Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Orphans in Ehtiopia

Abba Changes Everything




The opening paragraphs of Christianity Today‘s cover story on adoption and orphans, by Russell Moore (dean of Southern Seminary and author of Adopted for Life):
The creepiest sound I have ever heard was nothing at all. My wife, Maria, and I stood in the hallway of an orphanage somewhere in the former Soviet Union, on the first of two trips required for our petition to adopt. Orphanage staff led us down a hallway to greet the two 1-year-olds we hoped would become our sons. The horror wasn’t the squalor and the stench, although we at times stifled the urge to vomit and weep. The horror was the quiet of it all. The place was more silent than a funeral home by night.
I stopped and pulled on Maria’s elbow. “Why is it so quiet? The place is filled with babies.” Both of us compared the stillness with the buzz and punctuated squeals that came from our church nursery back home. Here, if we listened carefully enough, we could hear babies rocking themselves back and forth, the crib slats gently bumping against the walls. These children did not cry, because infants eventually learn to stop crying if no one ever responds to their calls for food, for comfort, for love. No one ever responded to these children. So they stopped.
The silence continued as we entered the boys’ room. Little Sergei (now Timothy) smiled at us, dancing up and down while holding the side of his crib. Little Maxim (now Benjamin) stood straight at attention, regal and czar-like. But neither boy made a sound. We read them books filled with words they couldn’t understand, about saying goodnight to the moon and cows jumping over the same. But there were no cries, no squeals, no groans. Every day we left at the appointed time in the same way we had entered: in silence.
On the last day of the trip, Maria and I arrived at the moment we had dreaded since the minute we received our adoption referral. We had to tell the boys goodbye, as by law we had to return to the United States and wait for the legal paperwork to be completed before returning to pick them up for good. After hugging and kissing them, we walked out into the quiet hallway as Maria shook with tears.
And that’s when we heard the scream.
Little Maxim fell back in his crib and let out a guttural yell. It seemed he knew, maybe for the first time, that he would be heard. On some primal level, he knew he had a father and mother now. I will never forget how the hairs on my arms stood up as I heard the yell. I was struck, maybe for the first time, by the force of the Abba cry passages in the New Testament, ones I had memorized in Vacation Bible School. And I was surprised by how little I had gotten it until now.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Money Goal

Hello to all,
According to most everyone we have talked to on the subject of adoption, it is a good idea to have around 50% of the needed funds raised before the adoption process begins. The funds are spent sporadically during the process as paperwork is finalized and international communication occurs. If 50% is not on hand, the adoption can be brought to a grinding halt, and our little child has to spend more time without a father or mother.

    The process can begin for Jenny and I on November 28th. Taking into account the amount of money we have saved, we need to raise $10,000 by Nov. 28th of this year.

   If God has led you to give, please don't wait until later in the process. Jenny and I will be applying for every grant available, which will greatly diminish the overall cost. But we need, at the very least, $10,000 by the end of November.

     You can help us out by donating directly at the top of this page (you might have to try the link a few times before the page displays correctly). You can also donate some items for our Garage Sale in October or stop by Oct 23rd 7am-12pm to check out the merchandise and by a few things you've been wanting. You can also send us a check by mail or purchase our Children's CD which will be released in October. (email me at chaseg@gethope.net if you need our address or would like a CD)

     We are leaving this in God's hands and trust that the needed funds will come soon. Please don't delay. (Or I'll be forced to put up a huge thermometer on this site and no one wants that...trust me...I'll do it...)

The Family of God

     I'm sitting at church now during our training dinner for all of our Life Group Leaders and other volunteers. As I looked out at the crowd I noticed something for the first time. I don't mean this in a rude manner, but the majority of our volunteers and our congregation is made up of upper middle class white men and women. The reason I think this though passed through my mind is because it doesn't nearly match up with the picture I read in Revelation this morning of "people from every tribe, nation, and tongue" joining together to worship our Lord at his second coming. Time and time again in the Old and New Testament we see God's heart for a diverse and multi-racial church. His great gospel that He has been proclaiming since the beginning of creation was put into place in order to join the diverse people of the world together under one banner. There is a reason He created white, black, and brown people. He loves diversity! How odd it must seem to Him to look upon our churches and see them divided by economic and racial factors.

     As we began the adoption process a few weeks ago I realized something. I am the last male "Gardner" alive that can pass on my family line. For generations, my family tree has been made up of southern white Americans. But there is a high probability that the Gardners of the future, the sprouting limbs and branches of our family tree, will be multi-racial and diverse. And I think that God rejoices in this. Israel was meant to be a blessing for all the nations of the earth, and that purpose is true of God's church today. And in a step of faith, Jenny and I are submitting our family, our very heritage, to His plan for His glory. Thousands of years from now, when I stand at the gates of heaven and welcome the generations that came from Jenny and I, I will be hugging and kissing black, brown, and tanned cheeks. And I think the angels will rejoice with me, in a small part, due to this diversity.

     Please continue to pray for me, Jenny, and little Reese and Rory as we step out on faith in order to accomplish something great for the Kingdom of God that we have neither the resources nor wisdom to accomplish on our own. I have a creeping suspicion that God is going to accomplish great things through this.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Clarification

Ha! It seems like we need to make a small clarification. The children pictured in our email / adoption letter and the children on the site are not pictures of our actual possible orphans. They are just some pictures we found off our adoption website. We haven't started the actual adoption process yet, but will receive actual photos of our little one in the coming months. Sorry about that. Thanks

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Why Adopt

Hi,

Chase and I have always said that we were open to adoption, but were never quite sure when or from where. Well, that all changed a month ago when 16 orphans from the Ukraine came to our church and community through a hosting program.  From the first moment I spent with them I felt that God was telling me to do something about this tremendous need.  As I drove home from church that night I prayed and called my husband and told him what I saw in those children.  In traditional Chase fashion he said "Lets do it!".  My best friend Laura Johnson had it exactly right when she said "It's been a whirlwind of a few weeks".  I have spent hours upon hours reading and researching to find the direction God wanted us to take.  While some would casually wait for direction, my new found passion for this drove me to hurry as if the very life of our soon to be adopted child was getting away from us.  I have also seen an incredible out pouring of pretty much everything from families to get those 16 Ukrainian orphans adopted and I have seen God work mightily as only He can to move hearts towards what I believe we all should be doing more of.  Why Ethiopia?  We chose this country because of the severe poverty, scarce medical treatment available, and vast number of orphans.  God gave us a special burden for this place and I believe we will be involved there long after our adoption is complete.  We simply don't have the funds to adopt but God has endless resources to help us!  These next couple of months will be a new step of faith for our family.  We have never tried to raise money for anything personal before.  I know God will provide with 100% of my heart.  In the meantime God has really pressed upon my heart to be faithful in the small things and the big things that He has already given us.  I would love to have your prayers and support through this process.  I will write to you soon!
Jenny Gardner

First Post!

Jenny and I recently decided to adopt from Ethiopia! More updates and how you can help are coming soon. Thanks and God Bless