New steps in the journey...

We are falling more and more in love with God's heart. And we are learning to trust him in a deeper, more day-to-day way. Recently, the verse that inspired this blog has leapt back into my heart again.

[Jesus] replied, "Because you have so little faith, I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a poppyseed, you can say to this mountain, 'MOVE from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. 

- Matthew 17:20

Altiplano, Bolivia (2011)

Altiplano, Bolivia (2011)

As we begin 2016 with the goal of living out and growing our FAITH, we are relentlessly trying to seek after God's will for us, even as we still mourn the loss of our babies. We feel it is time to take some steps forward, in faith, as we explore and live our God's heart for the lonely, the orphaned, and the oppressed. And we hope that 2016 just may be the year to claim the promise... nothing will be impossible with faith!

Josh and I have decided to begin the process of adopting a group of siblings from the Minnesota Waiting Kids list. (!!!) We have attended the first meeting with the county, and are now selecting which agency to work with to get our training, home study, and matching done. How exciting! Of course, one of us must get a permanent full time job so we can rent our own house first. With faith nothing is impossible! And so we keep on moving forward. I already feel a bigger dream stirring in my heart. What if the Church stepped up, supporting families within every single local church, so that there simply was NO MORE waiting kids list?! Definitely something on my mind a lot lately, and absolutely a God-sized vision, but one that keeps on burning in me. I will keep you updated on our adoption process (and on this bigger vision), but in the meantime would you pray with us for the family that God wants to give us?

We also have decided that I will travel to Central America on a missions trip/ writing trip from March 30- April 12. I am thrilled, especially since God developed so much of my heart for the broken while I lived in Honduras in 2002.
God has opened this door for me to: 

- pour out his love on orphans at a Guatemalan orphanage,
-encourage domestic violence survivors at a women's shelter and empowerment program in rural Guatemala,
-teach and mentor youth at a Guatemala City drop in center for children who have been returned to Guatemala after suffering injuries when trying to cross into the United States,
-write an article on trauma-informed practices in serving trafficking survivors with my colleague and friend, Laurel, and
- support local anti-trafficking programs in Guatemala, El Salvador, and (maybe!) Belize

In order to travel to Guatemala to carry out this work, I am in need of both prayer and financial resources. If you want to know more or you want to donate, would you please take a look at My new gofundme page??

It is my hope and prayer that these will be the first of many steps in our lives which will bring a measure of beauty and goodness out of the sorrow of the past year. In other words, we are praying for an Isaiah 61 redemption: "to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Amen!
Thanks for journeying with us.