Husband. Dad to 5. Student Ministry Pastor. Follower of Jesus. Yatta yatta.

TOMORROW IS A BIG DAY

Tomorrow is the first day we bring our kids from the orphanage back to the guest house to stay with us… FOREVER!  From then on, they are with us until we go home to SD.

I’m not sure who it is bigger for, us or them. 

  • For Shannon and I, it means the full time responsibility of caring for 2 more kids is never again negotiable.  They are our responsibility in raising them to be kids who love and serve God.  What a ride this thing called faith is.
  • For them it means they will never again return to the only place they’ve ever called home.  So as not to induce fear in them that we might leave them there at the orphanage, we have been told we cannot take them back until much later in life to visit.  So since they arrived in the orphanage at only 1 month old, the kids will leave behind all they have ever really known as home, the “moms” who have loved and raised them, the beds they have slept in, most of the friends they have, the safety of their walls, and so much more will all be left behind.  Shannon and I may swing in during nap time to say hi and give them some status updates to the “moms”, but our kids will not go back.  

I feel a lot of pressure to do this right.  The phrase, “You only get one chance to make a first impression”  has a whole new meaning in this context.  I’m praying daily that what I’ve learned in the last 11 years as a dad will give me some wisdom as we take on two more.  I’m praying for strength and discernment to avoid mistakes and Big Grace when I inevitably fall short.  Good thing God is bigger than me.

Keep praying.

PS: facebook adopton process updated with 14 new photos.

Comments

  1. this might sound weird, brian (don’t mean it to), but i’m really proud of you.

  2. praying alongside of you and Shannon!

    – The Tolsons

  3. Marko…doesn’t sound weird. Sounds sincere. Thank you for your friendship. Todd, thanks for the prayers … oh and guess what.. the electronics in my house have not blown up yet. I’ll keep you posted if they do 🙂

  4. linda brangwynne says:

    on my knees with you. God’s all over this Brian, just be yourself and enjoy your kids. Encounter PT is praying for you and your fam.

  5. We are praying full time. We love your family.

  6. Pretty awesome! I just looked back at my letter to our kids on the day that they arrived in our home. It brought all the memories back. Man, that was a big day! I think the thing that sticks out in my mind is the fact that we had no idea what we were getting into, we simply had the confidence that the Lord was with us and had directed us to that point. In the end, that was all that mattered! We will be praying for you guys!

  7. I love all your pictures…so precious. Your daughter definatly doesn’t seem camera shy, what a smile=) And those bats are crazy!

  8. Been a bit behind and now catching up, but I’m praying for you guys!

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