We have some very unexpected news to share...
Surprised! Unanticipated! Thrilled!
*Pictures that didn't "make the cut" as we worked on a special way to tell our family and friends:
We have some very unexpected news to share...Surprised! Unanticipated! Thrilled! *Pictures that didn't "make the cut" as we worked on a special way to tell our family and friends: "Every good and perfect gift is from above..."
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We're sharing our story today over at
"This Beautiful Inheritance" We've been awarded a Lifesong for Orphans $2500 *MATCHING GRANT*
Lifesong for Orphans will match "dollar-for-dollar" all donations made between now and April 17th up to $2500! Your donation of... $25 becomes $50! $50 becomes $100 $250 becomes $500 $500 becomes $1000 ...well, you get the picture! From Lifesong: "Christopher and Melissa have sensed God’s call and have joyfully stepped out in faith and obedience to adopt a child from Uganda. As you may already know, international adoption can cost around $25,000 to $35,000 and prevents many godly families from adopting. Lifesong believes God has raised up the Furnell family "for such a time as this…", and we have committed an Adoption Matching Grant of $2500 to help raise the funds necessary to complete the adoption of this little child. This means Lifesong for Orphans will match "dollar-for-dollar" everything the Furnells raise from their church, family, and friends between now and April 17, 2013, up to $2500. We invite you to support them financially to make this adoption possible. As a 501(c)3 organization, your gift is tax deductible. *100% of all funds raised will go directly to cover adoption costs--nothing will be taken out for Lifesong for Orphans administrative costs. Will you invest financially in the life of this precious child? It will be an investment with eternal return." You can make a tax-deductible donation toward our matching grant online! Give by Check Please make checks payable to *Lifesong for Orphans. In the memo please note your gift preference with #3335 Furnell Family Please mail checks to: Lifesong for Orphans PO Box 40 Gridley, IL 61744 **Please note that PayPal will charge an administrative fee (2.9% + $.30 USD per transaction). Your donation will be decreased by the amount of this fee. Individual donations $250 or more and yearly donations totaling $250 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Receipts for donations under $250 will gladly be sent upon request. Lifesong is a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. I'm betting you've never seen Easter baskets (Bundles) quite like this before! Our dear friend Victoria shared a brilliant, generous idea with us several weeks ago, and she has brought it to fruition with the help of some very, very generous donors! 5 Hour Concealed Handgun License Certification Course for two! $100 + VALUE! Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092775487&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123 Cooking Bundle: Quality, granite cutting board ($50 + VALUE!) Get Togethers Gooseberry Patch cookbook Plus a $25 Ebay gift card for all your cooking needs! Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092772309&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123 Baby Girl’s FirstEaster basket includes: A sweet, little onesie dress in pinks and greens (size 0-3m).The skirt portion is made of 100% cotton. It can be machine washed and dried. Use a warm iron, if needed, avoiding the trims. A lovely, hand-knitted cardigan, just in case Easter is on the cool side this year. A sweet, hand-made bunny with a silk pink ribbon completes this pink rattan gift basket. Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092768980&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123 Beginner Guitar Lessons {1 hour}: Instructor with over 20 years experience! Gift card for a 1 hour free guitar lesson ($40 value) Plus a $25 Ebay Gift Cards {guitar strings, music book, etc!} Reward yourself on your progress by celebrating at Red Lobster with a $50 Gift Card! Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092771189&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123 $25 Starbucks Gift Card Handmade Market Bag: While out shopping, use your 100% Cotton Duck cloth marketbag. Don’t worry about spills… it’s washable! Hand-Made ArtisanEarrings: (12 sets) Mary Kay Satin Hands Gift bag: Peach Satin Smoothie Hand Scrub, Peach Hand Cream, and Fragrance-free Hand Softener, all inside a Mary Kay gift bag. Mary Kay Simple Cotton Gift Bag: Includes Simply Cotton Body Lotion and Simply Cotton eau deToilette in a sweet denim zippered pouch. Oh-So-Cute and Ruffled crocheted scarf in shades of blue ranging from indigo to steely gray. Tiny iridescent sequins give it some subtle sparkle. Measuring 45”. Oh-So-Cute and Ruffled crocheted scarf in shades of creams ranging from cream to chocolate brown. A subtle hint of metallic threads give it some sparkle. Measuring 74”! Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092772164&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123 *Sweet Pink RoseOnesie Dress (size 18 months)
This dress is comfy and cottony. Because of the onesie design, it will stayput on your active little girl. The skirt portion is made of 100% cotton. Itcan be machine washed and dried. Use a warm iron, if needed, avoiding the trims. It includes a cotton-knit cardigan, just in case Easter is on the coolside this year. *Sweet Pink and PurpleSwirls Onesie Dress (size 18 months) *How Big is a Pig? {a Brefoot Book} *Zig Zag Zebra: 22 Arty Activities for Creative Kids {a Barefoot Book} Click here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=321092776647&ssPageName=ADME%3AL%3ALCA%3AUS%3A1123 "Waiting is an art that our impatient age has forgotten. It wants to break open the ripe fruit when it has hardly finished planting the shoot. But all too often the greedy eyes are only deceived; the fruit that seemed so precious is still green on the inside, and disrespectful hands ungratefully toss aside what has so disappointed them. Whoever does not know the austere blessedness of waiting - that is, of hopefully doing without - will never experience the full blessing of fulfillment…" ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We prayed and talked and wondered and "waited". "The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him." Lamentations 3:25 I've been looking through old emails. They've reminded me of how long we've "waited". Finally, in the Fall of 2011, when it all became overwhelmingly clear, and we began to feel more certain that this was indeed where God was leading us, I asked a few to pray and "wait" with us. While, in our hearts it has been much longer, our family is now officially more than one year into this process. Our contract with Lifeline was signed in February of 2012. We've been "waiting" for a year. Last month, we were officially put on the "waiting list". "Waiting" and international adoption go hand in hand. You will not be hard pressed to find mothers sharing the near agony of "The Wait". The wait in which months linger on into years. A gestation period uncommon to most. For me... There are times in which I look the situation straight in the eyes {the reality of it: the numbers, the faces, these little ones created in His image} and the urgency envelops me. Moments arise in which I feel the gale of time and distance sweep over me and nearly suffocate me. I sometimes see a silhouette of this face and this child, and I become emphatic about trampling everything between us and him. But then... There are times in which I feel God sitting me down in this extraordinary kind of grace that allows a mother to wait an extraordinary amount of time for her child, and I realize I wouldn't want to miss this extraordinary time of intimacy with Him. Moments arise in which my eyes are opened to something He has wisely and tenderly slipped into place that will gird us up for the harder parts of this journey. {You know, for when the real challenges begin: after we're back home with him and finally being grafted together as a family.} I sometimes find myself uncharacteristically patient as I catch a glimpse of the invaluable, preparatory work, so intricate at times, that He is doing in and through each of the four of us. "From ancient times no one has heard, no one has listened, no eye has seen any God except You, who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him." Isaiah 64:4 It's an internal battle. It is a desperate pursuit of what you believe to be after God's heart colliding with delays and hurdles and walls and mountains. A delicate balance exists of following God into what seems like a desperate situation that requires immediate action, only to find the action He positions you for is to wait. And so, we wait. We hope for the "austere blessedness of waiting" to be our reality and to outweigh all that is counter to it. In doing so, we wait and anticipate that which Bonhoeffer writes about: "the full blessing of fulfillment". Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make Often, we think about how far we have to go. Today, however, we are reflecting on how far God has brought us! We cannot begin thinking about that without many precious people coming to mind {a few of which we've never even met}: You have petitioned the Father on our behalf as we slipped precious pages into the hands of decision makers...and waited... Others purchased flowers and some really cool t-shirts! Some have come up with ideas of their own and shared them with us! You have taken on the task of teaching sewing to a less than stellar student in order to save money on Ugandan travel clothes for the future trip to meet our son! You've opened your homes and your yards to us... and you've loaded us down with some really good stuff! You've taken your marathon and turned it into a fundrasier for our family! Some have generously slipped a check in the mail, dropped a note of encouragement, or sent a timely message {text, fb, email} our way... You have cheered us on as we've reached milestones along the way! Others have already begun matching the $2500 grant from Lifesong! And countless other things....
We are humbly grateful for each detail you have been a part of throughout this leg of the journey! If I'm just being honest, some days it feels like we're at the foot of this.... And it really seems to look a lot more like this... And that makes me think of a song...."It's only a mountain":
"It's not as high as you think it is Don't give up and don't quit You gotta climb... Ask like you believe it Trust like you can see it Take your fear and say There's nothing in your way Even when it looks big Even when you feel small Just a little bit of faith can change it all It's only a mountain Just a little bit of faith can change it all" And it also makes me think of where it says: The mountains quaked at the presence of the LORD...Judges 5:5 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. Isaiah 40:4 ...you will tell this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. {from Matthew 17} This thing, every detail of this process, is so far beyond us. We're way in over our heads. Out of our league. At the foot of a whole range of mountains of all shapes and sizes. Thankfully, we didn't get here on our own. We were led here by the One whose presence causes the mountains to quake, who makes them low, and and who can move them from here to there.... Note: This post was written just a couple of days before the big news we got today! In my mind, I have this blurry image of my son. I often wonder if he will have... intense, glaring eyes or dancing ones a crooked smile or a toothy grin chubby cheeks or sharp, defined cheekbones a bald little head or a soft, fuzzy one... While I wonder, I'll just keep praying for these Ugandan faces in anticipation of meeting our own.... Photo credits: Lifeline Children Services, HoltInternational, Loving Hearts Babies Home, African Children's Choir
It was New Years' Eve.
We'd been gone all day and got home mid-afternoon. We pulled up to the mailbox before turning into the driveway. The mail was passed to me. I flipped casually through it, almost forgetting that I was "waiting" for anything. There it was. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. I kept my exterior calm and didn't say a word to the rest of them. My fingers slipped through the envelope. My breath was held. My arms were trembling. Really, what better way to start the New Year than to get the awaited "approval letter"!?!?! To get put on the Waiting List....{the 12 month waiting list} To start the next leg of this journey. My heart caught in my throat as I scanned the paper. Not.an.approval.letter. Hence, the heart in my throat ripped a little. Rather, {without getting into all the USCIS details} it was a gather-more-paperwork-get-your-Home-Study-ammended-and-wait-some-more-AND-since-it-came-on-New-Years-Eve-you-even-have-to-wait-36-hours-before-anyone-can-even-explain-it-to-you letter. Before anyone at our agency would even get the chance to give me more details, it.... All of it....all of the words on those two pages simply read to me as "more waiting". The connection to a child you've never met is simply, in my opinion, a work of the Holy Spirit. When delays and set-backs arise, it's personal. It's not just a time-frame that gets adjusted. It's much more. Yes, I know this is all part of it. Yes, I know: "No matter how smoothly an intercountry adoption seems to be proceeding, there will be some delays. It is inevitable – not a matter of if, but when. Patience is a virtue when it comes to intercountry adoption." Yes, I know it will happen again and again before this is all over. But, yes, it does hurt. Very much. I sat alone in my room. I cried. I wanted to know why the oversight had been allowed. I wanted to not be so hurt by it. Christopher {as is the norm} brought to light proper perspective. Whether or not it felt right, he was exactly right. I woke up today ready to hit all of it head on. I did. However, now I feel like someone has taken a pot of scolding hot coffee and poured it over my brain.... Ran it through a meat grinder... Shook it on one of those thingys that shakes the loose stuff outta the tree at the Christmas Tree Farm... Took it on one of those amusement park rides called the Zipper... Tied it to a rope attached to a billy goat's collar, and let him it pull it around all the live long day... And finally just thumped it for good measure. Interesting way to start of the New Year, huh!?!?! :) ~ M mar·a·thon [mar-uh-thon, n] any contest, event, or the like, of great, or greater than normal, length or duration or requiring exceptional endurance "It's a marathon, not a sprint."
We heard that phrase about a billion times when we set out to take on Autism many years ago. As our oldest son was diagnosed, God set us on a course. We began to put "one foot in front of the other" towards his recovery. We've yet to make it to the finish line, but we've made huge strides. While we've never actually run more than a 5K, we know about marathons... Many, many things in this life require "exceptional endurance". There are marathons of all kinds. Adoption is simply another one of ours. And we're thankful for those who are helping us to 'run' it! We'd like to share an opportunity... a $26.20 opportunity to help us maintain our pace! From our dear friend Heather: "There's only one thing I've discovered that's harder than running a marathon: adoption {but oh my the rewards in each}. This March I will be putting one foot in front of the other for 26.2 miles in honor of my dear friends in an effort to help them raise funds to bring their son home from Uganda. Please consider giving $26.20 to the Furnell Family Adoption. I will pin the name of each person to my shirt and then my medal and present it to the Furnell family at the end of the race. Now, who would want to miss out on this sweaty, sweaty opportunity to glorify God??" Donate here! That's it! For the price of a fast food meal or two, a couple of stops at Starbucks, or a new scarf, you can push us one mile further down this road! We are edging toward the time where we must raise the thousands of dollars it will cost us to travel to Uganda and to stay there for the 6 weeks (give or take) in order to bring our son home. Thank you for your encouragement and support throughout a process that is certainly "greater than normal, length or duration" !!! |