Pics from the Summitt

Still processing it all....will probably still be processing it all for a few weeks/ months to come. I am encouraged beyond anything I have ever experienced before in this orphan care/adoption ministry. However, the thought of returning to the mess had me on my face and in tears when it was all said and done!

One of the amazing things about the Summitt was meeting people I call friend for the first time in flesh and blood! Here is a dear friend who has been a huge encouragement to me....got to see her for the first time in 3-D! :) Me and Jodi!

This is an amazing young man from Liberia! I have one of his quotes in yesterdays blog. We had the priviledge of getting to know Lightning and his parents as well as Bishop Jones (also from Liberia) over the past two days. There was an immediate connection and now it is as if we have known them forever. The best thing Lightning taught me.....how to do Toben's hair like his! I can't wait to experiment! Toben buddy, we are going to have some fun with your hair!

I tell you the world gets smaller by the day! I had met most of the Red Letters Campaign bunch at the Orphan Project fund raising dinner. I got to meet Holly here, and John and Holly reconnected as they grew up in Crane together! Now that is crazy! Two people from Crane ending up at an Orphan Summitt together! What are the odds?!

And this is Callie's heroine! This is Steven Curtis Chapman's oldest daughter, Emily! She is an amazing young woman...as authentic and real as they come! I told her that Callie adores her because she prayed her parents into adoption and Callie is trying to pray her daddy into another baby! Got to have some fun ribbing John with her! She is going to Ireland with her husband for a year to go to Bible College, but when she gets back, we are going to try to get her to come do a fund raiser for us! She said she would love to! Her message is really amazing!

John and I also reconnected with the Scott Hasenbalg, Ex. Director of Shoahannah's Hope.

I am not a freak!

I am not a freak! Well, at least if I am a freak, then I have found hundreds of people like me who are freaks too! :) It was amazing to hear things that I have told people for years coming out of so many people's mouths today! God has really encouraged me today in the work that I do. He has also made amazing contacts that I am still in awe!

Seven years ago when we adopted Noah, I said that the church is the answer to the Orphan crisis and that GOd is stirring His people! Well today, I know that is so true! I was in a room with hundreds of people who say the same thing and are seeking God for what role they have to motivate the Body of Christ to be the answer and answer the cry of the Orphans here in the US and around the world!

I am sure there will be many blog posts to come about these two days, but for right now, here are some quotes from the speakers I heard:

Dennis Rainey

"Proclaim the needs of the orphans"
"Be a person who can see circumetances through the eyes of God & believe for a lot with just a little bit."
Leveredge one another's strengths. It is about all of us working together. Check your egos and your logos at the door! (I LOVE that one!)
"The church is the key!"
"We are never closer to the heart of God than when we care for those who can do nothing for us!"
As you start a church ministry for adoption, expect opposition, petiness, people to be people, BUT expect God to rase up a huge army to fight!

President of Christian Orphan Alliance
"We are cutting against everything the world says is valuable - but it creates an awe and wonder that thew orld will take notice."

Rob - who spent 14 years of his life in a US orphanage before aging out
"He [Jesus] got betrayed by people he should've been able to trust. That one I understand."
Eternal life doesn't matter to some one who doesn't know if they will live to be 21. But the idea of spiritual water that woudl sooth the soul got his attention.

Emily Chapman Richards
"The world woudl be in shock and awe as an undivided church rise to the ocasion."
"It's a priviledge to care for orphans."

Lightning - my newest friend! He is 17 and came home from Liberia 3 years ago...an amazing young man..and he spoke tonight
"Adoption became a word of hope and a prayer of all our hearts."

Dr. Moore
"What is at stake is not simply human life....what is at stake is the gospel of Jesus Christ."
"Joseph of Nazarus adopts a baby and changes the world."
We must communicate that this is not just about building families; it is about standing before the demonic powers asking to sift the children like wheat and say, "I don't think so!"
To develop an adoption culture, you must have people who will seek the wisdom of God to order their lives, have people who will allow God to direct their steps - they have to be wiling to let go of the American dream.
Adoption means adjusting to a new home - such it is always with orphans like us - there is always a part of us wanting to return to the squaller from which we came because it is more comfortable than being in a home with a Father.
"adoption teaches us about spiritual warfare"

sorry for any typos...my eyes are just about crossed, so I am going to be now to try to shut down my brain!

Officially registered!

And here is what I will get to attend:
Breakout Session 1: 4/30/2009 11AM - 12PM - Practical Ideas for Church Adoption/Foster Care Ministries (Michael & Amy Monroe, Irving Bible Church) -
Breakout Session 2: 4/30/2009 2PM - 3PM - Starting In the Right Direction: Helping Pre-Adoptive Couples Make Sound Decisions (Joe Gerber, Loving Shepherd Ministries) -
Breakout Session 3: 4/30/2009 3:15PM - 4:15PM - Loving the Orphan – A Journey of Hope and Faith (Emily Chapman Richards, Shaohannah's Hope) -
Breakout Session 4: 5/1/2009 10:45AM - 11:45AM - Getting in the Way of Trouble: What Every Church Should Know When Intervening in the lives of Foster Children & Families (Chris Padbury, Project 1:27) -
Breakout Session 5: 5/1/2009 1:45PM - 2:45PM - NEW: Christian Adoption Agencies' Rights of Conscience in Placement Decisions (Brian Raum, Alliance Defense Fund Legal Counselor & Kelly Rosati, Sr. Director, Sanctity of Human Life, Focus on the Family) -
Breakout Session 6: 5/1/2009 3PM - 4PM - The Challenges and Changing Landscape of International Adoption (Brian Luwis, America World Adoption & Bill Blacquiere, Bethany Christian Services) -

And what I am sending John to:
Breakout Session 1: 4/30/2009 11AM - 12PM - Unleashing the Home: God’s Answer for Vulnerable Children (Dave Anderson, Safe Families) -
Breakout Session 2: 4/30/2009 2PM - 3PM - Accountability, ECFA and Christian Alliance for Orphans (Dan Busby, ECFA) -
Breakout Session 3: 4/30/2009 3:15PM - 4:15PM - Loving the Orphan – A Journey of Hope and Faith (Emily Richards, Shaohannah's Hope) -
Breakout Session 4: 5/1/2009 10:45AM - 11:45AM - Mobilizing the Local Church to Serve Children in Foster Care (Tom Lukasik, 4KIDS of South FL) -
Breakout Session 5: 5/1/2009 1:45PM - 2:45PM - The Financial Challenge of Adoption & How the Church Can Respond (Wendy Cosby, Shaohannah’s Hope; Jason Kovacs, ABBA Fund; Andy Lehman, Lifesong) -
Breakout Session 6: 5/1/2009 3PM - 4PM - Effective Strategies for Partnering with the Local Church (Jeff Walshauser, Christ Chapel Bible Church) -

5/2/2009 - Visit old friends in the Dallas area and process all we have just learned before returning home to chaos once again! :)

5/3/2009 - Return home to implement all we learned and impact the orphan crisis with the Kingdom of God!

drum roll please......

I am going to the Orphan Summit at Irving Bible Church! I am so stoked! Nothing could have made my day more! I thought I had already missed it, but my friend Jody set me straight! I have tried all day to register but between calls from the Ambassador and getting ready for my meeting with my Congressman tomorrow, I haven't had a chance. So right now, at 11:30 pm, when I should be in bed, I am going to pick my break out sessions! John is going with me. We need a weekend away... and I need him to go to the sessions I can't attend!

There are TONS of sessions on forming an adoption/foster ministry at your church. This is something that we were not allowed to do at our old church, but leadership of our new church seems to be open to...if you are reading this..Hint..Hint! :)

Seriously, though, I know this will be much needed encouragement and contacts to keep trekking on this journey that literally wears me out on a daily basis! Meeting with other Christians who have a passion for hurting children...here and over seas...will be a dream come true!

Off to register so that maybe I can get some sleep tonight! :)

I wonder if any reps from Save the Children will be there....hmmmmmmm........