Monday Update

[This post was written by Gabe and edited by Phil, and I stole it from Phil's blog. It has lots of great news. Be sure to go read the rest of Phil's post.  -Jennifer]


‘Our hosts are some of the most gracious people in the world. They go out of their way to make us feel at home and they are extremely hard working. It is amazing to see the Lord at work in the lives of people who live in such a poor land. I am told that the unemployment rate in DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo] is 80%. Most people do not have jobs, and in spite of the low average income the cost of [food and some items is] more expensive than in the United States. It is a strange economic and political world that we live in. The natural resources of the Congo could make it the wealthiest country in the world and yet it is one of the poorest. It makes you wish you could do something about it. We are left with doing the little bit we can to glorify Christ in our small sphere of influence and trusting in our Sovereign God with the rest of the circumstances that we can’t control.



God through Christ has taken us from rebellion against him and through love for us has made us His children. Interacting with Brandon and Kara [his twins from the orphanage] gives me insight into the full extent of God’s graciousness toward me. These children obviously want to be loved but they are not sure if they trust their new parents yet. Sometimes Kara will avoid me when she sees me coming. Other times she will walk into room and greet me. I’m certain she is tentative about the “unknown” future and having difficulty trusting that we will stay with her and care for her in the future. Each day involves a little inexplicable crying when Josie or I will hold her. I see the same response in myself often in my lack of trust of God. He is able to take care of me, and loves with an infinite love, and promises to do so without end; and yet I sometimes lack the full confidence of His capability and live in fear. As the years go by I pray we will both grow in our trust and love for God.


The first praise is for the provision of passports, longer story than we can share here, but a significant breakthrough!


The second hallelujah was a stop at the DHL office where we picked up the visas for the children. We finally can take the children home!!!!! [If you know Gabe and Josie’s story, this is a huge answer to prayer and just in time as we leave in 2 more days!]



The third was a stop at the local emigration office to show them the passports for the children and the adoption judgments. We were told that all the paper work looks good and that the chief will escort us to the airport on Thursday to insure that we have no “hang-ups” as we leave the country !!!!!!!!!! God’s providence is so very evident in these details that it makes our hearts want to burst for joy



Item number four. We stopped at the office of the local civil judge who gives the “Act of Judgment” for each adopted child within Lubumbashi and the surrounding area. He is in a powerful position, one of only seven judges in the DRC. We wanted to be a verifying testament from the other side of the Atlantic that the children being adopted through the Kitumani orphanage were going to loving families and that Didier was very trustworthy. Judge Puna invited us to his house at 5:00 for a more in depth discussion after his day ended. What a blessing it was to sit for about an hour and explain the vision and goals of the orphanage and the whole ministry that is going on here. His response amazed us. He said “I want to be a part of this ministry also and be used by God in any way I can”. This is huge. This man is very influential and makes the function of the orphanage possible. In a country where corruption abounds this means a future of great potential for other children as he has the ability to ease and expedite the legal processes that are required. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Number five: We then picked up the “Authorization Parental” from the notary to transfer parental rights from the orphanage to us. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



We are not on U.S. soil yet but I’m starting to get the feeling that these children will be ours after this six month long process. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



It is amazing to see how smoothly everything is going. Josie’s French speaking ability and Phil’s influence as an American pastor and the desire of all of us to see this orphanage be used in many children’s lives is having quite an effect. God put together a good team here. We just wanted to help a couple of young children through this adoption process but we have had the opportunity to contribute to a much bigger plan that wasn’t even ours. We are very excited people as we write this tonight. !!!!!!!!

Can you tell? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!