update on three of our boys.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirit is crushed." Psalm 34

Elijah, Enoch and Ephraim

Most of you know that we believe that the Lord is sufficient to heal our children. No person, despite their credentials, has the power to heal a broken heart.  And no philosophy of man will ever be able to "rescue" a crushed spirit.  

Three of our boy's have been rescued by the Lord.  Their spirits are no loner crushed and their hearts are no longer broken.  I share their stories in order that the Lord might be given glory.

Enoch (home since July, 2009):

Enoch was abandoned by his birth mother at the age of  6 months.  No one knows the circumstances surrounding his abandonment, but we gather that once finding out that her son had a life threatening disease, sickle cell anemia, she was not willing to care for him.  I say "not willing" as their are free recourses at the local government hospital for children with this disease.

Upon finding out about Enoch, we felt that we had to do something--he was not well at all and nearly died on two occasions.  We took things slowly until news came to us that a baby at the orphanage died of sickle cell (without many details we feared it was Enoch).  I began visiting Enoch on a weekly basis.  I would take a taxi into the city, wait for Enoch to wake up, change his diaper and cuddle/sing to him for 1+ hour. I did this every week for over a month.  Although Enoch began to slowly improve, we knew that he would only thrive once in a family. And to be honest, we weren't sure how long he would live.  

Enoch has been in our family for 10 months.  He is walking, talking, laughing and healthy.  He has only been sick once due to his sickle cell disease.  Enoch is such a delight and if often seen clinging to his daddy's leg.

Please pray that Enoch's body will be daily strengthened and that Zane and I would be filled with wisdom as we take care of his life long physical needs.

Ephraim (home since December, 2009):

Ephraim came to us through difficult circumstances. Without going into detail, Ephraim has been hurt more than any child we have brought home thus far.  He has experienced the death of his birth mother, five years of life in an institution, abandonment by a family and abuse.  

God had told us that Ephraim was to be our son many years ago.  We would have loved to bring him home when he was just a toddler. But, through a series of events, we were unable to.  As the years passed, we never stopped praying that the Lord would be close to Ephraim.

Ephraim is a delight. He is kind, compassionate and giving. He shows no signs of the abuse. We believe that the Lord has healed his mind.  And yet, we see that Ephraim still struggles with fear, fear that one day we may abandon him too.  He tries so hard to be perfect, this too is rooted in fear.

Please join us in prayer as we minister "God's freedom from fear" to Ephraim.

Elijah (home since Jan. 2010):

Elijah is the oldest child we have ever brought home, at seven years old.  He is the biological brother of our son Ethan (their mother was killed by war rebels in 2005 and their father died of an unknown illness in 2008).  Ethan grew up in an orphanage, Elijah grew up in the village. Village life proved to be difficult, especially considering that war was a daily threat. With war comes devastation.  Food became scarce.  Elijah slowly began to become ill due to severe malnourishment.  And once his father died, Elijah was alone. Relatives took Elijah in, but to them, he was second class, an orphan.

Through a series of events we found out about Elijah.  We knew what the Lord would have us to do, "He places the lonely in families."  It took time and much effort, but we were eventually able to bring Elijah home.  He came home sick and sacred.  He spoke no english and we spoke no Acholi.  But, love speaks volumes!

Elijah is an obedient and respectful boy.  He has grown healthy and strong.  He loves learning, is thriving in home education and most importantly he knows that he is loved.

Please pray with us as we go before the village elders, sharing our vision, which is really God's vision, to make Elijah a permanent part of our family.

I always vacillate over this blog--to keep it going or not.  I want it to be all about Jesus.  And I want to proclaim that our Lord is truly able to "heal the broken heart and rescue the crushed spirit."