It's very bittersweet for me to write this message. I know that many have already stopped following our blog since we're home and our adoption journey has ended. After praying and waiting for more to share, I've found that the blog was truly just for a season. I enjoyed writing and sharing with you all so much. I, too, will have withdrawal from the daily encouragement from home during our challenging time.
Our Celebration of Praise and Worship was wonderful-a memory to treasure! Thanks to Pastor Ken Rucker for opening his church, New Branch, for us to gather. He also gave a lovely opening statement and prayer. Thanks to Angela Brannen for organizing our event. Thanks to Jim and David Brannen, our fabulous musicians, and Leslie Pennington, our talented singer. Thanks to all of you who spent your Saturday afternoon with us praising God and welcoming Kalina to the US!
For those of you who couldn't come, I'll share the events of the day. After the opening prayer, the musicians led us in singing many songs that Nadeem, Kalina, and I sang regularly in Bangladesh, mainly in our bedroom or on the rooftop including "Jesus, What a Beautiful Name" (with our own lyrics because we couldn't remember all the real ones!), "How Great is Our God", and "Shout to the Lord." The children in the crowd all came on stage to sing "Jesus Loves Me" to Kalina. This used to be her nap time song. Now, I can't sing to her at all before bed because she becomes wide awake and turns to see what I'm doing. Hardly relaxing! We shared a slide show of our trip. When Kalina's visa appeared on the screen, everyone applauded! My dear friend and Kalina's Godmother, Lisa Slusher, gave our closing prayer. Afterwards everyone greeted Kalina and enjoyed refreshments. We'll remember this day for years to come!
Nadeem and I also shared what God laid on our hearts. For Nadeem, he shared the importance of praying without ceasing. In Bangladesh, he and I prayed together morning, noon, and night-sometimes more. We also prayed separately. That was vital for keeping our eyes focused on God. I shared that it's so easy to get caught up in busyness here in the USA. It's critical that we all spend time with God every day. Right now we're so blessed to be home but struggling to find our balance as I'm sure you all can relate! One of the treasures of our adoption journey was the gift of time. We had time to spend with each other, Kalina, and God. At the time we wanted desperately to come home and couldn't fully appreciate it. Now I can see what God gave us.
Kalina is doing so well here! She has quickly adjusted to the new time zone, and she loves her home! She's becoming even healthier as she thrives in this environment. She welcomes all visitors and loves going out on errands to see people. She's a joy! For those of you in this area, please come see us!
I'll close by saying that when your faith wavers, please remember our story and remember that God is alive and well, still doing miracles! God bless you all!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
You're Invited to a Celebration of Praise and Worship!
Mark your calendar! This Saturday, January 3, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. there will be a Celebration of Praise and Worship at New Branch Church in Hamilton Mill to thank God for delivering Nadeem, Sherri, and Kalina Kaiser home from Bangladesh! Please join us in singing and giving praise to God! If you wish, please bring snacks or drinks to share afterwards. If you can't join us in person, please thank God wherever you are! We love you all and are so thankful to be home!
New Branch Community Church
2155 Pine Rd.
Dacula, GA 30019
New Branch Community Church
2155 Pine Rd.
Dacula, GA 30019
Monday, December 29, 2008
On Fox 5 Again!
Sunday afternoon, Chris Shaw, reporter from Fox 5 News in Atlanta, visited us to do a follow up story on our adoption journey. He and his assistant Tim were so kind, and we were very pleased at the way they portrayed our story on TV. Please go to the Fox 5 website to read and/or view the news piece. We give thanks to God for our happy ending!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
A Fight to the Finish
Merry Christmas! We hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday! We will always remember this special time when God delivered us from Bangladesh to celebrate the birth of Christ with our family and to start our life with Kalina here in the USA! Until the last moment, it was a fight to the finish to come home. The day before we left, Nadeem went to the Emirates office to pay for the tickets he had reserved. He had to wait until we had Kalina's visa to do this. When they saw her visa, they said that he couldn't purchase a ticket to Dubai for her because the visa said "America". There are no direct flights from Bangladesh to Atlanta! He said that he could see everything crumbling before him, so once again he surrendered all to God. After spending over two hours talking to the Emirates employees, Nadeem finally got our tickets home!
We have seen God's hand on us in so many ways as we journeyed home. First, one of Nadeem's uncles sent his co-worker, an airlines employee, to help us navigate through immigration and Customs at the Dhaka airport. We had heard that they could give us a hard time, so we were grateful for this help. Prior to our trip, I had prayed about our travel home. Nadeem and I were both worried about traveling with a baby. Kalina was the perfect traveler-better than Nadeem and me! She thoroughly enjoyed the experience-smiling at everyone, looking out the window at all the sights, and wearing the flight attendant's hat for a photo. The passengers on both flights complimented her on being such a good baby. Our luggage all srrived safely in Atlanta. Kalina immediately went to Atlanta time and understood that her nighttime had now changed.
The day that we left Bangladesh, the violent riots started. We've received daily emails from the US Embassy in Dhaka advising Americans to leave the area if at all possible. God delivered us at the right time!
Our homecoming was glorious! My mom and Hasan met us at the airport, and we felt like a dream had come true! When Nadeem and I first walked into our house, we felt like we had stepped into a fairy tale. Our house looked so bright and warm and cozy that we could barely believe that we live in such a beautiful home. Since we've been home I have cried tears of joy so many times. We feel like we've been gone a million years and only a day all at once. We've marveled over everything-warm showers, our own bed, a washing machine, a dishwasher-seeing everything through fresh and grateful eyes. We were both so excited to see our cats who gave us shocked and hesitant looks initially but soon realized that truly we had returned. They have both welcomed Kalina as part of our family. Our younger cat, Tabitha, has had the role of the baby of the family, and she has shown jealousy when visitors have brought their babies. I was a little worried about her, but she has licked Kalina and bumped her head against Kalina's tiny hands to get Kalina to pet her.
Kalina absolutely loves her new home and the family and friends that she has met so far. If you haven't seen us yet, we hope that you will visit soon. We are still planning the Celebration of Praise and Worship which will be in the Gwinnett area during the first part of January. Stay tuned for more news.
I've received several questions about whether or not I'll continue this blog. Only God knows the answer to that question! I have some photos to post in the near future, and I'll give details about the upcoming celebration, so be sure to check for the next week or so. After that, I'll see how God guides me.
We're so thankful for the prayer support you all gave while we were gone, and we're equally thankful for the warm welcome we're receiving as we adjust to being parents in America!
We have seen God's hand on us in so many ways as we journeyed home. First, one of Nadeem's uncles sent his co-worker, an airlines employee, to help us navigate through immigration and Customs at the Dhaka airport. We had heard that they could give us a hard time, so we were grateful for this help. Prior to our trip, I had prayed about our travel home. Nadeem and I were both worried about traveling with a baby. Kalina was the perfect traveler-better than Nadeem and me! She thoroughly enjoyed the experience-smiling at everyone, looking out the window at all the sights, and wearing the flight attendant's hat for a photo. The passengers on both flights complimented her on being such a good baby. Our luggage all srrived safely in Atlanta. Kalina immediately went to Atlanta time and understood that her nighttime had now changed.
The day that we left Bangladesh, the violent riots started. We've received daily emails from the US Embassy in Dhaka advising Americans to leave the area if at all possible. God delivered us at the right time!
Our homecoming was glorious! My mom and Hasan met us at the airport, and we felt like a dream had come true! When Nadeem and I first walked into our house, we felt like we had stepped into a fairy tale. Our house looked so bright and warm and cozy that we could barely believe that we live in such a beautiful home. Since we've been home I have cried tears of joy so many times. We feel like we've been gone a million years and only a day all at once. We've marveled over everything-warm showers, our own bed, a washing machine, a dishwasher-seeing everything through fresh and grateful eyes. We were both so excited to see our cats who gave us shocked and hesitant looks initially but soon realized that truly we had returned. They have both welcomed Kalina as part of our family. Our younger cat, Tabitha, has had the role of the baby of the family, and she has shown jealousy when visitors have brought their babies. I was a little worried about her, but she has licked Kalina and bumped her head against Kalina's tiny hands to get Kalina to pet her.
Kalina absolutely loves her new home and the family and friends that she has met so far. If you haven't seen us yet, we hope that you will visit soon. We are still planning the Celebration of Praise and Worship which will be in the Gwinnett area during the first part of January. Stay tuned for more news.
I've received several questions about whether or not I'll continue this blog. Only God knows the answer to that question! I have some photos to post in the near future, and I'll give details about the upcoming celebration, so be sure to check for the next week or so. After that, I'll see how God guides me.
We're so thankful for the prayer support you all gave while we were gone, and we're equally thankful for the warm welcome we're receiving as we adjust to being parents in America!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
We're home!!!!!
We arrived safely in Atlanta at 7:15 a.m. on Christmas Eve after 20 hours of flying halfway around the world. Kalina is a wonderful traveler, much better than Nadeem and me, I must say. Nadeem immediately sped off to work. His position is safe, and he received a warm welcome from everyone at SunTrust. We feel like we've stepped into a fairy tale. We are so thankful to be back! I will give a more detailed update later, but I wanted you all to know that we're here! Praise God! Merry Christmas to all of you!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Farewell Message from Bangladesh
I woke up this morning early feeling so excited! We're finally coming HOME!!! We'll be home for Christmas with our beautiful baby girl! Nadeem gets to keep his position at SunTrust and get a paycheck again soon! Does it sound like a Hallmark movie (or maybe a Lifetime movie, Darcie)?? That's the kind of God we serve! He delights in blessing His children! These are the kind of friends and family we have-ones that stand by us, praying, loving, and believing!
Prior to this trip I prayed the following verse many times: "For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly." -Philippians 3:10a (Amplified version) God certainly heard and answered this prayer, but not in the way I expected!
As I prayed this for months leading up to our trip, God already started responding. He revealed in many ways that I would know Him as Jehovah Jireh, our provider, and Jehovah Nissi, our victory.
That sounded pretty exciting to me! I really wanted to know Him more! I was already scared about this calling to quit my job and come to Bangladesh to try to adopt a baby without any plan. Knowing God better would be a wonderful reward to look forward to. My imagination went to work, deciding how God would reveal Himself as our provider and victory.
I pictured that God would give me strength for this trip. Up until a week before our trip, I was pregnant, expecting to have a second child in March. We considered this a glorious gift from God to have two children on the way! I was nervous about traveling to a foreign country, let alone traveling while expecting. I pictured that we would come here and easily adopt Kalina, returning home in two weeks instead of three. Before getting Kalina, we would have the chance to spend our time bringing the light and love of Jesus to other orphans and to the child we sponsor through World Vision. We would surely see some sort of miracle, too!
My thoughts and ways are not God's! He has indeed been Jehovah Nissi, our victory, but not in the way I had pictured. God orchestrated the entire adoption journey! He gave us the I600A approval with Nadeem's fingerprint approval, even though this was "impossible." He gave us Kalina, even though it's "impossible" for us as Christian Americans to adopt a baby from here. Today He's giving us Kalina's visa despite so many obstacles. Day after day we saw the victory as God gave us strength and faith to stand firm and not quit.
When thinking of God as my provider, I had specific prayer requests: to have healthy food and water, to have good health, to be able to exercise, to be able to communicate with home, and to have money for our adoption needs. It's interesting to me to look back and see how God answered this. At first, He seemed to answer every prayer. I did have good health. I exercised. We had money. We had good food and water. We had access to a laptop/Internet. As the trip progressed, however, God showed Himself as our provider in different ways-our provider of strength, hope, and faith in the middle of the storm. When I had a stomach bug, God comforted me. When we lost our computer connection for several days, God calmed me. When I became too weak to exercise as much, God gave me the strength I needed. I think that as I grew on the trip, God knew that I wouldn't have to depend so much on the physical provision but instead could lean on Him for greater provision spiritually.
In the book Boundaries, the authors Cloud and Townsend write that everyone has a rock to carry and sometimes a boulder. A rock represents your daily burdens-working, taking care of your family, etc. A boulder represents a heavy burden such as sickness, unemployment, or grief after losing a loved one. The problem is that sometimes we act like our rock is a boulder and expect people to take care of our needs that we need to care for ourselves. Also, sometimes we act like our boulder is a rock, and we refuse the help we need to carry the load.
I fall into the latter category. When I was sick with mercury poisoning, I kept the news mainly to myself and acted as though I were perfectly fine. I had too much pride to ask for help or to share my "weakness" with others. Finally there came a time when I was truly too weak to carry the boulder. My dear friend Leslie brought some homemade soup for me. Instead of feeling like a weak failure that she had to help me, I actually felt good. I felt loved, and I realized that it's okay to let people help.
Nadeem and I both love to give and feel very awkward being on the receiving side. When I pictured God as our provider, I pictured that He would give us all the funds we needed for Kalina and our trip. We had saved and planned as carefully as possible. As new problems arose, I then pictured that God would somehow drop down help from heaven like manna. It never crossed my mind that God would use other people to help. That's God's way-to help us to love one another! Sometimes we're on the giving side, and sometimes we're on the receiving side. There's a lesson in both, I believe.
Yesterday Nadeem repeatedly tried to call Delta to book our tickets to come home from Dubai. We had prayed for God to help us with securing the right flight. Truthfully we were a little concerned since it's the holiday season. We really wanted to be home in time for Christmas and for Nadeem to return to work and keep his position. Nadeem couldn't get through. Finally he called his sister in Florida to see if she could help. She and her husband fly Delta often for work. We had open tickets for one year since we couldn't use our original tickets back in September. Would you believe that Delta now says that the tickets are no good? They were only good for 30 days. Somehow there was yet another mistake made on this journey. Are you surprised? Would you be surprised to know that God already had a huge blessing ready for us? Nadeem's sister Nadia and her husband Sean have given us tickets for a first class, direct flight to Atlanta arriving in time for Christmas and Nadeem's job!!!!
We are truly leaving! This is our last day in Bangladesh! The next time you hear from us, we should be in transit or at home. We plan to spend Christmas with our family, and then we hope to hear from you all and see you as soon as possible! Plans are still being made for the Celebration of Praise and Worship. Here in Bangladesh the phone or the doorbell is always ringing with visitors. Let's bring some of that back home! We love you all with the love of Christ! Thanks for praying for us! During this holiday season, please remember the miracles of God and give thanks!
Prior to this trip I prayed the following verse many times: "For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly." -Philippians 3:10a (Amplified version) God certainly heard and answered this prayer, but not in the way I expected!
As I prayed this for months leading up to our trip, God already started responding. He revealed in many ways that I would know Him as Jehovah Jireh, our provider, and Jehovah Nissi, our victory.
That sounded pretty exciting to me! I really wanted to know Him more! I was already scared about this calling to quit my job and come to Bangladesh to try to adopt a baby without any plan. Knowing God better would be a wonderful reward to look forward to. My imagination went to work, deciding how God would reveal Himself as our provider and victory.
I pictured that God would give me strength for this trip. Up until a week before our trip, I was pregnant, expecting to have a second child in March. We considered this a glorious gift from God to have two children on the way! I was nervous about traveling to a foreign country, let alone traveling while expecting. I pictured that we would come here and easily adopt Kalina, returning home in two weeks instead of three. Before getting Kalina, we would have the chance to spend our time bringing the light and love of Jesus to other orphans and to the child we sponsor through World Vision. We would surely see some sort of miracle, too!
My thoughts and ways are not God's! He has indeed been Jehovah Nissi, our victory, but not in the way I had pictured. God orchestrated the entire adoption journey! He gave us the I600A approval with Nadeem's fingerprint approval, even though this was "impossible." He gave us Kalina, even though it's "impossible" for us as Christian Americans to adopt a baby from here. Today He's giving us Kalina's visa despite so many obstacles. Day after day we saw the victory as God gave us strength and faith to stand firm and not quit.
When thinking of God as my provider, I had specific prayer requests: to have healthy food and water, to have good health, to be able to exercise, to be able to communicate with home, and to have money for our adoption needs. It's interesting to me to look back and see how God answered this. At first, He seemed to answer every prayer. I did have good health. I exercised. We had money. We had good food and water. We had access to a laptop/Internet. As the trip progressed, however, God showed Himself as our provider in different ways-our provider of strength, hope, and faith in the middle of the storm. When I had a stomach bug, God comforted me. When we lost our computer connection for several days, God calmed me. When I became too weak to exercise as much, God gave me the strength I needed. I think that as I grew on the trip, God knew that I wouldn't have to depend so much on the physical provision but instead could lean on Him for greater provision spiritually.
In the book Boundaries, the authors Cloud and Townsend write that everyone has a rock to carry and sometimes a boulder. A rock represents your daily burdens-working, taking care of your family, etc. A boulder represents a heavy burden such as sickness, unemployment, or grief after losing a loved one. The problem is that sometimes we act like our rock is a boulder and expect people to take care of our needs that we need to care for ourselves. Also, sometimes we act like our boulder is a rock, and we refuse the help we need to carry the load.
I fall into the latter category. When I was sick with mercury poisoning, I kept the news mainly to myself and acted as though I were perfectly fine. I had too much pride to ask for help or to share my "weakness" with others. Finally there came a time when I was truly too weak to carry the boulder. My dear friend Leslie brought some homemade soup for me. Instead of feeling like a weak failure that she had to help me, I actually felt good. I felt loved, and I realized that it's okay to let people help.
Nadeem and I both love to give and feel very awkward being on the receiving side. When I pictured God as our provider, I pictured that He would give us all the funds we needed for Kalina and our trip. We had saved and planned as carefully as possible. As new problems arose, I then pictured that God would somehow drop down help from heaven like manna. It never crossed my mind that God would use other people to help. That's God's way-to help us to love one another! Sometimes we're on the giving side, and sometimes we're on the receiving side. There's a lesson in both, I believe.
Yesterday Nadeem repeatedly tried to call Delta to book our tickets to come home from Dubai. We had prayed for God to help us with securing the right flight. Truthfully we were a little concerned since it's the holiday season. We really wanted to be home in time for Christmas and for Nadeem to return to work and keep his position. Nadeem couldn't get through. Finally he called his sister in Florida to see if she could help. She and her husband fly Delta often for work. We had open tickets for one year since we couldn't use our original tickets back in September. Would you believe that Delta now says that the tickets are no good? They were only good for 30 days. Somehow there was yet another mistake made on this journey. Are you surprised? Would you be surprised to know that God already had a huge blessing ready for us? Nadeem's sister Nadia and her husband Sean have given us tickets for a first class, direct flight to Atlanta arriving in time for Christmas and Nadeem's job!!!!
We are truly leaving! This is our last day in Bangladesh! The next time you hear from us, we should be in transit or at home. We plan to spend Christmas with our family, and then we hope to hear from you all and see you as soon as possible! Plans are still being made for the Celebration of Praise and Worship. Here in Bangladesh the phone or the doorbell is always ringing with visitors. Let's bring some of that back home! We love you all with the love of Christ! Thanks for praying for us! During this holiday season, please remember the miracles of God and give thanks!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Who is worthy to be praised
"I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies." -Psalm 18:1-3
If you had been here this morning you would have heard me singing these verses over and over to God. Every once in a while I wonder what I would think if I were in your shoes reading this blog-at home getting ready to celebrate the holidays, praying for this family who's stuck in Bangladesh. We've been in a fierce battle again lately. We have been weary beyond words.
We've had so many praises and victories these past few days, really the whole month of December, but every victory has required a battle. Nadeem has been out doing active battle while I've been in the home doing battle as his prayer warrior. Two days ago I spent time with God while Kalina napped, and I just couldn't connect with Him. I sat reading the Bible, but the words had no life. I turned to different books still with no result. Finally I heard God in this verse: "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." (2 Timothy 2:3) I read it over and over. Yes, we can relate to this verse! That wasn't all. "The Lord stood with me and strengthened me.....the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever." (2 Tim. 4:17,18)
That night I told Nadeem that God had given me a word of encouragement and shared the verses with Nadeem. He said, "What else do you have?" I guess it's like giving a soldier facing an entire army one pistol and that's all. Nadeem needed more weapons than this! This was his response after our earlier victories this week, just to give you an idea of how difficult this has been. Please give God so much praise, but keep praying for us! We need your prayers to stay strong!
Ayesha and Someira left this morning to go to India. The teenage servant left a couple of days ago to start a new job. She was only supposed to work here while we were here. The apartment felt very empty and lonely. It's now winter here in Bangladesh, much to our surprise. The temperature is around 70 degrees during the day and 60 at night. I've found, to my sadness, that the winter is not much better than the summer. You see, in the winter, the sky turns gray and stays like this for a month. The sun looks like a fuzzy white ball covered with fog and haze. By late afternoon it seems like nighttime. In addition, the floors here are hard tile, and they feel quite cold. Gray chilly days tend to bring me down, and that's what we're having here.
Nadeem went by himself to the passport office this morning to try to get the needed corrections to indicate that we're Kalina's guardians, not her birth parents. He was very nervous because he doesn't speak the language here. Yesterday Hasan's parents and Nadeem had gone to the home of the director of the passport office to seek his help. He indicated that this was not a simple matter to correct but that they would try to help today. We had no idea how long this would take, what would be involved, or if it would actually be done. There was talk that they might need to get my signature as well on the revisions. Also, at first they wanted to wait to receive their official copy of the "no objection" certificate in the mail.
While Nadeem was gone, Kalina and I were here virtually alone with only our sweet older deaf and mute servant. The apartment seemed dark, cold, and eerily quiet. Then suddenly we heard shouting and chanting outside. The riots had started! Off and on all morning we heard this. I felt this tremendous loneliness and fear overcome me. What if there were an emergency? I was alone with Kalina, unable to speak the language and without any phone numbers to use to call for help. When I took Kalina out of our bedroom this morning, she did her happy dance and started squealing because she expected to see everyone. Instead she found silence. She looked around, puzzled. It's one thing for me to deal with loneliness, but I certainly didn't want Kalina to feel sad. I tried to play with her and get her to laugh (fortunately not a hard task) and meanwhile I sang to the Lord. Then I opened my Bible to pray His promises aloud since I still felt very troubled, and I knew Nadeem needed prayer support for his mission. This is when I found the Psalm.
I prayed and sang and walked Kalina through the apartment. We sat for a moment by the phone which rang just then. It was Nadeem calling to say that he had the passport after only 2 hours (way ahead of the time we thought we might get it if all went well), and he was on his way to the US Embassy. At this point it was noon. The US Embassy doesn't even open for visitors until 1:00. He had plenty of time!
At 1:30 Nadeem called with more amazing news! They accepted our "no objection" certificate and revised passport and told Nadeem to pick up the visa tomorrow (Monday, December 22) at 2:30 p.m.!!!!!! He asked the lady who has been helping us if she was sure or if they needed any more paperwork. She laughed and said no, this time it's really true. Nadeem plans to pick up the visa tomorrow and head to the Emirates airlines office to try to book a flight home!!!! HOME!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!!
Please pray for us as we get the visa and book flights home during this busy holiday week. We will fly on Emirates from here to Dubai, and then we'll use Delta to get the rest of the way home. Forget Santa! God gives much better Christmas gifts....from Bethlehem to Bangladesh, from long ago to the present.
Thank you for praying for us and celebrating with us the miracles of God!
If you had been here this morning you would have heard me singing these verses over and over to God. Every once in a while I wonder what I would think if I were in your shoes reading this blog-at home getting ready to celebrate the holidays, praying for this family who's stuck in Bangladesh. We've been in a fierce battle again lately. We have been weary beyond words.
We've had so many praises and victories these past few days, really the whole month of December, but every victory has required a battle. Nadeem has been out doing active battle while I've been in the home doing battle as his prayer warrior. Two days ago I spent time with God while Kalina napped, and I just couldn't connect with Him. I sat reading the Bible, but the words had no life. I turned to different books still with no result. Finally I heard God in this verse: "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." (2 Timothy 2:3) I read it over and over. Yes, we can relate to this verse! That wasn't all. "The Lord stood with me and strengthened me.....the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever." (2 Tim. 4:17,18)
That night I told Nadeem that God had given me a word of encouragement and shared the verses with Nadeem. He said, "What else do you have?" I guess it's like giving a soldier facing an entire army one pistol and that's all. Nadeem needed more weapons than this! This was his response after our earlier victories this week, just to give you an idea of how difficult this has been. Please give God so much praise, but keep praying for us! We need your prayers to stay strong!
Ayesha and Someira left this morning to go to India. The teenage servant left a couple of days ago to start a new job. She was only supposed to work here while we were here. The apartment felt very empty and lonely. It's now winter here in Bangladesh, much to our surprise. The temperature is around 70 degrees during the day and 60 at night. I've found, to my sadness, that the winter is not much better than the summer. You see, in the winter, the sky turns gray and stays like this for a month. The sun looks like a fuzzy white ball covered with fog and haze. By late afternoon it seems like nighttime. In addition, the floors here are hard tile, and they feel quite cold. Gray chilly days tend to bring me down, and that's what we're having here.
Nadeem went by himself to the passport office this morning to try to get the needed corrections to indicate that we're Kalina's guardians, not her birth parents. He was very nervous because he doesn't speak the language here. Yesterday Hasan's parents and Nadeem had gone to the home of the director of the passport office to seek his help. He indicated that this was not a simple matter to correct but that they would try to help today. We had no idea how long this would take, what would be involved, or if it would actually be done. There was talk that they might need to get my signature as well on the revisions. Also, at first they wanted to wait to receive their official copy of the "no objection" certificate in the mail.
While Nadeem was gone, Kalina and I were here virtually alone with only our sweet older deaf and mute servant. The apartment seemed dark, cold, and eerily quiet. Then suddenly we heard shouting and chanting outside. The riots had started! Off and on all morning we heard this. I felt this tremendous loneliness and fear overcome me. What if there were an emergency? I was alone with Kalina, unable to speak the language and without any phone numbers to use to call for help. When I took Kalina out of our bedroom this morning, she did her happy dance and started squealing because she expected to see everyone. Instead she found silence. She looked around, puzzled. It's one thing for me to deal with loneliness, but I certainly didn't want Kalina to feel sad. I tried to play with her and get her to laugh (fortunately not a hard task) and meanwhile I sang to the Lord. Then I opened my Bible to pray His promises aloud since I still felt very troubled, and I knew Nadeem needed prayer support for his mission. This is when I found the Psalm.
I prayed and sang and walked Kalina through the apartment. We sat for a moment by the phone which rang just then. It was Nadeem calling to say that he had the passport after only 2 hours (way ahead of the time we thought we might get it if all went well), and he was on his way to the US Embassy. At this point it was noon. The US Embassy doesn't even open for visitors until 1:00. He had plenty of time!
At 1:30 Nadeem called with more amazing news! They accepted our "no objection" certificate and revised passport and told Nadeem to pick up the visa tomorrow (Monday, December 22) at 2:30 p.m.!!!!!! He asked the lady who has been helping us if she was sure or if they needed any more paperwork. She laughed and said no, this time it's really true. Nadeem plans to pick up the visa tomorrow and head to the Emirates airlines office to try to book a flight home!!!! HOME!!!! PRAISE GOD!!!!!
Please pray for us as we get the visa and book flights home during this busy holiday week. We will fly on Emirates from here to Dubai, and then we'll use Delta to get the rest of the way home. Forget Santa! God gives much better Christmas gifts....from Bethlehem to Bangladesh, from long ago to the present.
Thank you for praying for us and celebrating with us the miracles of God!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Treasure in Surrendering
For those of you who have followed our blog for a long time, you'll notice that certain themes continue to surface such as faith, surrendering, and hope. That's probably because you don't simply master an area in your walk with God or stop facing the challenge. For the past week Nadeem and I have again been dealing with the issue of surrendering everything to God. The HR department contacted Nadeem's boss to find out whether or not Nadeem will be back at work by December 24. At that point he loses his current position at SunTrust and will have to apply for a new position. Nadeem loves his job and doesn't want to lose his position. We deeply long to be home for Christmas. We have been challenged to give up all of this to God-our desires, our wants, our plans.
There is an inspirational story that has circulated the Internet about a father and his young daughter. The father gave his little girl a necklace of plastic beads to wear when she played dress up. She loved this gift and kept it with her at all times. Every night during the bedtime routine, her dad would ask her if she loved him. She was very close to her dad, so she always replied with a hearty YES! Right after that he'd tell her that if she loved him then he wanted her to give him her cherished necklace. Every night she would refuse and hold the necklace a little tighter. Finally one night when the father went to tuck in his little girl, he found her sitting in the bed crying. When he went to her, she held out the plastic necklace. She was ready to give it to him. He hugged her and produced the real treasure-a true pearl necklace. He said that he had been waiting for that moment to give her something even more precious.
When I first read that story, I didn't like it very much. I thought the dad was cruel to torment his little girl like that. Why not just give her a nicer necklace as a gift? Why put her through all of this agony? Over time I've come to really like the illustration. I think we often see our Heavenly Father in this incorrect way, as tormenting us and holding out on what's good and precious, as trying to take away what we really love. The story tries to illustrate the truth of the treasure in surrendering.
Last year God called me to give up my teaching job that I loved with no idea of how or when we would become parents. It made no sense. I didn't want to do it. I cried every day. Every time I cried I thought of this story and believed that God had something better if I'd just obey Him and surrender. Please look at the two recent photos of our precious gift! If I had held onto my job, we wouldn't be here with Kalina. Trusting God can be so very difficult, but faith pleases God. God loves to bless His children.
Nadeem and I have struggled mightily with surrendering. We constantly have our own ideas of how everything will work. If we surrender our finances to God, then He will surely send us home before Nadeem's paycheck ends. If we surrender our desire to have our own children to God, surely He will bless us with our own biological child. If we surrender our fears about the trip to Bangladesh to God, surely He will bring us back home after three weeks (or even two!).
God's ways and thoughts are not ours. Praise God for that! He knows what is best for us. He only asks us to trust and obey.
Nadeem and Ayesha returned from the Home Ministry office this morning with....drum roll please....the "no objection" certificate! Yahoo! Praise God! Applause! Cheers! It's actually a small piece of paper with a pretty green and red emblem at the top. All this work for a tiny piece of paper! God already said, "I have no objections to you bringing Kalina to the USA! In fact, it's My plan!" Now we're seeing His plan come to fruition in the natural.
Tomorrow Someira and Ayesha leave for their trip to India. I've told them that I'll say good-bye once we're on the airplane to come home. They, however, plan to say good-bye today. So many of you have written to tell us how amazed you are at the kindness of this family. We feel the same way. God has used them as His hands and feet to help us get Kalina and to welcome us as family for all this time (15 weeks now if you're wondering). We hope to be home soon...but we also hope to surrender the timing to God who already knows the perfect plan.
Thank you for praying for us and standing in faith!
There is an inspirational story that has circulated the Internet about a father and his young daughter. The father gave his little girl a necklace of plastic beads to wear when she played dress up. She loved this gift and kept it with her at all times. Every night during the bedtime routine, her dad would ask her if she loved him. She was very close to her dad, so she always replied with a hearty YES! Right after that he'd tell her that if she loved him then he wanted her to give him her cherished necklace. Every night she would refuse and hold the necklace a little tighter. Finally one night when the father went to tuck in his little girl, he found her sitting in the bed crying. When he went to her, she held out the plastic necklace. She was ready to give it to him. He hugged her and produced the real treasure-a true pearl necklace. He said that he had been waiting for that moment to give her something even more precious.
When I first read that story, I didn't like it very much. I thought the dad was cruel to torment his little girl like that. Why not just give her a nicer necklace as a gift? Why put her through all of this agony? Over time I've come to really like the illustration. I think we often see our Heavenly Father in this incorrect way, as tormenting us and holding out on what's good and precious, as trying to take away what we really love. The story tries to illustrate the truth of the treasure in surrendering.
Last year God called me to give up my teaching job that I loved with no idea of how or when we would become parents. It made no sense. I didn't want to do it. I cried every day. Every time I cried I thought of this story and believed that God had something better if I'd just obey Him and surrender. Please look at the two recent photos of our precious gift! If I had held onto my job, we wouldn't be here with Kalina. Trusting God can be so very difficult, but faith pleases God. God loves to bless His children.
Nadeem and I have struggled mightily with surrendering. We constantly have our own ideas of how everything will work. If we surrender our finances to God, then He will surely send us home before Nadeem's paycheck ends. If we surrender our desire to have our own children to God, surely He will bless us with our own biological child. If we surrender our fears about the trip to Bangladesh to God, surely He will bring us back home after three weeks (or even two!).
God's ways and thoughts are not ours. Praise God for that! He knows what is best for us. He only asks us to trust and obey.
Nadeem and Ayesha returned from the Home Ministry office this morning with....drum roll please....the "no objection" certificate! Yahoo! Praise God! Applause! Cheers! It's actually a small piece of paper with a pretty green and red emblem at the top. All this work for a tiny piece of paper! God already said, "I have no objections to you bringing Kalina to the USA! In fact, it's My plan!" Now we're seeing His plan come to fruition in the natural.
Tomorrow Someira and Ayesha leave for their trip to India. I've told them that I'll say good-bye once we're on the airplane to come home. They, however, plan to say good-bye today. So many of you have written to tell us how amazed you are at the kindness of this family. We feel the same way. God has used them as His hands and feet to help us get Kalina and to welcome us as family for all this time (15 weeks now if you're wondering). We hope to be home soon...but we also hope to surrender the timing to God who already knows the perfect plan.
Thank you for praying for us and standing in faith!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The Wizard of Bangladesh
Once upon a time, Nadeem and Sherri were living a typical American life in Dacula when suddenly a tornado from God whirled them into a strange land. "I have a feeling we're not in Dacula anymore," they said as they looked at the rickshaws, street vendors, and laundry hanging from rooftops. Just then their eyes saw something precious-an adorable munchkin named Kalina! "Ahh, this is why we came to this land called Bangladesh! We know that there's no place like home, and we plan to take this munchkin with us!" Little did they know that the land was filled with wicked witches and other problems. Not to worry! Good always triumphs over evil!
The couple was confused. "How do we get home to Dacula?" They received these words of wisdom, "Follow God's Narrow Road." "Follow God's Narrow Road?" "Follow God's Narrow Road!" "Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow God's narrow road." Where? Why, of course, to see the Wizard of Bangaladesh! "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Bangladesh." Well, maybe not. That doesn't have quite the same ring. Back to our story.
"Where do we find this wizard?" the Kaisers questioned. They learned that the wizard, who could send them home, resided in the US Embassy. Immediately they set out to find him and return to their home, with their precious munchkin, of course.
Along the way they met three wonderful friends who helped them in so many ways: Someira, Ayesha, and Tayeb. They loved their new friends very much! The friends lived in the land of Bangladesh and knew how to handle many of the trials of this land.
Nadeem and Sherri faced many obstacles along the way: flying demons, flying mosquitos, and flying crows plagued them. They didn't know what to do until they remembered that they carried a weapon, a sword! It was in fact the sword of the Spirit also known as the Word of God. This protected them from evil.
Next they entered a dark area where talking trees threw something at them. What was that? Aaahhh! Flaming arrows from the evil one to harm their faith! Sorrows, and delays, and trials-oh, my! That sword really came in handy again!
By this time, the Kaisers were very tired and weary. They still hadn't gotten help from the wizard. This Narrow Road was extremely long and difficult! Ahead they noticed a field, a lovely place to lie down and rest and quit this whole journey. But alas, the field was filled with a sleeping potion-discouragement, despair, and doubt-to keep the Kaisers inactive. This time Glenda the Good Holy Spirit appeared, ready to offer them strength and hope to continue their journey.
Finally! They had reached the US Embassy! Surely the wizard would help them return home now with their darling munchkin. When they saw the wizard, they didn't receive the warm welcome they were expecting. The wizard spoke angrily and rudely and told them something shocking: before they could get a visa to come home they would have to get fingerprints taken and approved and a "no objection" certificate. These sounded impossible! The wizard was adament: "Either produce these items or you will not return home with your munchkin."
The Kaisers did not know what to do. It seemed all hope was gone. They had counted on the wizard to help them. Now how would they ever return home? Glenda the Good Holy Spirit returned once again to encourage, comfort, and guide them. They learned that they had to defeat the evil which wanted to prevent them from coming home. What a hard task!
The Kaisers threw buckets of Living Water on Cruella de Magistrate, the USCIS, the postal service, and the Home Ministry. They got the documents, packages, and approval they needed! Then they returned to the wizard who shared a secret. He never had the power to send them home, nor did their three wonderful friends. Only God could break their chains and deliver them safely home! The Kaisers rejoiced to hear this glorious news! There's no place like home and no God like our God! Victories, and triumphs, and joy-praise God!
"Narrow is the road and difficult is the road that leads to life, and there are few who find it." -Matthew 7:14
* * * * * * * *
Updates from Bangladesh: We have the police report! An officer hand-delivered it to the Home Ministry yesterday where they started working on our "no objection" certificate. It requires six official signatures of approval. At the end of the day we had five. The certificate should be ready by tomorrow (Saturday) morning. The next step is to present the certificate to the passport office on Sunday to get Kalina's passport corrected. Then Nadeem can take everything to the Embassy to get the visa. We're thrilled to share these praises. Thanks for praying!!!
The couple was confused. "How do we get home to Dacula?" They received these words of wisdom, "Follow God's Narrow Road." "Follow God's Narrow Road?" "Follow God's Narrow Road!" "Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow God's narrow road." Where? Why, of course, to see the Wizard of Bangaladesh! "We're off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Bangladesh." Well, maybe not. That doesn't have quite the same ring. Back to our story.
"Where do we find this wizard?" the Kaisers questioned. They learned that the wizard, who could send them home, resided in the US Embassy. Immediately they set out to find him and return to their home, with their precious munchkin, of course.
Along the way they met three wonderful friends who helped them in so many ways: Someira, Ayesha, and Tayeb. They loved their new friends very much! The friends lived in the land of Bangladesh and knew how to handle many of the trials of this land.
Nadeem and Sherri faced many obstacles along the way: flying demons, flying mosquitos, and flying crows plagued them. They didn't know what to do until they remembered that they carried a weapon, a sword! It was in fact the sword of the Spirit also known as the Word of God. This protected them from evil.
Next they entered a dark area where talking trees threw something at them. What was that? Aaahhh! Flaming arrows from the evil one to harm their faith! Sorrows, and delays, and trials-oh, my! That sword really came in handy again!
By this time, the Kaisers were very tired and weary. They still hadn't gotten help from the wizard. This Narrow Road was extremely long and difficult! Ahead they noticed a field, a lovely place to lie down and rest and quit this whole journey. But alas, the field was filled with a sleeping potion-discouragement, despair, and doubt-to keep the Kaisers inactive. This time Glenda the Good Holy Spirit appeared, ready to offer them strength and hope to continue their journey.
Finally! They had reached the US Embassy! Surely the wizard would help them return home now with their darling munchkin. When they saw the wizard, they didn't receive the warm welcome they were expecting. The wizard spoke angrily and rudely and told them something shocking: before they could get a visa to come home they would have to get fingerprints taken and approved and a "no objection" certificate. These sounded impossible! The wizard was adament: "Either produce these items or you will not return home with your munchkin."
The Kaisers did not know what to do. It seemed all hope was gone. They had counted on the wizard to help them. Now how would they ever return home? Glenda the Good Holy Spirit returned once again to encourage, comfort, and guide them. They learned that they had to defeat the evil which wanted to prevent them from coming home. What a hard task!
The Kaisers threw buckets of Living Water on Cruella de Magistrate, the USCIS, the postal service, and the Home Ministry. They got the documents, packages, and approval they needed! Then they returned to the wizard who shared a secret. He never had the power to send them home, nor did their three wonderful friends. Only God could break their chains and deliver them safely home! The Kaisers rejoiced to hear this glorious news! There's no place like home and no God like our God! Victories, and triumphs, and joy-praise God!
"Narrow is the road and difficult is the road that leads to life, and there are few who find it." -Matthew 7:14
* * * * * * * *
Updates from Bangladesh: We have the police report! An officer hand-delivered it to the Home Ministry yesterday where they started working on our "no objection" certificate. It requires six official signatures of approval. At the end of the day we had five. The certificate should be ready by tomorrow (Saturday) morning. The next step is to present the certificate to the passport office on Sunday to get Kalina's passport corrected. Then Nadeem can take everything to the Embassy to get the visa. We're thrilled to share these praises. Thanks for praying!!!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Preparing a Table for Us
Today's message in our devotional book says, "God wants us to be more than conquerors (Romans 8:37), turning storm clouds into chariots of victory." I'm so excited to hear about your ideas for our Celebration of Praise and Worship! This will be a fabulous time to give our thanks to God, separate from any other welcome home festivities. I had written that our victory day has not yet arrived, but in fact we see constant days of victory. Before the trip, God spoke to Nadeem and me and told us that we would know Him as Jehovah Nissi, God our victory! We've already seen this victory at court, in getting Kalina, and in having our I600A and Nadeem's fingerprints approved. Those are the big signs of victories. We also have smaller yet equally important victories. When we continue to stand in faith no matter what happens and God continues to give us strength to endure another day, that is a victory. Today's devotion goes on to say "what your enemy had planned to use for your defeat you can confiscate for your own use." Satan clearly means to defeat us-physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We've suffered in every area. However, what Satan means for evil, God means for good! Already I know that we're coming home with a beautiful daughter, stronger faith, and an amazing testimony to share. Instead of worrying and falling into despair at home in the US, you are all praying for us and getting excited about praising God with us in person when we return.
There have been so many obstacles and mishaps on this adoption journey that it's nearly unbelievable. Mistakes have been made both in the US and in Bangladesh. We've faced opposition both here and at home. The 23rd Psalm has always been one of Nadeem's favorites. One verse has become particularly meaningful to us: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Jesus' message is totally contrary to that of the world. Jesus taught that we're to "love our enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) Cruella de Magistrate's behavior provoked anger both here and at home. Yet Jesus tells us to pray for this man and love him! In September as we sat in his office on the morning before our victory in court, I prayed that I could see him as God does. For just a moment I felt this overwhelming compassion for him. I could see how lost he is, and it grieved me. It was just for a moment. Now I don't harbor anger towards him, but I have no heart to love him or pray for him. That comes through the power of God.
Nadeem and Hasan's mom endured a grueling day yesterday, facing much opposition and even some rudeness. At the end of the day, they emerged with the needed court document from Cruella de Magistrate which the Home Ministry accepted. Praise God! They also persuaded the police department to start the paperwork and to come to the apartment yesterday to observe Kalina. They've returned to the police station this morning in hopes of getting the completed paperwork and taking it to the Home Ministry to get the "no objection" certificate the US Embassy needs. We're making progress-some fast progress! This is clearly a huge praise; however, Nadeem came home upset, stressed, and worn out from dealing with the enemy all day.
On a smaller scale, I saw some ugliness yesterday, too. I stayed here to take care of Kalina. Doing laundry here without the luxury of washing machines and dryers is quite difficult. We have servants who do this, but the soap on Kalina's clothes was irritating her skin. Now Nadeem and I hand wash her clothes in some baby friendly detergent from home. It's actually kind of enjoyable. We both miss working. After we wash them, we or the servants hang them to dry, either on a clothesline in the apartment or on the roof. Many times the clothes on the roof fall off the lines onto the dirty ground. We've noticed that there are no clothespins, so Nadeem decided to purchase some at the grocery store. We then learned that the families all have clothespins, but everytime the servants use them, other servants steal them and sell them on the streets for extra money. That's frustrating! You need clothespins! Believe me, you don't want to re-wash clothes that have fallen onto the dirty ground. We've had that experience.
Yesterday I had this creative idea of stringing clothespins onto a separate clothesline. I tied the ends of the line to more clothespins so that the servants could attach the line of pins to a clothesline on the roof and then hang the clothes. If someone wanted to steal the pins, they would have to either cut the line with scissors or untie it and unstring the pins. Both would take effort and time, meaning the thief might be caught in the act. I was delighted with the plan and thought that others could use the idea as well!
Not even a couple of hours later, our servant reported the appalling news. Another servant had untied the entired clothesline with freshly washed clothes pinned to it and thrown it onto the dirty ground, clothes and all. Then the servant had hung her linens on the line. A servant knows how much work it takes to wash a load of laundry here and dry it. I couldn't believe that someone would do that to our clothes!
There is so much evil and ugliness everywhere, in every country, all over the world. The reality is that all of us have this ugliness in us. Thanks be to God that He enables His children to be a light in the world through Jesus! He continues to take care of Nadeem, Kalina, and me here in Bangladesh, preparing a table for us each day. We're eager to have you all at the table with us at home! Thanks for praying for us! We hope to see you all soon! Keep the faith!
There have been so many obstacles and mishaps on this adoption journey that it's nearly unbelievable. Mistakes have been made both in the US and in Bangladesh. We've faced opposition both here and at home. The 23rd Psalm has always been one of Nadeem's favorites. One verse has become particularly meaningful to us: "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies." Jesus' message is totally contrary to that of the world. Jesus taught that we're to "love our enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." (Matthew 5:44) Cruella de Magistrate's behavior provoked anger both here and at home. Yet Jesus tells us to pray for this man and love him! In September as we sat in his office on the morning before our victory in court, I prayed that I could see him as God does. For just a moment I felt this overwhelming compassion for him. I could see how lost he is, and it grieved me. It was just for a moment. Now I don't harbor anger towards him, but I have no heart to love him or pray for him. That comes through the power of God.
Nadeem and Hasan's mom endured a grueling day yesterday, facing much opposition and even some rudeness. At the end of the day, they emerged with the needed court document from Cruella de Magistrate which the Home Ministry accepted. Praise God! They also persuaded the police department to start the paperwork and to come to the apartment yesterday to observe Kalina. They've returned to the police station this morning in hopes of getting the completed paperwork and taking it to the Home Ministry to get the "no objection" certificate the US Embassy needs. We're making progress-some fast progress! This is clearly a huge praise; however, Nadeem came home upset, stressed, and worn out from dealing with the enemy all day.
On a smaller scale, I saw some ugliness yesterday, too. I stayed here to take care of Kalina. Doing laundry here without the luxury of washing machines and dryers is quite difficult. We have servants who do this, but the soap on Kalina's clothes was irritating her skin. Now Nadeem and I hand wash her clothes in some baby friendly detergent from home. It's actually kind of enjoyable. We both miss working. After we wash them, we or the servants hang them to dry, either on a clothesline in the apartment or on the roof. Many times the clothes on the roof fall off the lines onto the dirty ground. We've noticed that there are no clothespins, so Nadeem decided to purchase some at the grocery store. We then learned that the families all have clothespins, but everytime the servants use them, other servants steal them and sell them on the streets for extra money. That's frustrating! You need clothespins! Believe me, you don't want to re-wash clothes that have fallen onto the dirty ground. We've had that experience.
Yesterday I had this creative idea of stringing clothespins onto a separate clothesline. I tied the ends of the line to more clothespins so that the servants could attach the line of pins to a clothesline on the roof and then hang the clothes. If someone wanted to steal the pins, they would have to either cut the line with scissors or untie it and unstring the pins. Both would take effort and time, meaning the thief might be caught in the act. I was delighted with the plan and thought that others could use the idea as well!
Not even a couple of hours later, our servant reported the appalling news. Another servant had untied the entired clothesline with freshly washed clothes pinned to it and thrown it onto the dirty ground, clothes and all. Then the servant had hung her linens on the line. A servant knows how much work it takes to wash a load of laundry here and dry it. I couldn't believe that someone would do that to our clothes!
There is so much evil and ugliness everywhere, in every country, all over the world. The reality is that all of us have this ugliness in us. Thanks be to God that He enables His children to be a light in the world through Jesus! He continues to take care of Nadeem, Kalina, and me here in Bangladesh, preparing a table for us each day. We're eager to have you all at the table with us at home! Thanks for praying for us! We hope to see you all soon! Keep the faith!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Perfect Parent
The past few days have been really difficult for us here. Kalina is starting to teethe, and she has not been sleeping soundly recently. After receiving the barrage of bad news the other day, we faced a night of little sleep as she woke up to eat and then to play. I don't do well on little sleep (Nadeem will readily agree!), so when Kalina woke me up again at the crack of dawn to play after I had already been slammed with the bad news the day before, I felt I had no strength to cope. I tried to rock her in my arms to get her to go back to sleep, but she wanted no part of that. Actually, she enjoyed the rocking, but wouldn't sleep. Exhausted, I bounced, I rocked, I bounced, I rocked until finally I handed her to her dad and went into the bathroom where I collapsed on our hard tile floor in tears. I cried to God that I was worn out, that I felt all alone, that nobody is here to help me. My strength was gone-physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The only thing I could do was call out to God and cry some more.
There's a verse that's intriguing to me from Philippians 4:19: "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Again I'm reminded that my definition of "needs" and God's definition aren't the same. I need to go home. I need to be with friends and family who love me. Kalina needs her healthier formula from America...on time. Nadeem needs his job and his paycheck. We need to be home for Christmas. The list goes on and on.
Kalina recognizes and loves all of us in the apartment-Nadeem, me, Hasan's mom, his dad, his sister, and the two servants. When Kalina wants to sing and dance, she goes to her Khala ("aunt"-i.e. Hasan's sister). When Kalina wants to play, she goes to her daddy. When Kalina wants to be wild and squeal she goes to the teenage servant. When Kalina wants to be cuddled she comes to me. Each of us has something special to give to her to meet her various needs and wants. God has appointed Nadeem and me to be her parents; however, only God is the perfect parent, giving us all everything we need.
God always knows what we truly need, even when we don't. Maybe we need love, discipline, comfort, guidance, or a chance to grow in faith. The greatest treasure is not found in any thing or one on earth; it is found in Him.
When I cried out yesterday, God gave me strength right then to return to Kalina and face the day. Later He gave me physical rest in unexpected ways-an unusually long nap time for Kalina, an earlier dinner time for us bringing a longer period of sleep at night, and better sleep for Kalina last night. Just by giving me rest, God showed me that He was there.
Today we received so many lovely emails and comments on our blog-yet another sign of God's love and presence. Thank you all for your prayers, faith, and love!
The Celebration of Praise and Worship is growing! My mom has shared our story with the lady who mails the packages at FedEx, and she plans to come! I can picture a smile on God's face as He delights in all His children coming together to sing His praises. :)
I'll conclude today with the chorus from the Jeremy Camp song:
I still believe in Your faithfulness.
I still believe in Your truth.
I still believe in Your holy Word.
Even when I don't see I still believe.
"For we do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things which are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal." -2 Corinthians 4:18
There's a verse that's intriguing to me from Philippians 4:19: "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Again I'm reminded that my definition of "needs" and God's definition aren't the same. I need to go home. I need to be with friends and family who love me. Kalina needs her healthier formula from America...on time. Nadeem needs his job and his paycheck. We need to be home for Christmas. The list goes on and on.
Kalina recognizes and loves all of us in the apartment-Nadeem, me, Hasan's mom, his dad, his sister, and the two servants. When Kalina wants to sing and dance, she goes to her Khala ("aunt"-i.e. Hasan's sister). When Kalina wants to play, she goes to her daddy. When Kalina wants to be wild and squeal she goes to the teenage servant. When Kalina wants to be cuddled she comes to me. Each of us has something special to give to her to meet her various needs and wants. God has appointed Nadeem and me to be her parents; however, only God is the perfect parent, giving us all everything we need.
God always knows what we truly need, even when we don't. Maybe we need love, discipline, comfort, guidance, or a chance to grow in faith. The greatest treasure is not found in any thing or one on earth; it is found in Him.
When I cried out yesterday, God gave me strength right then to return to Kalina and face the day. Later He gave me physical rest in unexpected ways-an unusually long nap time for Kalina, an earlier dinner time for us bringing a longer period of sleep at night, and better sleep for Kalina last night. Just by giving me rest, God showed me that He was there.
Today we received so many lovely emails and comments on our blog-yet another sign of God's love and presence. Thank you all for your prayers, faith, and love!
The Celebration of Praise and Worship is growing! My mom has shared our story with the lady who mails the packages at FedEx, and she plans to come! I can picture a smile on God's face as He delights in all His children coming together to sing His praises. :)
I'll conclude today with the chorus from the Jeremy Camp song:
I still believe in Your faithfulness.
I still believe in Your truth.
I still believe in Your holy Word.
Even when I don't see I still believe.
"For we do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things which are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are unseen are eternal." -2 Corinthians 4:18
Monday, December 15, 2008
It's Always Darkest Just Before Dawn
A few weeks ago our friend Darcie laughingly said that our story is like a Lifetime movie. Now it's turning into a mini-series. For our younger readers, after this week's events, our story could be the plot for the next Series of Unfortunate Events books. Just a week ago we were celebrating Eid and getting ready for our visa interview the next day. The US Embassy had looked at all of our paperwork and said that we should have our visa by Thursday. We started making preparations to come home. Since then a lot has happened.
First the embassy told us that we need the "no objection" certificate from the Bangladesh government. At first this seemed impossible. You must have a pass to enter the Home Ministry building, and these are very difficult to obtain. Once inside, you must know the proper people to get the help you need. Nadeem's uncles came to the rescue. One called the head of the Home Ministry to pave the way, and the other escorted Nadeem personally. Then came the next problem. They asked for a form from the court that we don't have. It's a sort of receipt saying that we did indeed appear in the court and get legal guardianship. We already have all the court papers needed for the US Embassy and to get Kalina released into our custody three months ago. Only adoptive parents wanting a visa for their baby would need this particular form that we don't have. Once the baby is older you no longer need it. Only at this time is it required. The magistrate never got this for us. Due to all the holidays, the courts are not open much in December, especially for matters like this. In addition, an official police officer from the government must come to our apartment here to make certain that Kalina really exists-their version of Homeland Security. I mentioned yesterday that there is a minor problem with Kalina's passport, so we also have to return to the passport office to get this corrected. Then we can return to the US Embassy to apply for the visa again.
Things in Bangladesh run differently than in the US. Here connections and money help. However, all of this still takes time. Instead of dealing with one issue, we now have multiple issues. Holidays interrupt the process since all offices close. Today is Victory Day here, sort of like our Independence Day. Next week is Christmas.
Yesterday Nadeem and Hasan's mom met with the magistrate who is surely akin to Cruella de Ville in 101 Dalmations. After our unpleasant dealings with him in September I was so thankful never to have to see his face again. Little did we know! In the middle of making fun of Nadeem and me for being foreigners and for being Cruella-ish, he kept trying to hold Nadeem's hand! Talk about creepy! What's worse is that he is the magistrate that the orphanage uses. How sad is that!
To say that we're weary, discouraged, and upset is an understatement. We feel like we've been slammed to the ground. However, we will not lose hope and faith in our God! He has brought us this far, and He will bring us safely home! Our victory day is near!
Here for Victory Day it seems that most people watch celebrations on TV-bands playing (oorah boorah bands, as Nadeem said as he listened to the out of tune screechings), people singing, and others giving speeches. Let's talk about our victory day Celebration of Praise and Worship! We had a question about where we want to have this. I have no specific plan, just the beginning of an idea. What I picture is all of you at home gathered together with us to give thanks to God for what He has done. We'll all sing and shout together and praise God for hearing all of our cries and for providing for His children. That will be a true victory day!!!
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
-2 Corinthians 12:9
First the embassy told us that we need the "no objection" certificate from the Bangladesh government. At first this seemed impossible. You must have a pass to enter the Home Ministry building, and these are very difficult to obtain. Once inside, you must know the proper people to get the help you need. Nadeem's uncles came to the rescue. One called the head of the Home Ministry to pave the way, and the other escorted Nadeem personally. Then came the next problem. They asked for a form from the court that we don't have. It's a sort of receipt saying that we did indeed appear in the court and get legal guardianship. We already have all the court papers needed for the US Embassy and to get Kalina released into our custody three months ago. Only adoptive parents wanting a visa for their baby would need this particular form that we don't have. Once the baby is older you no longer need it. Only at this time is it required. The magistrate never got this for us. Due to all the holidays, the courts are not open much in December, especially for matters like this. In addition, an official police officer from the government must come to our apartment here to make certain that Kalina really exists-their version of Homeland Security. I mentioned yesterday that there is a minor problem with Kalina's passport, so we also have to return to the passport office to get this corrected. Then we can return to the US Embassy to apply for the visa again.
Things in Bangladesh run differently than in the US. Here connections and money help. However, all of this still takes time. Instead of dealing with one issue, we now have multiple issues. Holidays interrupt the process since all offices close. Today is Victory Day here, sort of like our Independence Day. Next week is Christmas.
Yesterday Nadeem and Hasan's mom met with the magistrate who is surely akin to Cruella de Ville in 101 Dalmations. After our unpleasant dealings with him in September I was so thankful never to have to see his face again. Little did we know! In the middle of making fun of Nadeem and me for being foreigners and for being Cruella-ish, he kept trying to hold Nadeem's hand! Talk about creepy! What's worse is that he is the magistrate that the orphanage uses. How sad is that!
To say that we're weary, discouraged, and upset is an understatement. We feel like we've been slammed to the ground. However, we will not lose hope and faith in our God! He has brought us this far, and He will bring us safely home! Our victory day is near!
Here for Victory Day it seems that most people watch celebrations on TV-bands playing (oorah boorah bands, as Nadeem said as he listened to the out of tune screechings), people singing, and others giving speeches. Let's talk about our victory day Celebration of Praise and Worship! We had a question about where we want to have this. I have no specific plan, just the beginning of an idea. What I picture is all of you at home gathered together with us to give thanks to God for what He has done. We'll all sing and shout together and praise God for hearing all of our cries and for providing for His children. That will be a true victory day!!!
"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
-2 Corinthians 12:9
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Thy Kingdom Come
Yesterday Nadeem was unable to go to the Home Ministry to get the "no objection" certificate required to get Kalina's visa. However, another of Nadeem's uncles is taking him today. Meanwhile the US Embassy here called this morning to inform us that there is a slight problem with Kalina's passport. Nadeem and I are listed as her parents, but in Bangladesh this implies that we are her biological parents. We must return to the passport office to get this corrected. Looking on the bright side, we're thankful to know this now rather than later. On the other hand, do we feel weary and frustrated? Yes! In the natural, time is ticking away. On Sunday Hasan's mom and sister leave for India. They are anxious to have all of these issues resolved before they leave. Christmas is next week. We really want to come home to celebrate! Also, Nadeem must come home by then or else he will lose his position at work. Tomorrow is another holiday here, so all offices are closed again. This is the natural.
What about the supernatural? What about what God is up to in all of this? It's so easy to fall into despair and discouragement. Every time we see a hint of light, it seems to quickly be extinguished. However, we follow the Light of the world. His light can never be extinguished. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life." (John 8:12)
Nadeem and I read a convicting commentary yesterday on the Lord's prayer. When asked how we should pray, Jesus answered, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your name, Your kingdom come, You will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Later in the prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray for our needs-provision, forgiveness, and deliverance. "Christ's business is the supreme concern of life and all of our personal considerations, no matter how important or precious to us, are secondary." (from Streams in the Desert) Wow. In other words, our desire to come home is secondary to God's work in expanding His kingdom and drawing people to Him. We came here to get Kalina. We have her. We are able to show God's love to our little girl and give her a home with us. God is doing more. We're not exactly sure what, but we know that God's up to something wonderful!
I love today's message in our devotion book. The passage describes trust as the heart of faith, the language of the heart. When we trust in God (Ps. 37:5) we lean on the One Who has a great, living, and genuine heart of love. The next part spoke to me so personally this morning: "Therefore let us trust in Him through all the delays, in spite of all the difficulties, and in the face of all the rejection we encounter in life (such as the ugly visa rejection slip from the embassy and the rejection we feel as foreigners here). And in spite of our feelings and evidence to the contrary, and even when we cannot understand our way or our situation, may we still trust also in Him for He shall bring it to pass. The way will open, our situation will be changed, and the end result will be peace . The cloud will finally be lifted, and the light of eternal noonday will shine at last."
During our trip I've read the true stories of Corrie Ten Boom in a concentration camp and Darlene Deibler Rose in a Prisoner of War camp. I loved the joyful endings when the ladies came home and embraced their loved ones and enjoyed the comforts of home. As I read the end of Darlene's story in the book Evidence of Faith, God gave me a wonderful idea based on something the prisoners did upon their release. Let's have a magnificent Celebration of Praise and Worship when Nadeem, Kalina, and I return!!! Wouldn't that be wonderful? I get so excited thinking about it! Everyone reading this blog would be invited to join us in person in giving praise to God! I know that so many of you sing, play musical instruments, like to plan, enjoy being creative, and have a heart for God. We've been asked how you at home can help while you're waiting for us. We've been blessed to have my mom take care of our house, and some of you have worked on our yard. While you're waiting, brainstorm some ideas for this celebration. We need a location. My friend Angela Brannen is researching this. If you have ideas, pass them along to her. She teaches at Hebron Christian Academy. We can't wait to join you all in thanking our God!
What about the supernatural? What about what God is up to in all of this? It's so easy to fall into despair and discouragement. Every time we see a hint of light, it seems to quickly be extinguished. However, we follow the Light of the world. His light can never be extinguished. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life." (John 8:12)
Nadeem and I read a convicting commentary yesterday on the Lord's prayer. When asked how we should pray, Jesus answered, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed by Your name, Your kingdom come, You will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Later in the prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray for our needs-provision, forgiveness, and deliverance. "Christ's business is the supreme concern of life and all of our personal considerations, no matter how important or precious to us, are secondary." (from Streams in the Desert) Wow. In other words, our desire to come home is secondary to God's work in expanding His kingdom and drawing people to Him. We came here to get Kalina. We have her. We are able to show God's love to our little girl and give her a home with us. God is doing more. We're not exactly sure what, but we know that God's up to something wonderful!
I love today's message in our devotion book. The passage describes trust as the heart of faith, the language of the heart. When we trust in God (Ps. 37:5) we lean on the One Who has a great, living, and genuine heart of love. The next part spoke to me so personally this morning: "Therefore let us trust in Him through all the delays, in spite of all the difficulties, and in the face of all the rejection we encounter in life (such as the ugly visa rejection slip from the embassy and the rejection we feel as foreigners here). And in spite of our feelings and evidence to the contrary, and even when we cannot understand our way or our situation, may we still trust also in Him for He shall bring it to pass. The way will open, our situation will be changed, and the end result will be peace . The cloud will finally be lifted, and the light of eternal noonday will shine at last."
During our trip I've read the true stories of Corrie Ten Boom in a concentration camp and Darlene Deibler Rose in a Prisoner of War camp. I loved the joyful endings when the ladies came home and embraced their loved ones and enjoyed the comforts of home. As I read the end of Darlene's story in the book Evidence of Faith, God gave me a wonderful idea based on something the prisoners did upon their release. Let's have a magnificent Celebration of Praise and Worship when Nadeem, Kalina, and I return!!! Wouldn't that be wonderful? I get so excited thinking about it! Everyone reading this blog would be invited to join us in person in giving praise to God! I know that so many of you sing, play musical instruments, like to plan, enjoy being creative, and have a heart for God. We've been asked how you at home can help while you're waiting for us. We've been blessed to have my mom take care of our house, and some of you have worked on our yard. While you're waiting, brainstorm some ideas for this celebration. We need a location. My friend Angela Brannen is researching this. If you have ideas, pass them along to her. She teaches at Hebron Christian Academy. We can't wait to join you all in thanking our God!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
When in the Wilderness
After writing the blog entry yesterday, I spent some more time with God. I "just happened" to turn to Psalm 78 which describes God's kindness to the people of Israel when they were in the wilderness, grumbling and not trusting God. He had done "wonders" and "marvelous things" for them such as parting the Red Sea and bringing water out of rocks. He provided for them by giving them manna to eat. Still they had a terrible attitude. Later the Psalmist wrote, "Yes, many a time He turned His anger away and did not stir up His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that passes away and does not come again." (vs. 38,39)
This Psalm gave me a couple of messages. One is that God understands that we are flesh. He understands when we get weary and we grumble and struggle. Another important message is that God expects us to have the right attitude and turn away from rebelling and grumbling. We have His power to help us. We're filled with His Spirit. We can either focus on what's wrong here and what we miss about home, or we can focus on God's wonders and marvelous things such as getting Kalina and getting our I600A approval from Nadeem's cleared fingerprints. We can focus on God's provision of health for all three of us, a nice place to stay, a laptop to communicate with home, clean water, a multitude of prayer warriors lifting us up daily, God's servants taking care of our home and cats, senators' staff to help us, and on and on.
I've heard people complain before that Christianity is a bunch of rules. Any good parent gives his child rules to keep the child safe and thriving. When God tells us to thank Him and to focus on what's good, that's for our benefit. Yes, it's sometimes very difficult. God is so good that He gives us the ability to do this, knowing we are flesh and cannot do it on our own. When we fall down, He lovingly lifts us up.
Bangladesh is filled with cawing black crows. When we visit the roof, they surround us. Some have landed a foot or two away from Kalina which really disturbs me. Yesterday we saw a bully crow knock another crow off a post and take over his spot. Several weeks ago I woke up during the night with a heavy heart. I went into our "prayer closet" (a.k.a bathroom) to pray. While praying, a huge flock of crows congregated right outside the window, cawing loudly. It disturbed me so much that I ran to Nadeem, woke him up, and made him pray with me.
While we were on the roof yesterday, I saw a sight I've never seen here before....a solid white bird. I only saw it for a moment. It swooped down in the distance and then disappeared. It reminded me of a dove. Last night when the darkness pressed in, I felt very comforted thinking about that white bird that was outside.
Thanks for praying for us!
This Psalm gave me a couple of messages. One is that God understands that we are flesh. He understands when we get weary and we grumble and struggle. Another important message is that God expects us to have the right attitude and turn away from rebelling and grumbling. We have His power to help us. We're filled with His Spirit. We can either focus on what's wrong here and what we miss about home, or we can focus on God's wonders and marvelous things such as getting Kalina and getting our I600A approval from Nadeem's cleared fingerprints. We can focus on God's provision of health for all three of us, a nice place to stay, a laptop to communicate with home, clean water, a multitude of prayer warriors lifting us up daily, God's servants taking care of our home and cats, senators' staff to help us, and on and on.
I've heard people complain before that Christianity is a bunch of rules. Any good parent gives his child rules to keep the child safe and thriving. When God tells us to thank Him and to focus on what's good, that's for our benefit. Yes, it's sometimes very difficult. God is so good that He gives us the ability to do this, knowing we are flesh and cannot do it on our own. When we fall down, He lovingly lifts us up.
Bangladesh is filled with cawing black crows. When we visit the roof, they surround us. Some have landed a foot or two away from Kalina which really disturbs me. Yesterday we saw a bully crow knock another crow off a post and take over his spot. Several weeks ago I woke up during the night with a heavy heart. I went into our "prayer closet" (a.k.a bathroom) to pray. While praying, a huge flock of crows congregated right outside the window, cawing loudly. It disturbed me so much that I ran to Nadeem, woke him up, and made him pray with me.
While we were on the roof yesterday, I saw a sight I've never seen here before....a solid white bird. I only saw it for a moment. It swooped down in the distance and then disappeared. It reminded me of a dove. Last night when the darkness pressed in, I felt very comforted thinking about that white bird that was outside.
Thanks for praying for us!
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