It's All About Perspective...

Perspective...

This morning I spoke with a friend, B, who just returned from another African country with his daughter and his newly-adopted grand-daughter.

A few things B said to me reminded me of why we began this journey.

1.) There were eight other families traveling to this country to adopt children. Everyone of them stated their reason for going...God called them to do so. B said that was why every family in their travel group was adopting. I was awe-struck to hear this from him! As a previous football coach, B has a tough-guy exterior and rarely shows a spiritual side. He continued to share how God moved on the hearts of his fellow travelers. B's faith is not the same.

2.) My friend said he never could have imagined the poverty he saw in this country. This country is as poor as Ghana. Recently, our news coverage has been about the devastation in Haiti where the cost of living is approximately $2 per day for each person. Haiti is experiencing great trauma without the internal means to rebuild their country. Friends, they need our prayers.

The standard of living in Ghana, however, is less than $1 per day per person. (I believe it is about the same for the country B returned from. How about that for perspective on the McDonald's $1 menu?)

My friend said he realized his grand-daughter would have grown up in a grass mud hut with a dirt floor, never hoping for anything better. B said he really did not have any concept for the extreme impoverishment he witnessed.

3.) Every morning at 5:00 am the morning wake up call was the city loud speaker calling people to pray to Allah. It is the first of five prayers calls throughout the day! In researching this continent, hearing Mathiang's story, and studying history, it's evident that the primary religion in Africa is Islam.

This afternoon, I started our new read-aloud. It's called The Glorious Age of Africa. We are studying the geography and history. The first empire we are learning about is the, get this, GHANA EMPIRE! Seriously, I had no idea! Coincidence? I think not.

I'm grateful that God continues to point us in His direction. Small events in conversation, timing, etc... are evidence of his leading on this journey. We can not do it alone.

Please continue to pray our child home. I'm completing my autobiography tomorrow, and Reid is starting his. Our goal is to mail the home study application by Friday. Please pray for the time to complete everything!