Called by Name

I have called you by name;

You are mine.  Isaiah 43:1b

 

There are some moments that will be forever etched in your mind--even your soul--because they take you from the everyday and give you a glimpse of that which is eternal.  It may be something small, it may even take you by surprise, but you are in it, and you know it is of God.  A video of that moment would not suffice, nothing in two dimensions could capture the fullness of that which has just happened, and a worldly representation would just take away from the ethereal nature of the moment as it is etched in your memory.

 

 

That is exactly what we experienced when we met our little boy.

 

 

On Saturday, Philip and I woke up late, recovering from two days of travel. As we waited for our driver to pick us up and take us to the orphanage, I asked Philip whether or not he was excited. He warned me, "Kristen, don't expect too much. You don't know how he will react." I knew that; we had read enough about children in such situations to know that our first meeting could go a number of different ways, some very disappointing. 

After forty-five minutes up a rocky road--filled with poverty in every direction--we stopped in front of a building surrounded by concrete walls.  We  gathered several suitcases of donations and followed our translator through a pair of doors to find children quietly sitting in two rows of small patio chairs. 

As I entered, some of the younger ones cried out with a smile, "Mama!", their standard name for any of the 'mamas' who enter.  We scanned the faces and were pretty certain that we recognized our little boy from pictures, seated in the very last chair on the furthest row.  We already knew our visit was a surprise, and nothing in his face showed any recognition of who we were.  

I whispered to Philip, "Which one is he? The one on the end?" He shook his head that he thought so. 

Then, we turned to our translator and whispered, "Which one is JP?" wanting to be sure that we were correct.

Our translator turned to face the children, looking at the small boy that we had identified, "JP?"

It took a second, but suddenly his face changed.  His eyes got big.  His grin grew.  He realized that after weeks of watching other children meet their mama and papa, someone had finally come for him. Someone had called his name.

And with that realization, he pushed himself out of the chair and sprinted past the other children.  With ease and relief and joy, he ran through the dirt and jumped into Philip's arms.  He wrapped his arms around Philip's neck; he lay his head on Philip's shoulder.

And, he just rested there, for a long time.  He had found his earthly father. And, in that sweet moment of restoration, I got a glimpse of my heavenly One. 

 

 

On Our Side

So, tomorrow morning, we are headed to Africa.  Neither of us have been there before.  I think we don't really know what to expect, and I am pretty certain we will be both amazed at its beauty and exhausted by its brokenness. 

We aren't going for adventure.  In fact, chances are we will arrive at the airport, take a taxi and see little but the inside of our hotel, an orphanage and a church during the short two-day trip. But, we will go to meet a little boy, who will hopefully change our family as much as we will change his.

We will spend several days of vacation, several thousands of dollars and probably some moments of being extremely uncomfortable because the Lord has said, "Go!"  We are not to be praised for these actions.  I think if you asked Philip, he would agree that we have been powerless to say no.  The desire the Lord has put in our hearts to take this journey is stronger than our desire for comfort and safety.

But, I am reminded of a similar journey 2,000 years ago, where the Father told his Son to "Go!" and He did.  For me. and For you.  For this world that was broken and abandoned.  He forfeited power, wealth and comfort to bring us Home.  And just like our little one will be a citizen of the United States because of our trip, Jesus' incomprehensible trip--where he took the form of a man to die in our place--gives us a much greater citizenship:  that of the eternal presence of God.

This morning, when I was struggling with a bit with nerves and feelings of overwhelm, I turned on some sweet CDs my friend made me a few years ago.  I finish with the words of the first song I heard ("You Are On Our Side" by Bethany Dillon). 

The orphan clings to Your hand,
Singing a song of how he was found.

The widow rejoices,
For her oppressors are silenced now.

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor,
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore.
When you could just stay silent and leave us here to die,
Still you sent your Son for us. You are on our side.

God is so good! He went to much greater lengths to adopt us, and for that, I praise and trust Him.  If He did not spare His own Son, if He laid down His life for me, if He pursued me . . . how can I ever doubt His love and provision for me?  He came so that we may have LIFE and have it abundantly. Filled to the brim with thankfulness that we get to tangibly see this PROMISE as we go.

Prayer Request

So, we would covet your prayers right now.  After talking with our peeps at our partner organization, the best thing to do is travel during the adoption process, so that our child receives an IR3 visa.  This visa allows him to be a US citizen when he leaves the country.  And, we just really want to meet him. 

So, we are thinking of going . . .in a few weeks. With that said, we have to arrange time from work, get our visas, finish our immunizations, pack and maintain a normal semblance of life. :) And then, we will have to travel approximately 50 hours, missing only a few days from work.  But, how awesome will it be for us to hand-deliver our family picture book to our sweet JP (email me for his name, but that is what we are calling him for short).

So, please pray with us that things will work out; that our own children will be okay in our absence; that we will have safe travel; and that JP will be prepared to meet us.

We have also noticed that the children in the orphanage are wearing the same clothes in several groups of pictures.  So, we would love to have a gently-used clothes drive for ages 0 months-4T and take a suitcase with us when we go.  If you have any items to donate, let me know and I will come get them from you. 

Thanks for your prayers! We will keep you posted. 

Love, Philip and Kristen