Where sadness comes from

For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground, but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. (‭Job‬ ‭5‬:‭6-7‬ ESV)

One of the meanest friends in world history uttered the phrase above and nearly lost his life for doing so. Pulled out of one fork-tongued mouth and put into the hands of the godly, it becomes medicine:

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬ ESV)

Just standard trouble, normal sadness, regular pain and difficulty. And today was the day that good desires were wiped away by that trouble. The Ethiopian government has been on a lengthy deliberate plan to slow down the international adoptions of their smallest children, which had caused our own pursuit of 2 little ones to slow to the pace of an uphill rolling anvil. The difficulty of the progress and the unlikelihood of change in the near future has caused our agency to do like many others and close their Ethiopian program.

That effectively means: "We're dead in the water." We've already used up all of our African transfers as we were originally in Ghana (which closed) and other programs also closed. So pray for our family  as we think through these sad things and try to figure out new possible places, the loss of the financials, and other possibilities. In our own sadness, (however small it may be compared to much greater sufferings) a hope of doing something that pleased the Maker was taken away, and little ones are hurt for it.

So here's to the future of sadness undone. Little ones given justice and good works in full blossom. Until that day weighty glory is shown, every sadness will seem light on the scales. To the one who has already began to unravel sadness on an Easter morning long ago. He is reminding the Andersons that he has already begun the unraveling in them.

Number Update #31

If you were just checking in, our latest update on the waiting list for adopting from Ethiopia is #31. I wish I could translate that into a time frame (6-9 months?), but there's really no telling how things will progress right now. We're just hoping we don't miss our close friends, the Fruechting's, when they come back to the states this summer!

In the bigger picture of things, we've been pressed a little bit by political rumblings about Ethiopia closing it's international adoptions. The reasons are many and varied, but it's pretty clear that "stability" is never promised by God in the realm of nations. They come. They go. Bry and I have never had any promises from God that He was guaranteeing our children would be Ethiopian, any more than they were Ghanian at this time last year. The future remains not ours to control, except that "seek first the kingdom, and all these things shall be added to you."

That being said, we've gotten good reports from our agency and others about the advocates for international adoption. Many are working hard to present the great stories of adoptions-gone-well, trying to improve policies, and seeking to make the overall situation better. Please pray that the country remains open and that many orphans would find families both within Ethiopia and throughout the world.

-The Andersons

Marking Movements #37

As we mark the last month of the year,
2013 is worth a look in the mirror.
Adoption is slow, especially the wait
for 2 kids whose futures we want create.
We thought our kids would be coming from Ghana
with me for their daddy and Bry for their momma.
We thought our year might be booking a flight
to travel to Africa in a day and a night.
We were surprised to find out that Ghana had orders
to stop all its orphans from crossing new boarders.
So we were transitioned across the continent
to wait for our babies of providence.
Ghana became out of our hands.
Ethiopia became the destined land
where we might be able to join and consider
our great Elder Brother's glory and splendor.
He arrived once in manger with stubble and hay,
stripped of his robes and his throne on that day
to prepare for himself a more filthy end,
where a bloody, gory, despised cross was his only friend.
And yet, in such darkness, light prevailed.
He led his lambs down a blood-soaked trail
that they might see his empty bed
and they might know they path they tread
is full of dangers in the midst of the wait.
But at the end, the name awaits!
The name of Son, adopted one,
For Bry: it's Daughter, for me: it's Son.
It will be announced at the end of time,
but all the privileges are already mine.
That's what we keep telling ourselves while we wait.
A Father listens for his own Son's sake
and prepares with patience a little scene
where His own adoption can be seen.

 

And that's pretty much the story. We've moved up to #37 on a long waitlist. We're finishing the work of preparing a second Dossier for Ethiopia and it should be off shortly. We'll certainly take prayers that the process will be quickened and smooth, but we're also working toward contentment and doing our best to prepare our home to help two little orphans be joined to our family. Merry Christmas to all!

Not that I don't love the gift...but I really love the God-made fruit beside the dresser

Sometimes it's good to be a little delayed in taking a life event - filtering it through a through other events - before it arrives in a blogged update. The number of perspectives increase so much so that the event becomes less important in itself than what it demonstrates. For instance, in my area of the country, a long-suffering and tortured franchise named "the Royals" have suddenly become the little darlings of baseball. They've won enough games over the last few weeks that people are genuinely excited (as opposed to already looking to the next season because the current one is hopeless). In this case, there is a certain level of excitement that comes from the winning itself, but there is a mass of other things that are probably effects and correlations to the winning, like "hope," "city-wide pride," "team support," and others.

For us (as you can see in the pictures below), we got treated like royalty by our church as the kids of the church raised money for the adoption. Of course the money itself is a great blessing, but obviously the feelings of love, the kindness, the work some people put into it, and the joy were all immediate benefits.

One Drawer for a Reminder

One Drawer for the Money

And a new dresser for babies to sleep in

Now 2 weeks out from the event, it's the other things that are happening that make the whole situation far sweeter than even that moment could have provided. "Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit" is the way Paul likes to put it. That is, the little church that Bry and I (and Mac and Newt and ____ and ____) get to be a part of is showing all the credentials of a people that really believe God will supply their needs. Now we're all quite wealthy by worldly standards, but I wish for those of you who love Bry and I, but aren't part of our little world in St. Joe, could see the medical sufferings, spiritual deserts, Godly soul-searching all embraced by a small little congregation planted by God on the east side of Missouri river town. What Bry and I received has simply been part of the season of fruit-bearing that has come out of decades of people remembering that God has supplied our needs in Christ Jesus. So, of course we're glad we got money and a new dresser because we love gifts. But we're far more excited to see that piece of God-made fruit sitting right beside our dresser, the living proof that God is shaping a people fully determined to bank on him and his riches to supply every need.

Race Results

There was a race I did not win,
the stroller was to blame.
Until I looked inside and saw
my Mac and Newt by name.

So two little boys were to blame,
until I saw that hill so high
and realized that steep incline
kept me from 1st prize.

But when I crossed the finish line
with my beating heart aflame,
my loss of breath and heaving gut
proved the running sport to blame.

Okay, so the takeaway for me personally is that I could use more exercise. Fault lies in no one but myself on that account. But the great news is that one of our sweet pastor/elders who arranged this whole event was able to help us raise approximately $1800 toward the goal of adopting our kiddos from Ethiopia. It was amazing to see about 110 people join and take part in the event and Bry and I feel so blessed to be a part of a body that has joined in with our longing to make the make the gospel and orphans connect.

So a big thanks again to Brad Weeks who put the race together and for all those who helped, gave, and ran. It means a lot to us.

Run 4 a Reason: a 5K designed even for those who don't run

Please join us on Saturday, June 22nd for the 15th Annual Run for a reason. We feel very blessed that others want to join with us in adoption, especially our church family. If you're interested, see the pictures attached:

Curve Balls, Boomerangs, UFOs, and all other things that don't fly straight.

"'Wait on the Lord' is a constant refrain in the Psalms, and it is a necessary word, for God often keeps us waiting. He is not in such a hurry as we are, and it is not his way to give more light on the future than we need for action in the present, or to guide us more than one step at a time. When in doubt, do nothing, but continue to wait on God. When action is needed, light will come.” -J.I. Packer

We'd rather have already been to Ghana. We'd rather know that we'll be headed to pick up some precious cargo in 3, 6, or 9 months from now. We'd rather use on of Mac's patented "Magic, Magic, Green Light!" choruses to get things moving. Rather, in the space of a week, and with one powerful pronouncement, the Prime Minister has effectively shut down international adoptions in Ghana. --------Zap------- So Bry and I and Mac and Newt will do the same thing that many other adopting families have done...we'll wait patiently. And with patience we'll wait because every Christian waits patiently. We've read the Psalms, and we know that anyone who knows the Lord, already knows that what he is doing is marvelous.

----------------------------------------DETAILS--------------------------------------------
PROBLEM:
Adoption in Ghana has been shut down for restructuring of Governmental offices and procedures. Hopefully, the prime minister is doing something noble, it's hard to get enough of the news to know for sure. What we do know is that the movement of other families that we wrote about last time, was well-grounded. 

ANSWER/SOLUTION:
We're now on a waitlist for both Ghana adoptions and Ethiopian adoptions. Our Agency has been good to work with and has made the holding pattern pretty easy. We're #7 on Ghana, #49 on Ethiopia's waitlists. Our wait time with Ethiopia is approximately 10 months from last week if everything happened smoothly. Ethiopia will be a little more expensive, but we've been told that most of our funds toward Ghana will be able to be used for Ethiopia, which is encouraging. We're staying on Ghana, just in case something would change in the next couple of months, but we expect that Ethiopia is our most likely path to tread.

CONCLUSION:
So that's us...waiting...patiently.