Welcome Home!

Welcome home to the Ham family!

The Hams arrived safely home Friday night about 9:25pm.

Please continue to pray for all of the family as they get to know each other.

We praise the Lord for the answered prayer for this family.

Ham Family Update

The Hams have run into a delay with their flights.

Watch for emails and further information as it becomes available.

In the mean time, thank you for praying this family home!

The Ham Family

"Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:18

The Hams are getting close to being on their way home from Ethiopia with their oldest son and their newest two children. Please be in prayer for them as they travel a long distance while building new relationships.

Thank you for your interceding on their behalf.

The Tim Tebow Story

Much ado was made about the Tim Tebow commercial during the Super Bowl. Below is a link to the Tebow's Story on Focus on the Family.

www.focusonthefamily.com - click on the Tebow Story. It is a great story honoring God in a situation that could have turned out totally different.

Enjoy!

Jonah and the Orphan

What do Jonah and adoption/fostering have in common? Has God ever asked you to do something that you were certain did not make sense? Was your first reaction to run from it?
Did you wrestle with God until your faith in Him took over? Did you step out in obedience, if not complete willingness, because you recognized His voice in the calling? for many, the first fleeting thoughts towards the orphan are not often met with an overwhleming desire to respond immediately. We push the thoughts away and attempt to continue with life as we know it. Be as we see in the story of Jonah, God is a pursuing God. Not just for the benefit of the Ninevites but to teach Jonah something about the condition of his heart. God uses the orphan to reveal layers of our hearts that we might wish were not there. How do we respond when our "ideal" situation is not the one that God presents to us? How do we interact with birth parents that might challenge us in ways we were not anticipating? Do we reflect God's love when dealing with children that were not born to us? We might like to believe that pursuing adoption and fostering is all about the need of a child. In reality, it might just as importantly be about our need to be "revealed." The story of Jonah is a bit of a cliffhanger. We don't know if Jonah sought forgiveness for his attitude towards the Ninevites. What we do know is that God is the Ultimate Multi-Tasker. He is more than capable of using the need of some to reveal the heart of one. He pursued and provided for both. And in the end, they both were better for it!

-Monica (Broadcaster Jan. 2010)

Haiti - Orphans and Adoption

Everyone's mind is on Haiti these days. The people, the devestation, those that have gone to help are all in our thoughts and prayers. Even our children are concerned for the children in Haiti. Some good has come out of such tragedy as the Lord has opened the minds of those in power in such a way to unite families with their adoptive children. Our friends the Stanleys have been blessed in this way.

What will become of the orphans in Haiti and how will adoption be affected by all that has happened? We have posted two links for you to look at that will help you understand better how to pray for those in Haiti.

http://www.christianallianceblog.org/

www.jcics.org/haiti.htm

"We loved because He first loved us." I John 4:7

Connecting Hearts Conference- Feb. 20, 2010

Here is a link to a conference in the Bloomington/Normal area. A few of us attended this conference last year and found it to be interesting. I am doing some checking and will post more later but last year it was especially helpful for those in the earlier stages of adoption.

Check it out! http://www.connectingheartsconference.org/