A Prayer Circle

by Ruth

Our phrase in any discussion we had about adopting was “God is going to have to show up big time to make this happen”.  So many aspects of this were going to be beyond us.

I knew we needed to pray a circle around this.   And while Doug didn’t have quite the same understanding of that concept I did, he knew we needed to also.   We needed to do it, and do it now.  But what would the circle be?

Doug found one.  I didn’t like it.

Our lead pastor had put a couple posts on facebook about a need.  At our church a group of people pray with the teaching pastor two times before the weekend services.  At 5:30 on Saturday evenings before that service, and before the Sunday morning services.  Being summer, a few Saturday nights the pastor had prayed on his own, as none of the regulars were there.  So his plea was for some folks to come and pray with him on Saturday nights.

Doug suggested that we go and pray with the teaching pastor on Saturday nights, and then we would stay in the prayer chapel afterward and pray about the adoption together.

Did I mention I didn’t like this idea?  As in, you’ve got to be kidding me!  Praying out loud has never been high on my list.  Not in my comfort zone.  So I am supposed to go and pray out loud with pastors?  Seminary graduates.  Biblical scholars.  Experienced prayer warriors.  Mmmmm…not so much.

At some point, my mouth said “yes” to this plan.  My heart and my head were not in agreement … yet.

But we needed a circle, and this was it.

It was a circle in several ways.  One, it gave us a consistent time to pray every week.  Second, it was a commitment, one that was not always convenient.   We do not attend that Saturday evening service -  “our” service tends to be Sunday at 11:00am.  Third, it was a sacrifice.  We would be there at 5:30 every Saturday unless we were out of town or sick etc.  But just every day plans would be made around that 5:30 time frame.   It was going to be a non-negotiable in our lives.

I will admit, the first time we went – I did not pray out loud.  Just silently.  But as we continued to go, I become more and more comfortable with doing this.  After a few short weeks, I was actually looking forward to going, and didn’t want to miss out!

Without intending to, the prayer circle we drew was not only blessing us, and giving us direction with adoption, but it was blessing others in the process.

God is good.

The Circle Maker

By Ruth

One of my friends (and a former pastor of our church) does a lot of reading, and often puts quotes from his latest reads as status updates on his Facebook page.  One of his his books was really peaking my interest.  So in the Spring of 2012, I picked up a copy of “The Circle Maker” and read it from cover to cover.  Having had some struggles with prayer over the years, this book just really spoke to me – some new thoughts on prayer, some things I was missing out on, and got me really excited about how God wants to show His glory through our prayers .  I also recommended it to several friends, and guess who one of those friends was? – uh huh - Sue, who then had Dirk read it.

I had really wanted Doug to read it, but that’s asking a lot from him.  He already has extensive reading lists for the Masters Degree courses he is taking right now.  And he reads and writes papers, and reads and writes papers, and reads and writes papers.   He would attest to the fact, though, that I was constantly sharing with him things I had learned from the book, and I was excited about it.

As often happens with a book, I read it and think it was great stuff, but now I need to reread it and apply it.  Which never seems to happen.  But I was not going to let this one go.

And then I heard the story of the orphan boy.

On our 25^th anniversary – on that night – when Doug & I talked about my email to him, and if adopting this boy was even a remote possibility– one thing was clear.

I would not be reading the book again and figuring out how to apply it.

I could almost hear an audible whisper from God – “This, this, is why you read that book.  This, this is what I am asking you to pray circles around”.

The Summit

by Ruth

As I mentioned in the last post, I hadn’t been able to catch many of the Global Leadership Summit speakers.  As part of the Promotional Strategy Team, our work is done once the Summit starts.  But when the lunch fundraiser and t-shirt sales, and managing that group of volunteers was added to my slate, I was unable to actually be in the Summit much.

But somehow, Thursday & Friday, when I did have a chance to slip in and listen, whatever I heard seemed to line up with the idea of us adopting.  Or maybe it’s just what my brain and heart were tuned to.  But I truly think God was speaking.

Also, on Friday afternoon, our lead Pastor had a lunch for those from KCC attending the Summit.  He was sharing a 3-fold vision for the church – to be involved in the community through outreach in the schools, the neighborhoods, and fostering & adoption.   With the fostering and adoption piece, he was praying that 100 families would be raised up to be foster parents, Safe Families, or adoptive parents in the coming school year.  Kyle mentioned that in October he would be doing a sermon series on adoption.

And throughout the rest of the Summit, every time Dirk and/or Sue would walk past one or both of us, they would smile and then put their hands to cover their eyes and pick up their pace a bit.  And then we’d look at each other, and shake our heads just a little.  Because we knew if really looked at each other, or started a conversation again, there would be puddles of tears on the floor.  Because emotions were high.  Because something big was going on.  Because of the thought this orphan boy just might have found his family.   Because we were beginning to see and feel “God moments” already. 

The Conversation

By Ruth

So it’s the night before the Summit.  So many things on my mind!!  It’s running wild with logistics for lunches, volunteers, T-shirts etc.  And yet it’s second place to thought of the conversation that will take place during lunch between Doug & I and Dirk & Sue.

About the boy.  About knowing if our lives might be taking a wild turn.  About whether or not we were going to take a flying leap of faith.

Thursday morning was non-stop Summit, and as much as I wanted to, I didn’t even get into the Summit to hear a session before the first break.  Not much time to think about the upcoming conversation.  If I remember right, I did see Dirk & Sue at one point, and we confirmed the lunch meeting.

Come the appointed time to meet, Doug & I were still wrapped up in some responsibilities, and Dirk & Sue waited patiently around, chatting with other people they knew.  Finally, we were able to break away and headed to the café area of the church with them.

Okay, sit down, take a deep breath.  Dirk & Sue had that look – of anticipation – one that says “we just don’t know what this could be about”.   I did ask them right then – “do you have any ideas about why we want to talk to you?” – to which they responded with a “no, not really”.

Then, in almost one breath, Doug put our hearts on the table and shared how I had been moved by the story Sue had shared.   I think Dirk & Sue had a mix of emotions – surprised, overwhelmed, excited and joyful.   I think I started crying when Doug starting talking, and when I glanced over at Sue, there were tears streaming down her face.   Here I hadn’t even been sure she would remember telling me the story!   We quickly learned what hearts both they and all their three daughters & families had for this boy.   All of them were sharing his story with people, asking people pray about finding an adoptive family for him, and actively trying to find one!  And even the oldest adopted boy of Sue’s daughter was praying every night for a family for his friend.

We learned a lot of things throughout the rest of our conversation (and shed a few more tears – guys excluded!  okay, Dirk, he might have had one or two – I’m not quite sure!).  The final conclusion was that we would connect with Sue’s daughter that adopted the two boys, and learn what we could from them about the boy, his story, and hear their experience.

And Dirk & Sue, they couldn’t wait to get a hold of Tammi, and tell her someone was thinking about adopting HIM.