Orphan Sunday 2011

I LOVE this video for Orphan Sunday!!! You gotta see it. Orphan Sunday is right around the corner.....coming Sunday November 6th. How can you serve the orphan? What is God calling YOU to do?

Orphan Sunday 2011 from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Why India?

About 10 years or more ago and without any rhyme or reason I fell in love with the people and place of India. I can’t explain exactly how it actually happened. It wasn’t over night but with in a short amount of time some how God birthed a love in my heart for India and it’s people.

As this love began to grow it just so happened that the church we were members of at the time had partnered with some mission teams in Karnataka, India. The staff and members of our church began to meet and learn about the people of Karnataka and the work that was to be done there and my love for India began to take shape. At the time I had little ones at home and did not feel led to actually travel at this point but stayed totally enthralled and connected through the work that was taking place.

Around the same time I had found an amazing ministry led by KP Yohannan, called GFA (Gospel for Asia). As I read what KP had to say about the people of his homeland and the statistics of India I began to get more of a glimpse of the vast lostness and darkness of this nation and how desperately they needed to hear about our Savior! In those moments, my heart was pierced and my love deepened.

When we moved to Alabama 5 years ago, Jeff connected with an old buddy from where he grew up and to our surprise, he was a missionary that traveled world wide and had been to India several times. Anxious and hopeful God would define my passion for India we had him over for a weekend visit. Our friend’s gifting and purpose for his mission trips was videography. So he brought to us not only stories and experiences of God’s work in India. He brought to us faces. Faces of the people who were so desperately seeking the ONE who created them in His image. Faces, so beautiful yet so empty and full of hopelessness.

This changed the whole thing for me. After our friend left, I watched the videos all over again and then wept for hours. I wept for the nation, I wept for the people… for the children….the many children on the streets, naked and rummaging though trash and living in slums. I wept over the look of brokenness and hopelessness. I just wept. I hadn’t’ known a hurt in my heart like that before. God’s heart. This is how He felt too.

So, how do I get there? And when? I tried to get to India by taking our missionary friends suggestion and jumping in with a group who were going back to India soon. I tried seeking out a couple of other opportunities to make a trip. But, no. God said not now. So I pushed the hold button. During that same time of heart ache I began to have dreams. Dreams about the people of India and the huge harvest out there and the workers who were so very few. All I could do was pray and ask God to show me why He had put this love in my heart and what He would have me do.

And then….exactly 2 years later….the LORD sent me a HUGE message. He flat out called us to “Bring Justice” to the orphan and oppressed and He showed us what do to. “Adopt”. "Adoption", such a simple word, but an enormous world. Where would we begin? From where would we adopt? We began to think and pray. So much need...how would we know? Where has God shown us the most need lately? God whispered, India. Yes....this is it!

After all these years….my hearts passion finally made sense. After years of a growing love for a people and a country….it was all coming together. We have a daughter in India. No, not a daughter. OUR daughter! God put a love in my heart for India because our daughter was there. This was ordained for us before the foundation of the world and He was revealing it to us now. Who can fathom this?

I don’t believe the story ends here. In fact, I know it doesn’t. So many other things we hope will come out of this for the people of India. Some things that are happening even now that will leave our hearts in India for quite some time….and some things that will come later. I can’t wait to share it with you all soon.

What has God put in your heart? Be patient and wait for it. He has great plans in store for you. All for your good and His great Name and Glory.

For the Fatherless,

Don’t miss these fun opportunities to win!
A Chance to Win.
Let's have some Fun!
and our Tshirt is still available here:
"Adopted" Tshirt

All helps us get our sweet girl home!

A Chance To Win!!!

UPDATE!!!!!
These "Out of the Box Framed Hymn Cross" art pieces are now selling for $40. If you enter for the contest to WIN one of these, We'll give you a $10 discount on buying one! TODAY (7.15.11) is the LAST CHANCE to enter!

This is so exciting! Here is another offer to win fun stuff!
Would you like to win a beautiful framed hymn cross like this?

A very talented friend of mine who has her own business called "Out of the Box" is offering a piece similar to the winner. For a chance to win....this is what you do:

Go to the top right side of this blog and find the donate button named "Out of the Box Framed Hymn Cross" and follow the instructions to make your $10 donation.

For every $10 you donate you will be entered into the raffle. So, if you enter $20 you will be entered twice or $30 for three entries etc.

Deadline is July 15th! We'll announce the winner by July 18. :)

Sound Fun?

Let's bring this baby home!

Let's Have Some Fun!!

Hey Friends-

Why don't we have a little bloggy fun while we wait for Bella to come home! Take a guess at what our travel date to India will be and I'll give away a Stabucks gift card or Yogurt Mountain (or something like that) for two!! One guess per person and make your guess in the comments section only. I'll announce the winner (who ever gets the closest) once we get the info and I'll mail you your prize!!

Thanks for joining the fun!

For all those precious children,

Brittnie

Bella's Big Girl Tea

My dear friend Polly offered to put together a very special day of showering for Bella. We obviously didn't need a baby shower....but we certainly needed some girly PINK in the house! So Polly along with some other of my sweetest friends put together "A Big Girl Tea" to celebrate Bella's coming home and to shower her with gifts. I thought that I would share some snippets of the day.

Here is the precious invitation that went out.

The DELICIOUS food that was provided.

Some beautiful pink embellishments

This tree was so special. It had pictures of Bella all over it along with some very precious scripture about orphans.

The opening of gifts

The pink girly things that Bella received!

I LOVE this gift. Bella is going to need to learn how to ride a bike so she can keep up with her big brothers!

The ladies that made it all happen.

What a beautiful day to celebrate our precious girl....and one I can't wait to share with her when she finally makes it HOME.

Praying Bella home SOON,

Exciting Updates on Bella!

We have some exciting updates on Bella!

A couple of weeks ago our Adoption Agency flew to India to work on the partnership they have with our orphanage and to solidify some other adoption processes as well. In that process they were going to be able to meet our Bella and spend some time with her and the other children in the orphanage. We were so excited about this trip because that meant that we could not only get some new pictures and updates on her, we could also send her some gifts and letters from us!

We were told that she did not know anything about us and that she probably wouldn’t until we received more approvals for her. Also, we were encouraged that our gifts needed to be a little less personal and that the letters would obviously need to wait until she understood she had a family coming for her. So, we went and purchased some girly gifts, got some family pictures of us together and poured our hearts out in letters and put them in the mail to go with our Agency to India.

We had been out of town the same week that our agency was in India. I checked my email nearly every hour in hopes of finding some updates on their visit there. The night that we returned home and we were all together on the couch together unwinding a bit…. the email came! Our Agency had spent the day with Bella! We got some fun pieces of info about her current height and weight and her favorite color. Pink! I was thrilled about this. But the shocker to us came when we read that she did in fact already know about us! Taking that info in changed the way we thought about her entirely. Wow. She knew she had a family. How exciting!

The next day came and we received a couple of new photos of her and a teaser video. She had changed so much already! She looked beautiful….bigger of course and her hair quite a bit longer! But then finally a couple more days later and the long video came of an interview of her. Our Agency asked her questions about things that she liked. It was so cute to see her thinking of the answers. And to our sheer excitement, the orphanage staff translated our letters to her right there all on video. Whoa. It was truly amazing watching her taking it all in, looking at our photos and listening to our words of love. It didn’t take long for her to get very emotional. And of course…..we did too.

When we set out on this journey of adoption our hearts were set on an infant. A baby we thought….we’d love to have a baby! But, we never thought that God would do a number on our hearts and break us over those precious older children….most who don’t have a chance of getting adopted. And now….watching our daughter who is able to take in every word we were saying to her and for her to understand what it meant that she had a family who loved her and would come and bring her home soon just took things to a whole new level for us emotionally. Wow. What an awesome and holy moment.

When our agency returned home, we also received Bella’s sweet birth certificate and her report cards! Our daughter is a straight A student! How cool is that? She is really a smart little girl. We got tickled to know that one of her favorite subjects is Math. Yeah….well maybe she can teach us Wilbanks a thing or two in that subject. That is definitely not our strong point. :-) She is also learning English in school, which is such a blessing for us and her for when she gets home. We’ll all have lots of learning to do.

Remember our cool story (a previous blog) about “Translating and a Big God?” Well our new friends will be traveling to India in a short couple of weeks….and they have already received permission from the orphanage that they can go and meet Bella! Isn’t that neat? So we are in the midst of putting together some more gifts (personalized this time), letters and pictures. We are so thrilled that God would allow this trip for our friends and for us to see pictures of Bella one more time while we wait. Speaking of waiting. We are in need of just a couple more approvals before we travel. We are told that it is still possible to travel this summer. That’s means we are just a few weeks away! We can’t wait to get her in our arms.

Lastly, since we started our fundraising just a couple of months ago, we lack just about half the amount that we set out to receive the estimated $15,000 before we travel and finalize this adoption. We are just about $7,500 away from what we need to get to get this precious girl home. Please continue to pray for us that the LORD would provide the remaining amount needed to get her home and that He would get her home real soon.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18

For the Fatherless,

Adopted Shirts

We have designed a shirt to sell to raise some money to bring Bella home. Cost is $20 per shirt.

The idea of this shirt is this: If you are in Christ....you have been adopted. And we are now children of God!

"adopted" is on the front of the shirt
1 John 3:1 is on the back of the shirt.


****Currently we only have 1 adult small left in this shirt!!!! ******

We also have a women's shirt that has pink writing instead of white.
****WE HAVE ONLY 2 Ladies Small's left in the pink!*****

Let us know if you would like to buy one by leaving a comment with your contact info. And please...feel free to share this shirt/blog with anyone who would be interested in buying a shirt!

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!