Hey everyone,
Sorry for the delay in bringing an update. Things around our house have been fairly hectic lately, and finding time to fill everyone in has been increasingly difficult.
Unfortunately, there is no new progress to report. There was hope of a pilot program starting that would get adoptions moving again, but the U.S. State Department felt the Guatemalan authorities weren't taking the process seriously enough, so they pulled out. God was not caught by surprise, however, and we have hope that He will continue to work all things out for His glory, which ultimately brings about the best for us.
This situation, as frustrating as it has been, has brought Hannah and I to a deeper understanding of the faithfulness of God. We were reflecting just the other day on how our attitudes have changed regarding this entire process. While we still feel like parents who are separated from their daughter and still believe that one day God will bring her home to the glory of Christ we've seemingly lost the sense of urgency that we once had. We still pray for God to protect her, to provide for her, and to bring her home, but our prayers have lost that sense of desperation. Our hearts ache for the day when our family will be united, but our focus has shifted. We've moved on, in a sense, to "the next big thing."
The realization of just how fickle we are brought about in us a spirit of thankfulness that in this respect our Savior is nothing like us!!! His is never passionate about us in one moment but not in the next. He doesn't pursue us for a while and then move on when we don't respond. He will never be less zealous about us then he is at this very moment! He is faithful when we are faithless. Even when we rebel against him, he pursues us. As often as Hannah and I fail as eventual parents and as followers of Christ, Jesus remains faithful to us. He will never move on to "the next big thing." He is, everyday, making us more like him, just as he promised.
So please, pray for us. Pray that, in a great display of his glory, God will bring our daughter home! Pray also that we would learn to be faithful parents and faithful Christ-followers.
For His Glory,
CMB
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Update
Hey All,
Just wanted to fill you in on the latest news from Guatemala. First of all, thank you so much for each and everyone of you who have been faithfully praying and interceding for us and for Colocha, I can feel the prayers! It has been a hard week, we heard from Guatemala this week and the news was not every encouraging. As you know, adoptions have been closed to Guatemala, but when we went down in July, there was talk of opening back up adoptions soon. We have been emailing back and forth with Hope of Life every three or four weeks, and last we had heard, the adoption rep from the organization was meeting with a Guatemalan official a couple of weeks ago. We wrote this past week, and we have heard that the US has pulled the plug on the pilot program to reopen adoption process between the two countries. Evidently, Guatemala wasn't taking the process seriously, so until they can come to some kind of agreement, we are stuck. Please pray that we can stay faithfully believing in God's direction for our family, but also for Colocha. When I think about her in the nutrition center waiting for someone to love her, it breaks my heart. Pray that God brings someone in her life, someone who can love on her. We are so thankful for each of you, for how you are partnering with us in prayer!
Hannah
Just wanted to fill you in on the latest news from Guatemala. First of all, thank you so much for each and everyone of you who have been faithfully praying and interceding for us and for Colocha, I can feel the prayers! It has been a hard week, we heard from Guatemala this week and the news was not every encouraging. As you know, adoptions have been closed to Guatemala, but when we went down in July, there was talk of opening back up adoptions soon. We have been emailing back and forth with Hope of Life every three or four weeks, and last we had heard, the adoption rep from the organization was meeting with a Guatemalan official a couple of weeks ago. We wrote this past week, and we have heard that the US has pulled the plug on the pilot program to reopen adoption process between the two countries. Evidently, Guatemala wasn't taking the process seriously, so until they can come to some kind of agreement, we are stuck. Please pray that we can stay faithfully believing in God's direction for our family, but also for Colocha. When I think about her in the nutrition center waiting for someone to love her, it breaks my heart. Pray that God brings someone in her life, someone who can love on her. We are so thankful for each of you, for how you are partnering with us in prayer!
Hannah
Monday, October 18, 2010
More Thoughts
Hey Everybody!
I was realizing today that those of you who read our blog haven't really heard from me yet, and I thought today would be a good day to start. Wow, what a crazy ride the last few months have been! When we headed down to Guatemala in July, Chris and I prayed that God would do something in our lives, something that would change us. It was interesting to see how God did that in us. Both Chris and I had been on trips before to Latin American coutries and had felt a connection and a burden for those places. This time, we didn't really feel that connection specifically to the country of Guatemala or the region of Zacapa, but to Colocaha instead. When I first saw her, she caught my eye across the nursery, a cute little girl that was looking at me with big, sad brown eyes. I went over and picked her up and as they say, the rest is history. She stole my heart, plain and simple. She was so hungry for someone to love her, and for a blip in time that week, it was me. As the week progressed, so did my burden for this little girl. There were other children that I held, but none that even came close to her. By Wednesday afternoon, I started wondering if maybe God had more in store for us and Colocha. When I approached Chris about it, it was amazing to see how God had been working the same thoughts in him. Friday afternoon, we went down to the rescue center and spent some time praying with Colocha and asking for God's guidance for us. We left that day, not sure when we would see her again, but trusting that God had a plan for us. You know, its a crazy feeling, putting your heart out there and exposing yourself to hurt, but knowing that God has a plan. It's been tough for me, battling to leave myself open and trust, even when it sometimes feels like there is no end in sight. Right after we got back, I was talking with my mom and she said something that continues to resound in my mind when I am discouraged. She said, "Hannah, don't you think that the God of the universe could open up adoptions for just a moment in time for one little girl? He's God, He can do anything!" Continue to pray for us, pray for us to keep trusting, to not give up and most of all that Colocha can come home to us soon.
Hannah
Friday, October 15, 2010
Update
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for all your prayers & encouragement during this exciting yet trying season in our lives! Your support means the world to us.
Over the recent weeks and months it has been increasingly difficult to look at pictures, to share our story, even to beg God to move in this situation without feeling discouraged. For myself especially the lack of any visible progress has caused a great deal frustration. Our hearts yearn to be united with this little girl and every moment that passes without her here only makes the frustration & anxiety worse.
I can't help but feel, however, that this isn't the way we should respond. We proclaim to believe in a all-powerful, benevolent, sovereign God yet when things don't work out the way we want them to we become dejected and depressed. Pray that God would remind us daily that He is working all things out for His glory and then for our good. Pray that our faith will be strengthened during this time. Pray that we would have the strength to pursue God in prayer daily. God bless
- CMB
Thank you so much for all your prayers & encouragement during this exciting yet trying season in our lives! Your support means the world to us.
Over the recent weeks and months it has been increasingly difficult to look at pictures, to share our story, even to beg God to move in this situation without feeling discouraged. For myself especially the lack of any visible progress has caused a great deal frustration. Our hearts yearn to be united with this little girl and every moment that passes without her here only makes the frustration & anxiety worse.
I can't help but feel, however, that this isn't the way we should respond. We proclaim to believe in a all-powerful, benevolent, sovereign God yet when things don't work out the way we want them to we become dejected and depressed. Pray that God would remind us daily that He is working all things out for His glory and then for our good. Pray that our faith will be strengthened during this time. Pray that we would have the strength to pursue God in prayer daily. God bless
- CMB
Friday, October 1, 2010
Update
Dear Friends,
Over the past few months we've remained in contact with the wonderful people at Esperanza de Vida, and here's what we've learned:
Currently, U.S. adoptions from Guatemala are closed. Some may see this as a barrier, but we see it as another way for our great God to show us how awesome and glorious He is! As you pray and ask God to open this door, remember it won't be the craziest thing He's ever done :)
Esperanza de Vida has done some digging into "Colocha's" background. What we've learned so far is that she was abandoned soon after her birth. She has no birth records, no known family members, no legal name; technically she doesn't even exist. "Colocha" is the nickname given to her by the staff (it means "curly headed" or "curly top"). Now they have to petition the Guatemalan government to grant her legal birth status/citizenship, then declare her abandoned, then declare her eligible for adoption.
We've also learned within the last few days that the adoption representative for Hope of Life has a meeting with government officials this week. So pray that God would move and work in a way that brings glory to His name!
Please, pray for us during this time! Pray that God teach us to trust Him during this process and pray that He would open doors. We'll keep all of you posted
-CMB
Over the past few months we've remained in contact with the wonderful people at Esperanza de Vida, and here's what we've learned:
Currently, U.S. adoptions from Guatemala are closed. Some may see this as a barrier, but we see it as another way for our great God to show us how awesome and glorious He is! As you pray and ask God to open this door, remember it won't be the craziest thing He's ever done :)
Esperanza de Vida has done some digging into "Colocha's" background. What we've learned so far is that she was abandoned soon after her birth. She has no birth records, no known family members, no legal name; technically she doesn't even exist. "Colocha" is the nickname given to her by the staff (it means "curly headed" or "curly top"). Now they have to petition the Guatemalan government to grant her legal birth status/citizenship, then declare her abandoned, then declare her eligible for adoption.
We've also learned within the last few days that the adoption representative for Hope of Life has a meeting with government officials this week. So pray that God would move and work in a way that brings glory to His name!
Please, pray for us during this time! Pray that God teach us to trust Him during this process and pray that He would open doors. We'll keep all of you posted
-CMB
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Dear Friends & Family,
Thanks so much for stopping by! It means so much to us that you would take time out of your day to stop and read about what God is doing in our lives. He has always been so good to us, and our hope is that as you read our posts and stay up to date about what is going on in our world you would be encouraged to pursue Him with passionate, reckless abandon.
In July we had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala with the first ever overseas mission team from Finchville Baptist. We were honored to go and felt very strongly that God was going to use this trip to expand not only our church's vision for what He could accomplish through us, but also what He wanted to do through Hannah and I as a family. In prayer we submitted our lives and our plans to His will and asked Him to make them His own. We believe that He has done just that!
One of the things we were able to do while in Guatemala was to visit the nutrition/rescue center at Esperanza de Vida (Hope of Life; the organization our church partnered with). Malnutrition in this area is a huge problem; many children aren't even named until the parents are certain they will have enough food for their child to survive. What Hope of Life has done is to create a center where malnourished, deformed, disabled, adandoned and other at-risk children can be provided with food, shelter, and medical care. After our tour of the facility several members of our team stayed behind to simply play with some of the children. It was during this time that Hannah and I met little "Colocha."
Out of every group of children, there's always at least one who goes unnoticed. As Hannah was walking through the main room where most of the children were, she just happened to notice this little girl lying in her crib. She picked her up, and spent the next few hours sitting and talking with other team members with this little girl in her lap. We knew nothing about her background, her condition or even her name; we simply knew that she and Hannah got along great!
Every time we returned to the nutrition center, I noticed Hannah spending more and more time with her. Being the perceptive husband that I am (if you know me then you would know why that's humorous), on our second-to-last night I asked Hannah what the deal was with the curly-headed little girl. She responded that she wasn't sure, but she felt God was trying to speak to her. Figuring that it was probably about this little girl, we started asking some of the staff about her background. It was only then that we learned her heart breaking story.
This gorgeous little baby, who is somewhere around a year old, has been at Hope of Life almost her entire life. She was abandoned there at probably only a few days old with nothing- no name, no records, nothing. In the entire time she's been at Hope of Life, not one family member has ever been to see her. She is the child that seemingly always get overlooked.
On our last night in Guatemala Hannah and I went back to the nutrition center (with a few other team members) to visit her one last time. We spent time holding her and playing with her- her favorite game was to lean in close to my face and then slap me as hard as she could! Before we left we laid her back in her crib and decided to pray for her as a family. We asked that God would bless her and protect her, and that He would show us how we could serve her. We now know that that pray changed the course of our lives.
We felt, in that moment, that God was revealing his will to us. We both knew that God was calling us to step out on faith and begin the process of adopting this little girl. Later that night, as we were sharing what God was revealing to us, one of the Liberty University students who was doing a summer internship with Hope of Life let us in on a little secret. She said that she had never seen "Colocha" bond with anyone like she did with Hannah, so she asked God if He would lead us to adopt her. Liz, He answered that prayer :)
We know that the road ahead for us and for her will be a long, hard and expensive one. This process could take years, thousands of dollars and countless sleepless nights, but we have to believe that through the power of God His promise to us will come to fruition. She may have been forgotten by the world, but not by our heavenly Father.
So please, friends, pray for us during this time. Pray that God will give us the faith to trust Him, faith to rely on Him, faith to believe that He is not restrained by bank accounts or international politics. As we here anything we will let you know.God Bless
-CMB
Thanks so much for stopping by! It means so much to us that you would take time out of your day to stop and read about what God is doing in our lives. He has always been so good to us, and our hope is that as you read our posts and stay up to date about what is going on in our world you would be encouraged to pursue Him with passionate, reckless abandon.
In July we had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala with the first ever overseas mission team from Finchville Baptist. We were honored to go and felt very strongly that God was going to use this trip to expand not only our church's vision for what He could accomplish through us, but also what He wanted to do through Hannah and I as a family. In prayer we submitted our lives and our plans to His will and asked Him to make them His own. We believe that He has done just that!
One of the things we were able to do while in Guatemala was to visit the nutrition/rescue center at Esperanza de Vida (Hope of Life; the organization our church partnered with). Malnutrition in this area is a huge problem; many children aren't even named until the parents are certain they will have enough food for their child to survive. What Hope of Life has done is to create a center where malnourished, deformed, disabled, adandoned and other at-risk children can be provided with food, shelter, and medical care. After our tour of the facility several members of our team stayed behind to simply play with some of the children. It was during this time that Hannah and I met little "Colocha."
Out of every group of children, there's always at least one who goes unnoticed. As Hannah was walking through the main room where most of the children were, she just happened to notice this little girl lying in her crib. She picked her up, and spent the next few hours sitting and talking with other team members with this little girl in her lap. We knew nothing about her background, her condition or even her name; we simply knew that she and Hannah got along great!
Every time we returned to the nutrition center, I noticed Hannah spending more and more time with her. Being the perceptive husband that I am (if you know me then you would know why that's humorous), on our second-to-last night I asked Hannah what the deal was with the curly-headed little girl. She responded that she wasn't sure, but she felt God was trying to speak to her. Figuring that it was probably about this little girl, we started asking some of the staff about her background. It was only then that we learned her heart breaking story.
This gorgeous little baby, who is somewhere around a year old, has been at Hope of Life almost her entire life. She was abandoned there at probably only a few days old with nothing- no name, no records, nothing. In the entire time she's been at Hope of Life, not one family member has ever been to see her. She is the child that seemingly always get overlooked.
On our last night in Guatemala Hannah and I went back to the nutrition center (with a few other team members) to visit her one last time. We spent time holding her and playing with her- her favorite game was to lean in close to my face and then slap me as hard as she could! Before we left we laid her back in her crib and decided to pray for her as a family. We asked that God would bless her and protect her, and that He would show us how we could serve her. We now know that that pray changed the course of our lives.
We felt, in that moment, that God was revealing his will to us. We both knew that God was calling us to step out on faith and begin the process of adopting this little girl. Later that night, as we were sharing what God was revealing to us, one of the Liberty University students who was doing a summer internship with Hope of Life let us in on a little secret. She said that she had never seen "Colocha" bond with anyone like she did with Hannah, so she asked God if He would lead us to adopt her. Liz, He answered that prayer :)
We know that the road ahead for us and for her will be a long, hard and expensive one. This process could take years, thousands of dollars and countless sleepless nights, but we have to believe that through the power of God His promise to us will come to fruition. She may have been forgotten by the world, but not by our heavenly Father.
So please, friends, pray for us during this time. Pray that God will give us the faith to trust Him, faith to rely on Him, faith to believe that He is not restrained by bank accounts or international politics. As we here anything we will let you know.God Bless
-CMB
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