Disciples of all the nations

Wow. Were to begin? God is moving around here, for sure. Moving as in 20 bracelets sold at church this morning. Can you believe that??? Our church worship has brought me to tears many times over the last few months. Tears for a child that isn’t here yet. Tears for a child that in this very moment is dealing with a tragic separation from her mother. She’s never going to be the same. She’ll forever be separated from her land, her culture, her people. She’s not going to grow up with her God-designed family because of the consequence of sin. BUT fortunately God has mercy on his people and will bring her home with us, someday. During worship this morning I remembered that God is in those places too. They don’t know it and she doesn’t know it, but God (welcomed or not) is in that orphanage. Every single day I beg Him to put a peace in her tiny heart. To bless her with an ounce of hope. She doesn’t yet know what or who it is, but she will. Someday I’ll tell her how we all prayed diligently for her. For now, it’s so comforting to know that God is there. I also wondered this morning, if anyone was leading worship in her orphanage. Surely there’s a Christian orphanage in Ethiopia, right? But there are roughly 4.3 million orphans in Ethiopia as well. I cried thinking about those lost children and lost caregivers. Maybe one day I’ll be able to lead worship in an Ethiopian orphanage. You know, because I’m a super talent singer and musician.  You see, our journey won’t be over after the adoption. God tells us to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:19) and he doesn’t want us to do that just once. So we pray that God is glorified through our adoption and lives are forever changed. Then we’ll do the next thing he asks, even if it involves leading worship in orphanages! God is also moving in the area of compassion. I consider myself to be a compassionate person, but this week has opened my eyes to another area where I needed to show more mercy. You see, every time I post about adoption on the blog, facebook, or our gofundme site, I’m basically begging for money. Do you know how hard it is to beg for money? It’s incredibly hard. I don’t like to ask for help, much less beg for money. I feel like the girl on the street corner with a cardboard sign, praying someone will have pity on me. I know, I know, many of you think she should get a job or give up drugs, or go to a shelter/safe house. Consider this: do you REALLY think she likes begging for money? She has no pride, no self-esteem, and no hope for her future. Even if it is a drug or alcohol problem, do you actually think she would choose that over a normal, middle class lifestyle? There are the few who abuse the system, I get that. Even then, why do they do it? My guess is they don’t know the love of Christ. They don’t have a Savior leading them away from lying, cheating, stealing, or addiction. Of course, begging for your support in our adoption journey is nothing like the problems of those on the streets. But if you think it’s easy to beg for money, you’re dead wrong. God is moving in me to have even more compassion for those begging on the streets. It’s not my position to judge why they’re begging, it’s my position to love them and let that love lead them to Christ. Thank you, thank you, to all of you who are sharing our story, buying bracelets, and donating. Thank you even more to those of you who are interceding for us in prayer. This fight isn’t about money; it’s about uniting an abandoned child with her forever family. It’s about being part of something bigger than each of us and fulfilling our role in a chain reaction that reaches to all the nations.