What a mighty God we serve!!

Psalm 29
A psalm of David.



Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.
The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning.
The voice of the LORD shakes the desert; the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
The voice of the LORD twists the oaks and strips the forests bare.

And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.

The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.



This was the psalm Matt & I read on Sunday morning before beginning our dinner/auction fundraiser. It was such an encouragement to be reminded of God's power. It energized us to face the day, no matter the outcome. Little did we know how much of his glory, power, strength and mightiness that we would witness in the coming hours!


God knocked our socks off!! We raised $6,486!! It was so absolutely amazing and it was humbling to be a part of it all. Our hope was to raise enough to send in our dossier. Not only did we raise enough for that, but we are now almost halfway to our next goal--the payment due when we accept our referral!!


So many people helped with the dinner and donated items. Thanks to all who contributed in any way. We love you all and appreciate you so much!! We could not have done it without you!

What happens now? Well, we officially sent our dossier to America World. We hoped to send it Monday, but we didn't get to the post office on time. So, we sent it on Tuesday. It is now in Dulles, VA and will be delivered to America World in the morning!! Unless we have overlooked something or a document in incorrect, we should (hopefully) be DTE(Dossier to Ethiopia) on September 10. Being DTE means we are officially on the waiting list for our precious little boy!

When we received our I-171h a few weeks ago, we struggled with not getting discouraged. Having our paperwork done, but not having the funds to send it was hard. But the Lord worked it all out in His time. He has provided above and beyond what we even imagined! We are now about 4-6 months away from seeing the face of our baby boy for the first time. What a day that will be!! I was a bawling mess on Sunday afternoon when we witnessed what God has provided--I know I'm going to be an even bigger mess on our referral day!!

Rubeinna

New Auction Items!!

We have had so many people donate and offer to donate items for our auction items in the past week and a half! A few of the things donated are:

A catered dinner for 4

Pizza Hut Pizza

Spring Rolls made by Maggie Beachy!!

Betty Thomas' famous chocolate chip cookies

A handmade oak clock made by Matt's Grandpa!

Handmade wooden items made by Matt's Dad!

Cinnamon Rolls and lots of other baked goods!

Jalapeno Jelly-Sounds awesome, right!?

Baby Quilts

These are all items above and beyond what I mentioned in the last post! We have close to 35 different items and almost 50 total items for the auction!

I want to bid on so many things. . .but that would defeat the purpose of this fundraiser, wouldn't it!?!

Please come out and support us if you can! This Sunday, August 29th at Emmanuel Mennonite Church. We will begin serving lunch at noon(it is going to be tasty!) and the auction will start at 1:00 or soon after!

Going once. . . Going twice. . .Sold to the highest bidder!

Don't you just love auctions?? The thrill of bidding for your desired item!!


We will be having a dinner/auction on Sunday, August 29th! All proceeds will go towards sending in our dossier!!

Here are the details:

Where: Emmanuel Mennonite Church(basement) in Meade, Kansas

When: Sunday, August 29th. We will serve lunch starting at noon. The auction will begin between 1:30-2:00 p.m.

Menu: BBQ chicken, potato salad, baked beans, fruit salad, bread and dessert. Sounds yummy right??!!

Auction Items: blankets(Chiefs, KU, K-State, etc.), aprons, house plants, framed art & photography,lots of baked goods(cheesecakes, cookies,pies, pastries, etc.), gift baskets, babysitting services(Violet & Maggie) and HOPEFULLY many, many other things!!

***If you have ideas or items we could include in our auction, please contact us by comment, phone or email!

Please come! We would love to have a huge crowd! Great food and Great fun. . .what's better than that!??

Rubeinna

AND THE WINNER IS. . .

Our hat full of entries!!Maggie did the drawing honors. . .

And the Winner is. . .

CarmenDruckenmiller!!

Congrats Carmen! Thanks so much to all who entered! We wish we could have drawn all of your names!

14 hours left!!

We will be taking entries for our giveaway until Noon on Saturday(tommorrow)! We will draw for a winner sometime in the afternoon and let you all know as soon as possible.

There is still time to enter!! Go to our July 31st blog post or click on the link to find out all the details!

It Has Arrived!!

The post office was a happy place today! Our I-171h arrived this morning!! Our dossier is basically complete now! We have to get everything in order, make our copies and it will be ready to put in the mail.

ALMOST!

The Problem--we still don't have the amount we need to send our dossier to our agency.

Seeing our I-171h in the mail today was a little bittersweet. Yes, we were excited, but knowing we can't send in our dossier is just a little heartbreaking. It wasn't unexpected, though. We have had a feeling that our paperwork would be finished before our funding was in (I think the Lord was preparing us). We have been praying that we would have patience and wait on the Lord's timing. Boy, is that hard to do sometimes!

Also, there are families that have been waiting for their I-171h for much longer than us--and they have the funds to send in their dossier as soon as- they get it. I feel guilty for getting ours before theirs came. It seems a little silly for us to have ours when we really aren't quite ready for it. But, the Lord knows what He's doing, even when we just don't understand it!

I told Matt that as soon as the I-171h was in my hands, I would be going crazy and be a complete mess! Surprisingly, although I feel that little tug at my heart, I am actually doing OK. I'm sure that has something to do with the Lord providing us with so many wonderful people who are encouraged and prayed for us! I know that the Lord will provide-I KNOW He will! Our commitment to finishing our paperwork without going into debt has not, and will not change. We truly believe God is telling us to let Him provide at this point.

Does that mean we are going to sit and twiddle our thumbs-not at all. We are fundraising and will continue to do so. We are still selling our cookbooks and coffee. We have a big fundraiser planned and we will let you all know the details as soon as it is all worked out.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!

Rubeinna

Puzzle Update

July 9, 2010-158 pieces

August 10, 2010-267 pieces!!!

Looks great doesn't it?? In the past month, we have added 109 puzzle pieces in one month! Our cookbook sales have been nice & steady. We still have plenty more-so if you haven't ordered one, you can still get one!! We've also had a few people order coffee. Every little bit helps and we appreciate it so much!!

Only 733 pieces to go!!

We would love to add your name to one piece or several pieces. Here's how:
1. Buy a cookbook-1 puzzle piece for each cookbook sold (details are on the side of the blog)
2. Buy coffee-1 puzzle piece for each bag purchased (link is on the side of our blog, under the cookbook stuff)
3. Give any monetary donation-1 puzzle piece for every $10

We are working on a couple of fundraisers coming up in September. We're hoping those will bring in enough to send in our dossier!! Oh, what a day that will be!


Also. . .our BIG giveaway is happening this Saturday!! You only have a few more days to enter. Go to our July 31st blog post or this link to find out all the details!

Rubeinna

This Journey is SO much bigger than us!!

One of the most amazing things about this adoption journey has been connecting with adoptive families and those who are passionate about orphans around the world! It has been enlightening, to say the least! I can't tell you how blessed I have been by hearing other adoption stories, mission trips to visit and care for orphans and those who have dedicated their entire lives for the least of these. God's heart is so evident in the lives of these wonderful people! There is a movement to care for the orphans that, up until a few months ago, I had no idea existed. It has hit me so many times recently that I have fallen SO incredibly short in God's command in James 1:27 to "care for the orphans and widows in their distress." Both Matt & I have a renewed commitment to be broken for the things that break God's heart. What that means for the future, we have no idea, but we are so excited that God has chosen us to be a part of all of this. Does that mean we are going to be packing up and moving to Africa-probably not. But I know that the journey we are on is bigger than we ever expected it to be. It's not just a journey to our son in Ethiopia- it is so much more!
As I stated before, we have connected with some amazing people and families and I wanted to share some of those with you. This blog lately has been all about OUR Fundraising efforts, etc. I want today to be about some others who are changing the world with their vision.



Samantha is an amazing 11 year old girl whose family is adopting four year old little boy from Ethiopia. After learning more about Ethiopia and the orphan crisis, she decided she had to help. She is making these beautiful bottle cap necklaces and donating 100% of the proceeds to provide shoes for children in Ethiopia because "I don't need things, and others do." Isn't that AMAZING! Please go to her blog and order 1,2 5, or 10 of these beautiful necklaces. They are only $6! Click on the picture or go to http://littlegoody2-shoes.blogspot.com/

The McKinney Family is an awesome family we have connected with through our agency's Yahoo Group. They are in the paperchasing phase just like us!! They have a great blog and have come up with a very creative fundraiser to help with their adoption costs. 5000 for 5 is an effort to get $5 donations from 5000 people/family, etc. Plus, when you donate, they will put a push pin on your location on a large map they have made to track where donations are coming from--I would love to see KANSAS or WISCONSIN completely full!! Go to http://lifeabitsweeter.blogspot.com/ or click on the picture to go to their blog, read all about them and donate!

The Druckenmiller Family are also in the same place where are, adoption wise. In fact, their fingerprinting appointment was right after ours! They live in Nebraska, which is also exciting for us, as there are not many adoptive families that we know here in Kansas. We are hoping to meet them some day! They are selling some super cute magnets for only $5. They are great to have on your fridge to remind you to pray for adoptive families and the orphans in Africa. Click on the picture or go to http://www.druckenmillerfamily.blogspot.com/ to order!

That's all for now! I want to make posts like this a regular part of this blog. I want all of you who are following our journey to be aware of and support others who are doing wonderful things! Please take time to go to each of these blogs and, if you can, donate. Your support, however big or small, will have an eternal impact.

Have a great weekend!

Rubeinna