Running Through My Mind

• For me, Memorial Weekend normally marks the beginning of Summer.  It feels a little less "Summery" this weekend due to the fact I thought we'd all be together as a family by now, BUT it still feels like Summer.
• My daughter is picking up our family room right now and saying, "You have to clean up if you want to get something to eat."  Funny.
• I watched the King's Speech this past weekend.  It's a moving film with some great acting.
• We're in the midst of re-dreaming trying to tackle the high school to young adult transition as a ministry.  In my opinion it is the most complex, yet crucial transition.  We have many more questions than answers with this all.  We're leaning in and seeking to think outside the box.
• Everyone keeps asking when we think we'll be heading to Uganda.  All we know is soon.  If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I would have guessed we'd be there bay now.  Now, I really think we'll be going by the end of next week.  I'm really hoping we'll be heading out this weekend. 
• It's so weird, although this wait between trips has been tough, I can't believe May is almost over.

Praying For Our Adoption: Waiting on a Passport

We received word on Tuesday that things were progressing well in filing the necessary paperwork.  The application for a passport has been submitted.  The passport looks to be the final thing we need before we are able to travel back. 

We were hoping and praying we would receive news today that all was in place and we could plan our trip for early next week.

Didn't happen.  Nothing will happen in Uganda over the weekend and we will hear nothing from Eugene, Oregon till Tuesday.  As we near a full month since being back, we find ourselves longing to get back.  Patience is thin.  Trite sayings (it will all work out in the end) and Christian cliches (It's all in His timing) are more annoying than helpful (just a little brutal honesty there).

We wait.  We struggle.  We trust.

Pray for our son.  Pray he is well loved and healthy. 
Pray for patience.
Pray for a passport.

Praying for Our Adoption: Court Orders Complete!

I sent an email to HOLT assuming we were heading into the weekend with no progress (it was9:00 p.m. in Uganda).  30 seconds later my phone rang.  It was our contact from HOLT letting us know good news.  The Court Orders were completed!

From here, the staff in Uganda staff has three steps to complete.

Get one more letter from a Ugandan government branch..
Get a birth certificate.
Get a passport.

There is a chance these could all be completed next week.  We are praying that will be the case.

By the way, this order is what makes us OFFICIAL GUARDIANS of our son.  Although he's been "ours" in our minds and heart for a while, this is the significant legal step.

BOO YA!

Praying For Our Adoption: Update to Say there's No Update

We have no court orders completed yet.  They were supposed to be done last Friday, but have been delayed.  We've been told that it hasn't been uncommon for these orders to be delayed up to a week.  There are about 3 more steps that have to happen after the court orders before we can travel.  None of those steps can be sought until the court order is in place.

As it is currently 10:30 p.m. in Uganda, we know nothing will happen today.  As you head off to sleep tonight and any night till you hear otherwise, would you join us in petitioning the Almighty God to calm the storms and make clear the path for the court orders to be completed?  Also, pray for us, that we will keep His perspective.

As we pray for action, we also wait upon God's timing.

Where I Want to Be

I feel like my worship/prayer life is borderline hypocritical.

I tend to cringe and have a little battle in my mind and heart when I'm challenged by a worship leader who says, "Only sing this if you really mean it." The reason being that more times than not, I find my prayers to be, "God, I'm struggling to, but here's what I want to do for you."  I find the attitude in the songs I sing to be, "God, I'm not quite there yet, but this is where I want to be."

My wife recently had a conversation with a student during a worship session (we were singing songs together) where she just seemed unengaged/ emotionally dead.  The gal told Janelle, "I can't sing these songs because I don't mean them."  My wife, as only she can do, helped the gal unpack her thoughts and that statement.   This gal was at a bit of a stalemate in her walk with Jesus.  She'd let some areas of her life slip, and she was feeling terrible about it.  Janelle encouraged her to take up a different attitude as she sang that night.  She gave her permission to sing, not about where she currently was, but for where she wants to be.

Currently, this song fits that mold for me.  God, I sing this song not because I'm there, but because it's where I want to be...

Praying For our Adoption: Calling Prayer Warriors - "Jesus, Calm the Storms"

We're currently reading through the Jesus Storybook Bible at bedtime with Katylynn.  It's a great book that came recommended by Jon McCallon (JH Pastor at SouthEast Christian Church).  It's a fantastic book that takes many stories throughout scripture and points toward Jesus.  As we've walked through the stories, there have been several times I've been moved or challenged by the presentation of the stories.

Tonight was one of those nights.  We're currently into the New Testament stories. We read about the moment where Jesus calmed the storms.  The following section caused me to pause:

Jesus stood up and spoke to the storm.  "Hush!" he said.  That's all.

And the strangest thing happened... The wind and the waves recognized Jesus' voice. (They had heard it before, of course -- it was the same voice that made them, in the very beginning).  They listened to Jesus and did what he said.

We've got several storms and potential storms as we await permission to travel back to bring our boy home:

• There was supposed to be a significant court report filed Friday, but due to some backup in the system it did not happen.  This report has to be filed before we can move forward.  
• Once that report is filed, there are two other key steps that need to happen.  These steps have a bit of a tenuous history as far as timing as well.
• There are some political demonstrations scheduled for tomorrow.  These demonstrations have been going since April and have had their share of violence surrounding them.  There is tension in the country.  That tension feels like it could be escalating.
• There was a strike by the lawyers in the country two weeks ago that shouldn't effect our process, yet it adds to the storms.
• Airline Ticket prices are skyrocketing.  We can't purchase till we have a date.  Short notice will likely be happening which will take them up even more.

Ultimately, these "storms" leave room for us to be uneasy, fearful, and yearning to get back quickly.  I'd be lying to say I haven't moments where I wonder if Jesus has been sleeping on us.   I refuse to live in that mindset, yet tonight, I was moved to simply ask Jesus to SPEAK and calm the storms so we can move quickly.  

Would you join in praying humbly yet boldly that Jesus would speak into the storms?  Pray specifically...

• That a court order would be filed in the next 48 hours.
• That the next two meetings would happen by the end of this week.
• That there will be peaceful demonstrations.
• That we will be with our little guy before Memorial Day Weekend.

As an added AWESOME moment tonight, I explained (as well as I could to a 3 1/2 year old) to Katylynn the metaphorical picture of storms surrounding us bringing Jr. home.  I asked her if she wanted to pray with me.  She said yes.  I asked her what she wanted to pray.  She said, "Jesus, please don't let there be any more strikes in Uganda."  The kid is listening and comprehending, and I'm grateful for the faith-filled prayer of a child.

Adoption Update: Still Waiting

A couple hours ago I posted an update saying we would be heading back to Uganda May 17.  Well, we just received a call with a major curve ball letting us know we will not be returning that date.  It doesn't involve any danger or problems with the process.  It really involved a significant miscommunication.

We're trusting God, and believing we will be back in Uganda before the end of May.

KP Transformation, Haiti Night, & Ripples

Last night was special.  Janelle, Katylynn & I had the opportunity to travel to Keller Park Church in South Bend to be a part of Haiti Night.  Kory and Ali Lantz have been living in the Keller Park neighborhood for the past year and a half seeking to be a part of a movement to see the area transformed for the sake of Christ.  One key avenue has been through the ISI group they have formed.

ISI is for Iron Sharpens Iron, and the group is made up of teens from the area who have shown themselves to be respectful, reliable, and  ready for discipleship.  Last night, this group of teens put on a night to build awareness and raise money to help build homes for those affected by the Haiti earthquake.

The night was special to me for multiple reasons:

• Nothing pumps me up quite like teens seeking to be a part of God's global work.  The night did exactly that.  The teens chose the focus of the night and came up with a game plan on how to raise the money.
• Kory and Ali are two of NMC's own.  They are being spiritual multipliers.
• To see where several of these ISI kids are at in their life journey as compared to a year ago is fantastic. They've had their bumps and bruises, but ultimately they are moving forward in their life decisions and pursuit of Christ.
• Kory and Ali were somewhat inspired by what our students have been doing at NMC.  Geoff Cocanower (our Senior High Coordinator at NMC) was there last night, and I sent him a text stating, "You do realize this is another ripple of Kids In Need?  I mean, it's much bigger than that, but if our NMC students only knew..."

All in all, a fantastic night where I'm guessing $2,000+ was raised to build homes in Haiti.  Well done ISI kids, you advanced God's Kingdom last night.

Wiggling Bugs?

So, are these bugs moving?
Look at the picture as a whole, and they are.
Focus in on a single bug, and you will see that they are not moving and you are experiencing an optical illusion.

In the In-Between Times

As a little kid, my church had a youth pastor named Steve.  He played a mean acoustic guitar, which was near blasphemy to many in rural Indiana at that time. He had a pretty cool folk sound to him (it was the 80s, so it worked well). I have a feeling he was a master of making the most of a moment around the campfire.

Anyway, when he sang, I vividly remember two songs he sang in church. 

One was the The Crayon Box Song:
Red is the color of the blood that he shed.
Brown is for the crown they laid upon his head.
Blue is for royalty, 
Yellow is for the Christian... who's afraid to tell.

(been about 25 years since I've heard the song, and I can still picture him picking away and singing... power of music)

The second was a song called "Love Him in the Morning":

Love Him in the morning, when you see the sun arising,
Love Him in the evening 'cause He took you through the day,
And in the in-between time when you feel the pressure coming,
Remember that He loves you and He promises to stay.

When you think you have to worry,
'Cause the things you have to do,
Remember He's not in a hurry,
He's always got time for You,

I randomly woke up with this song in my head this morning.  I say randomly, but as I was singing it in the shower this morning (yes I sing in the shower) I hit the "And in the in-between times..." line and did pause.

These next weeks are a major in-between time filled with angst, anticipation, fears, and impatience.  I want to get back to Uganda and get my son home.  Yet, I will remember that He loves me.  I will remember His promises.  I will remember He is in control.  I can trust Him.

Home. Where from Here?

Home:
We had a fairly incident free flight back home.  The one exception was that security was EXTREMELY tight in Instanbul... we now wonder if it had anything to do with last night's events in Pakistan (or maybe it's always really high in Turkey.  Who knows?)  Anyway, Janelle progressively felt better as we flew.  We picked up a very wired but tired Katylynn and headed home.  She was extremely excited to see us this morning as she walked into our room. We're excited to see her again.


Where from Here?
We know we will be asked this question multiple times in the days to come.  The answer, we wait for permission to head back.  We know it will not happen before May 13 and should happen within a couple of weeks after that date.  At this point, the plan is for my mom and Katylynn to join us for trip 2 where we will do all visa work and meet with the U.S. Embassy.

Praying:
Here's some specific ways to be praying.

• For all necesarry paperwork to be completed quickly and thoroughly.
• For Jr.'s health.
• For the progress of relationship between us and Jr. to stick during the time seperated.
• For peace in Uganda:  Tensions are currently high in the country.  Although escalating tensions and violence could factor in our timing, this prayer is bigger than a prayer for our adoption.  This is a prayer for a Nation that has overcome some significant tragedy in it's more recent history.

Thank you to all for your continued support and prayers.