feet of rubble. Our plan for now is to PRAY, TRUST and OBEY. We are going to be still and know that HE is God and HE has a plan. We know it is no coincidence that we are already on this journey to adopt from Haiti. We are praying that this will open the awareness and possibly cut out some of the process to move things a long more quickly to help those sweet children find forever families.
Please pray for Mike and Missy Wilson who many may know or have seen on the news lately. Mike is in Haiti trying to bring home their daughter Tia. They were only lacking her passport and Mike is trying desparately to bring her home to the US. Please also pray for the orphans of Haiti as they have no mom or dad to fight for them to have food and medical care. You can keep up with the Wilsons at www.bringtifihome.com.
In HIS grip,
Cindy
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
2010 - The Journey Continues
Happy New Year everyone! We are so excited for the new year. We know that God has gone before us and we can trust in HIM for what this year has in store for our family. Forgive us for not blogging much in over a month or so. I've sat down many times to blog but never seemed to post anything. I have always enjoyed journaling but never really imagined I would journal for the world to read well... for a few friends and family to read =) Journaling can be so therapuetic but it is hard sometimes for me to be an open book as I am usually a private person. I am hoping to overcome that some in order to blog/journal a lot through out this journey so that our child will be able to read about the wonderful ways God provided and changed our lives in the process of bringing him/her or them home.
Here's a brief update on our journey:
We made a trip to Chattanooga at the first of December to meet with our social worker. It was a good trip and good meeting. She met with David and I alone and then with Lily. We should have one more interview this month and then hopefully by the beginning of February we'll have our official approval. We have not sent off our contract to the Agency yet but we did find out that there are lots of things we can be doing in advance of sending our contract that will hopefully speed things up a little. Really there is not a lot of update to give at this time. We kinda took a break from paperwork, fundraising and such during the christmas holidays but we are ready now to put our hands and feet to the grind to get our child home. We know ultimately our process will go according to God's timing but our human nature can't keep from wanting to hurry as much as we can. I have been trying to get in a habit of imagining doing things with two possibly three total kids. I am so excited. Yes... we are still praying about whether we'll adopt a sibling group. I know our lives are going to be totally rocked by just adding one but adding two will absolutely rock our worlds in such a great way. I look at several of my friends who have two or more kids and I admire them so much. I know they at times seem overwhelmed and even stressed sometimes with the day to day of raising that many children but from the outside looking in ... I see the blessings, the craziness, the laughter, and would love to have that multiplied in our home. I see beyond the now and see the future big family gatherings and watching them raise families of their own and so on.
God gave me a glimpse this week of how great a big sister Lily is going to be and how her little sibling(s) are going to adore her. We were with some friends whose grandson was with us and he was hanging on to Lily and hugging her constantly. She was loving it.
Please continue to pray for the following throughout this year and journey:
1. Praise God for all the wonderful things HE is doing and will be doing in ours and your lives.
2. Pray for our child(ren) who waits for us in Haiti. We do not know who they are yet but we know that they are in God's grip. Also pray for their current caregivers.
3.Pray for us (David, Cindy and Lily) as we continue to walk this journey. Pray for us to stay strong, trusting in the LORD especially on the days it seems impossible.
4. Pray for an unbelievable speedy process with the paperwork and especially the financial funds so that only God can receive Glory! We are far from our goal of atleast 25k for one child.
Four out of Five People in Haiti live on less than $2/day. We are so blessed in our country that most of us spend that on a cup of Coffee or a coke per day. Wow.. that's $60 per month. So basically if a little over 400 hundred people sacrificed for only one month their daily cup of joe, we could rescue our child and give them hope of a brighter future. Problem is we don't really know 400 people! So what if we had 100 family and friends donate an average of $20 and then all 100 family and friends asked 10 of their friends or family to donate an average of $20... we would have 22k in no time! I have had many strangers ask if we were really bringing a child home or just sponsoring an orphan. This made me think what if our child was sponsored by monthly givers... of $10, $20, $30 etc. until they come home. Really in our culture most families spend $30-$40 on eating out a week. What if that money was donated to bring an orphan home and they ate sandwiches at home that one night for one week. God could do a lot with that don't you think!
Little is much when God is in it. Let us know if you'd like to purchase a shirt or bookmark handmade in Haiti!
Thank you all for your continued support.
Blessings,
Cindy on behalf of the whole Scott Family (all four or five of us!)
Here's a brief update on our journey:
We made a trip to Chattanooga at the first of December to meet with our social worker. It was a good trip and good meeting. She met with David and I alone and then with Lily. We should have one more interview this month and then hopefully by the beginning of February we'll have our official approval. We have not sent off our contract to the Agency yet but we did find out that there are lots of things we can be doing in advance of sending our contract that will hopefully speed things up a little. Really there is not a lot of update to give at this time. We kinda took a break from paperwork, fundraising and such during the christmas holidays but we are ready now to put our hands and feet to the grind to get our child home. We know ultimately our process will go according to God's timing but our human nature can't keep from wanting to hurry as much as we can. I have been trying to get in a habit of imagining doing things with two possibly three total kids. I am so excited. Yes... we are still praying about whether we'll adopt a sibling group. I know our lives are going to be totally rocked by just adding one but adding two will absolutely rock our worlds in such a great way. I look at several of my friends who have two or more kids and I admire them so much. I know they at times seem overwhelmed and even stressed sometimes with the day to day of raising that many children but from the outside looking in ... I see the blessings, the craziness, the laughter, and would love to have that multiplied in our home. I see beyond the now and see the future big family gatherings and watching them raise families of their own and so on.
God gave me a glimpse this week of how great a big sister Lily is going to be and how her little sibling(s) are going to adore her. We were with some friends whose grandson was with us and he was hanging on to Lily and hugging her constantly. She was loving it.
Please continue to pray for the following throughout this year and journey:
1. Praise God for all the wonderful things HE is doing and will be doing in ours and your lives.
2. Pray for our child(ren) who waits for us in Haiti. We do not know who they are yet but we know that they are in God's grip. Also pray for their current caregivers.
3.Pray for us (David, Cindy and Lily) as we continue to walk this journey. Pray for us to stay strong, trusting in the LORD especially on the days it seems impossible.
4. Pray for an unbelievable speedy process with the paperwork and especially the financial funds so that only God can receive Glory! We are far from our goal of atleast 25k for one child.
Four out of Five People in Haiti live on less than $2/day. We are so blessed in our country that most of us spend that on a cup of Coffee or a coke per day. Wow.. that's $60 per month. So basically if a little over 400 hundred people sacrificed for only one month their daily cup of joe, we could rescue our child and give them hope of a brighter future. Problem is we don't really know 400 people! So what if we had 100 family and friends donate an average of $20 and then all 100 family and friends asked 10 of their friends or family to donate an average of $20... we would have 22k in no time! I have had many strangers ask if we were really bringing a child home or just sponsoring an orphan. This made me think what if our child was sponsored by monthly givers... of $10, $20, $30 etc. until they come home. Really in our culture most families spend $30-$40 on eating out a week. What if that money was donated to bring an orphan home and they ate sandwiches at home that one night for one week. God could do a lot with that don't you think!
Little is much when God is in it. Let us know if you'd like to purchase a shirt or bookmark handmade in Haiti!
Thank you all for your continued support.
Blessings,
Cindy on behalf of the whole Scott Family (all four or five of us!)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Adoption Rocks!
Help support Lily's Prayer and raise awareness for adoption by sporting an Adoption Rocks t-shirt! We have sizes from Small - XXL. They'll make great Stocking stuffers!
We also have handmade cloth bookmarks from Haiti for $8. Pictures coming soon.
If you would like to order a shirt or bookmark email us at godforgives@bellsouth.net.
Blessings,
Cindy
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Another Amazing yard sale
Thank you Lord for another amazing yard sale! One thing I have learned from the yard sales we have done this fall is that there are some serious yard sale shoppers. Some that no matter how good a deal you are giving them they still can't spare an extra dollar or quarter to help an orphan find its forever family. I have also learned that if you run an ad that your yard sale will begin at 7am expect your customers to start an half hour earlier. We actually had our first browser via car at 6am! Crazy! We are forever grateful for all who have shopped at our recent yard sales. Every little quarter or dollar sure adds up quickly! We had a lot of familiar faces that had come back to see our new items.
We were so glad to share our story with so many people and to raise awareness about orphans in general. Everyone's response was so joyful to hear our story. We had so much clothing that we had decided to do "Fill a bag for $5" to move it out. Because of this sale we not only helped raise money to bring our child or chidren home we helped clothe children in Columbia (the country, not the town in TN). We met a lady who is a native from Columbia who filled up two kroger paper bags with clothing and shoes for $10. She shared that many of her family members over there do not have lots of clothes so she trys to shop at yard sales to ship clothes back to them. She was so thrilled that she could find so much clothing for them so cheap and also help us with the adoption. I can't say it enough... God is so good! Because of our trip to Costa Rica and learning just a little spanish we were able to put smiles on some faces of our hispanic shoppers. I told this one little hispanic girl after she finished paying me for her toys " Dios le Bendiga" which means God Bless you and the look on her face was priceless. She was like, did she really just speak spanish to me? and then her Dad who was standing a good distance from us heard me and told his friends " She just spoke spanish" and he smiled at me real big. I loved that I could bless them just by trying to communicate a little in their language. Maybe someday we will speak and understand fluently so that we can better communicate with our local hispanics and especially for mission trips.
Another great story is that we sold almost all of the Haiti items that Kelly Mills had gave to us. We weren't sure if those would be items anyone would want but again God is so good. The best thing is that there were a couple of paintings that we liked and thought would be great in our child(ren)'s room and those were the only ones that did not sell. So we hope to get those framed soon to be decor in his/her room.
I keep thinking that I am done sharing our experiences from yesterday's sale but I keep remembering more. One shopper must have told her husband about our adoption once she got back in the car because the next thing we know he's getting out and coming to give us a donation even though she had already made a purchase. They had eight kids of their own so we were very appreciative of their generosity.
I'll end my post with this... God is good all the time and ALL the time God is good!
Blessings,
Cindy
<><
We were so glad to share our story with so many people and to raise awareness about orphans in general. Everyone's response was so joyful to hear our story. We had so much clothing that we had decided to do "Fill a bag for $5" to move it out. Because of this sale we not only helped raise money to bring our child or chidren home we helped clothe children in Columbia (the country, not the town in TN). We met a lady who is a native from Columbia who filled up two kroger paper bags with clothing and shoes for $10. She shared that many of her family members over there do not have lots of clothes so she trys to shop at yard sales to ship clothes back to them. She was so thrilled that she could find so much clothing for them so cheap and also help us with the adoption. I can't say it enough... God is so good! Because of our trip to Costa Rica and learning just a little spanish we were able to put smiles on some faces of our hispanic shoppers. I told this one little hispanic girl after she finished paying me for her toys " Dios le Bendiga" which means God Bless you and the look on her face was priceless. She was like, did she really just speak spanish to me? and then her Dad who was standing a good distance from us heard me and told his friends " She just spoke spanish" and he smiled at me real big. I loved that I could bless them just by trying to communicate a little in their language. Maybe someday we will speak and understand fluently so that we can better communicate with our local hispanics and especially for mission trips.
Another great story is that we sold almost all of the Haiti items that Kelly Mills had gave to us. We weren't sure if those would be items anyone would want but again God is so good. The best thing is that there were a couple of paintings that we liked and thought would be great in our child(ren)'s room and those were the only ones that did not sell. So we hope to get those framed soon to be decor in his/her room.
I keep thinking that I am done sharing our experiences from yesterday's sale but I keep remembering more. One shopper must have told her husband about our adoption once she got back in the car because the next thing we know he's getting out and coming to give us a donation even though she had already made a purchase. They had eight kids of their own so we were very appreciative of their generosity.
I'll end my post with this... God is good all the time and ALL the time God is good!
Blessings,
Cindy
<><
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Marching Forward!
We are pressing forward! Finally today we have been able to seal up the envelope to send in our home study paperwork. Lily had the easiest job of us all ... she put it in the mailbox! This part of our journey took a little longer than we had hoped for but it is done. We now are in the waiting game of our social worker receiving it, reviewing it and setting up our next interview.
You really learn a lot about yourself writing your own autobiography. You learn a lot about your marriage as well. It forces you to really think about your role as a spouse and the things that you love about your spouse that you can sometimes take for granted. It was fun to drive down memory lane about our "courtship" too. I am so proud of David. For those of you that know David well, you know that he is an extravert and would rather be talking to someone rather than writing his thoughts and feelings down.
We have been on this journey now for almost 80 days. It's been an amazing ride thus far. Some days better than others but we are always thankful to our heavenly father in all circumstances. We know that we are in HIS grip and this journey is HIS story. HE is already teaching us so much. I am definitely learning to focus my entire being on HIS living presence. A verse that has been consistently coming up in my life is Matthew 6:33-34 " But Seek first HIS kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I catch myself wanting to jump too far ahead in the process by worrying about how are we going to to do this or do that! David constantly reminds me that "we" are not going to do anything! God is in control and we must seek HIS great wisdom and rest in the comfort of HIS presence knowing he will meet our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19).
We are praying with expectancy that God will provide for the next step. Many of you have asked about how the fundraising is going. God has been so good to provide exactly what we have needed to pay for the first step which is the home study. Our next step is paying our deposit to the agency, and some miscellaneous fees to pay for the dossier, etc. That amount is around $3500. We are anticipating that we should get our approval to adopt in December. Would you join us in prayer that we could raise this money over the next month to be ready to move forward as quickly as possible?
Remember to pray for our sweet child(ren) in Haiti and that we can meet them soon!
In HIS grip,
Cindy
You really learn a lot about yourself writing your own autobiography. You learn a lot about your marriage as well. It forces you to really think about your role as a spouse and the things that you love about your spouse that you can sometimes take for granted. It was fun to drive down memory lane about our "courtship" too. I am so proud of David. For those of you that know David well, you know that he is an extravert and would rather be talking to someone rather than writing his thoughts and feelings down.
We have been on this journey now for almost 80 days. It's been an amazing ride thus far. Some days better than others but we are always thankful to our heavenly father in all circumstances. We know that we are in HIS grip and this journey is HIS story. HE is already teaching us so much. I am definitely learning to focus my entire being on HIS living presence. A verse that has been consistently coming up in my life is Matthew 6:33-34 " But Seek first HIS kingdom and righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I catch myself wanting to jump too far ahead in the process by worrying about how are we going to to do this or do that! David constantly reminds me that "we" are not going to do anything! God is in control and we must seek HIS great wisdom and rest in the comfort of HIS presence knowing he will meet our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19).
We are praying with expectancy that God will provide for the next step. Many of you have asked about how the fundraising is going. God has been so good to provide exactly what we have needed to pay for the first step which is the home study. Our next step is paying our deposit to the agency, and some miscellaneous fees to pay for the dossier, etc. That amount is around $3500. We are anticipating that we should get our approval to adopt in December. Would you join us in prayer that we could raise this money over the next month to be ready to move forward as quickly as possible?
Remember to pray for our sweet child(ren) in Haiti and that we can meet them soon!
In HIS grip,
Cindy
Saturday, November 7, 2009
143 million orphans
"143 million orphans in the world", What do you think when you read or hear that? I sometimes have a hard time comprehending just how big a number 143 million really is, but it is not just a number. 143 million = 143 million lives, 143 million children without a mommy or daddy, 143 million hearts desiring to be loved. 143 million does not include the children that are not accounted for, those children who do not have a place to stay each night and are roaming the streets. Now when you read or hear "143 million orphans in the world", what do you think? My heart breaks for these children!
Please pray about how you can help the 143 million orphans in the world. Not everyone is called to adopt a child, but we all are called to take care of orphans. James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world".
Please consider what your part is to look after orphans. Should you adopt, should you help those who are adopting, should you commit to supporting organizations that take care of orphans?What are you called to do?
In HIS Grip,
David
Please pray about how you can help the 143 million orphans in the world. Not everyone is called to adopt a child, but we all are called to take care of orphans. James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world".
Please consider what your part is to look after orphans. Should you adopt, should you help those who are adopting, should you commit to supporting organizations that take care of orphans?What are you called to do?
In HIS Grip,
David
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Dios Le Bendiga
Dios Le Bendiga (God Bless You)! Thank you to everyone who has been such a huge part of this journey whether through prayer, monetary donations or yard sale donations! We are so blessed to have such awesome family and friends supporting us. We raised around $900 at your yard sale this past weekend and the pasta orders so far have helped us raise about $300 . The yard sale was a lot of work but it was so worth it. Not only did we raise a lot of money but we met so many people who have been adopted, had adopted or knew someone who was adopting. We were able to share our story and hopefully raise awareness of the number of orphans that need homes.
Today has been a great day of accomplishment! David and I were off work together and were able to stop by several places to get a lot of our needed homestudy paperwork in process (dr. offices, police dept and sheriff's dept.). We are hopefully on track to have it all finished and ready to mail in by the end of next week. So prayer warriors keep praying for us as we are diving in to the very thought provoking and detailed paperwork that lies ahead in the next coming days.
Please keep praying and sharing our story. We need to raise the next amount of money which is about $4000 to continue on after we receive the official home study approval. We know God is in control and HE will provide for us to bring home our child.
Blessings,
Cindy
<><
Ps 115:1 "Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness"
Today has been a great day of accomplishment! David and I were off work together and were able to stop by several places to get a lot of our needed homestudy paperwork in process (dr. offices, police dept and sheriff's dept.). We are hopefully on track to have it all finished and ready to mail in by the end of next week. So prayer warriors keep praying for us as we are diving in to the very thought provoking and detailed paperwork that lies ahead in the next coming days.
Please keep praying and sharing our story. We need to raise the next amount of money which is about $4000 to continue on after we receive the official home study approval. We know God is in control and HE will provide for us to bring home our child.
Blessings,
Cindy
<><
Ps 115:1 "Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness"
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