No Limits

I purchased this t-shirt a few weeks ago from a friend who is adopting a child from Ukraine. When I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I love the image of Ukraine on it, the Ukrainian colors displayed, and the fact that it is helping a beloved daughter join her forever family. But even more than those reasons, I love it because of the message: Love HAS NO LIMITS

As I put this tee on for the first time today, I pondered this phrase, and what it meant to me. It made me think of how dearly I love each of my 5 girls that live under my roof. About all that I would do for them. Like all of you, I'm sure, I would do ANYTHING for my kids. There is not a scratched knee that is not kissed, a head full of wet hair that is not brushed, or a good night hug and kiss that is not given. If they need me, I am there. 

Putting this tee on also made me think of my 2 kids that are still in Ukraine. About my baby boy who has to settle for I love you's given over the internet, and hugs and kisses that come every few months for just 1 week or so when I visit Ukraine. About how we have overcome many obstacles for him to be able to be with our family forever, but that there are many more obstacles in our future to overcome. That we still have more than a year before he can be with us forever. I really can't put into words how hard it is to have a child that is yours in your heart, and that has been for nearly a year, living an ocean away from you. It goes against every fiber of being a mom to miss out on the every day, mundane things that your child experiences and goes through. It KILLS me to not be able to tuck him in each night and give him good night hugs and kisses like I do my girls. 

And then there is our sweet Masha who God brought into our lives rather unexpectedly, just like our other 2 Ukrainian kids. At 18, she is just now getting the chance to have a mother and a father figure who will love her unconditionally. She is so excited to be a part of the ordinary parts of family life, like helping cook meals alongside her Mama and Daddy and looking through old photo books of when her parents got married. 

When we adopted Alona 2 1/2 years ago we had NO IDEA what God had in store for us down the road. We were clueless that God had a whole big future filled with ministry in Ukraine and additional children He would add to our family. Sometimes we question this calling, and want to tell God NO MORE!! We can't handle one more thing, one more child. But then I think of the sweet children that so desperately need to know what Love is. That true LOVE HAS NO LIMITS! That each one of them is worth fighting for, worth the crazy amounts of money it takes to get them here. They are worth every piece of paperwork, endless amounts of stress, heartache, and time. That no matter what lies behind, they have a bright future filled with LOVE! 

When I think about how much our Savior loves us, and how His love for us has no limits....even unto death on a cross, then it makes the sacrifices we have to make and the stress that goes with caring for orphans seem super insignificant. In fact, we count it  a huge blessing to be chosen to love on these kids and to be the reflection of God's love in their lives. 

Thank you to many of you who have reached out with kind, encouraging words about our plans to bring Masha over on a student visa this fall (if you missed out on how this evolved, you can read about it here). We have been so humbled by the pledges of prayer and support that we have received. In just the last week we have received $5,600 in donations to help cover the fees associated with bringing her here. What a blessing it is to see how God is moving in the hearts of many of you to come alongside us and help Masha experience the love of a family!! We currently have $24,400 left to raise in the next few months. Would you please prayerfully consider how God might use you to love and support Masha? Together, we can show her that LOVE HAS NO LIMITS!!

To make a tax deductible donation, click here

or you can mail checks to:

1U Project

c/o Wendy Farrell

2625 S. Forrest Heights Ave

Springfield, MO 65809

Big Dreams

"Though my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will receive me"

Psalm 27:10

Imagine being 18 years old and having to contemplate your future. You have no mother or father to offer guidance and support. You have no financial means to secure a higher education. You live in a town where there are no job opportunities available to you. You are smart, motivated, and driven but have no means in which to pour your hard work into something...anything. Not only this, but you have lived 18 years of your life with no love, encouragement, support, nurturing from parents. By the world's standards you are an adult, you don't need a family. You are old enough to "make it" on your own. But yet inside, you still long for a family. You wonder what it would be like to have a Mom to confide your secrets to, to encourage you, to talk about your dreams and to be told that you can do anything you set your mind to. And a Dad....you wonder what it would feel like to lean your head against your father's shoulder, for him to wrap his arms around you in a protective hug, to tell you are beautiful inside and out...to show you how special you are and how you should be treated. You have dreams and hopes of a good future, one in which you belong to a loving family, but then you remember you are 18. And you realize those dreams will always be just that....dreams.

Now imagine this.....you are an 18 year old orphan with all of those dreams locked deep inside. You have convinced yourself that you are ok on your own. That this world is hard, and that you don't know what you are going to do after you graduate trade school, but that you are tough and will handle whatever comes your way. But then...a missions teams from America comes to visit. They spend a week with you over winter break and you see a glimpse of something in these people. They are loving, kind, and seem to truly care about you and the orphans that live with you. They possess hope, compassion, and joy that comes only from their Savior. They came all this way just to love on you and your housemates in the name of Jesus. The same Jesus that you have been told about by the Christian caregivers that have taken care of you for many, many years. Those dreams you have buried deep inside begin to bubble to the service, and you start to dare to dream...and pray that maybe, just maybe, the God of love and compassion that you know might just have something big planned for your future.

Fast forward 2 months, and another team comes to spend a week with you and the other children at your home. Some members of this team are the same people that came the last time, that helped you dare to dream. During this week with the team, you begin to realize just how much you truly do need a family, that you do desire a good future where you can live up to the full potential that God has planned for you. You know it seems impossible, but you cry to, and confide in, one of those team members. You bravely give a voice to your dreams of wanting to be a part of a family. You share that you want a Daddy's shoulder to lean against, and a Mom to confide in and be nurtured by. This team member cries with you, and says that no matter what lies ahead, God you are SO loved by God and that he has a special plan for you.

Friends, this orphan is a very real person. And that team member that she cried to and confided in is me. When you experience the heartache and tears of a child that has had to face this world largely on her own for 18 years, and you hear her so bravely share her hopes and dreams, it is IMPOSSIBLE to not do something. Ryan and I came home from this past trip, broken for her. We prayed over her, and how God might use us to touch her life and be that family that she so desperately needs and deserves. Since she is 18, adoption is an impossibility.  Knowing that doing nothing is not an option, with the help of friends and advisors, we have decided to pursue a student visa for her. Student visas are not permanent, but it will offer the opportunity for her to spend several years experience the love, security, and nurturing of a family while she pursues higher education. This will give her the chance to vastly improve her future and pursue whatever profession she chooses.

When Ryan and I told her that we wanted her to come to live with us, be a part of our family, and study she told me that she never dreamed that God could possibly love her so much. That because we care for her, she sees how much God cares for her. I can't think of a more precious thing I could have been told. Isn't that what this world is all about as a believer? To share the love of Christ with others? To make sure they know that no matter what they have experienced in this world, that they are LOVED by the One who made the world? She knows that though her parents did not take care of her, that the LORD will receive her and love her.

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families"

Psalm 68:5-6

Dear friends, we need your help. There are many hurdles and hoops to get through to bring an orphan over on a student visa. The success rate of on an orphan obtaining a student visa is slim to none. But yet we know that we serve a God who is ABLE. He is already at work in this situation, and has provided us with amazing resources to help us get her here. There is a charity organization whose sole purpose and mission is to help Ukrainian orphans obtain student visas. They are willing to work with us and take on our sweet girls case. They have a 99% success rate over the past 9 years. Those statistics are AMAZING!!! It cost $15,000 in fees to obtain their services. You are probably thinking that is A LOT of money!!! Let me tell you, it is! But we can't put a price tag on family. No matter the cost, even if it was double or triple, it would be worth it. SHE is worth it!! On top of these fees, her education will cost approximately $15,000 each year. This must be paid totally out of pocket as there are no grants or scholarships available to international students. We need to raise the first $15,000 super fast to retain the services of this wonderful organization. Ryan and I are asking you to please partner with us in prayer and financially. We know that God has called us to be her family, and we are willing to provide for her in every sense. But we also feel like God is asking us to share in the blessing of helping her. We need prayer and financial warriors that will come alongside us and help us show her just how loved and special she is. Psalm 77:13-15 says, " Your ways, God are holy. What god is great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people". Would you pray about being a part of the miracle of providing a  family to an 18 year old child who dared to dream of being in one?  I can promise that you will be blessed abundantly by helping our sweet girl chase her dreams.

You may give a tax deductible donation by clicking here :

https://www.purecharity.com/dream-big-student-visa

or mail a check to:

1U Project

C/O Wendy Farrell

2625 S. Forrest Heights Ave

Springfield, MO 65809