It's Saturday after noon around 4:00. I'm so tired from hanging out at the "rastling" match for 2 days so I came home to take a nap. Needless to say, I can't sleep. It's 1:00 a.m. in Kabalagala, Africa where a big piece of my heart is now. I wake up in the night and I wonder if they are at school. I wonder if they are hungry. I wonder if they are cold. I wonder if they can even begin to comprehend how their life is going to change. Then, I remember what God whispered in my ear one day in November before I even knew about Joan and Derek. He said to me "you have obeyed your parent's, now obey your Father!" The words were as clear as if someone had called me on the phone and said it to me in my ear. That day I answered God and said, "I will". I knew that I had not completely surrendered everything I had to Him. I had fooled myself so many times. By the worlds standards, that was good enough. But that day when I was jogging, it was just me and the Lord. After I said, "I will". I thought okay, now what? I began to feel a sense of peace and clarity. I still can't really describe it but it was amazing and it was "certain". We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and the feeling of "surrender" was still in my life. The week before Christmas, Laurel, Coleman, and I went to lunch with Jon Brennan, a friend of Jon's, Carry and a friend of Coleman's, Marquis. Coleman met Marquis at a youth retreat. Jon introduced them, and Jon and I were trying to get the boys together over the Christmas holidays. I think Jon knew Marquis from "Wilma's House". Marquis' mom is a single parent and he has two sisters that live with them. One of his sister's has a three month old baby. It was 2:00 in the afternoon before we actually got to sit down for lunch. Jon asked Marquis what he had eaten that day. Marquis told Jon, "Nothing. My mom told me not to eat her cereal." I guess since he had been out of school, he had probably missed a lot of meals. I told Jon that I could take Marquis home with me right now and never give him back if I didn't think someone would throw me in jail. The thought of that precious child not eating breakfast or lunch made my heart ache. Then I asked Jon when he was going back to Africa. He said "Spring Break. Do you want to go?" I said, " Yes I would love to go but we already had plans." I really don't remember how it came up...I'll have to ask him but he began telling me about a little girl that was 8 years old and she was deaf. He told me that her mother abandoned her because she thought she was cursed. I guess because she makes funny noises. He told me that she had an amazing spirit and they had prayed for her healing when they were there. I said, "Is that the little girl in the picture with Katherine?" Jon said, "Yes". I said, "I would take her, too." Jon got out his cell phone and started texting. I said "Who are you texting?" He said, "This is a God thing. I'm texting Suzanne and we are calling Katherine." Jon isn't married. He's young. I said to him, "Jon, I'm going to have to run this by Todd." I think Jon knew and I think I knew that God was already answering the prayers for Joan from November. I knew I had told God "I will" on that day in November. Maybe the day they were praying for Joan was the same day God told me in the park to "obey". After we left the restaurant, Laurel said, "Mom, what do you think Daddy's going to say." I told her, "I'm not sure. Let's pray about this before we ask him." She agreed. This was big and if there was a chance for Todd to say yes, it would take God preparing his heart. We prayed for a day before we mentioned having Joan come into our home, to live with us as a daughter and a sister before we asked Todd. I prayed to God that I would be a submissive wife, not a manipulative wife before I told him what little information I had about Joan. About 30 seconds after I finished my short story, Todd said, "I think we should look into adopting her." We couldn't believe our ears. He said he had one question, "Does she have aids?" I said, I'll ask Suzanne (the youth director at our church that has one of the greatest servants hearts I know). I hadn't even considered the possibility that Joan could have aids. That's how disconnected I was from Africa and poverty. She looked so healthy and happy in the pictures. Reality started to set in. I came down with walking pneumonia, and I continued to pray for God's will to be done in this angel's life and that I would be obedient to God. I didn't pray that God would give her to us. I earnestly prayed for God's will to be done in her life. I thanked God that Todd said yes. I thanked God that I had confidence in Christ to let Todd make the decision and I was going to support Todd no matter what he said. I prayed that she didn't have aids.
Love,
Amiee
Acts 21:14 "When it was clear that we couldn't persuade him, we gave up and said, "The will of the Lord be done."
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