Please, read and help.

http://projecthopeful.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/urgent-call-for-help-for-the-buoniconti-family/

Today is a very regular sort of Saturday at the Eisenmenger household.  Jim and I stayed in bed just a little late this morning.  I won’t say I slept in because a mother doesn’t really sleep when she is listening for each little (and these days big, too) set of feet on the stairs.  Then there is the awareness of the tones of interactions.  I lay their thinking of all the things I would say if I were actually present with them, and now and then heard something that made me want to holler at them through the passive heat vent in our old farmhouse.  It was just the fact that daddies apparently can actually sleep through all of that, that kept me from it.  When the mama guilt finally got the best of me, I hauled it downstairs and we began our day.  A quick trip to convenient care to check on two swimmer’s and their ears and pancakes for a crowd were obvious first priorities. 

All the “normalcy” of today makes me think back to this time last year when Barbra and I were preparing to leave our families and head to Ethiopia to pick up Sisi, Getch, and Masi.  We left on July 31st, and along with our dear friends the Knellers, began our journey to bring our children home. 

I am not a traveler or a risk taker by nature.  I had to fight that nervous, sick feeling, and definitely had to battle all of the “what if’s…?” that wanted to drive away our Lord’s gift of peace.  Walking out the Lord’s plan for us last year at this time involved an actual journey, but in a sense following Him always is.  I have been studying the Psalms of Ascent in Beth Moore’s “Steppin Up” study.  The Psalms of Ascent were songs sung by God’s people on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the pilgrim feasts which included the Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The second of the Psalms is Psalm 121. It says, “I raise my eyes toward the mountains.  Where will my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.  He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.  Indeed, the Protector of Israel does not slumber or sleep.  The LORD protects you; the LORD is a shelter right by your side.  The sun will not strike you by day, or the moon by night.  The LORD will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life.  The LORD will protect your coming and going both now and forever.” 

This is such an encouragement.  I believe that this picture of God as our protector is something that we can absolutely stand on. BUT what about when circumstances feel like our foot just did a whole lot of slippin’.  I know of a young, christian man right now for example, who is in a hospital room following a terrible motorcycle accident that happened on his way to church two weeks ago.  What is up with that?  We all know of situations like this, and the obvious question is, “Uhhhmmmm Lord, what about his coming and going.”. 

I am not going to pretend like we can ever really understand this fully.  In fact, God tells us in His word that we will not fully understand everything this side of Heaven, but I believe that we can be in a place where we are so set on the truth of God’s word as our highest reality that we are unshakable.  As is always the case, it is in the completeness of scripture that we are lead into ALL truth.  In Romans 8:38-39 we see, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”. 

I am really a pretty simple girl, and the fact that I just quoted scripture twice and used the word “feast” is kind of freaking me out.  I am not a Bible teacher, but I am a follower of Jesus Christ who has experienced what it felt like to insist on knowing what every eventuality in the lives of myself and my loved ones was going to look like (and believe me there was nothing that even approached a foot slip in my scenarios).  And I have experienced the freedom in knowing that NOTHING takes us out of God’s keeping.  NOTHING!  Essentially I came to recognize that the truth of God’s word is so far above temporal, worldly scenarios that I must look only to that for my assessment of safety.  This does not mean for one moment that I have given the enemy any hand in my life.  The opposite is true. I am not only aware of how completely I am held in the hand of my Protector, but I am also free from the fear that the enemy used to put on me when I would contemplate the unexplainables. So, while it is a process that takes choice and practice, I feel like I can now follow the Lord with new confidence in His keeping.  That kind of freedom is, as I have said before, the aspect of belonging to Christ that makes knowing Him most tangibly “The pearl of great price” for me.

As the title says, this is just wrong.  It is destructive, evil, and corrupt and devoid of all compassion and love.  And we, The Body of Christ are to blame.  We know better.  We have the means to make a real difference.

I know… the Russian system is terribly flawed.  I know… their culture lacks compassion for the outcast.  But I also know that they don’t have the means to care for kids like his - not the way we do.  They have lived generations under an oppressive rule that intentionally stamped out knowledge of God and human compassion.  We don’t have any of those excuses.  What we do have is both the ability to make a difference and the clear Word of God commanding us to do so. 

http://networkedblogs.com/ky5kf

I’ll be the first to tell you adoption is not for everyone.  It’s probably not for most.  But it is for enough to solve this problem.  If it’s not for your family, dig deep, make real sacrifice, and give beyond what you think you can to Reece’s Rainbow, Compassion, Children’s Hope Chest, Samaritan’s Purse… groups that will use “your” funds to allow families to care for their kids rather than give them up or let them starve, and to save those who otherwise face a future like this.  It’s time to stop making excuses.  This is not acceptable.

Most of you know me already.  I am Jim’s wife and Sisay, Zeke, Getinet, Charlie, Annaliese, Masresha, Feven, and Nati’s mom.  I could describe myself many other ways, but right now these two aspects of who I am engage most of my waking hours and available brain cells. 

I used to be a regular mom with the regular hopes, fears, and headaches of motherhood.  Jim and I had all of the regular goals.  It wasn’t so much that we were after a lofty lifestyle, but personal security and comfort were definitely what we pursued.  It just seemed prudent after all. 

So, what brings a regular wife and mommy to (with her husband) shake things up to the point of wrecking all of those well planned for securities and throw caution to the wind and among other things, adopt 5 older children in 2 years? 

People ask us a lot of questions, and I truly welcome them.  We hear/have heard everything from, “Aren’t you afraid of what this will mean for your kids?” (a personal favorite) to “How do you know what you are going to end up with when you adopt?”.  The truth is that even in the natural these questions can be answered pretty simply.  We don’t usually ask a young expectant couple if they think the pregnancy is wise given the effect that this new child could have on “other” children (unfortunately, unless there is a special need involved.  Then suddenly folks have trouble containing their advice and fear.) We also don’t tend to greet the happy news of a new biological addition with, “But how do you know what you are going to get?”.  Although, biological babies frequently turn the other siblings world upside down at least for a time, and we certainly have no control over exactly “what we get”, we don’t generally question it because we have the deep conviction that the child is worth the risk.  The same is true in adoption, the child is well worth the risk. 

That is not however, what drove us to put the skids on our self-focused, pursuit of comfort and security.  As we got more entrenched in God’s word, and got a clearer picture of what our Jesus asked of us we gained the conviction that the biggest risk we faced was in NOT surrendering our lives fully to the Lordship of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It wasn’t that we were afraid of losing our salvation.  We understood the amazing grace of the cross a little better than that, but we were very afraid of losing out on the abundant life offered to us if we truly followed Jesus in His plans for us rather than just asking Him to “be with us” as we pursued our own plans for our lives.  So, we found ourselves saying “yes” and (stretch)“yes” to the first children the Lord had for us, and then (really!?gulp) “yes”, “yes”, and “yes” to the next three.

What we didn’t know at the point of surrender was that the result of it would be a freedom that is beyond what we knew was available.  Finally, we fully understood why “The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44)  There is nothing like the joy and confidence that comes with accepting that God is completely sovereign.  I can fight to maintain control of my own life and plans or I can accept that He is God, He is good, and nothing happens to me outside of His loving watchfulness.  It seems like we can do both, follow our own plans and accept his goodness and care, but that is just not true.  If we truly accept that He is GOD (the all knowing maker of the universe), He is good, and He loves us deeply, why on Earth would we try to assert our own flawed control over how our lives roll?

But the waiting is a very different thing depending on who is doing it.  The post behind this link is hard to see and hard to read.  But well worth it.

http://buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com/2010/09/while-we-wait.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082605232.html

Jenny will be leaving for Ethiopia in the wee hours Saturday morning.  Our Charlie and her sister Barbra will be going with her.  It is unsettling not to be with her.  But those feelings are mild this time, better for having been there before and having grown so much in our faith and confidence in putting ourselves in His hands.  They will be traveling with Greg and Melissa (also active here at KTM), who happen to have been friends of Jenny and Barbra since they were kids.  Greg and Melissa will be bringing home an addition to their family as well.  God is so good in putting all of this together so the timing worked out like this.  We had no control over it, and the odds were essentially zero… or maybe the odds were 100% all along.

Anyway, we appreciate your prayers for all of us.  I know my part isn’t as hard as Jenny’s but we have several traveling and three partial families at home - we all need Him through this, even those of us staying here.  But I suppose that, in and of itself, isn’t different from any other day.