This past Friday night I had the privilege of participating in our churches' first Women's Night of Prayer. I met with around 70 other ladies to sacrifice a night of sleep to pray for our church, our families, our community, and missions! I wasn't sure how this was going to work out...I am pretty sleep deprived on a daily basis due to one baby girl refusing to sleep through the night. I thought shortly after the 11:30 pm start time, I would be out. But let me tell you, God worked in a mighty way that night, and I could not tell that it was the middle of the night or early morning at all. Our committee members did a fantastic job of scheduling speakers, break out sessions, food, and music to keep us all going. The only problem we faced was that we didn't have ENOUGH time to pray!
There is no way I can describe all that went on during the night of prayer, but I CAN tell you that I left with a new conviction and drive to really be a prayer warrior. Prayer has always been a huge part of my life, and I turn to prayer for guidance in just about every decision I make...especially big decisions like adoption!! But I was convicted to truly pray without ceasing and to leave my conversations with God open ended, so that He can speak to me at any moment of the day.
At our church, you simply cannot have a women's event without having door prizes....it's just not possible! So, I was asked to make something for a door prize. This is what I came up with
I found this quote by Corrie ten Boom and love it. I think it perfectly describes how meaningful and important prayer is.
At 2:45 am I had to slip away from the prayer activities to place my weekly phone call to our sweet daughter. She is 8 hours ahead of us, and at 11 am on Saturday mornings her time, a local girl comes to the orphanage to do translation work. She has been sweet enough to come a little early so that A and I can talk for 10 minutes. So each Saturday morning at 2:45 am, Ryan and I wake up and call her. These phone conversations have become such special moments for me. I can't describe to you the joy that I feel each time I get to talk to our sweet girl. She is so curious, and always has a ton of questions ready for me! This past phone call, during our night of prayer, she asked me if I knew any Russian. I told her that I knew very little, but that Ryan and I were planning to learn as much Russian as we could before we come see her. She told me that she wanted to learn English before we bring her home as well. Then, the most amazing thing happened. It is one of those moments, that truly changes your life forever. As we were winding up our conversation for the week, she said her first English words to me. She said, " I love you, bye bye". I don't think I will ever be able to recall that moment without tears welling up in my eyes. Our precious, 15 year old daughter that has lived a life void of care and love for so long, so willingly told me that she loved me. While it thrilled my heart to hear her say that, it also drove a dagger through it. My precious child who has so much love to give has not had anyone to show her love in return. It enrages me that she has been in an orphanage for years, and before that...who knows what she had to endure. I cannot thank the Lord enough for choosing us to show our daughter what true love is! What an honor and privilege this is. The story that God is writing for our family is more than I could have possibly imagined, and I am humbled that He has found us worthy to adopt one of His precious children as our own. To God be the glory!!
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" Ephesians 3:20
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