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