Back to the beginning.

While we believe that God has been preparing us for this for many years, there have been some defining moments along the way~times that He has spoken to us and given us what I call "puzzle pieces"~that one day will all come together to form a beautiful picture~in His perfect timing.

As we seek God's guidance for the next step in this journey, we feel it's very important to go back to the beginning and remind ourselves of what He has shown us so far...so that we don't lose the vision and call He's given us during our searching.

Sean and I will celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary next month. All of our married lives, God has put a major soft spot in our hearts for the fatherless. Years ago, we dreamed of having an orphanage one day. One thing troubled me though~the fact that orphanages just weren't (and still aren't) all that common in the western world, namely America! Yet it never occurred to me that God might take us to another country where orphanages ARE common. Or that there could be a major pit-stop in Australia beforehand! His ways are so far above ours...He has totally changed the way we look at orphan care now~it's not really about institutionalized orphanages...it's about setting the solitary in FAMILIES (Psalm 68:6). But we'll elaborate on that later :)

At one point we were considering adoption through foster care, and we even went as far as to request the paperwork so that we could get the ball rolling. But we never even took a single class. We kept praying, but just never felt the green light for that.

In the meantime I've been having lots of dreams, involving lots of children. They all seem to have the same theme...orphan rescue and care. Children being rounded up, taken to safety and given the specialized nurturing they need for as long as it is needed. Some may go on to be reunited with family, some may be adopted out, and some may stay with us...but all will be given a true family to love and care for them by the grace of God our Father.