Waiting

Jonathan is proctoring the SAT at school today, and as I sit here reading my book, drinking my coffee, and enjoying this quiet Saturday morning, I can't help but feel a little lonely. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE "introvert time," but I can't help but think how nice it will be to have a little one in the house someday and to wish that that day was today.

Now...before anyone offers me their children to babysit (which I do enjoy), let me be clear that I do not wish for A little one to be here with me, but for MY little one to be here with me. I long for the day when I get woken up by little feet running in to our room or a small voice calling from a crib, wanting nothing more than to be held by mommy. I long for the day when we can make breakfast together and sit down for some mommy snuggling time, maybe reading books, watching something, or just talking and enjoying each other's company. I long for the day when we can get all dressed up and go out into the world to run some errands or have some adventures. Being a mom will not always be fun, of course, but I am looking forward to all of it, even the hard/yucky/sad stuff.

But here's the thing...when you are adopting, you have NO IDEA when "that day" will be. 

We are now number four on our agency's waiting list for Uganda, and while we are SO EXCITED to be closer and closer to our little one, when well-meaning person after well-meaning person asks us, "So...what does that mean?" what I say ever-so-politely is that we are not sure how long the wait will be and that we have to wait for a child in our age range, etc, and that although we are number four it doesn't necessarily mean that we will get our referral after the other three families...blah, blah, blah (insert adoption information here).

But what I really want to say is that it means that I have NO EARTHLY IDEA when I will get to become a mother, what gender/size/season of clothes and other items I should start buying or even if I should start buying anything at all, how much longer I will be working as a teacher, or even when I will get to jump on a plane to Uganda to meet and hold our little one, only to have to leave them again and then come back to FINALLY be a forever family. 

What I want to say is...it means that waiting is stinkin' hard!

I am a HOPELESS planner, and I REVEL in knowing what, when, how, and why things are going to happen. For almost every major decision in my life, I rested in knowing that it was for reasons X, Y, and Z (after much prayer) and that it would be for X amount of time, money, energy, etc. This is how I operate, and this is something that God is ever-so-gently helping me work on.

Trust in uncertainty has never been one of my strong points, and this adoption has certainly brought this to the forefront of my mind. As I sit here dreaming, longing, praying (and pinning on Pinterest), God is saying to me, "Daughter, I know when you will meet your child. I know the end of your story, and I know that it all works out in the end for MY glory. Silly Laura, you trust me with eternity. Why is it so hard for you to trust me in this temporal life? Take a moment and really read and contemplate the truth in scriptures like...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Prov. 3:5-6

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps. Prov. 16:9

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book

 before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7

I love you, child, and I know that waiting is hard, but trust me, it will all be worth it."

So...while I still enjoy finding things to occupy my time while we wait (There can NEVER be enough cute ideas on my "Bringing Home Baby" Pinterest board!), I am also trying to remember that in this time of waiting, God is shaping me into the mom that He wants me to be. A mom that is patient, understanding, loving, forgiving, and selfless; a mom who trusts God with her future and the future of her family.

So...while I might not know when I get to become a mom, thanks be to God that while I wait, I can work on becoming the Godly mother that God has called me to be.

~Laura~

A Great Start to a Great Year

Hello all!

Jonathan and I are back in Korea, and the new school year is in full swing! The new staff is already forming "Unity in Community," and we have some GREAT new programs to take ICS-P to the next level this year. 

As a staff, we started off the year by traveling to Vivaldi Park Resort in BEAUTIFUL Seoraksan. It was our first time so far northeast, and it was breathtaking! It reminded us a lot of Guatemala, and the time in the mountain air did us both a world of good. We even took a ride in a "gondola" up through the area to take in the views. Check it out!

Because we are a family without kids (for now!), we shared a two-bedroom suite with another couple, the Dan's. We love them! They love board games, and we have really enjoyed getting to know them.  They are also from Oklahoma, which automatically makes them cool. :-)

Our room was very, um...Korean. For example, one bedroom had two single beds, and the other bedroom had...well...nothing! In the closet, we found some Korean "yos," which are fluffy floor mats that Koreans typically sleep on. The Dan's were great sports, and they stacked them all up and slept on the floor. Check it out!

The first night was Jonathan birthday, and we celebrated with some games!

We were renewed and refreshed as we worshipped with our fellow workers for Christ here in Korea. We had time for individual reflection, group discussion, several sessions about the importance of "Unity in Community," and time for relaxation and fun!

We ended the retreat by projecting the names of every student, teacher, spouse, and family member from our school and asking, "Who will stand in the gap for them?" It was an amazing experience to see teachers stand to their feet and call out prayers for each and every student at our school, pledging to stand in the gap for them and seek to show them Christ each day. What a blessing it is to work with such like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ!

May God bless our staff, our students, and our new school year 

as we seek to serve the Lord at ICS-P!

Laura

Why Uganda?

"We can make our plans, 

but the Lord determines our steps." 

Proverbs 16:9 NLT

We recently made the decision to pursue adoption from the country of Uganda. We have had nothing but positive responses from our friends and family about our decision, but many people have asked us, "Why Uganda?"

Well, in short, the answer is that sometimes God points in the right direction by closing doors along the way.

To be honest, when we first began the process of adoption, we did not have the slightest idea where God wanted us to adopt from, and we didn't feel a strong pull toward any country in particular. We believe that an orphan from one country needs a loving, Christian home just as much as an orphan from another, and we knew that we would love our child no matter what country God eventually called us to adopt from. We prayed and asked God to make it clear what agency He wanted us to work with and what country He wanted us to adopt from, and God in His faithfulness answered our prayers!

Our path to Uganda started by choosing our adoption agency, "Small World." We have several friends here in Korea who have adopted or are in the process of adoption, and they had nothing but good things to say about this agency. Small World has a separate program and program director dedicated to helping those living abroad who wish to adopt. Adopting while living abroad presents many unique challenges, and it was comforting to know that this agency has people on the ground in many different countries and staff who know the ins and outs of adopting while living in another country.

Agency chosen...prayer answered!

After choosing an agency, we reviewed the information about each country that Small World works with. We are not yet eligible to adopt from some of the countries because of our age and/or how long we have been married, so that narrowed our search right away.

More doors closed...more prayers answered!

Once we narrowed our research to the countries in which we are currently eligible to adopt and those to which we feel personally called, our decision was down to two, Lesotho and Uganda.

We researched each of the two programs, made pros and cons lists, prayed, prayed some more, talked with friends, prayed some more, and waited on God.

Although Small World's program in Lesotho is a wonderful program, we would have been looking at a possible wait of 2-3 years before our child came home, and because we decided (after MUCH prayer) to start our family through adoption, we did not feel that this was the best option for us.

Another closed door...another prayer answered!

And so, after MUCH prayer and consideration, we decided on the country of Uganda!!

Although Uganda is not a Hague Country and there are still some unknowns as far as time in country, number of trips, and the re-adoption process once we land stateside, we know that we serve a God who already has this figured out. We (namely me!) believe that God is calling us to trust Him, even though we do not have a ready-made, foolproof outline of what our adoption process will look like. God has already chosen the child that will join our family, and He is directing us to him or her (or them!) by closing doors and calling us have faith that He will work everything out in His timing.

"You can make many plans,

but the Lord's purpose will prevail."

Proverbs 19:21 NLT

~Laura~

Our First Trip to Africa!

And no...it wasn't for our adoption. :-)

Over spring break, we traveled to Ghana to visit a sister NICS school, American International School. It was our first trip to Africa, and it was an amazing experience!

We spent time visiting and observing various classes and talking with teachers and administrators about some great ideas that we plan to bring to our school next year. That might sound boring to you, but that stuff really gets me fired up! We came back refreshed, recharged, and ready to tackle the end of the school year! I got SO MANY great ideas while we were there, and I am excited to get them ready for next year!

We also spent a day visiting the coast and touring the slave castles at Cape Coast and Elmina. It was nice to see more of Ghana outside of the big city of Accra, and it reminded us A LOT of Guatemala in many ways (tigo signs and tampico...to name a few). The laid back culture and lifestyle of Ghana definitely made us homesick for Guatemala.

And...even though our child will not come from Ghana, I could see the dream of him or her (or them!) in the faces of the little children, especially when I had the chance to visit the school's PK-3 class and spend time with a young couple who recently adopted two Ghanaian babies from a local orphanage.

What a blessing it was to spend time in that beautiful place with so many wonderful people.

Fourth quarter...here we come!

~Laura~

Our Home Study Visit

I read a book that said,

"A home study is not a house study. It's a people study."

Nevertheless, this past week I spent everyday after school relentlessly scrubbing, cleaning, and organizing our house to get ready for our adoption social worker to visit. And, I must say, I have never been prouder of the way that our home looks. As we say in Kindergarten, "Good job, me!"

As our friends who have adopted or are in the process of adopting told us it would be, our home study was not at all scary. It was actually very enjoyable.

Yes, our social worker wanted to see that our home is a safe environment in which to bring a child. However, her visit was DEFINITELY not a white glove test of how well I scrubbed every inch of our tile grout with a toothbrush (because only crazy people do that...right???).

We enjoyed our weekend talking about the adoption process ahead of us, learning more about the various countries from which we are looking to adopt, and learning more about bonding and attaching with our child and celebrating their unique adoption story once he or she (or they!) comes home.

We finished our weekend empowered to move ahead with the paperwork process and on to the next stage of this beautiful journey!


~Laura~

PS- To top it all off, thanks to friends in our Bible study group, we got to end our weekend with our new favorite activity...COUNTING CHANGE!

We have now received over $400 of donations in spare change! Check the thermometer often to see our fundraising and saving grow!

Diving In!

As most of you know, Jonathan and I recently started the process of international adoption. We have started our first fundraiser (see the post below), and we have been so humbled and blessed by your encouragement and support. We are very excited to announce that we surpassed our goal of 25 change collecting partners! We currently have 30 jars being filled, and several have already been returned and counted! Check out the adoption fundraising/saving thermometer to the right, and check back often to see it grow!

We were also recently assigned our adoption social worker, and we have received the MOUNTAIN of home study paperwork, online classes to take, books to read, and assignments to complete. It is overwhelming, but we rest in knowing that we serve a God who promised to always be with us and who is never surprised or rattled by our circumstances or worries. We know that every step we take is leading us to the child that He has already selected to join our family. Like the Bible says in Proverbs 19:21,

"Many are the plans in a person’s heart,

 but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails."

As we enter the appropriately named "paperwork gathering stage," it is very encouraging to know that we are being supported around the world by so many friends, and we ask you to continue to lift us up in prayer.

~Laura~

PS- If any of you see me around Songtan, feel free to hand me a nice hot cup of coffee and say, "Laura...

                                           

Got any change?

Hello all!

Jonathan and I had a wonderful first week back at school. Our students are energized and ready to learn, and we were very encouraged by being back at school with them.

We have also been wonderfully overwhelmed with encouragement from people all around the world who are voicing their support of our decision to pursue adoption. What a blessing it is to know that there are people all around the world praying for us and offering words of encouragement as we begin the journey to grow our family. It reminds me of the verse in Hebrews 10:24-25 that says, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

Now we are asking you to partner with us financially as we answer God's call to adopt.

This fundraiser is called "Change Starts With One" and it's SUPER simple. Just pick up one of these (super cute) jars from us, fill it up with your spare change, and give it back to us when it gets full!

Easy, right? 

It is my prayer that the message on the jar will remind you of two things. First of all, in the midst of living in a fallen, broken world, remember that it only takes one person doing one small thing to make a difference. One person taking God at His word and living it out can lead to positive, impacting change. One of my favorite Bible verses says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27) It sounds so simple, but God really can use one person living out their obedience to Him to change the world.

Secondly, I hope that this reminds you that the most important "change" that ever took place started and ended with one person. Jesus Christ changed eternity forever when He died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. We were dead in our sin, but His atoning death on the cross changed us by bringing us back into HIS family. In John 14:18, Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you," and we know that we serve a God who keeps His promises. What an amazing gift!

We have a selection of 25 large and small jars, and we are looking for 25 partners in Korea to start this fundraiser. Can you help??? Just let us know that you would like to partner with us, and we will bring you a jar!

This is NOT just for our Korea friends, however! Stateside, Guatemalan, and around-the-world friends, you can grab a jar and start collecting too! I can even email you the little label for your jar, if you would like.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and for partnering with us as we answer God's call to grow our family through international adoption!

God bless!

~Laura~

A Little R & R

Hello!

Jonathan and I returned from our trip to Thailand yesterday. Our trip was AMAZING!

We stayed at a place in Chiang Mai called Juniper Tree, which is a "home away from home" for missionaries in Asia. You can learn more about them at www.juniper-tree.org.

We met missionaries who are working in China, India, Mongolia, Thailand, Korea, and even some fellow NICS missionaries from YISS and ICS-Uijongbu. We met families with hometowns in the UK, Australia, and all across the US, including Richmond, VA and Tulsa, OK. We even met a family who adopted their daughter with Small World! It was so refreshing to hear about what God is doing across Asia and meet some new great people.

We kept busy some days and relaxed during others. We read lots of books and had lots of fun. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, check out these snapshots from our trip, and check facebook for more!

Here are some photos from my walk around Juniper Tree.

The middle house was ours, and it was lovely.

This was our walk to the dining hall everyday.

It was around 70-80 degrees everyday, and it was gorgeous!

This is where all of the families gather for meals.

bamboo for a fence...cool!

little soccer field

beautiful pool area

And then it was time for a little relaxing.

We were able to visit several temples in Thailand. 

They were BEAUTIFUL, but heartbreaking.

We also took a Thai cooking class. It was great!

The school grows their own herbs and vegetables to use.

Thai ginger is different, FYI. :-)

Then they took us to the local market for some more ingredients.

First they gave us a "welcome snack."

And then it was time to cook!

Jon's hot basil stir fry

My pad see ew stir fry

I made spring rolls for my appetizer.

Jon made green papaya salad.

Then we made curry powder...from scratch! It was HARD WORK!

Jon's green curry dish

My khao soi curry dish

We also visited the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.

Only one picture, though...too much to shop for!

We went on a dinner cruise down the river. 

It was beautiful!

We even got to visit the Tiger Kingdom 

and spend some time in the cages with the tigers!

It's almost our turn!!

Let's just say...I don't have a zoom lens.

Couple moment with our tiger friends.

Jonathan LOVED it!

So many possible captions for this one.

Yep...I did it too!

We went to a King Cobra show...Jonathan's idea.

Again...no zoom lens.

"cobra kiss"

We also had a great time at Maesa Elephant Camp!

We got to feed them.

And then they took a bath before their show.

...relaxin'

Then we played with the babies. This one liked Jonathan.

He placed that hat on my head.

Then it was time for their show.

They played soccer,

and threw darts,

and PAINTED!!

It was amazing!

Here is one of their paintings.

Job well done, elephant!!

Then we relaxed with some Thai iced tea (YYYUUUUUMMM), until...

It was our turn to RIDE!

On our last day, I got a massage. 

A perfect end to a perfect vacation.

We had a great trip, and we are ready to hit the ground running for our second semester serving the Lord at PICS!

~Laura~