Hot and Cold

I'm continuing my new habit of blogging once every 6 months... the last time I blogged was when it was freaking hot in Texas. This past week has been freezing cold. I feel my life and my faith can be hot and cold as well. Not long after the last entry, we had huge news regarding our adoption process. However in the last 6 months, we have had very little news to report, and I felt we had loss some of the enthusiasm we started with in early 2013. God has brought other blessings into our lives in the meantime. All three of our daughters were now going to school on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Autumn. Amy's parents moved to Dallas. My brother, Ben, got married thus I now have a sister-in-law! Our church small group continues to grow closer together and add new members. It's interesting how God weaves together the story of our lives. When we moved out of Vickery Meadows in 2011, I didn't understand why. I knew He would provide us with more chances to serve Him. A year later, we saw that He put orphan care on our hearts. In 2013, we met so many people who had adopted and/or fostered children as we were on our adoption journey. These connections brought us back into a daily relationship with a refugee family from Africa who were living in the same apartment complex in Vickery we had lived in to do missional living in 2011. We are now praying and working hard each day to get the dad's visa and immigration status approved so that he can join his wife and four children here in Dallas.

He cannot come to the USA if his wife dies before he arrives because of immigration laws relating to their refugee status. Amy has done a phenomenal job of organizing help from the church and other resources for this woman who has metastatic cancer. Their kids have stayed many nights at our home when the mom's illness leads her to being hospitalized. We have driven the kids to school and church. We have become closer to the Harveys and others who have joined with us to support this refugee family who had their lives shaken and split apart by war in their homeland. There were many days (especially the first few months) I had burning passion to radically change our lives to care for this family. I have also noticed that I have had days where I have been burned out and just want a little time alone with my wife and my kids. My prayer is that God gives me the desire and vision to see the long term goal so that I would follow Him forever. This knowledge will keep me from going cold. I don't want to be lukewarm either. I want to be on fire for God and stay that way through these next few months as we try to serve this African family and reunite them with their dad. Before I know it, it's going to be really hot again. The Texas summer is approaching...