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I think it’s awesome that there are so many funding sites online. There are thousands of GoFundMe and PureCharity sites, and these bless so many people. I think that most people have a desire to help others. Why do those pet commercials with Sarah McLaughlin singing in the background make so many people cry? Why do so many people read about people’s stories online and then give to these GoFundMe pages? This desire to help others comes from our creator! He has etched it on our hearts. Our God is a loving God, and He longs to help us, love us, and save us, and in turn, we long to do that for others.
There are 147 MILLION orphans in the world. There are MILLIONS of people that don’t have food or clean water or a home or any safety. It’s easy to feel guilt or hopelessness about this. Most of us will never be like Mother Theresa and help and inspire so many thousands of people. How do we overcome the feeling of being defeated and live our lives in a way that is kind and just and showing God’s loving mercy? Taking care of the orphan is more than an act of goodwill. It’s an act of obedience. This obedience may look differently for different people. For us, it is listening to God’s will for our family to commit to be a forever family to a little girl who doesn’t have a family to love and care for her. For you, this obedience may look different. But, God does call all of us to care for those who need it. I encourage you to experience the joy of answering God’s call and satisfying this God-given etching on our hearts by helping others! God takes these unfortunate situations, like abandonment, and he redeems them through our Lord Jesus Christ. The kids in orphanages in China have medical and various special needs, and they do not have parents to care and advocate for them. The reality is that many of them would die without medical care that they don’t always receive in their country. At the age of 13, if they still have not been adopted, they are “aged out” of the system and live on the streets. When I think about this, I feel hopeless. The fact is, I can’t adopt all of them. But, I can answer God’s call and protect, cherish, and love an orphan that otherwise would not have a family. I can teach my kids about the importance of showing God’s love in a real and tangible way. And, I can teach our daughter about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. God used adoption to free the Israelites through Moses, AND He used it is to save the world, as Joseph adopted Jesus as his earthly son. God truly does weave a lot of bad things together and make them beautiful. Our motto for our current project is “do for one what you wish you could do for millions”. I love this Andy Stanley quote. It gives us the answer to how we can overcome our hopelessness about the pain and suffering in the world. We can’t bring every orphan into our home, and we can’t help every widow (although we can pray for them all). But, we CAN bring one orphan into our home, and we CAN help this one widow in her home on October 10th. I know that you all WANT to help every widow and give every orphan a home. Although that may not be possible, it IS possible to do this for this one orphan and this one widow. Will you join with us and be obedient to God by being the hands and feet of Christ? Will you join me in being passionate for orphans and those in need in our community? Please visit our BothHands page to donate http://www.bothhands.org/project/lunde-219, or email me to join us on October 10th to help fix up a sweet woman’s home! Friends from our church are also adopting a little girl from Poland. They are raising money through a t-shirt sale to bring her home. If you want to support them, you can purchase a t-shirt here: https://www.bonfirefunds.com/bringherhome. Let’s make sure there are TWO less orphans in the world that need a home!
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On a sad, reflective day for our nation, we have good news in our adoption process. We are DTC (Dossier To China) today! That means that all of our paperwork that we have spent months collecting, authenticating, and mailing for approvals all over the place, is finally done. It is a huge relief, while also making this so much more real. We could hear news of our daughter in days, weeks, or months, and there is absolutely no way to determine our timeline. It is a huge exercise in trusting God’s timing! As the day we bring our daughter home gets closer and closer, we are praying for her health and her care and for our funds to come together. As a very Type A person, all of these uncertainties give me some major anxiety. As our paperwork leaves this country and brings us closer to our daughter on the fourteenth anniversary of 9/11, it is only fitting for us to reflect on Psalm 91:1, which says, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust”. We are obeying and trusting God’s call for our family. We are excited, and we are also terrified. We are terrified to make a wrong decision, and we are praying that God always makes His will clear to us about what child He has planned for us. We are terrified of the outstanding fees left to pay. We are terrified that our current fundraising projects are not working out. We are terrified that our daughter is lonely, sick, and scared in an orphanage over 7,000 miles away and there is nothing we can do but wait. Psalm 62:51 says, “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him”. Our hope is in Jesus, and we are waiting before him. We are praying for our daughter and our funds, and we are already thanking Him for the miracles He will do to bring her home to us. Would you pray with us? Pray for our nation, especially today, pray for our daughter, and pray for our funding. God will work miracles, and His timing is perfect!  |
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