June/July Update - Huge!!!

Hi everyone, thanks for all of your prayers and support!  You must have all been praying a lot because wow, what a crazy past couple of months!  I’ll start off with our international adoption process… we got started on our paperwork, we had 8 classes to take online, and had to jump through lots of hoops.  We were getting close to having all of the paperwork done, we took a whole weekend away to finish our classes, and… This Monday we got the surprise phone-call of a lifetime!  Turns out that Raelyn’s birth mom just had a baby boy on July 4, and since we have his sibling we are the first ones who they asked to take him (also there is no one else in either family who is able).  We turned to the Lord for guidance and for what steps of faith he was calling us to take, and felt that it would be right to take him, so Tuesday evening we went to get him on the other side of the state this time.  He is a little peanut of a guy, we’re calling him Michael, he’s beautiful and healthy and transitioning well to our home.  I’m writing this as he’s napping on me :-) Even though we didn’t feel like we could do this Foster Care journey again we are all of a sudden embarking on it once more, and we know it will be worth it just like it was for Raelyn.  

Speaking of Raelyn, she is just over the moon with excitement, when we asked her if she wanted a baby brother she said "YES, and I want to hold him!”  And indeed she has been loving having a baby brother… she is a great big sister.  However we didn’t get back from the hospital until after 11pm when we picked him up, so that combined with the excitement, plus we moved Raelyn to another room and bed so we could use hers for the new baby, she has been off on her sleeping and has been a little difficult.  This is a huge transition for her so she needs prayers to be able to wind down and go to sleep without a big ordeal, to listen better, and to be a great big sis.  Also, today is her Gotcha day, one year ago today her adoption was finalized!  We are so blessed to have her as our daughter, and are praying that the process goes even faster with her brother, who we would love to adopt also.

Upward Challenge:  This new change has also presented a huge dilemma for me, as I have been working really hard to prepare to direct the Upward Challenge camp in North Carolina.  That is just over a week away.  We have 7 youth and 4 other leaders going, and I have been looking forward to it for a long time.  Now though, with a new little baby and getting everything reset in foster care, it just seems like the best thing to do is to stay home and to let the other capable people who I was going to co-direct the camp with take it over.  It has been a hard decision and I will miss it a lot but I am trusting that the Lord has it in his hands.  The other leaders need special prayers for wisdom and leading as they direct without me, I am sure they will do great.

Other updates: 

• Raelyn’s eye has healed wonderfully from her run in with the couch arm
• My transition into my new position at church has been going well, just a lot of things that still need to happen for me to be able to transition fully
• I’m still struggling with my stuffy sinuses, it’s now been almost 10 years since it started and I’d like it gone (without paying an arm and a leg or being on medicine the rest of my life) ie I need a healing miracle
• We had a wonderful vacation up north last month, the weather was great and the place we stayed was beautiful, right on Cathead bay in Leelanau Peninsula
• My playing the hammered dulcimer has progressed, though has been slowed by the adoption process and now having a new baby means I am already behind on sleep, so it’ll be hard to find time to play.  Also I was going to meet my HD role model Joshua Messick at camp but now will miss that too
• Prayer walking has been going wonderfully, we’ve had so many wonderful encounters and have been blessing the neighborhood with our prayers and love.  We’ve had up to 21 people go out one night!
• We’ve had more youth come into youth group, one returned from being gone over a year, and he recently accepted Jesus!
• We are still in dire need of more children’s workers at church, can’t seem to get ahead on that one
• We are praying for what do do without a worship leader, things are going well though
• Prayer Ministry is still full!

Thanks so much again for your prayers and support, we really covet them right now as we’re in yet another transition time.  We are feeling so blessed and so thankful, we give all praise to God for how he’s orchestrated everything!

Love,

Mark, Rebecca, Raelyn, & Michael