Tuesday, December 30, 2008

God is on the move!

This is from our friend in Liberia. Please read to see what God is doing in Liberia.

Dear Friend:
God is on the move in Liberia.
Come join the nation in celebration! We are putting GOD on display & showing HIM for who He is. We will be declaring HIS glory throughout Liberia, and amongst the nations of the world. GOD’s Family is coming together for 3 Days & 3 Nights - At the SKD Sports Complex in Liberia.
You are invited to the “HOW BIG IS GOD” WACSN Praise Crusade at the SKD Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia on March 27, 28 & 29. If it is not possible for you to attend, please consider being a blessing by sponsoring one or more seats for others in Liberia wishing to attend. The Lord said in his word, if His (Liberian) people who are called by His Name humble themselves, and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, He will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.
We Are Expecting the LORD to Inhabit the Praises of HIS people, and to show HIMSELF strong by Renewing, Refreshing, and Restoring all who come with a genuine desire to be touched by GOD for HIS glory alone. The Liberian people are desperately in need of a new direction that is God centered.
Tickets for the Crusade are being sold for $10.00 on eBay at the link below. Watch the video and if you are led or touched to do something to help change this nation, please support our efforts in this Praise Crusade. I humbly ask that you forward this link and message to your friends and family and pray for the seats you buy, that God will move in a mighty way in the life of each person that sits in your purchased seat.
Under His Wings and in His Love
Maria Luyken
WACSN Praise Crusade

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

A prayer

I found this on Brandi's Living Freely blog. I wanted to share it with you. Merry Christmas!

Franciscan Blessing

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and wars so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world so that you can do what others claim cannot be done

to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

And so the wait begins

We have done everything we can do at this point. So now the hardest part of this journey begins "we wait" For those of you that know me, really know me, waiting is not something I like to do. Now, I don't mind waiting in line or in traffic but make me wait for something like, my children to come home and we have a problem. We were under the impression that Lydia and Leo would be joining us in March at the latest. We heard yesterday that Liberian adoptions are taking 9-12 months on their end. So, I sit here trying to see the good in this. I said "trying" This does give us more time to raise money. So some of the pressure is off there. If we leave in June or later to bring our children home then we can fly Delta and maybe some kind person will donate their frequent flier miles---hint hint :) This also gives me yet another chance to learn to trust in God's timing. After all He has proven Himself over and over and His timing is perfect.
So please pray for peace that surpasses all understanding for us.
Ami

Thursday, December 4, 2008

What costs so much?

I am sure most if not all of you are wondering why adoption is so expensive. We wondered too when we first started this process. Here is a break-down of costs:
Home Study fee:$1500. This is where we pay someone to come visit/inspect our home and interview us and write up a report stating that we can adopt. We have to go through approx. 6 interviews total and gather lots of paperwork.
US immigration fees: $1670
US adoption agency fees: $4600
International Agency fee:$10,200 (This includes orphanage support fees, Liberian government and court fees, etc.)
Travel: $8000 (Adrian and Ami) $15000 (Whole family) Yes, travel is almost half the cost of the total. We would love to be able to bring Johnny and Rachel with us to meet their siblings in Liberia. We want them to be able to share that memory with us, and to know firsthand what life is truly like in Liberia and what it looks like to live in an orphanage in an impoverished country.
Total: Approximately $32,970
If you have any questions or comments we welcome and encourage them.
Thanks for reading this!
Ami

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Join us in PRAYING

We got word last week that the orphanage that Lydia and Leo are at ran out of food last week. This made Thanksgiving bittersweet for me. I am thankful to God for all he has provided for us. I am also heartbroken over the thought of our children not having food. It is so hard to reconcile the two thoughts together. The adoption agency we are working with wired a thousand dollars to them to buy food and they shipped a container of food that should be there mid-December. Donations and sponsorships are down for the orphanage most likely due to the "economy".
Will you join us in praying for Hoover Village in Liberia? There are 400 children there along with the teachers/workers. Please pray for God's provision of food and clothing. Pray for Mr. Kofi. He is the director. Pray that his faith will be increased. Pray for Lydia and Leo. Pray that God will provide the money to get them home to us.
Please also pray for God to open people's hearts to adopting. YUP! He did it with us He can do it with anyone!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about "Life interrupted"! We were well on our way to an empty nest with an almost 18 year old and 13 year old.
God is so Faithful and so Good!
I am amazed by HIS GRACE!
James 2:5 "Listen, my beloved brothers has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love Him?"

I600-A

Our I600-A is in Nashville! It got there in record time and we are praying in faith it will get approved and arrive back in record time.