THE STORY OF A STREET KID

This morning, I listened to this guy named Enric Sifa. He's from Rwanda and as a young child, lived through the genocide.  His brother, mom, and dad were murdered.  He lost his home.  No, stop.  Think about it.  Can you imagine being five and dealing with that?  Enric had a neighbor who cared for him, but he didn't quite feel comfortable living in the same neighborhood with the guy who killed his mom.  So, the streets became his home.  He talked about surviving on the streets as a nameless "street kid" who couldn't trust anyone and had nobody to depend on.  In his mind, he didn't quite get Christians, because he had witnessed them calling hits on the very people they used to pastor.  After being badly beaten one night, he was lying on the street crying and God spoke to him.  When he woke the next morning, he walked into a church and found dancing, singing, and hugs.  A woman eventually took him in and clothed and fed him. 

One day, a lady walked up to him and tried to speak with him, but had to first track down someone to interpret for them.  She told him that God was telling her that she was supposed to help him...so she did.  Anyway, to make a long story short, he went to school, developed his music and within two years, became the famous face of Rwanda.

Sometimes, when people find out we're adopting, they make comments about how great WE are...or somthing like that.  But let me set this straight, we're so far from great people...if anything, WE needed to do this.  We needed to listen and act because we've grown cynical about the "church" and about "Christians" -- we needed to get out of our little church seats and reconnect with God.  We needed to connect with suffering because our lives were too comfortable.  Without suffering, we're dead and without passion and empathy. (Thanks Rob Bell)

So while, technically we're comfy, this adoption, as we knew that it would, has opened the door to God's work in our hearts.  I'm so grateful for my heavy heart because I feel ALIVE and I'm eight months along on my journey from success to significance. (Thanks Richard Stearns)

This morning, I cried like a baby when Enric sang the song below, because God IS moving and he does use us to reach his lost and abandoned children.  Such a beautiful thing...to witness a "street kid" lifted up by God so that he can advocate for his "little brothers" still surviving the streets of Rwanda. Here's a link to a VERY short version of his story.  To be honest, I heard him speak for at least 45 minutes, and this is a four minute rushed version. BUT sit through it to hear him sing "My Little Brother" -- the lyrics are so beautiful and moving. http://www.speakrwanda.com/enric/video.html

FAST FEBRUARY

Our hopes are for a really fast-moving month ahead!  Our new number is 13.  Yes, that's 5 spots since our January number, but honestly, after working the numbers from the travel groups and stuff...I thought it would be lower.  So, I'm going to hold on to my hopes and shift that wishful thinking forward to February. 

I would like to mention that our little guy has a name.  Might be his middle, might be his first.  We'll have to wait and see.  Meanwhile, I love that we can talk about him and pray for him by name.  So...until further notice, he's "little g".

I must say...13 makes this all feel very real.  Maybe it's time for some pictures or something.  We'll start with Whit.  He's very excited for a little brother. :)

Here's a picture of the nursery in progress...really, it's only a nursery because there happens to be a crib in there.  We should probably get cracking and finish the walls.  Perhaps even some baby stuff.  I think the two of us are just trying to get through our certification work and do our jobs well right now.  I'm a horrible paint-picker, but I LOVE this color.  It's mostly gray with a smidge of blue in it.

And finally, a picture meant mostly for my mom because she sent Aaron home with a passed-down cribby thing (I know, I'm totally lacking mom language) to use up in our room.  We pulled it out of the car last night and laughed because of...well, look at it.  Yes, that's tulle.  We're going to have to make some modifications.  I'm all about not following social norms for gender, but even I can't handle this!  Minus the icky gold paint that we haven't quite managed to get rid of, little g's going to have a peaceful view.

BABY SMITH NAMES!

So, the plan is to keep our little guy's name IF it isn't too difficult to say/spell/read.  If it is, then we'll make it his middle name and give him a first name.  Or, maybe we won't...not really sure right now.  I'm actually pretty torn on this issue.  In any case, I can't wait to see him and know what his name is -- what it means and why it was given.

Anyway, we've been on a mission this last week to decide on a name.  Such a difficult task when you don't really know if it'll be a first or a middle OR what it sounds like with the other parts!  I'm happy to report though, that we're down to the final two names; however, I think we actually do know which one is our favorite.    

Love both of them for WAY different reasons.  So excited to share! :)