Never Say Never!

It is hard to believe that two months have passed since I last posted.  Sadie Grace told me a couple of weeks ago, “Mom, it seems like it is Sunday, and then it is Sunday again.”  That is so true.  The days are flying by!  I can’t believe that we have reached the 1/2 way mark.  God has been so gracious to us and we have fallen into such a fulfilling routine.  Between school, playtime with our neighbors, ministry to the orphans, Dave’s teaching schedule, youth activities for the older girls, The Truth Project with other American missionaries and a once a week pot luck dinner with them our days are quite full.

Lately I have been reminded of Proverbs 16:9 where the Lord tells us, “The heart of a man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.”  Many times before we left to embark on our adventure to Zambia, people would ask me about going.  I would quote this verse and say, “We are planning on going to Africa, but God could intervene and change our plans.” (I was secretly hoping that He would intervene and that we would not have to go!)  But, God definitely directed us here.  Over the course of my adult life, there have been several times when I have said, “I will never…..”  Homeschool, have a bunch of kids, go to Africa…you get the picture.  I imagine God thinking,  just wait.  It seems that the times when I have said I will never, and then God dramatically changes my heart have been some of the most joyful times in my life.  Over the past 2 years all of the kids and Dave have talked about wanting to adopt a child.  In fact, last Spring I had to tell Dave to tell the kids to stop pressuring me.  I felt as if everyone was ganging up on me and that I was the “bad guy” for not embracing their desires.  So, as we came to Zambia the kids and Dave did not bring up the issues of adopting at all to me.  But, God began to slowly change my heart.  I think that when I thought of adoption, I thought of a baby.  Now that Sadie Grace is 6 years old the thought of diapers is not at all appealing.  (But, I have learned to not say that I will never 🙂  As we have worked at the orphanage over the past 5 months, we have all really fallen in love with so many of the children.  We have become particularly attached to the young elementary aged kids (5 – 9 years old).  So….about 2 months ago we began the process of trying to foster and then adopt one of the children.  Initially, we felt that the Lord was opening us up to any of the kids in that age range, preferably a boy for obvious reasons!  But as Dave and I continued to pray,  the kids continued to become particularly attached to one of the boys (our children had no idea we were considering this).  God made it clear that we should pursue Samson as the child for us to foster and hopefully adopt.  The process has seemed long and frustrating at times but this week we should know if the judge will approve us as his foster parents.  Samson’s mother died when he was 2 days old of malaria.  His father died when he was 4 1/2 years old.  But, because of his fathers condition, Samson was placed in the orphanage at 6 weeks of age.  This past weekend we had the privilege of having Samson with us.  It was a sweet time and a reminder that God’s plans are so much greater than our own.  I ask that you join us this week in prayer for God’s will for Samson’s life.  We really are praying that God will allow Samson to be a permanent part of our family, but even more we are praying that we will joyfully accept God’s will for Samson’s life.  Samson is 7 years old, but will be 8 at the end of December.  He is super outgoing, loves to laugh, and loves people.  David has bonded with him and is excited about the possibility of Samson for a brother.  The girls also really enjoy spending time with Samson.  In fact, Mary-Frances began begging for us to adopt Samson in August.  She even urged us by saying that she would give all her savings if we could adopt him!  As of now, Samson’s extended family has only agreed to let us foster him.  But, we are hopeful that they will begin to feel more comfortable with the idea of adoption as time goes on.  His extended family is very poor and do not have the means to care for him, or even to visit him, but the idea of letting him go permanently is difficult for them.  The social worker that we have been working with is asking the judge to give us fostering custody of Samson until he is 19 years old.  We are unsure how the US will handle us bringing a foster child into the country for a number of years, so we are still asking God to soften Samson’s families hearts and allow us to adopt him.  We will definitely keep you posted as to how this unfolds.

The kids are all doing well.  Sadie Grace has amazed me with how much she LOVES school.  Thank you so much for praying for her during those first few weeks that were so trying.  Dave was wise in insisting that she continue in school.  It has been a great experience for her.  Ella is also doing well.  Her mannerisms are so Zambian.  Those of you who know her well will see that she is the most changed.  She loves the 3 Zambian girls that live within our wall fence that she plays with for hours each day.  I think leaving them will be difficult for her.  The older girls continue to enjoy friendships with four of the Walker girls as well as Annie (our next door neighbor) and Mercy (a girl from church).  Annie went with us yesterday to the orphanage to take Samson back.  Needless to say, it was a tearful goodbye.  As Annie got in the car, she acknowledged that already she is dreading our departure.  Pray for her.  She has had a lot of pain in her life (she is a double orphan) and pray that even through the pain of saying goodbye that she will be able to be thankful to God for the His goodness.  I know my girls really hope that someday she will be able to come to the US.  David is doing well.  He is excited about the possibility of having a brother.  He continues to endure school and anxiously awaits the day we will go home.  Dave and I are doing well.  We are both being stretched and challenged in new ways.  I know that for the rest of our lives we will be thankful that God gave us this time here in Zambia with our family.  The memories that we are making are sweet and will be cherished forever.

Thank you again for your prayers.  I will let you know about Samson as soon as we have definite news.

Much love,

Shelley

PS – Please pray for Dave. He was just diagnosed with malaria. His symptoms have been major stomach issues, intense pain in the his lower back, fever, and overall achy body.