CALLED

A quiet moment at home (notice no one is watching the TV)

WE have been called-

Mark 9:35-38 Reads...35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

Juan and I have been called to adopt. We know this, both of us in different ways see what God wants us to be doing. Sometimes people that we know, and some of our family- really do not understand. But when God asks you to do something, He gives you the strength, love and the want/will to it.

It is because of this call that we have been abundantly blessed with each of our children at home today. Looking at my children that are at home- I am the most blessed mother-- they are four of the most loving, generous and beautiful children I have ever seen. Dylan was too young to remember his life before coming home to us and the other three often tell us bits and pieces of things they experienced in their past life in Ethiopia. A past that seemed absent of hope. A past that was nearly void of nutrition. A past that was void of a parent's love.

Three of our four at home have come to know Jesus as their own personal Savior since they have come home- That says it all for me- WE are doing what Jesus wants us to do--

I feel like the luckiest Mom on earth and sometimes can't understand why people find it so odd we continue to bring more children home. We are not following our will, but the calling He has placed on our lives to love each of the children He has brought into our home. God is using each of them in a special way. God is building traits in each of our children that will be used for His glory as they grow-up. God is building traits in us as their parents that could only come from having each of the children He has blessed us with. God has shown me personally that all things are possible with Him. There is no way I could do this without His grace, joy and love daily.

Being a bit older than the average mother of kids that are 7, 9, 13,and 15 soon to add an 8, another 9 and an 11 year old -- It is hard work, and I do get tired- doing laundry, make meals, clean-up with them. -- only God can pull this off! Not everyone is called to have a large family. Not everyone is called to be a parent. Not everyone is called to adopt. But when you hear your calling to "go", GO! It will not only bless those whom you are called to serve, but it will bless you.

Every one of us is called to help the orphans and widows. We are called to take care of each other and be the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth. How will they know we are His? They will know by how we love one another.

Guatemala has closed its doors to all US adoptions and there are thousands of children who will not have the opportunity to live in an orphanage, or a forever family, let alone live to see the age of 2. This breaks our hearts; especially after seeing the reality of life for those in villages where children walk the streets without shoes, dirty, eating scraps they found in the trash and knowing there is no clean water within miles of their homes.

Compassion International is help that is being brought to the villages for the forgotten children. There is hope and through organizations like this we can all make a difference in a child's life - one child at a time. I pray you will consider sponsoring a child in Guatemala.

There are over 4.3 million orphans in Ethiopia today.

Jesus loves the little children of the world...

The total number of orphans worldwide is projected to reach 44 million by 2010

Deuteronomy 10:17-19 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 24:19-21 “When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

Psalm 10:18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Psalm 82:3 Defend the poor and fatherless;Do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do good; Seek justice. Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.

Zechariah 7:10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.’

I hope as I continue to share all that God has done for our family through the lives of the children He brought to us, that your heart is touched and you begin to ask the Lord how you can be used for His glory to help the forgotten children around the world today!

I used a lot of this from my friend Jill, but it is truly the cry of my heart- and the personal facts of of our family and children. I am pleading that the body of Christ comes together to help.

Blessings

Pam for all of the Johnsons - here and on their way here......