Yes, I know I have been very quiet for way too long. Trust me, I have 4 very exciting posts that I am waiting to hit “publish” on, but until then, could you please visit the CHI website and vote for Sarah in the “child” category of the photo contest? She is the baby crawling in the diaper with the purple bow in her hair.

We would really appreciate it.

Here is the link:

http://childrenshouseinternational.com/photo-contest/

And stay tuned for more news, hee hee:)

Blessings,

Kameron

Jason got home safe and sound on Sunday evening. However, since we headed straight to church that night, and with last night being Halloween, we have not even had a chance to talk in great detail about his trip. And I do  not know when he will have a spare moment to write out his own reflections on the trip.

But, one of the women who was on the trip, Nicola, emailed out this short reflection of her experience. It is  beautiful. I pray it helps open your eyes and softens your heart to those who so desperately need our love and support.

Enjoy the read:

Apparently the phone lines and Internet out in Nekemte and Gimbie are often down, I have only gotten a couple short emails from Jason.

But this is what I know:

* For 2 days the team was in Nekemte, where Sarah was born. Jason said that it was much harder on him than he had expected. He was originally looking very forward to visiting the place of Sarah’s birth,  but I am assuming that the reality of the grief, hurt and trauma that surrounds adoption has been very real to him over this past 1.5 weeks and the reality of our daughter’s traumatic and sad beginnings is probably overwhelming. We have always “grieved” for our daughter’s biological mother, and prayed she has peace in her heart and knows that Sarah is okay. But for Jason, after meeting and personally getting to know  families who are on the brink of losing the children that they love so dearly because they cannot physically provide for their needs, facing Sarah’s true beginnings and imagining what her mother must have endured and the hurt she probably feels today,  must be very emotional for him.

I find that often times in America, since we are on the “receiving end” of the blessings of a child, we have a hard time relating to the tragedy that resulted in the adoption in the first place. Yes, adoption is a beautiful example of God’s love and I believe that miracles are involved in every single adoption story as God perfectly orchestrates parents and orphaned children being brought together as a family. However, adoption is the result of another family’s deep, severe hardship and loss. And that is just sad. In all of this all I can do is praise God for faithfully and miraculously bringing “beauty for ashes” and providing hope where loss and hurt exist.

I was reminded just the other day of how hard it is for most of us to really understand the deep loss, tragedy and hurt that is part of every orphan’s story, even the stories that end in the miracle of adoption. I mean honestly, how many of us have a deep personal relationship with an orphan (not an adopted child)? And those who know adopted  children, how many  of us really take the time to really think about how that child’s life started out and the grief that has surrounded his/her life?

To illustrate our lack of understanding, a few days ago I saw a flyer for a mega church in our area, Real Life Ministries. We attended RLM for a few years and I know personally what a wonderful, benevolent, caring church it is. However, I was reminded of how detached we all are from the sadness and trauma of the orphan crisis and adoption when I read RLM’s flyer for their “Orphan Sunday Service”. The flyer actually said “Come CELEBRATE Orphan Sunday with us.” I thought “Celebrate” was certainly not the best term. To me celebration is joy, festivities, excitement. This is like saying “Come celebrate Hurricane Katrina” or “Come Celebrate the Holocaust”. I know they did not mean “celebrate” in that way, and it was just a mistake in wording (I am pretty sure the person who came up with the text for the flyer is not personally involved in the Orphan Crisis/Orphan Care or an Adoptive Parent), but still, it was an indicator of how detached we are from the hurt of those in the world.  Anyways, just “funny” as in strange, not comical.

Ok, back to Jason and the team:

* They all got a slight stomach bug but are  now feeling better

* Most of the team appears to have lice, apart from Jason. However, his hair is so THICK that I am afraid those little buggers are just hiding in there and he doesn’t know it. I may show up to the airport with clippers:)

* They visited a school and church in Nekemte, and he said it was “Amazing”

* And over all, things are “going great” and last I heard they were heading out 2 hours further to a town called Gimbie where a 3rd YWAM Widows and Orphans Home is.

Ok, gotta run. Playing single mom and gotta get the day going.

Love,

Kameron

I have not been able to talk with Jason much over the last few days, but here is a brief summary of what he and the team have been doing:

On day 5, Thursday, they worked at the Adama Widows and Orphans Home. They did manual work on the building, painted murals and hung curtains. But the highlight of the day was spent loving on the widows and orphans at the home. The nannies were also thrilled to see new photos of Sarah.

On Friday morning the headed out to the remote village where our church is helping fund the building of a worship center and school. The team spent both Friday and Saturday in the village, working on bicycles that the local church leaders use to get around to the people’s huts which are spread out over miles and miles. They also delivered Hygiene kits to the families of the 20 school children, and enjoyed a traditional dinner with the church leaders of the village, which included a freshly slaughtered goat that was purchased just for this celebration. They also spent lots of time with the children. Jason and the team had an incredible time with the people of the village.

On Sunday morning they left the hotel at 5:45 am to begin a 12 hour drive to the city of Nekemte. This is the town where Sarah was born.  Jason is understandably excited to be in the birth place of his daughter. I have not spoken with him today because the phone system out in the jungle is very bad and calls rarely go through. However I am confident that they are enjoying there time and changing and growing in ways they never imagined.

I don’t expect to hear from Jason again until Saturday, which is when they will return to Addis.

Please say a prayer for the team’s safety and for God to continue to reveal the truth of His love and will to each team member.

blessings,

Kameron

Day 3 and 4 in Korah, Ethiopia.

I finally spoke to Jason at the end of their 4th day in Ethiopia. They spent the first 4 days working in Korah, which is a leper colony of 130,000 people at the landfill in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia’s capital city).

This is just a brief outline of what Jason shared:

* During days 3 and 4 (Tues and Wed) the team handed out shoes. Because they were in the middle of Korah, rather than at the Korah Church compound which is gated,  they could not regulate the number of people trying to get shoes and instead of having 100 people show up, approximately 300-400 individuals came. They only had 200 pairs of shoes.  At the end of both days it basically turned into a mob as these poor, desperate individuals began to realize they may not get any shoes. Jason said it was overwhelming and he has realized that word in Korah spreads quickly, and once people realize you have something to offer, a crowd of 40 or 50 people quickly surround you.

* The pastor of the Korah church expressed sincere thanks to the team for coming to Ethiopia to serve. He said that they do  not want “us”  to just send money, they want “us” to come and experience first hand the needs and what God is doing. This is such a blessing for us to hear because one cannot but help question if spending $3,000 to go on a missions trip is the best use of money? Should we just send the money over there? Think of all the people that could be fed or the children who could go to school. But the solution is not just in dollar signs, it is in partnering with our brothers and sister in ET and helping Jesus care for the poor through us. We must understand these people, their culture, their dreams and fears, hurts and joys. We must GO to  them, and be WITH them (and then, yes, sacrifice so we can financially support them too).

* The entire team is having to internalize the contrast between their  lives and the people they are serving. One minute they are loving on and sympathizing with Lepers and the poorest of the poor, and the next they are at a nice restaurant eating lunch. Why do “we” get to live our lives of plenty while others (actually most of the world) live in complete poverty. The team is processing all of this in their hearts and praying for the Lord to direct them in what to do with this knowledge. We pray the team is not paralyzed or overwhelmed by the needs they witness, but rather encouraged and mobilized to be the voice of the needy (Proverbs 31:8: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,  for the rights of all who are destitute.”)

* Good news for those who were worried…. Jason does NOT feel God leading us to move to Ethiopia. Those who know us well, know that we are always eager to say “yes” to God’s plans, and that we would willingly and joyfully move to ET if God opened doors and made that path clear. Jason is praying very hard for God to make our role in all of this clear… What we do and where we go from here? We are both in agreement that the future of our family includes advocating for the needy, helping both the needy in ET and those in the US who want to help, and encouraging and enabling people from the US to go to ET to experience first hand the true needs there by being the hands and feet of Jesus, and then helping them mobilize once they return home. What this all looks like and how we do it, we have no idea… But… I will start this advocating by sharing that if you feel you heart strings pulled and want to get involved and personally help a family on the brink of collapse in ET, message me, I know of a WONDERFUL program that will allow you to personally help a family of the most needy for very little cost. And… if you don’t like being made to feel uncomfortable or asked to do something for the poor in our world, then you may want to stop reading my blog or De-friend me on FB, because I can’t sugar coat what we know and have seen. I have to be a voice for the destitute.

* The team is spending their 5th night (Wednesday night)  in ET at the Maya Hotel in Adama (about 2 hours outside of Addis). Tomorrow they will go to the main YWAM Widows and Orphans Home in Adama and do some painting, hanging curtains that Jeanne from the team made, and possibly deliver food to 50 widows who are part of a YWAM sponsorship program. They will also spend time loving on the widows and orphans.

Please keep the team and all those the serve in your prayers.

Blessings,

Kameron

Jason and the team have been in Ethiopia for 2 full days, 12 more to go.

Here is an email I received form Jason today.I am leaving it the way he typed it, simply because it is sweet and I love the way he writes to me.

I also spoke to him on the phone and he shared so much, too much to try to write in detail here. However, a few things that really struck me were when he said that the people you see on the streets when you drive around Addis live in luxury compared to those in Korah (if you have been to Ethiopia, then you know how impoverished the general people of Addis and the country are, so this is hard to imagine). He said it is overwhelming. He also said that he is so humbled by the number of Ehiopians who would thank him for coming from America to care for them and for “truly being the hands and feet of Jesus”.

Jason was reminded of why we must not just send financial aid, but why we must “go” and “do” too.

I have a feeling we will be adjusting our life style even more once he comes home and we are able to decompress all that God is showing him and the needs he is now aware of. In fact, according to Proverbs 24:12, it would be sinful if we did not: “Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

I thank God for a husband who is so eager to hear the voice of God and follow Him with obedience and love.

Here is a link to a few photos he posted too. http://www.flickr.com/photos/68772417@N02/6254640173/

Hello love.
Today I led the devotional after breakfast. I went over Mark 5 if you want to read it and feel my heart.

Well we saw more than I could type or  will even try to type. We delivered food to the most desperate people you could (not) come close to imagining.
Then I was kissed by a woman who has TB! I was not notified  of this until I had already loved on her, “don’t be afraid, Just Believe” has been ingrained onto my heart this trip. I hugged lepers, wept with mothers, prayed with HIV people. Yet the spirit of hope lives!

Tomorrow we go to Kora for one more day. We are going to the market to pick up 190 pairs of shoes then we’ll go deliver them.

We also found a woman who needs 600 bir ($35 US Dollars) to start a charcoal business. She wept when she found out her prayers had been answered and we gave her the money she needed.

Everyone is healthy, and doing well.

It was heart breaking honey, I felt the head of every child, and I would say 99% of the infants had fevers. To the point if it was Sarah we’d be giving her Tylenol or taking her to the hospital. There was one baby on her Mom’s back who was lethargic and not keeping any food or liquids down. We paid for her to go to the hospital we’ll know more about her tomorrow. All of this happened within one block of the church at kora. The poverty is more vast than you can imagine. Yet hope shines bright.

Here’s a few photos of the first few days at Kora. please share them http://www.flickr.com/photos/68772417@N02/6254640173/

On the other end of the spectrum we have been eating plenty of great food, and COFFEE!

I love you and miss you terribly, thanks for packing so well for me, I haven’t had a single need thanks to you.

Your husband
Jason

In 1 week Jason and a team of 11 of others, leave for Ethiopia. They will be in Ethiopia for 2 weeks, gone for a total of 17 days.

The team will be working in Korah, Ethiopia (a leper colony for 130,000), then they will head to work in the village where our church, Anthem, is supporting YWAM in building a school and worship center. Then they will head off to work and serve in  Adama where the main YWAM Widow’s and Orphan’s Home is located, and then they will make a 12 hour trip to 2 other YWAM orphanages in Nekemte (where Sarah was born) and Gimbie.

I have helped plan and organize this trip from the very beginning and I truly feel  like I am a huge part of the team. And honestly, up until this point I have been totally fine with simply serving the Lord and the team by helping them get there. But then, suddenly the reality of my absence on the trip hit me and over the last 2 days I have wanted to cry several times. My heart is so invested in this trip and all the amazing things God is going to do, that it makes me sad to think that I will be missing it all.

However, I  know this is not my time to go, and while I am a little sad, I will rejoice in the honor of serving God in this aspect and it really has been so fun to help do my part. When my time does come, no doubt, it will be amazing.

I will try to update my blog as much as possible with all that the team is doing and experiencing. I know it will be a joy for all of us to walk along side them in prayer as they step out to experience all that God has in store for them as He transforms their hearts while they serve the “least of these”.

In His Grip,

Kameron

I really have no excuse for being MIA, except for the fact that in N. Idaho we only have about 3 months of summer (but this summer it was about 8 weeks, ugh), so we are busy having fun. In fact, so much fun that lately the kids have been begging to just have a “rest” day at home because having fun has just worn them out. So… today is a rest day, and thus, I am here.

First off, the Shadricks are doing great. Oh my word, Sarah is fitting in so well with our family, it is nothing short of a beautiful miracle. I can’t believe that Sarah has already been home with us for 7 months and our adoption roller coaster seems like a distant memory. Now that we are on this side of  adoption, I can honestly say, with some experience under my belt, that if you are considering adoption or in the longggg, harrrdddd, heart wrenching wait for your child, know this, adoption is amazing and so worth every single moment of work, prayer, tears… Adoption has transformed our family in ways we never imagined….

Sarah, now 17 months old, finally started walking about a month ago, and now she doesn’t stop:) She loves to talk (in fact most of the time it still sounds like Amharic:) and LOVES her family and exploring this world with us.

Sarah at the Spokane Mobius Children's Museum

Sarah at the park with her new favorite dress (thanks Jeanette:)

By far Sarah’s favorite toy is her baby doll, “Deedee”(thank you Chris and Jeff Butler). She LOVES to push baby “Deedee” around in her stroller and the pride and determination she shows as she navigates her little darling around is fun to watch! Sarah also loves to smother Deedee in kisses and hugs, which blesses our hearts because it shows how loved Sarah feels – hallelujah! Although only 17 months old, she is incredibly nurturing and motherly (even with real live babies), I can’t wait to see what God has in store for her tender heart.

Ivy and Quincy are now saving their allowance up to help build a home for a special family that we support in Ethiopia. Once again we are amazed at how  tender their hearts are and how adoption has changed their perspective.

And finally, after lots of prayer, guidance and discernment, we  feel that our family is to pursue foster care with an emphasis on the foster-adopt program. When we first felt called to adoption over 2 years ago we began by looking at the local needs of children in our area and country. We researched and inquired about Foster-adoption and the doors CLOSED at EVERY turn. We were told up front that the need for children ages 0-3yrs was very small and we would probably never get a placement. We wanted to adopt where there was a need, and it was at that point that we turned our sights on International Adoption, which we know is where God wanted us.

A few  months ago we began praying about out next adoption, where did God want us to look for our next child? While my flesh desperately wants to dive right back into ET, my Spirit just did not have peace, and neither did Jason’s. I started looking into other IA programs, China, Korea… but nothing felt right. One night I asked Jason where he felt our next child would come from, and he said “domestically.” I actually laughed out loud and said, rather matter of fact, “Honey, that will never happen. First off, foster-adopt just wont work because of our age restrictions, and with domestic infant adoption, a birth mom would never choose us because we can have bio kids & we already have kids…and  why would we even try to adopt a baby when there are so many families lined up for them and really, we just aren’t “needed” for domestic infant adoption. Sorry hon, but you are “hearing” wrong.” He simply replied, “well, you asked, and that is what I feel…”

The next day a friend stopped by to say “hi” and confined in me that they are getting licensed for foster care and want to foster-adopt. I told her that I would LOVE to adopt via foster system but Jason would not be supportive of it for at least a few years, if at all. As I talked more with my friend, she shared all that she has learned about our state foster-adopt program and that they actually do need families for children aged 0-3 (2 years ago we were told that the chances of getting a 0-3yr placement was minimal). I started to get excited.

That night our social worker “happened” to come over to do our 6 mo. post placement report and she just “happened” to be the  foster-care specialist for our HS agency. After Jason got home from work, and before our social worker came over, I asked Jason what he thought about asking our social worker about foster-adoption. I fully expected him to say “no way”, and was shocked when he said “I told you I felt we are to look domestically. Its about time you came around – wink, wink.” I was floored, I never expected those words from Jason.

So that evening we discussed this opportunity with our social worker, who is also a believer. We then decided to take it slow and spend time praying over such a huge decision.As time passed, we felt more and more convicted about  caring for orphans (James 1:27) in our own community.

In fact, I began to feel like a total hypocrite as I shared about a wonderful new program that YWAM has in ET called “Adoption Ministry 1:27″ where people can “sponsor” either a single parent family on the brink of losing their children due to poverty or illness (which would result in another orphaned child) or “sponsor” an Ethiopian foster family which allows them to financially afford to take care of an orphan in their own community. International Adoption is clearly not the solution to the global orphan crises, and via this new program YWAM is partnering with local ET churches to promote local orphan care by offering sustainable, long term, more realistic solutions for Ethiopian orphans.

So here I was, promoting  a program that enables and encourages Ethiopians to care for their “own” orphans, and here we were, not doing the same here in our own local area. Did I expect Ethiopians to do something that we ourselves were not willing to do? That was a hard question….

As days turned into weeks a sense of peace surrounded the idea of fostering and the once scary thought of only being able to love a child for a season, suddenly felt like an incredible blessing and opportunity. Until recently I was fearful that Foster care or Foster Adoption would be too emotionally taxing on us, but now my heart aches for the little ones who need a safe, loving home, even if only for a season.

I also used to wonder how the instability of foster care/adoption would affect our children? But then I realized that while we were teaching our children to advocate, love and give to the orphans and vulnerable children of our world, we were failing to show them the realities of many children in our own community and what we, as believers in Christ, are to do for the “least of these” right outside our door.

My fear of having a child, whom we cared for,  ripped from our home used to produce great fear in me? But now, by the grace of God, I see the opportunity to love on a child for a season as a gift, honor and blessing. We plan to pour enough love and prayer over each child to last them a lifetime. These  children may never again have anyone praying on their behalf, and so we will take seriously the opportunity to do so, even if just for a short time.

Now don’t get me wrong, while I feel that we are more emotionally prepared for the heart ache, I am not naive to the reality of fostering. We recognize the emotional roller coaster that comes along with foster care and the need to be on our knees in prayer a lot, which is always a good place to be. And for those of you concerned about the safety of our other children, we are trying to be very wise about the children we will allow in our home. We will in no way risk the safety and well being of our other children, so please, have faith and confidence in the decisions we make for our family and remember that we love Ivy, Quincy and Sarah more than you, and thus we would never do anything to jeopardize their safety.

Our “plan” (which I totally recognize as meaning nothing because, like we learned with Sarah’s adoption, God’s plan is the one that counts), is to start slowly with respite care (babysitting or watching foster children for short time periods, like hours or a few days), and then if God wants us to continue, we will move on to accepting long term placements of children (or a child) who are likely going to have parental rights terminated and will be placed for adoption.

While we do have a dream and a vision, we fully accept that God can change things very quickly and this may not end the way we envision. But our job is to be obedient today, and to say “yes” today, so that is what we do. Today God is asking us to get licensed for Foster Care, so we are, and we will see where He takes us.

We really have no expectations of what will happen, and I am done trying to guess what God has planned for us. We may adopt via foster care or we never even get a placement and we may be led to international adoption again and find ourselves waiting to bring home another child from Ethiopia or some other distant land (and trust me, I am soooo anxious to start another International Adoption!).

But regardless of where the journey takes us, we will continue to allow God to break our hearts and mobilize us in new ways. He is only good and His plans are so perfect. We are just along for the ride.

Blessings,

kameron

Wow! I can’t believe it has been over 2 months since my last post…

I don’t know if anyone ever even reads my blog anymore, but I guess I am here, so I will write, reflect and share.

Firstly, we are GOOD! And God is GREAT!

Sarah is so incredible. Words cannot even begin to describe how amazing she is and how much she has blessed our family. Jason and I often look at each other in awe, so thankful that we did not say “no” to the idea of adoption during those times when the enemy seemed to bombard us with attack and discouragement. We are so grateful we said “yes” to the Lord’s calling and thus entered into what has resulted in a waterfall of grace, love and blessing.

We have had Sarah for almost 6 months, and it has flown by! My love for her as a mommy only grows deeper each day. Sarah is clearly attaching to each of us in her family, and everyone in our home is simply head over heals for her.

Before Sarah came home, one of the “concerns” that people had about our adoption is that it would affect Ivy and Quincy in a negative way. If you are considering adoption and worry about this or have had  people voice their “concern”, let me tell you, adoption has been the most amazing gift to our family AND our children. Ivy and Quincy are IN LOVE with Sarah, and by having an adopted sister it has opened their eyes to the reality of our broken world. As a result of the adoption our kids are more sensitive, selfless, loving, patient, and all around better. This adoption has changed our kids and our family dynamics as much as it changed Jason and I. This adoption has mobilized our family and we believe set us on a new course, a path on which our family has purpose and an impact in our broken, hurting world.

Jason and I continue to pray daily, even hourly, about the Lord’s direction for our family. We sense Him aligning our hearts once again, and we are excited to see what He has planned for us next. And one thing we are reminded of often is stated clearly in Psalm 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Happy Independence Day!

be blessed,

kameron

Hope.

Deep, unexplainable, undeniable, penetrating, intoxicating, encouraging, life giving -  hope. It is only through a deep, real, personal relationship with Christ that we find this kind of hope. Not hope found in this world or even understood by this world, but a heavenly hope, a hope that results in blessedness, contentment, and deep joy. A hope found in a relationship with Christ, not a religion.

As I mentioned in my last post, we have been facing trials lately. But I am just amazed, once again, at the work He accomplishes in us through hardships, and how He faithfully draws us closer to Himself during these times. He does not abandon nor forsake us. He is so good and faithful.

Today God helped me really understand the true meaning of Mathew 5:3

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (NLT)

It struck me this morning when God brought this verse to my mind, out of nowhere, that we are personally experiencing this in a very real way. Despite the worldly trials and disappointments surrounding us, we feel SO BLESSED, and I really believe it is because we have truly let go of this world and our own personal, human ambitions, hopes, and dreams, and we have fully surrendered to Christ. His will, not ours. The Kingdom of Heaven is our goal and our hope is found in a loving Father and selfless Savior.

Right now I feel so filled with Hope, it brings tears to my eyes. Not the hope of this world, like hope for a better job, or bigger house, or a family vacation, or a skinny body, or another baby… But true, deep, not-of-this world hope. Hope that I can’t even describe in words.

Before I was a believer I can say that I was happy and I did have some form of “hope”. But my hope was dependent on my education level, my economic status, the house we lived in, my current and future opportunities, my dreams. While I had a sense of “hope”, I was not blessed or deeply joyful or even content. My hope was dependent on the current conditions of my life.

Today, I am simply overwhelmed with God’s goodness, faithfulness and love.He is so good and holy, and I thank Him for personally and intimately loving me and filling me with His peace and hope.

Be blessed,

Kameron