Translating and a BIG God!

Shortly after receiving Bella’s referral we started processing all the things that would be needed for her when she got home. My dear friend Jennifer, who adopted her 6 year old son (at the time) from Guatemala informed me that we would greatly benefit from having a translator the first few days we arrive back home in order to help us all get adjusted. I am so thankful for that piece of advice from another adoptive mom in a very similar situation. I'm not sure I would have thought of that.

Because of the location of our daughter and a special language she spoke we knew it would be difficult to find someone to help us. Jennifer and I began a journey of prayer and searching out the person that might possibly be able to translate for us. We began talking with every Indian friend, neighbor and family at local schools to see if anyone spoke this particular language. Jennifer even put flyers together for us to post on the International students board at UAB hoping that out of all those international students….someone might possibly know about Bella’s language. But…..nothing.

Confident that God would provide exactly what we needed….we just continued to pray. In the mean time, I began to research this particular language and area in India. To my discovery, I found that only a small number of people with this same language were actually living in the United States and they were pretty much all living in one particular state. And no….it was not our state. Our chances of a translator seemed small. But we knew that certainly would not hinder our BIG God!

One evening about a month ago while in an "adoption" meeting that we were having at our church, a friend of mine was asking me some questions about Bella. Then she asked me, “which part of India is she from? She went on to say….”because I have a friend that just married a guy from an area in India that I have never heard of and speaks a language that starts with a…….” In my mind I'm thinking, “Yeah right….there is no possible way in ALL of India that your friend married a guy that is from the same place my daughter is from OR speaks the language she speaks.” Hesitant, Jeff pokes me and says….. “tell her!”

So I share with her the name of the place and language that Bella speaks and guess what? Y E P!!! (I told you-- He's BIG!!) Stunned I could barely find the words to say and try to communicate to my friend that this is a near impossible thing and that through her at that very moment….she had the answer to a prayer we had been asking the LORD for quite some time. Can you just take this in with me? That is just amazing, friends!!!

So, I begin to learn more about this friend of hers. She used to live in Birmingham and had been members of our church for a long time, but recently married this guy from India and they currently lived in……yep……the state that I mentioned above. (I am having to keep all this specific info private for the safety of our daughter…so please just bare with me here) How would I have found that kind of a connection other wise?

Now I’ve got a number to call and someone to talk to about possibly translating for us when our daughter gets home. So, anxiously I connect with this girl on the phone and talk to her about her husband and the language and if they’d be willing to help us. They were thrilled to help! It actually turns out that they are also interested in adopting from the same place as well and were so happy to be able have a part in our adoption. oh, BUT….the story grows!!

I found out in that conversation that not only is her husband from the same state that Bella is currently living…..that some of his immediate family still lives there!! Guess what??….not just the same state, but the exact same town and that they also work in some of the local orphanages. ARE YOU CATCHING THIS!?? There is NO way this is a coincidence. This is a BIG BIG God and one that has shown us a glimpse of how beautifully and carefully He has woven in all the personal little details of this adoption.

Now, though I can not say at the moment…..I believe there are much bigger reasons of the significance of the family living in the very same little town….and I will hopefully share those later….but for now…. what it means for us is that in all of these wonders shown us by God….my new friend and her husband are also traveling back to his home to see his family (for the first time as a married couple) in July through the beginning of August. Again...just more awe! Our hope and prayer is that we will be there at the same time with them to introduce Bella to the guy who will be helping her to get adjusted when she gets home and to possibly help us some while there. At the very least they can take her some gifts and things from us on their trip when they travel. We will see what all the LORD has in store.

As far as translation goes with them living in a different state….we’ve actually been told by Bella’s international medical team that this is a good thing so that she doesn’t form an parental type attachment to someone so similar to her. We’ll just plan on phones calls and Skype to get us through our language barriers! And WHO knows what all will happen down the road with this amazing connection. But for now…we just rejoice and marvel in a God who just never ceases to amaze us. Time and time again He shows Himself in this process, affirming our path to Bella. Let’s give Him some PRAISE!!!

***Updated!!****Photo Session Fundraiser for my Home Town Peeps!

*****this has been updated 5.11.11!! Don't miss out on this great deal!!

Check out what a friend of mine from my home town has put together for us to help us Bring Bella home! So for all you Alvin and surrounding area folks...this is for you!

Bringing Bella Home

A Photography Fundraiser

by Melissa Rose Crowder

Jeff and Brittnie Wilbanks, being called on by the Lord, began an adoption process 2 years ago. They are happy to announce that they will soon be parents to a beautiful 7 yr old daughter from India.

Adoption is a big financial journey as well. I have teamed up with The Wilbanks by holding a Family Portrait Fundraiser. All proceeds from this event will go towards bringing Bella home.

For a $100 donation now you can set up a session with me up to 6 months. 1/2 hr session gets you 10 images FREE on a CD ...that's a $200 value! (postage is $5 if I can't hand deliver).

If you would like to participate, please contact me at mkcrowder@sbcglobal.net to set up your own session.

You can also contact me at 832-689-5241.

You can view my photography website here.

God Bless, Melissa Rose Crowder

If you choose not to do pictures, you can still donate, no amount is too small.

A Painting Success!

The last two weekends we've been painting up a storm over here! Why? A friend of mine approached me months ago about having a painting fundraiser to help us raise some money for our adoption. Not being the artsy type AT ALL, I agreed not knowing if anyone would be interested in that kind of thing in the slightest and honestly put it off awhile.

Since we received our referral in February I knew I better get a move on SOMETHING to help us get the funds we need to bring this darling home. So, off we went to planning some painting sessions (kind of like Sips n Strokes but minus the sips) :-) We called it "Brush Strokes for Bella" The minute I sent out the email invitations I was floored at the interest and excitement! We had people that wanted to bring their friends, their Sunday School members and even their children for mommy/son/daughter dates!

And I am so happy to say that these couple of classes raised a little over $1,500! We were so overwhelmed! The LORD really surprised us with this one! And I have to say that I never knew I'd love this kind of painting so much. I think the other ladies would agree with me as well. It was truly a blast and a blessing all at the same time. I can't wait to show our Bella the precious pictures of all the ladies that painted to help bring her home.

I want to share a couple of pictures with you so you can see how fun it was.

Our first session we painted crosses.
This was mine that I painted for Bella's room!

Precious!
2nd session receiving their instructions for our floral painting!

The master artist showing us how it's done!





Finished products! Simply beautiful!

If you'll take a look over on the right hand side of this blog you'll see the remaining funds needed to travel to pick up our little girl on our financial tracker! $15,000 is A LOT of money.....but already with only a couple of painting classes we knocked a bit of a chunk out it. We trust the LORD will provide the remaining funds in time.....since He is the one that called us to this journey.

If you are interested in helping us bring in the remaining funds to get our daughter home....here are some of the ways you can do that.

1. If you love coffee....we have a coffee store. Click here for store. $5 per bag goes toward our adoption.

2. A friend of mine is offering a Spanish Class one afternoon or evening and the cost of the class will go directly to our adoption. Date and time forthcoming. Let me know if you are interested.

3. My friend Heather is donating 40% of all the money she makes this month (the entire month of April) on her Mary Kay website to our adoption. Shipping is entirely free! Click here for her site. So, if you interested in any MK products of any kind at all....go check out her link. Feel free to pass this link on to others. (***Also, Mother's Day is fast approaching...might be a good gift idea?)

4. Of course....you can donate money via check or (credit card through our PayPal link) on this blog. Simply click the donate button on the right hand side of the page.

Lastly....we truly need your prayers. That is what it is going to take to get this sweet one home.

We Have A Daughter!!

We have a daughter!

The time has finally come! It has been 2 LONG years and I am so thrilled that the LORD has finally revealed the daughter that He has chosen for us. In my last blog called, “Glimpses from God?” I shared with you some instances that would indicate perhaps that God was about to make His move and bring forth that referral. Well, believe it or not…we received that referral the very next morning! The phone call came completely unexpected. I had no idea the LORD would act that quickly!

Our agency sent the referral via email that very next day and we said “yes” to her verbally, but it actually took over a month to get those papers to our house from India so that we could put pen to paper to make it official! We got those papers this past Tuesday and couldn’t wait to get our signatures on them!

And now we are getting a tad bit silly. But it's such a fun occasion!

We excitedly wrote our names in those blanks that asked if we would take her as our daughter and sent them back to India that very same day! Praise the LORD! So, this is why I am just now sharing the news via the blog world! If all goes well with the necessary approvals in India we are on a fast track to bring our daughter home in possibly 3-5 months. We shall see.

I am very limited on what I can say about her and the circumstances right now but I can tell you that she is 7 years old and PRECIOUS! When we started this journey 2 years ago we had an infant on the brain and over the last several months the LORD has done a number on our hearts over the older children. (still plan to blog about this topic soon) And even though we initially said we would prefer a child 6 years old and under, who in the world could say no to this face?
Please meet our sweet Bella.

So many more details to come in the days ahead of God’s hand in this whole process. Only Him. He is so worthy of all our praise.

Children of God

Love this new video by Third Day!

Glimpses from God?

In the last couple of weeks a few things have happened that have perhaps been little glimpses of God that our Bella will hopefully be here soon? First....I had my first dream of her. Jeff and I took one look at her and said....that's our girl! A sweet friend messaged me a couple of days ago where she also had a dream that we got her.

And then....just Friday night....I was packing a weekend bag for our oldest son and ran to get him a towel for his suitcase. I grabbed a towel out of "Bella's Bathroom" and walked downstairs to put his name on the tag. Just before I put the pen to the tag...I noticed the name, "BELLA". What? Wow! Looked again and just below the name was the coolest thing. "Made in India". I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. So exciting!

It may sound a bit silly....but what are the odds? Right? Those were some of mom's towels from her house in Texas that she gave me when she moved in with us. With out thinking I just placed them in Bella's bathroom. No one had any idea what precious words were written on that towel. Until now. Such a sweet moment.

Lastly, there are finally some changes happening in India right now in the adoption world. And hopefully they will have some very positive affects on our adoption...and we are praying this will cause things to happen much quicker than anticipated.

Glimpses? I sure hope so.

We are so ready.

Lead me to the Rock....Revisited

I've been trying to ignore it since yesterday. But it still sits there making itself known. The lump of grief.....it's there....right in the middle of my throat sitting there so thick and heavy. Even forcing its way up in the middle of the night while I lay trying to sleep. I try to shove it back down. With force I keep it at bay so it won't turn into the ugly cry. You know what I mean....the one you can't control.

Stopping my mind over and over from thinking of the details that happened on January 13th 2008 that led to my father's death. 3 years ago today. So long ago...yet so fresh on my mind it feels like yesterday. So, rather than recalling raw and painful memories ....I am choosing to reflect on the precious ones today. I am resurrecting some words (below) I typed 2 years ago in memory of my sweet daddy. *Sigh*. How I miss him so.

Psalm 61:1-2
Lead Me to the Rock
A Psalm of David.

1Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; 2from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 61 was a similar prayer my father had been offering up to God for about five months. At the news of his cancer, he began calling on the only one who could rescue him. All of us were crying out to God for deliverance from that evil disease. However, God didn’t answer quite how we expected. As I type this letter, a year ago today, this very minute my father left us and was delivered home to be with the LORD.

In his last few days, the cancer had taken its toll on my dad’s body and left him bed ridden and very incoherent. While watching him slowly slip away from us, my mom and I received a precious gift from the LORD the day before my father’s death. We witnessed miraculous things and experienced incomparable joys!

Dad had woken up from a deep sleep and began carrying on coherent conversations with us. His personality came to life as he began his joking and playing pranks on my mom which brought us sweet laughter. We got to huddle and love on one another and talk for long periods of time. We were able to express fears as well as provide assurance of provisions for mom once dad was no longer with us. We spoke of the difficult situation at hand and of how much he would be dearly missed. Precious conversations!

Later, to our surprise, dad sat up in bed and requested his glasses and the news paper, not hesitating for a second to go straight to the sports page. We even enjoyed a playoff football game together where he was happy to share his thoughts and opinions on players and teams as he always did. To our delight, dad didn’t waste a minute to ask to enjoy the sheer pleasure of swigging down 2 chocolate (milk chocolate Bluebell of course) milk shakes. Don’t think for a minute that he didn’t exclaim, “Mmmm, that’s so good!” one more time.

We laughed, we cried, we reminisced, we prayed together, confessed, forgave, loved deeply and reconciled all things. All of life’s earthly pleasures were enjoyed to the fullest one last time. As well, all eternal questions and decisions were completely squared away as we thoroughly discussed salvation in Christ alone, by faith alone. Dad reaffirmed his trust and hope in the LORD as he uttered the sweetest words, “who else do I have?” God demonstrated great mercy and grace to us. Never had we experienced such loving presence from the Father.

But, one thing left mom and I stunned that day. Dad spoke of a dream he just had that morning. As he described the dream, he told us he found himself walking down a long path. At the end of the path he sat on a rock and there he began talking to God. At the time it didn’t make any sense to either mom or I. We pondered it, then accepted it and moved on.

Today we fully know what was happening in what seemed to dad as a dream. It was the answer to the prayer he had been praying all along. “Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I”. It was not an answer of temporary deliverance. Jesus led dad down the path to The ROCK of his salvation, where he would find himself just the next morning, talking with God face to face, permanently. I praise you FATHER for letting us enjoy him one more day before you delivered him home.

Dad, I love you and miss you dearly.
With love always,
Your daughter, BB

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Change of Plans

The following is from the "Together for Adoption" Website.

Saturday Fox Family Night Movie – Adoption
by Dan Cruver Published Jan 7, 2011


Jedd Medefind:

As discussed in a previous post, the made-for-TV movie “Change of Plans” airs this Saturday night (8 PM, 7 Central). Following the movie, there will be a LIVE 45 minute webcast on adoption and foster care. Viewers will be able to submit questions to a panel of experts, including former Alliance Board member Paul Pennington, director of Hope for Orphans.

Also of note, a thoughtful Change of Plans Discussion Guide has been prepared for the movie as well. If you’ve got a group coming over to watch the show or just wanted to stimulate a good conversation among your family, the guide could be a helpful launch point.

You’ll be able to watch the webcast at http://www.familiesforall.org/.

For more information on the show, check here.

Uganda Magazine Necklaces & Bracelets

Uganda Magazine Necklaces & Bracelets

Help us bring our daughter home!

We are currently selling Ugandan Necklaces and Bracelets to help us raise money to bring our daughter home from India.

Each bead is made from recycled paper and individually rolled. The colors in the beads are the colors that are in the paper. All the necklaces and bracelets are one of a kind and handcrafted by the widows that live in remote villages in Africa.

By purchasing these necklaces and bracelets from us you are not only helping us raise the funds needed to bring our daughter home from India but you are also helping the widows of Uganda to live and thrive in their everyday lives. What could be better than fulfilling the mandate of James 1:27?

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.

James 1:27

Here are some of the beads I have available.

I have a few of these left.

They are long ones (58"-64") and they are $30

These are all medium size necklaces (34"-38") and are $30

Aren't they beautiful?

Let me know if you are interested.

It's a NEW YEAR!

It's a NEW YEAR...and I sure hope we bring that sweet girl home this year!

Please LORD...Bring Bella Home this year!

Jesus Our Manna

JESUS OUR MANNA

Another year has come and gone and who can fathom this great wonder of time flown by. 365 days passed yet again and countless times we (sometimes unknowingly) experience God’s mercy and grace. And what a year it has been. In our last Christmas letter we “ended” with the “beginnings” of building a new house. With mom’s move from Texas into our prior home, we needed a little more room and this year we have it! How very thankful we are for this huge blessing. We love our new house! The house has met all our needs as a growing family. More room to give mom space of her own. She now has her own “house” in the basement and she loves it! We also needed more room upstairs so we can bring those precious babies home that God has called us to through adoption. God has provided for what He has called us to and we so grateful.

We really had no idea of what we were getting ourselves into with building a new house. It nearly consumed our lives. It was however so much fun picking out all the things “we wanted” for it like colors, styles, flooring and cabinets etc. And we definitely tailored it to our liking…Texas style! How could we not? But between finishing the house (which we did a good bit ourselves) and moving into the house in early July, we really spent every waking minute for months getting things done and settled. We keep calling our summer, “the lost summer”. And it really was. We totally missed out on all the fun the summer brings. But outside of our house consumption…we actually did experience some unforgettable times that the LORD allowed us to have as “makeup” for our lost time. A grace-covering if you will.

One of those times was the LORD calling Jeff and providing for him to go to Africa. He spent two weeks in Uganda with a mission team to help orphaned children. Whoa. What an experience for us all. He had some incredible opportunities to feed children, help build a new walk-in cooler and freezer and even tie in some electricity for a couple of people to have a light bulb for the very first time. Can you imagine? How we take our blessed lives for granted. By far, opportunities to share the gospel to a people who have never heard were highlights. But witnessing extreme poverty firsthand was definitely eye opening to say the least. How all of our hearts have been changed. Another covering of God’s grace was the day our sweet Jadon gave his life to Jesus. With grateful hearts we praise the LORD for answering prayers that we have prayed for our children since their time in the womb.

Those were some definite highlights of our year. But, It would not be “real life” if I shared only our joys and the good times if I did not come transparent before you to show you our life’s sorrows and pains. Nothing hidden here. Just our lives sliced open wide for others to see that we get cut and we bleed like all humanity. And we have bled while we continue to wait for our Bella. I can’t believe an entire year has passed by and we still don’t have her. It’s truly heartbreaking to wait such a long time to bring home a little girl who desperately needs a family. Though, I guess waiting could have been more painful if we were sitting around twiddling our thumbs. But, this year’s busyness with the house has helped ease the pain a bit in our wait. We actually were so close to getting a little girl just a few weeks ago when we accepted a referral match….only to lose her at our saying “yes” and waiting to hear back to proceed. She went to another family who got in a “yes” before we could. So now we wait again trusting God to deliver our child at the right time. He knows what’s best.

Along with all the good that came with the move into a new house…. there was some not so good. There were particular situations that came about during the building of this house that caught us completely off guard. Never have we experience such hardship. The unforeseen challenges tested us in every way physically, emotionally and spiritually. With those challenges came also the difficulty of carrying two mortgages (which we knew was a great probability). Our old house has still not sold in this crazy economy and we continue to foot the bill for two houses. I think it goes with out saying that this has left huge financial burdens. I have said on numerous occasions that this year we are just trusting God for daily bread. Truly we have depended on Him daily for our every need. And over and over He has provided. It has caused me to focus on these particular verses here recently. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.” John 6:48-50

This particular verse refers back to a period of time in the Old Testament where God’s people were in the wilderness after having just been delivered from slavery in Egypt. God brought them to a desert land where they literally had to trust God for daily bread. It was total dependence and God was faithful to provide daily through a honey wafer called manna. His provisions are most certainly sweet. Clearly, it’s the times in the wilderness when we see God’s hand of provision most clearly. This has been true of us…to be able to watch as He shows up at the right time and place to provide for our every need. To witness firsthand how He very clearly makes Himself known as Jehovah Jireh. (The LORD provides) We praise Him for His goodness. But, if we were left with just temporal earthly blessings alone, this indeed would not be sweet. Even the Israelites died in the wilderness after eating the “mystery bread.” Even it did not preserve life then and it does not preserve it now. We need something more.

We are in desperate need of another “manna,” the true bread that comes down from heaven to give us eternal life. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life” and anyone who eats of this bread will not die. Praise God that He does more than provide for our earthly needs.... He provides for our eternal ones. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3 This is truly the mystery. That God would step out of Heaven and come down to us as manna. Real food. Real Life. Is this not the real meaning of Christmas? This is why we celebrate this time of year. If we fall short of just looking forward to getting life’s earthly temporal pleasures and possessions during this Holiday, we would still go hungry. But we now no longer have to be starved from the only thing that can satisfy. We now have all we need. We have the bread that comes down from heaven. Jesus our manna. Will you partake of this bread with us this Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

The Wilbanks

A long Over-Due Update!

Well, let's see....50 blog posts in 2009 and only 6 in 2010. I think there is something wrong with this picture. Between late April until now we have been extremely busy. We were finishing up the building of a new house ourselves, moving in this summer, and we are still painting, staining, etc to make this house complete. Not to mention there has really not been much to report. So, needless, I'm lacking on blogging.

BUT I am going to catch you up to speed. Thankfully, we do have a new larger home to bring home babies in. For that...I am so grateful. But, it still could be some time before we get them home. Our agency has been working on solidifying partnerships with orphanages in India for many months. Currently there have been two partnerships made which is a very good thing! However, one orphanage is in the process of getting licensed in order to actually "do" adoptions. The other is complicated. (i might blog about that some other time)

Our best bet at this moment is the orphanage that is working on getting licensed. We are told it could be another 6 months before they are approved to make referrals. So, this is looking like the one we are waiting for. We are still also waiting for CARA (Central Adoption Resource Agency) to pass their newest adoption guidelines that might also allow us to have a quicker referral. BUT...we've been waiting on them to push those guidelines through since we began this process in April of 09. So, I'm not banking anything on that option.

The other twist in this story is that it is becoming increasingly harder to adopt an infant from India. Adoption agencies are finding that India is really allowing less adoption of infants and more adoptions of older children and children that are severely special needs. The more we hold out for an infant....the even longer it will be to receive a referral. So, we have been doing some serious thinking and praying! And to our surprise...the LORD really did a number on our hearts! (hoping to blog on this NEXT!)

We realize that this adoption is NOT about us. It has nothing to do with us. But it has everything to do with God's heart for ALL the children out there that do not have homes. It's about Him setting the lonely in families!(Ps. 68:6) Who are WE to say, what, where when and how old? Right? Especially after being reminded that it is the older children that are often over looked because more people want infants and these older children age out of the system and are left out on the streets to try to make it on their own. You can only imagine what that might entail.

So, with all that said, we have decided to be willing to receive a referral of a child age 6 and under. This will help us out with a lesser wait and it allows for God to have His way with us. We also are willing to receive a sibling group if available. So, who knows what the LORD has in store for us. But we are open to what ever He wants and have cast aside what it is that we think we want. We will be blessed with whom ever the LORD chooses.

So, lastly...there is somewhat of a glitch in this whole process. Since our moving into the new house...we've yet to sell the old one. It has been on the market now for over a year and since moving to the new house in July...this has put us under a pretty tough financial strain. AND to make matters more interesting...our immigration papers are expiring (it's already been almost 18 months!)and need to be renewed. So, we begin the journey of starting over, getting all new finger prints done, backgrounds, police clearance, updated home study, DHR approval, Immigration approval and consulate approval etc. And hoping that we will even be approved.... given our current financial status.

We are trusting in God alone to work all this out for us. To me it seems impossible. But, I know the ONE who says nothing is impossible with HIM. So, there we place our trust. Knowing that He will work all things for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

We truly covet your prayers at this time.
To God alone be all glory.