Before the Miracle

God finishes what He starts. 4 years of waiting and longing ended. I stepped off the plane with our son in my arms. This moment is so precious to me. I saw my friend Rory and ran into her arms. She was waiting too. We had walked the road of heartache and loss and longing together. Would this journey end with a child coming home to our family? Would we be able to finish the race well? Would God finish what He started in our hearts? We would remind each other that God is faithful and can be trusted. And it is so true. Look. at. these. faces. Sons. God is.....Faithful. Trustworthy. Steadfast. Unchanging. 

Ahijah Lee and Matthew Tesfaye. Our sons from across the world. In the middle of the wait, we did not know their faces. We did not know their stories or their names.  We had no idea how fiercely we would fight or what lengths we would go to, to bring them home. The love that we have for these boys runs deep in our veins. They were not "meant" to be our sons, but through tragedy and loss, we get to be their family. And OH, what an honor and privilege it is to be their mamas. "The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it." Thessalonians 5:24 These precious faces. Our sons. Our legacy. Our gift. 

We are moving in June to Thailand to become full-time missionaries. My husband will be on a child rescue team to save children out of the sex trade. We have started fundraising, and I find those old feelings coming to the surface at times. Will God provide for our needs? Will our family be safe? And then my devotional this week is in Joshua. The Israelites remember all that the Lord has done. The walls of Jericho have not come down yet, but they choose to remember and celebrate the Lord's faithfulness, BEFORE THE MIRACLE. 

Many times throughout our adoption process, I was given the opportunity to praise God BEFORE He answered (you can read about that here and here). As I began my journey to remember all that God has done and praise Him for his faithfulness, I remembered that He brought down the walls of Jericho for us before (read about that here). So, I decided to praise Him before He provides, and wouldn't you know, we went from 4% funded to 20% in just a couple of days!!! 

Would you like to join our team? We are building a team of 100 sponsors at $65 a month to support our family in Thailand. We have 80 spots left! We are honored by those that have already come forward to give. You should see the excitement when we receive the email saying that we have a new sponsor! It's amazing. 

I can't wait to see the incredible team that is going to be sending us and walking this road with us. Each member will literally be saving children out of sex slavery! One day I'm going to look into the eyes of one of these children that have been saved, and I am going to report back to our team that I have looked into the eyes of a child that THEY have helped set free.