Both Hands Project - 11/6/10

We serve an awesome God!!!


We arrived at Odessa’s home Saturday morning, planning to work on building a pump house for her water pipes so they wouldn’t freeze throughout the winter. When we got there, they didn’t have any water. The night before, the pipes burst. WOW! God’s timing is amazing.

After eating our breakfast provided by Hardees, we got to work. Most of the men started fixing the pipes and building the pump house. The rest of us blew (with leaf blowers) & raked leaves to help clean the last few leaves of fall off the yard and flower beds. (The family had already gotten rid of the majority of the leaves.) This family does everything they can to take care of their property, but because of physical limitations there are some things they cannot do.  Jeff even had the doors to put on the front of the pump house built, painted, and ready to go!

The weather was warmer than expected and we only saw a few flakes of snow throughout the day. We praise the Lord for controlling the weather for us!!! I (Marie) was able to spend some time talking with Odessa and getting to know her better. She’s a wonderful lady and was so thankful for the help our team gave her.

We left the project saying that even if this didn’t raise any money for our adoption, it was worth it. We were so blessed!!! God uses us in many ways and He works out details! We thank God for the privilege of serving this family!

Our team: Pastor John Bunn, Mike Bush, Jeffrey Keith Watts, Tony Watts, Lenora Bush, Marie Angus, Keith Watts (front), Odessa Watts (our widow), Dean Watts.

Not pictured: Brad Angus took the picture, Mark Underwood contacted businesses to sponsor us, and Jeannie & Robert Baker kept our girls while we worked.

Many other people prayed for us and gave toward our adoption.  THANK YOU to everyone who had a part!!!!!

Before - The old pipes

Broken Pipe

Mike & Tony work on a wall for the pump house

Helping a Widow & an Orphan - Nov 6, 2010

Our fundraiser is scheduled for this Saturday.  We would appreciate your prayers!!!
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are unable to help Pauline as originally planned, but God is in control and has provided us with another woman we can serve.

Meet Odessa (our widow)
Odessa and Keith were saved and baptized on the same day. They married and began serving God. Keith served as pastor to a couple different churches—serving 23 years at the church he was pastoring when he died.  He also worked as a coal miner for 18 years and lovingly provided for his family. When Keith died, Odessa lost her best friend and life-long partner.  Jeff, their youngest son, does everything he can to care for his mother, but he is confined to a wheelchair because of an accident when he was younger. He does beautiful work with his hands and often makes things for our church when we need them.

Our team is going to spend Saturday morning helping nail up gutters, sealing the edges of the roof, weed-eating, etc.  We are also raising sponsors.  All the money raised will go to the adoption of our son.  So, this fundraiser helps both a widow and an orphan!

Please pray 

• that God will bless Odessa and Jeffrey Keith through our team on Saturday. 
• for weather that will allow us to accomplish the projects they need done.
• that God will continue to provide for our adoption - in HIS time, in His way.
• that God will be glorified through this fundraiser and our adoption.

Approximately $1000 has come in for this fundraiser so far.  We still need $14,000.  With the adoption tax credit, we should get $10,000 back, but we have to have the money up front before we can be matched and bring our son home.  A 3-month no-interest loan seems ideal, but so far, God has not chosen to provide in that way.  Please pray that we will trust His plan and allow Him to provide in His way.


If anyone is interested in supporting a fundraiser like this, donations can be made to any of the projects at http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bhProj.html. Just scroll through the page until you see the picture of the family/project to whom you want your donation to be designated.



If you want to give toward our adoption, you can go to the project link above or if you prefer mail,
please make your tax-deductible checks to Lifesong for Orphans. Please preference how the donation may be used by writing “Angus #1442 adoption” in the memo section of your check.
You can give the check to us or send it to:

Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40 / 202 N Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744


Some businesses are giving too. If you know of any businesses that might be interested please pass on the word. They'll get a tax-deductible receipt and, we will list their name on the back of the team's t-shirts if they give $50 or more. We need to know the name they want listed by Saturday Nov 6th to get it put on the t-shirts. (We won't have the shirts by the project date - because I didn't get things organized soon enough, but I think people will wear the shirts afterwards. The front of the shirts will have James 1:27 on them.)
For more information about Both Hands & Lifesong for Orphans, you can check out http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bothHands.html


If anyone wants a t-shirt, you can get one for $10.  Please let me know what size you want.

Thank you especially for your prayers!!  We serve an awesome God!  We know He will provide in His time and in His way.  To God ALONE be the glory!!!!!!

A Little Goes A Long Way

An infant needing a family. A widow living in Eastern Kentucky who just needs a little help. A group of people desperate for pure religion. What could these three things possibly have in common?


All three are coming together to play key roles in an exciting fundraising opportunity taking place on November 6, 2010. This fundraiser will help us adopt our infant son while we spend a day fixing up a widow’s house. We are asking our family and friends to sponsor us while we work on her home. All the money that is donated will be used to bring our child home to his forever family. Think of it like a charity walk, but instead of us walking to raise money, we are going to support a widow in need. I want to give you an opportunity to participate in this awesome project, if you want to. If not, no big deal, but honestly I hope you find this as irresistible as we do. Both Hands, through its partnership with Lifesong for Orphans, is an organization that is dedicated to comforting widows and helping orphans. Lifesong makes it possible for your contribution to be tax deductible.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 (NIV)

Meet Pauline (widow) …

Pauline is a dear lady from our church family who lost her husband almost 2 years ago. Pauline is our neighbor and while her husband Fred was living he often came down and helped us with things around our place. He helped in our garden and even taught our girls how to shuck corn. He was very special to our family and although we miss him, our loss was nothing compared to Pauline’s. She lost her best friend and life-long partner. Since Fred’s death, Pauline has remained active, but is not able to do everything around her place that she would like to. The very day we found out about Both Hands fundraisers, it became clear that Pauline was the widow we wanted to help! Although it was a little difficult for her to accept our offer to help her because she prefers to serve others than to be served, she humbly accepted our offer.

How Can You Help?

We are not all called to adopt, but we can play a part in this wonderful process.

Prayer — Please pray for God’s continued blessing on this adoption process, for God’s timing, that God will bring us the child who will most benefit from joining our family, for the birthparents as they make the difficult decision to allow their child to be adopted and that God would draw them close to Himself through this adoption. Please pray for our family during the waiting time and through the adjustments of adding a child to our family. Please pray for continued blessings on Pauline and for the ministries of the Both Hands Foundation and Lifesong for Orphans.

Team — Please consider joining our team in working Saturday morning (Nov 6th) and/or asking others (friends, businesses, whoever) to financially join our team. You could choose to help another widow and still raise sponsors! We pray this project will raise awareness of the needs of those around us. Even if you can’t work at a widow’s home, you could invite others to join our team.

Financial — Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help cover the remaining $15,000 in adoption expenses as we work with the team to bless the life of this widow, Pauline.

“My friends, adoption is redemption. It’s costly, exhausting, expensive, and outrageous. Buying back lives costs so much. When God set out to redeem us, it killed Him.” ~ Derek Loux



Every Dollar Helps

Please make your tax-deductible checks to Lifesong for Orphans before November 19th. You may preference how the donation may be used by writing “Angus #1442 adoption” in the memo section of your check.

Mail to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40 / 202 N Ford St
Gridley, IL 61744

Donations can also be made online at

http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bhProj.html

Just scroll down the page until you see our picture and click on donate.

*100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs—nothing will be taken out for Lifesong for Orphans’ administrative costs.

*Please note that in following IRS guidelines, your donation is to the non-profit organization Lifesong for Orphans. They retain full discretion over its use, but intend to honor the donors suggested use.

Not Approved for No-Interest Loan

Yesterday we were notified by ABBA Fund that we were not approved for the no-interest loan.  There are just too many people needing financial assistance and they can't help everyone.  Their e-mail was very encouraging and I understand that they can't loan money to everyone who asks.  I have to admit, though, I was surprised that we were not approved. 

A loan makes so much sense to me because we should get a tax credit and we have a grant that won't be sent until the child is in our home.  Both of these are cases where we need the money up front and then will be reimbursed - sounds to me like a loan would work.  I honestly thought that was how God was going to provide the last of the money we need before we can be matched.  I really thought I'd soon be able to tell the agency, "We're ready to be matched!"  I thought this organization was ideal because we wouldn't have to pay any interest.  God MAY still provide a loan, but this is a definite reminder that God does NOT work like I work and He does NOT think like I think.  Isaiah 55:9 states it clearly - "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."  Funny (actually it's sad) that I as a human try to figure out how God will work and even base much of my confidence and my plans on the way I think it's best for Him to work. 

As I was going to sleep last night I decided to listen to a sermon titled "How to Live for God's Glory."  The main point was "We glorify God by trusting Him."  What a timely message for me.  The preacher used Abraham and Sarah (and the birth of Isaac) as an example of this point. 
"Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.'  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised."  Romans 4:18-21 (NIV)

I don't know how many times God has used the story of Abraham and Sarah to encourage and challenge me through this adoption journey.  We have not waited any time compared to them and yet Abraham believed.  The situation seemed impossible and yet Abraham believed.  God has also used their story to warn me not to run ahead and try to accomplish things in my way or in my time.  If I try to "help" God, I will just make a mess of the situation.  And, so, I'm trying to wait and believe. 

Please pray that we will sense God's guidance as to what other steps we need to take.  We do hope to do the Both Hands fundraiser soon.  http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bothHands.html


We have had a wonderful weekend.  We were blessed to spend Friday night in Cincinnati and spend Saturday at Coney Island.  (Someone paid all our expenses.  It was a special time for our family -- a mini-vacation.)  It was extra special that we were able to spend time with Brad's mom & stepdad.  We made great memories and of course we took lots of pictures.  I hope to upload some soon but can't with dial-up.

Have a blessed sabbath - REST in HIM!!!

Both Hands & Paperwork Progress

We got a call from Lifesong for Orphans yesterday.  They approved us to do the BOTH HANDS fundraiser.  We are excited and have quite a bit of work to do to get a team together, etc.  Please pray for us as we organize the project, etc and pray that God will be glorified through this fundraiser.  If you want to read more about it, you can see our previous blog post or go to http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bothHands.html. 

Today we did our fingerprinting again.  Everything has to be done within 12 months of the child's placement in our home.  So, we've been redoing physicals, criminal checks, etc...  I must admit it's been a somewhat frustrating week because I've been confused about some of the paperwork.  After several people helped me, I think today I finally understood what we're supposed to do.  I don't say this to complain.  In fact, I almost didn't admit it.  But, if any people reading this are in the adoption process, they need to know that the adoption journey has it's ups and downs.  Hold on!!!  It will be worth it!

Some quotes from Hope for the Journey that have really encouraged me are


“This is what God has called us to do. We know it’s messy; we know it’s uncomfortable, and it’s going to turn our lives upside down, but this is God’s heart.” ~ Steven Curtis Chapman

and

"The adoption journey is not easy, but every hour of toil, every obstacle encountered, every tear shed, every sleepless night--all are but a shadow of the price that God paid for us."

and

“Looking back at the wait and setbacks we had endured to adopt our son, God’s timing could not have been more perfect. God knew exactly how to connect us to the child he created for us.” ~ Kerry Hasenbalg

$1000 More!!!

We found out tonight that $500 more was given to our matching grant than we were originally told.  That's another $1000 for our adoption!  Praise the Lord!!!  Thank you again to the generous donors!

This week I've spent several hours working on applications for grants, a no-interest loan, and a fundraiser.
Although we prefer not to take a loan, we are willing to take a no-interest loan because we should be able to pay it back with the adoption tax credit we should receive.  We'd appreciate your prayers for the organizations we're applying to - that God would direct in each decision made.  Also, please continue to pray for us as we continue on this jouney.  Please keep Graceful Adoptions and Karen in your prayers as she will begin to show our profile to birthparents.  We want the child(ren) that God wants us to have.

I am very excited about the fundraiser we're applying for.  It's based on James 1:27 and and is called "Both Hands" because it helps both the widow and the orphan.  This works kind of like a Walk-A-Thon or a 5K race.  We find 10 people who are willing to work at a widow's home for a day (landscaping, home improvement, however they can help).  Those 10 people get sponsors (sponsors donate toward a cause if the people work at the widow's home).  Our adoption fund is the cause that receives the financial donations.  So, while we work to help a widow, money is raised to give an orphan a home.  We are applying to work through LifeSong for Orphans so that donors can receive a tax-deductible receipt.

If you want to read more about it, you can follow this link.
http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/bothHands.html

If you're interested in joining our Both Hands team (if we are approved) please e-mail me at marieangus@excite.com.


"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  James 1:27

So glad we waited on God!

God has been working behind the scenes as we've been waiting on Him.  It has been amazing to sit back and let Him work.  Now I don't mean we've been completely idle.  We felt clear to do our homestudy with Adoption Assistance, Inc so we filled out paperwork and had a homestudy visit.  We've looked at some placing agencies, but just haven't felt clear for one reason or another.  The ones we've leaned toward either wouldn't work with us for some reason (like we already have children or we don't make enough money) or had a very negative evaluation from someone we trust.  So, we've just waited.  We are so glad we did.

As we shared in our last blog, God's Grace Adoption Ministries gave us a matching grant of up to $2500.  Generous friends donated $1129.85 so it will become $2259.70.  PRAISE THE LORD and THANK YOU to the friends who gave!!!  Unfortunately, GGAM cannot tell us who gave.  They will only tell us the total given.  This is frustrating because we cannot thank individuals.  So, if you gave and you're reading this, thank you.  We deeply appreciate your gift!!!  One group that gave was the Pro-Life Ministry from Kentucky Mountain Bible College.  It was so encouraging to be supported by college students (who don't have much money) and to be reminded that God will provide in ways we don't expect.

Sunday I (Marie) was called and asked to participate in a ministry opportunity in October.  I said I'd pray about it and I was to give an answer by Wednesday.  I prayed and talked it over with Brad and planned to call between 4 and 6 to say "Yes!" because I could see no good reason to say "No!"  Brad told me that if God wanted to close the door, He could make it clear.  Well, at 4 o'clock the phone rang. It was a lady from an adoption agency that wouldn't typically work with us because we don't make enough money.  They have a required gross income that we don't meet and then they want you to make $10,000 more per child.  I had e-mailed the agency briefly explaining our situation and asked if they made any exceptions.  Instead of simply replying to my e-mail, she called.  We talked for quite some time and she said that Adoption Assistance does such a good job with home studies that if they approve us, she doesn't care how much we make.  WOW!!  The agency also had been refusing to work with most families who can have biological children, but she told me they changed that policy this week.  God is into details!!!!  It sounds very hopeful that we may have a baby much sooner than we were expecting.  Brad & I felt that the possibility of having a baby by the time of the ministry opportunity and the fact that I received the call at 4 PM (the time I had planned to call to accept the opportunity) was God's way of closing the door and I called to say, "No!"

That night we began filling our paperwork for Graceful Adoptions.  We still have some more to do, but it's not too much considering what we've filled out previously.  Much of it is similar to what we've done before, so it's not difficult, it just takes time to put it in the format this agency wants.  It will cost over $20,000 to work with this agency and we will still have some other expenses.  We cannot use the two grants we've been given until we are almost finished with the adoption process.  (This is to guarantee the grants given support adoptions that are completed.)  We know that God is leading and as someone said, "Where God guides, He provides."

I continue to be encouraged by the quote from George Müller, "The greatness of the sum required affords me a kind of secret joy; for the greater the difficulty to be overcome, the more will it be seen to the glory of God how much can be done by prayer and faith."

God Is Guiding

I missed Bible study last week because Brad and I were on a date.  :) 

I was finally able to listen to the lesson this afternoon (Esther Session 6 by Beth Moore).  Wow!  It fit our situation so well.  Beth referred back to a story she shared in session 3 about their bird dog.  Sometimes the dog will see a squirrel and go to full point.  Beth's husband has to literally pick the dog up (it's still in full point) and turn her a different direction so they can continue on their walk.  Beth shared that God often uses a crisis in our lives to change our direction.  That night (session 3) my mind went to our miscarriage and how God used it to lead us to adoption, a totally different path than we had planned.

Today as Beth reminded us of the dog story and shared that "God appoints or allows circumstances (often crises) in our lives to redirect our paths" my mind went to the closing of the agency through whom we wanted to adopt.  I feel a lot like Beth's dog - I was at full point (completely at peace with adoptiong through BCAS) but God has picked us up and turned us a different direction.  I just feel like He hasn't put us down yet.  We do NOT know the direction He wants us to go.  The funny thing is, that's okay.  We are at peace knowing God knows what He is doing!  We trust His plan!  (Little by little the control-freak in me is learning to let go and let God direct my steps ONE AT A TIME!!  I'm learning to rest in Him and let Him be the One in control.)

Please continue to pray for us as we seek God's direction!  We want His will -- whatever that means!  We plan to explore some adoption options because we believe God has led us to adopt.  We are not pounding on lots of doors, but are trying to be sensitive to how God wants us to proceed.  If He totally closes the adoption door, we are okay with that too.  We are blessed to know that God is in control and He is not at all confused with our situation.  We trust that He will reveal His plan in His time and in His way.

We have had a truly exciting answer to prayer this week!  Brad found a used van for us.  It's a 2005 Town & Country.  It was everything we wanted and we were able to pay cash for it!  God is so good!!!
To God alone be the glory!!!

Progress

I haven't blogged for a while because there hasn't been much to write about - at least not about the adoption.  Both Brad and I were blessed to serve on the Fall Emmaus teams.  Wow!  Talking about that could take several blog posts, but that's not why I'm writing tonight.

We're getting close to being done with our part of the adoption process.  Brad had his physical and TB test today.  He took the cats to the vet to be immunized and to get a statement from the vet that they're safe to be around children.

We still need to legally establish guardianship of our children.  (We should have had that done years ago, but it's a tough decision to make, especially knowing that situations change in families regularly and we don't want to reassign guardianship every year.)

We also need to have Infant and Child CPR/First Aid Certification.  We're having some trouble finding someone certified to train us.  Please pray that God will work out the details.

Once we have these things turned in, I thing the agency will be able to complete our homestudy and we will be able to start applying for grants.  We'll still have a couple things to do that the agency requires, but that aren't part of the homestudy. 

We're getting close to being done with all we can do and it's exciting.  Please pray for God's direction, provision, timing, etc.

Homestudy Visit Scheduled

Our homestudy visit is scheduled for October 20th!  That gives me more time to clean! :)  I'm actually in the mood to get rid of some stuff and that's a good thing!!!!  So, let the cleaning continue!!!!!
Please continue to pray for this adoption process.  Here are some specific things you can pray for.

• God will work out the details of what mother chooses us to parent her child
• Birthmother - wise choices, health, comfort - giving up a child is difficult, know God personally
• Baby - health, tender heart, adjustments
• Our girls - acceptance new baby, security in adjusting to a baby in the home (they won't feel slighted as the baby takes up so much time & attention), hearts tender to God, patience in waiting for a brother
• God's Provision - we still need more than $10,000
• Brad & Me - adjustments, peace, trust God, patience in waiting for a son

Thank you for your prayers!  We know God has led us to pursue adoption and we are trusting Him to help us every step of the way.  I'm clinging to the fact that "Where God guides, He provides!"