Jesus is Enough.

There is an interesting concept I’ve come across recently talking with people about serving others from local all the way to 3rd world and whether or not “Jesus is Enough”.

It seems people either take the stand point “No, Jesus is not enough because… there are physical needs, emotional needs, basic human necessity, people die because of injustice, etc” & it also appears that many who say “No” also like to point out that “going to just be with orphans seems like a waste of time compared to the amount of money you spend on a plane ticket, if you are not going to provide for physical needs”. 
OR
“Jesus is Enough” And depending on who you are talking to, you can draw one of three conclusions : either Jesus is enough because they do not want to get their hands dirty OR they have lived vicariously and given possibly financially to the work being done, essentially and quite literally being a part of the work God is doing OR
because they have very dirty hands in the work God has given them. 


Being that said, I am going to debunk the opinion “JESUS IS not ENOUGH”. Because… He is.

WWJD…. Remember that from somewhere? Perhaps a bracelet you once had.
1. WHAT WOULD JESUS DO.
2. WHAT DOES HE ASK OF YOU.
3. THEREFORE….

1. The Gospels & WWJD: MATTHEW.: He fed 5,000., He feeds 4,000… He heals the sick, casts demons out, He teaches, restores sight, He Blesses the little children, He counsels, He says “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many”. He overturned tables for justice. The parable about using the talents! He lays down His life, to save ours./// MARK: Jesus cleanses lepers, heals a paralytic, He is preaching in Galilee, withstands satan's temptations, heals on the Sabbath, disciples his followers with a great deal of parables, casts out more demons, He sends out the disciples to teach of salvation, where he commands them to take NOTHING… MARK 6:7 (If you must know more) He brings the dead to life, he commands to take up the cross and follow Him. He teaches that whoever receives a child in His name is receiving Him. He warns of causing others to stumble and that tasteless salt is worthless. He teaches that with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. Ch10:45 even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. Jesus prays & prays. Jesus defies all earthly capabilities and Raises from the grave and exalts God./// LUKE: Jesus is born of a virgin chosen by God himself. Begins His ministry in Gailee, sends our demons, makes friends with sinners who some then become loyal disciples to carry out the work of God. LUKE 6 Beatitudes! LUKE 11:9 Ask and Seek and Knock in His Name…. And it will be. Teaches and teaches and teaches, “Repent or Perish”, He eats with people, He calls people out of their sin, out of their illness, out of their Lives, to follow His teachings….. (And I realize I am missing LOADS in the list, but for times sake)


2. What does He ask of You >>>> “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 And also a quick reference to Ephesians 4, your actions should imitate Christ. Hands and Feet. And because God can do All things…..

3. THEREFORE…. “Jesus is enough.” Caring for needs, for health, for lack of, for spiritual needs, hospitality, and so much more. This is a package deal if I ever saw one. 
And to be praying for those who provide the needs without the name of Jesus! Not the same perks. May I add, Jesus also did not assume payment when serving; this is in comparison to plane tickets modern day; If God has a plan for you to serve, know that a plane ticket and/or in country stay are not outside His realm of possibilities & that IS good news! 
It’s kind of like… if I say “My husband can take care of that” and you don’t know my husband’s character, or job description And lets say you say "NO", then find out he is exactly the person to fix that electrical problem after sitting in the dark for a long long long time…. And in the same way I could say “Hey my husband can fix that” and you say “ah yes, I know this man, your husband is an electrical engineer, I know He can fix that.” and that's a silly example but one of those answers clearly could leave you in the dark.
Make sure you Know who this Jesus is you serve! (Or if your issue lies with defining the word "enough".) Because, He is amazing! And keep in mind, He Can send you with nothing, don’t put too much stock in earthly things, they will pass away.

You Follow, He provides.

(and just, in case you’re wondering; only God could give me this perspective and optimism- Jesus wasn’t throwing flowers and skipping; He was burdened, heartbroken but leaning only on the Creator- and that’s where He wants you.)

Psalm 34 :The Joy of those who trust in God.
Goodnight!!!!

STUCK {& rambling.}

We will be taking quite the rabbit trail from the posts from our previous trip. As excited as I am to continue the writings of our adventure meeting our children for the first time, with so many other inclusive details; we must interrupt this program with the news that is both terrifying and exciting. Terrifying because our children are still unable to leave their current living situation to join us in ours as a family and exciting because finally people are appearing to care.

As so many of you viewers and friends of ours have be responded numerous times with "well when the DGM opens back up", when asking "when will your kids get to come home?" You probably ask excitedly... then instantly hit the wall of confusion, "what in the world is DGM" might go through your head... you might have thought and asked "okay but legally they are your children?" and then probably feel shut down because aren't we supposed to be excited to bring our children home?! Well "YES" we are! However, Explanation: In the DR Congo, even when you have your children and their visas in hand, the last step to leaving the country is obtaining an exit letter from the entity of their government that handles immigration – this entity is called the DGM.  Last September, the DGM stopped issuing these exit letters to adopted children.  They made this decision amid rumors of adoption fraud and rehoming.  Their stated plan was to shut down for up to a year to restructure and investigate. We are 6 months into this year and what has been found is there is not much of a plan going on and many of these children are suffering greatly! There is quite literally no end in site with the lack of transparency in the US government showing any concern for the lives of these children that have been Legally adopted by US citizens.

Fortunately, if you have seen the documentary STUCK (its on Netflix) the woman from Both Ends Burning, Kelly Tillotson Dempsey has taken up the extremely honorable task of helping get our children home to us! Along with acts in letters and calls to our senate and congress, signing of petitions, and so forth. A voice consisting of families waiting for their sweet children, siblings, gramas, grandpas, cousins, aunts, uncles, sweet little friends that have all been praying on the photos of these children waiting to come home!

In our personal experience, having traveled to meet our children, their care takers and the culture on the Eastern side of the country of DRC- Been through court and have our adoption decree, waiting waiting waiting... on children we have held and are legally our own! HARD! I'm telling you what, if you are reading this and you shudder at the thought of leaving your kids with a baby sitter while you go on a date because you just miss them and sometimes you even think to back out of things so you don't have to leave them... that gut reaction, like you're going to miss something tremendous in their development (like walking or talking) or that they'll get hurt; I and so many other parents waiting for our kids have been living with this from the day we accepted our referrals. Granted, it seems like God's way of building a connection an ocean away. It hurts, regardless.

It is hard to have joy in suffering when in the case of a shut down, you feel like daily the odds are against you and your children that live in circumstances that could be avoided. I love, LOVE, the people that care for our children in the orphanage; out of our travels, God led us to licensing an organization focused on salvation, social services and sustainability. Our heart is rooted deep in Rwanda and Eastern DRC where our children are. This is all hard and I cry {ugly cry} every.single.day....  BUT God has this! God has them! It can look hopeless, but as for this house, we shall serve the Lord! He desires much for the lives of these children and for us! This process has broken many of us, but God is the rock of our Salvation and to not be moved... wow. Do you all know what kinds of witnesses you/we are?! This IS quite literally THE HARDEST time in my life and ALSO ... THE LOUDEST I HAVE EVER HEARD THE TRUE LIVING GOD! He is merciful and just. Gracious and loving. He never promised easy or comfortable! But in Him we can have peace! Watch Him intercede on behalf of our hearts and our children!

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Please join with us in praying for all the actions that have been sent out to advocate for these children in DRC! For the Parents! For the Sibling! I can not wait for all my six children to be under one roof! Thank you to all of our friends, new and old. To our family and the people within the government and outside taking a stand in valuing the children of DRC and in extension valuing us in this endeavor God is bringing us through.  We love you much.

Sign the Petition Here! http://www.petition2congress.com/14960/please-help-resolve-pending-adoptions-from-democratic-republic-co/


Matthew 5:16         
     Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Missing our precious Congolese Phillips so much.

Mugunga

PART FOUR: Mugunga Refugee Camp

As I begin this blog to explain to you where exactly God planted a surviving piece of my heart in the refugee camp of Mugunga, currently home to over 72,000 refugees.
I had taken a time to look at photos of this place and even a video of a children's program being implemented, might have been world vision, but then again, could have been something else. What matters is, how this camp was portrayed in that video, was not what we saw.

Losing all concept of time, my guess was Mugunga was on the outskirts of Goma. The apologies for the bumpy rides on the extreme lava rock came and went, I enjoyed the jolts and whiplash personally. There was no way you could not love the scenery; the people that scowled at you until you waved, forcing them to almost laugh at probably the overly confident eye contact we mzungus make. Fidele turns down an even bumpier road for a few minutes, lots of green popping up through the rock, wooden run down houses with flags and towels over the doors. I assumed the towels were there so home owners could keep their doors open but keep bugs out, like a screen door perhaps.
We pull up to a building that looks much like a garage with a few doors. Children come to the car and begin singing "Karibu" which means "welcome". These wee ones are taken out of the camp by day and returned to sleep in the evening, hoping to eventually move them to the orphanage when there is enough room. I was glad we stopped here to see these sweet children. There was something mysterious about these children that was different from the children at the orphanage. It was a hopelessness I had never been introduced to. Praise God for these women who take care of all these children and move them back and forth like they do. Oh the difference it must make in their lives!
Because when we arrived at Mugunga, the hopelessness that I had seen in the eyes of some of these littles began to multiply very quickly.
You know, on a missions trip when your leader tells you everything before you go to a certain place, what to do, what not to do... we did not have this advantage and it was awesome (and scary) to just let God work out the details.

Pulling up to these homes by the thousand was a shock. Made of dirt, straw, tarp, clothing, sticks, shoe laces, and many other unidentifiable items. We had driven by some camps, none of them looked like this. Children and adults alike began to come up to us; all asking for sweets at first. Fidele took my backpack out of the car and had it on. At first I had wondered why he had it on, then after a certain episode I became VERY GLAD I did not have it on.  It quickly became over whelming and we were told to follow out into a more open area. There were people playing with the ball we had brought.
All, of those children were so precious. Many of them very obviously suffered from abuse, afraid to touch or make eye contact. Some thought Ian had a gun (camera) and almost all of them wanted something from you. At this particular hour of the afternoon, some of the children began asking me for a ball. There I am standing face to face with my own backpack on Fidele's back and I am convinced of the location of the hack-e-sack. Unzipping the bag, he shakes me off like I am thieving. I say "Looking for a ball" and continue the unzipping, reaching into the bag my hand quite literally grazes a ziplock back full of jolly ranchers. Silence. All children within a three foot radius slam forward at me and in moments the bag of jolly ranchers is gone. I had a death grip on the bag, and then I had scratch marks, tooth marks and a piece of plastic and three ranchers still left in my white knuckled hands. Staring blankly, in shock, I watch adults and children destroy each other over these jolly ranchers. Faces being punched and slapped, kids being pushed down and stepped on. Here I am getting told in at least four different languages of my bad choice to share my candy.  My hands had met that hack-e-sack, so close to a decent game of ball. The desperation in hunger was that of a wild animal; my heart breaks every time with the image. We found out moments later, that these people had not been brought food aide in three months.

We begin to walk over to where our photographer is taking quite literally the most beautiful photos of these children. There is one girl in particular that is absolutely ripping apart my heart, she sounded like she was caught in a loop. Screaming "bumbou" (sweets) over and over and oooover. My body was going rigid, trying not to leap into the cry fest I have done so well to hold back on. Don't let these kids see your weakness, fearing they would take advantage of my emotional state if a tear threatened to fall. My mind kept saying, "step back, move away, goo", her screaming continues. "Dear Jesus make her stop!" was all I could pray! My body and mind are totally not on the same page and I find myself squatted down behind four or five other kids with my arm reaching through, massaging the head of this screaming child. Most of the kids seem unaware, so I thought. This little girl, stops crying. She reaches up and touches her chubby face, wiping her tears away. She closes her teary eyes and touches the rest of her face, touches her head where I am touching it and her breathing starts to steady out. Ian takes his camera and starts heading into the tent home area following my husband and Gilbert. As the children begin to scatter out for this walk, the little girl goes and sits in the dirt, still holding her face. Good heavens people, the desire to be touched and loved, to be reminded you are human, is such an enormously huge deal. God created us for love, to be loved, to love others. The peace that this sweet child had in these moments, was more than any tangible item could ever offer her. Jesus very literally used my body to touch this child and he took care of the rest. Also, she never looked to see it was me. But you knew, this was not a normal touch for this child by her reaction all around.



Walking up the volcanic hill, children would come up, walk with you for a moment, ask you for food and if you didn't have it they would likely cut out. I do not remember seeing many of the same children more than once on the trip up the hill to the wooden church. There was one girl. She was beyond adorable, a baby on her back, totally did not want to shake my hand. She told me Ian had a gun; tried to talk me out of my shoes, shirt, had a kid pat my back for a money belt (I gave it to my husband the day before, I'm too transparent when I have things people ask for!), wanted my earings... even when I said no to all these things, in every language I could muster... she would then still point to the baby's mouth, rub her tummy... yes, it was killing me. I had nothing. She was persistent, I'll give her that. We made it up into the designated church area. Walking over the threshold my husband took a photo of me, I had opened my eyes wide to display the shock of my heart. Almost a complete break down there as well, praise God for answering every prayer to hold me together.

Gilbert & Jean Baptist

In this church area, which was just a wooden frame with tarps; there were many children and some adults. Pastored by a man named Jean Baptist, what an amazing heart for the Lord! My husband shared with them and prayed for them. All the while, I am studying the little girls with babies on their backs, congregating together, checking each others babies, making sure they are on tight enough... some little girls without babies were giving up their seats on the oversized stick they were sitting on. Tiny mothers. Other children were wearing clothes that were ripped and cut, some with bloodstains where the cuts on the shirts were, which made me think that the clothing must had been on someone killed during the wars or protests. The little girl who had walked with me the entire way, kept her eyes on me. She kept pointing at me while she talked to the other girls. When praying I closed my eyes, but felt like someone was literally burning through my eye lids staring at me... and oh yes, I peek and there she is staring at me. Before we walk out the doors, I imagined she would realize now I really have nothing for her and expect her to disappear into and between the tent homes like most of the other children I had met on our walk. So I confidently reach out my hand for the second time, she gently and quickly shakes it and smiles as though she was embarrassed. Immediately she points at a little girl standing right outside the door, points at her mouth. I assumed she was telling me she needed food, I chose to not respond to the food request and instead noticed the lack of shoes and condition of the clothes this sweet child was in. Our eyes locked and I grabbed her hand, it was pretty melodious the steps of our four feet turned into my two feet.

The look on the other little girls face was more than priceless, it was Hopeful. She was utterly confused but a light went on in her. The other little girl with the baby on her back walked up close to me and gave me the stink eye and pointed at her and made her arms go in a position that would represent "huh what are you doing? that's not what I was telling you to do!" I smiled at her and hugged tightly to this sweet little girl. She must had been around 5 years old and my guess was somewhere around 25 lbs. Her pants were damp of urine and there were bugs in her hair but she held me so tight, rubbing her cheek on my neck and sniffling with a raspy breathe every so often. Her head was hot with a fever and her body was lethargic, minus her arms that wrapped tight the entire ride down the hill. The little girl with the baby on her back made points of touching my arm a few times, trying to be discreet of course. I pretended I didn't notice in fear she would leave my side.
Coming up to the bottom of the hill, I was told I needed to put the little girl down now for a number of reasons. That, was hard. I set her down and instinctively kissed the top of her head, held her face and lifted her up to Jesus before I began to walk away. Walked away fast too... Breakdown Central was going to make its debut... I grab my face and wipe the escaping tears in a two hand attack, when I hear the little feet of a child run up next to me. It is the little girl with the baby on her back. She stops me motioning with her hands. Looks into my face, confused still like at the top of the hill. She begins to wipe the hair off of my face, rubs my eye brow and touches my chin. She smiles nervously and then begins doing the massaging hand motion, that I had done on that chubby toddler that was screaming for sweets earlier. This girl, looked so pleased with this action. The hope in her eyes was magnificent. She absolutely beamed. Then walked off, disappearing into the neighborhood of tents.



My little friend and her baby sister

Sweet Jesus protect her.



A beautiful moment. If that was the only thing that happened on this trip, it would have been worth it. God has such a loud voice when I am willing to hear it!

 So... satan doesn't like the work of God, totally get it. There were a few times prior to this moment that I told my husband and Ian... "I don't want to see demon possession, stuff freaks me out." So naturally after the neatest moment with that little girl, a boy comes up screaming "TOMS!!" at me. Begins cursing at me in English the worst combinations of words I have ever heard, jolting away from me, even when his back was turned and I went to greet him, he spazzed out, ran and hid. He tried to let the air out of the tires on the jeep and cackled and dove around the side when I came to tell him to stop. Instantly in the presence of this child who had a cursing man's voice in him, I was discouraged. We climbed in the car, minus our missing driver. Our windows were open a good 6 inches and the tension of some of the refugees was getting high. It was time to go. And yet, driverless. Children and adults could see the water bottles in the car. They began asking for them and everything else. We had experienced the jolly rancher incident, we could not hand over the water bottles. Watching the people look at the water bottles was it for me. Head flew down into my lap and a pouring of tears. Our driver came soon after and backing up and out of the crowd of people, opening the backdoors to get children off the doors and we were out of there.

 About 3 or so miles outside the camp, I begin just thinking about the desperation and hope, that battle so many of the children I just touched face each day. As I am staring off, the car slows down to get off gravel road to jump on concrete for only a moment then back to the rocks; during the slow down I see three children off to the right in front of a home. No bigger than my Paige, are two children dragging another child, face down, by her arms through the dirt. Lifeless. Panic. and when you think you can't take anymore... God confirms the call He has placed in your heart for these people, His people. The song I had been humming through Mugunga was a song my dear friend Jamie Cooper wrote "and your people shall be my people, and your God my God..." all throughout the walk I was humming between trying to understand the kids and I could not identify it, until my heart took a breathe and said "Restore me!! That was hard!"

Sometimes, I feel the best parts, are the hardest parts, that stretch you the most and bring you closer to the creator. His heart if for these people and He was good to show me this hope through some of these children. Amazing right. Lord be close to these people and help them to return to their homes and to find their comfort in You. 

PART 3: I lift my life up. Meeting our Children and their Family

PART THREE:

If you have seen the video of our trip, you can probably see how extremely full our hearts were meeting our children. It was UNREAL. Heart Exploded.

When we arrived at the orphange, we were greeted with relentlessly beautiful singing. At the front of the crowd of children, was S and E standing there with outfits and their special little toys we sent for Christmas.

Having done foster care and taken teenagers into our house... we are aware of certain unfortunate bonding experiences. But I tell you what... God said "here Brittany, I am going to blow your mind in this way too!" And He did. Our kids, were beautiful. They were precious. They attached and we to them instantly.S reminds me so much of our Paige and E so much like Oliver. It was really neat to watch them. Also, you must know this, my husband has this teeny tiny hole in his head, next to his ear, our bio children have it (apparently it is a passed on trait)... guess which other children have this... Nope, I am Not kidding. Our children across the world, unrelated to even each other EACH HAVE this hole exactly where my husband and our bio children have it. Is that just Amazing! ONLY GOD!

Upon holding them for the first time, I had prepared for myself to fall apart, crash into tears, thinking "HOW AM I GOING TO LEAVE NOW"... but then I saw something amazing and realized it as the children were singing and dancing all around us, as the beds began to back in through the gate... Jesus was here in this orphanage. We had driven through town, seeing the brokenness in the eyes of so many and here within these gates, God was redeeming souls. Good heavens, I tell you people, I beg you to all find Jesus so you too can have these moments of complete and total amazement! He is so Awesome!
Sitting down and holding our children for a bit in the office talking with Gilbert and those who take care of all the children while the other children eat a meal downstairs, totally basking in their sweet presence. They had no idea what they were doing to our hearts I'm sure! E falls asleep on my husband and I begin sharing my lunch with S. Instead of shoving it all into her mouth she begins holding pieces off to the side in her fist. At first I am like "oh no, a food hoarder"... then she jumps down to a couple other little kids and starts popping the food in their mouths. Then throws some off the balcony to the other kids to pick up. Not a hoarder, it was beautiful. These children, yes, they all acted like children. The occasional spat, not sharing at times, giving the stink eye, you know, Typical kids... but then there was this other part... where they wipe each others noses, sharing their food, re-situate each others clothing, holding hands and oh how some of the older children took care of the younger. Bless their hearts.

Before we had left to come to E. Africa, a friend of mine told me ""You are going to meet people who have no one, experienced death of their children or spouses, sickness; starving, sleeping on the ground, abused and left to die... Touch them. Hold them. Pray for them. You might be the only one who dares to reach out and remind them they are alive and human."
So knowing God had used this friend (Katie) to really speak to my heart; the Lord prepared with with opportunities to touch, physical touch, to bless the time with these kids (and more to come I was no where prepared for). I had brought finger nail polish with me. At one point so many hands were reaching out to put their hands on my arm and leg to get sparkles on their nails that I couldn't breathe. Moving locations a couple of times to escape the fumes. Being able to touch each hand and hold each hand for a few short seconds, getting to see the face these hands belonged to; boys and girls both.Almost the entire time I had S in my arms above the crowd of her sweet family. Just hanging out on my hip. I don't even fully have words to explain how my heart grew that afternoon. God allowed this amazing connection to our children, but then extended the love to the rest of their family. 

Another beautiful testimony to God's work: When we arrived the first day, many of the children were lethargic and coughing; wiping many noses, a vast array of colours in the mucous dept... in the days that followed, less and less sickness. The last day, the children that had been sick were walking and dancing even, there was minimal coughing and not remotely enough boogers to wipe! Upon sharing this when we returned the question was "did you bring them medicine?" "Extra meals?" "Well what was it?" It was truly Jesus. We delivered the beds the first day, then just kept coming back to see them, hold them, play with them, take photos, attempt to sing with them. Our presence in God's work, was enough. Joy, Full. It was amazing.

On the first night after we visited the children, Gilbert looked at me across the table at supper and said "You're not like *a previous adoptive mother who came to her children*. When she came, she cried and cried and her heart died. She couldn't leave or stop crying. But you... didn't cry." I have to admit, I enjoyed the confusion in his eyes. Haha, we love Gilbert SO MUCH. But truly, I almost felt guilty for not crying. I had to peel S off me each day we were there and hand her to an orphanage momma and it broke my heart each time, but I believe God prepared me for these moments in giving me so many children under the age of 4 at the same time. Sweet E would wave goodbye smiling each time while an older boy would hold him near the car. 

Gosh, there are so many stories in between, I could just sit here forever and relive every moment spent there.
Someday when I write an outright book, you will know all the secret moments of my heart in Goma.

On the last day, we were across the road at the church pastored by Fidele. We met the congregation and prayed with them. Standing in a circle hand in hand, praying with these beautiful people is definitely a highlight in my life. (I just wish the photo of afterwards portrayed that! I look like such a hot mess that day!)  
We went back to the orphanage for the last time. The older children danced and sang for us. The most beautiful singing. Then the children shared Scripture and Faraja (an older girl, who hold a quite large portion of my heart) prayed for us. An older boy shares that he would wish this was not a one time visit but that we would come back to see them. And as soon as he said it, his face appeared to be let down instantly. My husband truly broke for this boy. I cant wait to see this boys face when we go back, wrap that kid right up in a hug. We were then gifted with beautiful Congolese outfits from the orphanage and church. The guys were able to put their shirts on over the shirts they were wearing. I, was taken to the water closet to put on my very own shirt and shirt. I am not sure if I have ever smiled that ridiculously in my life... and Then, the bawling happened. In front of Every single child and momma, American and Rwandan citizen, like a flash flood. Even better, I was addressing them in thanking them for being the most joyful and loving children I had ever had the pleasure of meeting; thanking them for being a light and welcoming us as Jesus would have. It was like my heart had died and was resuscitated in the same moment up in front of them all. We had found and allowed God to unleash a part of ourselves we did not know was there in such a profound way, love that reaches beyond your own children and touches all the others; I think so they too know what it is tangibly like to be loved unconditionally. While they are wiping their snot on you and coughing in your face; even while I'm being peed on and wiping down the child that peed before myself. God just took us out of it and put Himself there. And then we got to see the thankfulness in their eyes. God is just SO good. So so good.

Here are some photos to bless your heart. 

That little H was had the best smile on earth, I'm convinced!

Loved the photos Ian took of himself with the kids!

Seeing my Husband in a new light. 

Love in action.

Safety in a daddy lap.

Ian and Gilbert in their gifts!

Aww these boys. Joy.

Baba Loves.

Sparkly nails <3

Nope, havent showered in a week but I felt like the most beautiful woman alive!

Day 2. S runs and leaps into my arms. Be still my heart.

My God is full of Mercy and Grace, full of Peace and Joy. I am in awe.

We then said our goodbyes and headed back to catch a bus to Kigali to stay the night before continuing the journey into Genocide matters.

If you missed the video posting, you can view it here- enjoy. http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/precious-goons-adopt-congo-love-/64746

PART 2. BEDS!

Part Two:

The next morning we rose before the sun to set off to Giseyni. It felt like we were sneaking away trying to race the sun. Listening to music in a language we couldn't understand, watching people appear out of villages, down roads carrying loads of good on their heads, babies tied to their backs. Then the sun began to lift itself up behind one of the many hills. I tell you what... Never, have I laid my eyes on something so magnificent. Truly, God's handiwork.

God really painted the sky that morning and I will never forget the hope it flooded my heart with. It was unreal!

Continuing on our way... I asked if Goma was anything like Uganda or Rwanda, or literally every place we drove through, "like this kinda?" The response was "no, nothing like that or this. Broken." With not too much to compare to, I just prayed the way there.

Instead of showing all my photos of here and there and everywhere... This is a comparison.

Driving through Rwanda.

Driving through Goma.

Drastic difference. Deeply in love with both. Literally the second you step over the border, it is an immediate change in scenery, colour scheme, smell, construction or lack there of, rocks of Goma, the many small children gathered in some places that looked younger than my own kids but appearing to know what they were doing standing around like little adults.
I could go on and on about everything seen, but it was most definitely one of those "have to see" to understand the extent of destruction that has been done here.  However, despite the destruction, God is doing miraculous works right in Goma. 

We met Pastor Fidele; a sweet sweet hearted man with quite an amazing wife! Taking off in a jeep through Goma to locate the beds on the way to the orphanage! 

So thanks to so many of you out there who donated to "The Beds"... Let me show you what you have taken part in... 

At the warehouse for the heavy duty mattress’s!

Loading up!

Delivery!

Replacing the Old Beds with The New.

Dustin said as soon as some were replaced, the babies were laid to snooze on them. <3

Here are some of the sweet children singing the loudest I have Ever heard, rejoicing in the new gift of beds!

 Now, I want to show you what these children and momma's were sleeping on before God put a common desire in all of our hearts to bless them with new beds. We had not known the extent of the need of beds until we arrived and when we saw them. God is SO GOOD. 

Here is what was replaced : 

This piece of mattress was enough to fit a toddler.

Please imagine having to bury your face in this to sleep.

Not only did God provide a way to make sleeping more comfortable, also to help with their health. Then new mattress's are easy to wipe down. Four children to One mattress, Now only two children to one mattress.

Asante Sana & Mercie!!! from the sweeties at the Lisa Cntr.

God Bless & Thank You!!!