Adoption Update

Our paperwork is back in Ukraine and ready for submission attempts come the first of February!  Please pray our facilitator is successful.  Thank you.  

Meanwhile, you can keep up with dear friends (Rick & Denise) as they are currently in country.  Visit their blog at: www.mortonadoption.blogspot.com

Testimony from My Dear Friend, SaraBeth

A Trip to Ethiopia to "visit orphans"... (James 1:27)

SaraBeth with Benium and Yunas

"Hey everyone.  I might have had the best day of my trip today (even though it was my first day of ministry).  I can't imagine it getting any better.  We met with Ephriam, who runs a sports ministry for the street children in downtown Addis.  We went to play sports with the children (which of course I always love).  Many of the children are abandoned and actually sleep out on the streets (the youngest one was 5 years old!!!)  I thought we were leaving to go home, but 20 of the kids hop in our vans and we take them to a restaurant.  I can't even explain the looks on their faces when they were told, "GET WHATEVER YOU WANT!" Needless to say, the next half hour was PURE JOY.  Cheeseburgers, milkshakes, mango juice, icecream, and all SMILES!  These are my two new friends, Benium and Yunas."

Please pray for SaraBeth and the team visiting orphans and exploring ways to get involved in ministering to our precious neighbors in Ethiopia.  

Pray for the Persecuted Church in India

INDIA WATCH: Christians Detained And Attacked Across India

Friday, January 23, 2009 (12:42 pm)

By Worthy News International Correspondents Rodney Drinnen and Stefan J. Bos

NEW DELHI, INDIA (Worthy News)-- There was renewed concern Friday, January 23, over the situation of Christians in India as several remained  detained on charges of "forcible conversion" and others recovered from injuries after Hindu militants attacked homes and prayer services, Christian rights investigators said.

Read More...

May our Gracious Lord grant wisdom and courage for our brothers and sisters for His Name Sake!

ADOPTION UPDATE

Our updated dossier is one piece short of being ready for notarization and apostilling which will take about a week to be done and into the hands of our adoption agency.  I have everything updated (i.e. medical forms, State Police background checks, homestudy, marriage certificates, and countless other tedious documents, etc...) with the exception of a little letter from our mortgage lender.  

Prayer Request #1:

Please PRAY that CHASE Home Finance will be able to get that done for us (it's already been one week of waiting) as soon as possible!  :)

Our goal and hope is that we can get our complete dossier in the hands of our Ukrainian facilitator by February 1st and to translation officials.  Ukraine begins accepting dossiers for 2009 beginning on February 7th.  

Prayer Request #2:

Please PRAY that our dossier will be submitted in the month of February.    The likelihood of travel after submission is about 3 months later.  

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."  Philippians 1:3-6

Recommended Readings...

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By A Relentless God

Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski

"Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions?  God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself.  Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts - it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same."

Just Courage

Gary Haugen

"There comes a time in the life of every believer... where a voice inside us simply asks, 'Now what?'  Haugen describes this phenomenon as, 'a voice of divine restlessness',  'a voice of sacred discontent', and a 'voice of holy yearning for more'."  Read More of a Book Review

I have thoroughly enjoyed both of these books.  They are a refreshing challenge to loose the bonds of comforts and control... to let go of selfishness... to seek God in His Word... to follow Jesus.  

Would You Like to Know More About the Bible?

Saturday morning I opened my front door to find a piece of literature evidently left by some visiting Jehovah's Witnesses.  The title of the pamphlet read, "Would You Like to Know More About the Bible?"  So, I opened it up alongside of my Bible to check references and their scriptural contexts.  I hadn't even finished the first paragraph before coming across a problem.  Discover for yourself...

"If you harmonize your life with the standards set out in the BIble, God will give you everlasting life - Romans 6:23"

Really?  What is wrong with this "if/then" statement?  What does Romans 6:23 actually say?

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 6:23 (emphasis mine)

Hmmm...  How about some additional supporting verses?

"For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."  Ephesians 2:8-9

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," Romans 3:23-24

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."  Romans 10:9

Would you like to know more about the Bible?  One way, for those in the Hattiesburg area or by podcasts, is to join us Sunday nights for a study of theology and doctrinal truths.  The goal of theology is to know and love your God and make Him known to others.  We all are theologians.  What do you base your beliefs on?  Do you take fancy pamphlets distributed by nice people as factual?  Or, are you a student of the Word of God?  

"Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." John 17:17 

National Sanctity of Human Life Day (1/18/09)

Get Involved...

International Justice Mission

Bethany Christian Services

New Beginnings Adoptions

Agape International Mission

History

In a January 13, 1984 proclamation, President Ronald Reagan designated January 22, 1984 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day. The date was chosen to coincide with the 11th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case that legalized abortions in the United States.^[1]

Reagan issued the proclamation annually thereafter, designating Sanctity of Human Life Day to be the third Sunday in January, which represents the closest Sunday to the originalJanuary 22 date. His successor, George H. W. Bush, continued the annual proclamation throughout his presidency. Bush's successor, Bill Clinton, discontinued the practice throughout his eight years in office, but Bush's son and Clinton's successor, George W. Bush, resumed the proclamation, and has done so every year since his inauguration.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009 

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of AmericaAll human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.

READ MORE...

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

January 11, 2009

"...that all may have life, and have it abundantly."  John 10:10

Did you know . . .  

   After drug dealing, trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing 

as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and is the 

fastest growing.  

  Approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across national 

borders, which does not include the millions trafficked within 

their own countries. 

  In the US alone 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked each year.   

  80% of trafficked people are women and girls. 

  50% of trafficked people are under 18 years of age. 

 Read More...

Upcoming Prayer Gathering

WHAT:  "Living Proof Live" Prayer Gathering

WHEN:  Tuesday, Jan. 13th

TIME:  7:00 PM

WHERE:  First Baptist Church of New Orleans

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:  "Living Proof Live" with Beth Moore will be held at the New Orleans Arena on April 3rd - 4th, 2009.

Mark Your Calendars...

International Justice Mission

March 27 - 29, 2009

Sheraton Premiere at Tyson's Corner
(in the DC area)
Vienna, VA

The Global Prayer Gathering brings together staff and friends of IJM from all over the world for a time of seeking God and seeking justice for victims of oppression. Join with staff from Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America and the United Kingdom for this transforming time of worship, prayer and fellowship. 

Throughout the weekend, IJM’s international staff will share about recent casework victories for victims of violent oppression, as well as the joys, challenges and prayer needs of their field offices. We will celebrate former clients who have been rescued through IJM casework and look forward to the next year of justice work together. We will be encouraged in our faith as IJM President and CEO Gary Haugen and others lead us in reflection, prayer and worship. 

We hope that you will join us in the Washington, DC area March 27-29 for this powerful time of seeking God together in prayer, worship and fellowship.

Interested in attending?