Matthew 6:12   And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

We owe a debt that we can't pay and there's no doubt that God is in the business of forgiving debts.  Friday night we got the news that we've been waiting almost four years to hear.  The Brownies were gathered in our music room tuning up our instruments in preparation for Sunday morning at Seivern Baptist Church when the call from the realtor came in.  It had been a long week with three house showings.  If you've ever had a house on the market then you know the pain of living in a showcase house.  I found myself grumbling as I cleaned and begging God that this would be the last time.  

We have had a hard road of trying to sell this house.  We knew that the market dropped shortly after we purchased the house 7 years ago and the value greatly decreased.  We tried selling it with some great realtors who did their very best, but the reality that we owed more than what the house would appraise for was not hidden from any of us.  At one point we decided to take the house off of the market to refinance and consider renting, but to no avail, the appraisal came back too low to refinance.  Hard decisions, hard times.  We have a debt that we can't pay.

We have known for a while that the Lord was calling us in to missions.  We know that the burden of this house is weighing down that call.  We need some debt forgiveness!  We negotiated with our bank about a short sale.  There were so many concerns going into this process, but mostly we wanted to honor God with our finances and pay for what we signed on to pay.  We prayed so hard that God would sell our house at full price, or for the amount that we owed, or close to it, but it just wouldn't happen!  We have a debt that we can't pay.  

Finally this Friday, God sent a buyer.  Our realtor dropped the price a great deal last week, and a buyer looked and liked what he saw and made us an offer.  We can't poetically write the excitement we feel to have someone signed on to hang in there through the short sale process with the bank and to eventually call this house a home.  We are thrilled beyond words and Praise God for bringing a buyer!  Now we hang in suspense as to whether or not the bank is going to accept this buyer's offer, an offer that is very much lower than what we owe.  We have a debt that we can't pay.   

We know that God is in the business of debt forgiveness!  So we wait with confidence that He is ruling and reigning at the bank.  Join us in Praise that God has sent someone who wants to buy our home.  Join us as we ask God to forgive us our debts.  And may we always also forgive our debtors.  Always remembering what He has done for us, so that we can show His mercy and forgiveness to others.  

Amy
     

Genesis 3:
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

This is a snake that was crawling in a tree next to us during our large yard sale yesterday.  So we crushed its' head.  Actually I chucked it out of the tree with a long bamboo stick and Luke cut its' head off with a hoe.  We were not deterred and resumed the yard sale.

There is such symbolism with the serpent in the tree.  The enemy of God and man seeking to steal, kill, and destroy.  However, we put our hope in Christ.  We submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from us.  Then we cut off his head.

Our yard sale was a huge success in so many ways.  We actually sold all of the big items that we put up for sale and many of the smaller items.  The last big item sold right as the rain started as if God was telling us,"OK - that is enough for today.  Go rest."  

We met many cool people.  One lady we were able to minister to and pray for.  Several others seemed interested in learning more about the calling God has placed on our lives.  A few people were able to share some cool stories of how God has shown Himself to be powerful and real to them, such as one lady who has a powerful testimony as a cancer survivor.

One of the most emotional moments was selling our little kitchen table.  It was the first thing we bought when we lived in California.  It was a little table with two folding ends that fit perfectly in our little kitchen at Alpine Village.  We didn't even have it out for sale.

A lady came by and asked if we had any small tables for sale and Amy brought her inside to shop around.  She liked the little table and bought it right away.  I came inside to carry it out for the lady and noticed tears in Amy's eyes.  So many emotions.

It was awesome to shed some weight.  Selling all those big things helped us loosen our grip on the rest of our stuff, show us how much more stuff we still have to deal with, and motivate us to actively move forward with doing something about it.

Right after the rain started the kids all started hopping up and down to go to the lake.  We grabbed a bite to eat and drove over to Clark's Hill to refresh for a while.  All of us swam and Amy sat under a tree relaxing and checking out Facebook.  God held off the rain for us long enough to have a refreshing swim.

Refreshed from the swim we came home and started sorting out the big mess.  With no more shelves all of our stuff is just kind of laying around.  Literally hundreds of books that we have to make decisions about.  We bagged up a whole bunch of stuff to give away and sorted through more stuff to sell.  One step closer to Haiti.  God please sell this house!

In Christ,
Laramie

2014 Christian Alliance For Orphans Summit 10

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the 10th annual Christian Alliance For Orphans conference.  The Hands and Feet Project sent me to Chicago along with 4 other Hands and Feet ladies and one husband-to keep us all straight! I enjoyed the fellowship with the ladies of Hands and Feet as much as I did the conference.  

It was a great delight to room with Jennifer Moore. We will be working alongside her and her family in Haiti.  Jen and I stayed up way too late talking about just about everything under the sun.

The conference had almost 3,000 in attendance and 35 different countries were represented.  There were amazing testimonies shared by orphans who have been saved by Jesus Christ, adopted into families, and are successful adults with ministries of their own- now dedicated to helping the fatherless.  Many times I was moved to tears with such amazing stories of hardship and redemption.  Truly the fatherless is cared for by our Father in heaven. 

I attended a break out session and learned of how caring for the orphan in other countries racked by poverty and hardship is being preached and how the church is reacting by stepping up to take care of their children.  In countries such as China, Ethopia, and Uganda believers are struggling so hard to feed their own family members, but I heard several speakers tell how the Gospel of Adoption is being preached in the local church.  

The Gospel - the Good News - that we were once orphans unclaimed, dead in our sin, hopeless, yet Christ loved us, died for us, claimed us, saved us and brought us into His family.  This Good News, this adoption story is motivating believers around the globe to surrender to caring for orphans.  

The Church in China, Ethopia, Uganda, and many other countries is accepting the call in James 1:27 and children are being adopted into families and being loved with Christ's love.  What a beautiful privilegde it was for me to learn of the work the Lord is doing around the globe. 

I attended a few classes that dealt with child psychology and caring for children with trauma and abuse.  I saw pictures of brains, learned big words, learned all about brain development, hormones, and the damage that can be done in the womb before the baby even enters this world.  Wow!  I learned how incredibly important it is for a baby to enter this world with loving parents that take the time to meet her every need from the moment her life begins.  

I was encouraged by these classes in my own parenting and reminded just how much I missed my four blessings as I was far away in Chicago!  I promise you it was a sweet reunion at the airport when I returned!  And I must say that Laramie took very good care of them while I was away.  (Thank You to Mr. Bruce and Mrs. BJ for stopping by to have lunch with the kids each day, they had a blast and hail Mr. Bruce as the champion badmitten player!)

The child psychology classes stated again and again the necessity to meet the needs of children.  The speaker said neglect can even be found in areas where parents let their baby 'cry it out'. Meeting the needs of a crying baby gives the child a voice and builds trust.  In fact, neglect was listed as just as damaging to a child as physical abuse.  Older children with neglect and abuse in their past can show healing when their new caregiver thinks of them in terms of a newborn and responds likewise by offering food, warmth, and a calm voice.  

Seems so simple, but so profound. While the thought of neglect and abuse to a child is tragic, sad, and a cause of brain damage, it was exciting to find out that this damage is not permanent when LOVE enters onto the scene.  You see, the speakers that taught these classes are doctors with lots of letters behind their names, but more importantly they are Christians. They believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ and know that His love covers a multitude of sins.  

I wish you could have heard some of the stories too. You would have cried with me and felt confident at the end of the conference that God is in the business of making beauty from ashes. 

My last session was taught by the Christian singer, Sarah Groves. She emphasized how art, story telling, and music is a great way for orphans to tell their stories to the world.  She noted that there is very little artwork depicting the life of an orphan due to the sadness it brings.  She wanted so badly to bring awareness to the dire need for orphan care around the world.  

She searched herself and thought that getting a law degree would be a good path to be of help.  However, when she shared this new goal with those involved in orphan care ministry they shut her new idea down!  To her amazement they told her... WRITE SONGS!  Yes, write songs about orphans!  Song writing is what God has gifted her to do, so this was a great fit.  In fact she made an entire album!  Her desire is for orphans to be able to produce art that tells their story.  Beauty. From ashes.

I wanted to share these things with you, I came home with a swimmy head filled with the new things I learned.  I was encouraged to be a part of 3,000 people who all have a heart for caring for the fatherless, taking the Bible literal, setting aside their own personal needs, and taking up the cause of helping the weak.  Praise God that His Christian soldiers are marching onward!  
By His grace we will accept His call, surrender it all, and care for the orphans of Haiti.

Amy Brown