Update on Evan...

Grateful for each of you who have been praying diligently.

Isn't it beyond exciting to be part of an event that is 

going to literally change history??

It's HUGE!!  HUGE!!  HUGE!!

And how humbling and mind-boggling to think that we GET TO!!

I was thinking about how in the years ahead Kirill's mommy and daddy and Evan's mommy and daddy and Baby J's mommy and daddy will get to tell each of their treasures about the people around the world who prayed and fasted and prayed and prayed....and the God of the Universe moved every single obstacle, mountain, bureaucracy, judge and government to get them home....

What a story it will be - FOREVER!!

And an update:

Tesney, Kirill's mommy posted this early this morning regarding Evan's case:

 "Evan's case was continued until tomorrow. 

There was an issue with a document that they are trying to get resolved. 

This is a good sign in my opinion.

 At least the judge is allowing them to correct the issue. 

So let's all pray!!! 

It gives us another day to talk to the God 

of the universe on behalf of the Evan's and her family!"

So the word would be...

KEEP PRAYING!!!

1:00 am Mountain Standard Time

Tesney, Kirill's mommy posted this comment below just a 

{little while ago} in a FB group dedicated to 

"Saving Kirill" 

{you can join the group, I'm sure, just look for it!}

"IMPORTANT!!! Our appeal was filed today. I just found out from our agency that our judge *can* overturn her own ruling simply based on the appeal WITHOUT us going to the Supreme Court. Our agency says that would be a "miracle" but there is a chance. Good thing God works miracles! SO....START. PRAYING. NOW!"

and 

In approximately 2 hours from when I posting this {1:00am MST 3/31/11} Evan's mama and daddy will be standing before the same judge.  

I will be setting my alarm to wake up and pray......

Anyone else still up and getting this message and want to join me?

The Scoop on Prayer and Fasting....

I have been starting to cry all morning....

Did you see the comment left yesterday by Kaitlin?

"A group of high school students will be praying and fasting tomorrow! 
We are spending our lunch hour in an empty room 
praying for these precious babies and expecting God to move!! 
He is so so good!"


And then last night I got a text message from one of my Liberty's very best friends ever....Ashley....
who is 12 years old.....it said:


"I am fasting tomorrow."


My heart has been rejoicing....for young people to lay down the love of food while praying to the God of the Universe to move so that treasures around the world would have forever families...and for these same young people to be learning at such young ages the spiritual disciplines of fasting....thank you faithful God for using this painful situation in such amazing ways!  


To Him be ALL honor and glory!




I was thinking I would share something too, since many are new to fasting....


When I am fasting and praying I ask the Lord specific things.


Are you familiar with the scripture in Psalms 25:14a?


It is one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible.


"The LORD confides in those who fear him" 

Whoooa!  

Do know what that means?

The God of the Universe whispers secrets 

to those who obey, 

reverence, honor and have a 

close relationship with Him.

He has whispered so many secrets to me.  

Things I don't even tell Dw. 

 Some I write down.  

Some I just hide in my heart until they are revealed.

Why does He do that?  

Cause He's a REAL God who desires a two-way relationship with us!! He doesn't want us left in the dark.  He wants us to know how to pray, how to live, what to expect....

A couple of weeks ago I first heard about Kirill's situation.  What I heard was vague.  Just that a little boy was denied a family by a judge in an Eastern Europe country on the grounds that he has Down Syndrome.  

I was stunned.

I went to my room to pray.  

I said, "Lord, what is going on?  What is at the root of this?"

He very clearly told me.

Everything.

He whispered secrets to me.

Things I will not post.

But the first thing He said was,

"The Judge is a woman....."

When I found out that indeed the judge was a woman I smiled.  I already knew that.  Cause HE had told me.  

Now, what is my motive for telling you all this?

Because I want Him to whisper the same things to YOU.

He can.

He will.

You must ask Him!!

Last year I did a series on How To Hear God Speak.  

I will post the links below and I will post them on the sidebar {later today} too.

So today, as I pray for the situation, I am praying about the root that God whispered to me.  We can pray in general terms but how good it is when we are able to pray in specific terms!!

Keep praying!!

I am so thankful for all of you!!

Let's watch and see the Salvation of OUR God!!

Praise His Holy name!!

*******

How to Hear God Speak - Part 1

How to Hear God Speak - Part 2

How to Hear God Speak - Part 3

How to Hear God Speak - Part 4

The Rest of the Story {Kirill AND Evan AND even Baby J}

First, I am thrilled that so many of you have said that you will pray {and fast} for Kirill's situation.

But there is more to the story.....

{and I now have permission to share it}

As I said yesterday, 

the adoption of Down Syndrome children has been unheard of in this region of Russia.  

Kirill was the first case.

Now, let me introduce you to - 

Evan 

{her name at the moment}

Isn't she absolutely perfect??

Evan is in the process of being adopted from this exact same region of Russia 

and her mom and dad {Angie and Clark} are in Russia at this very moment

waiting to have Evan's case heard before the exact same Judge who 

stamped Kirill's case as

Evan's case is going to be heard THIS Thursday

March 31, 2011 

{as in the day after we fast and pray}

The case will be heard in Russia at 2:00am {central time} Thursday morning

 in the United States  

So when we are allegedly sleeping, this same judge who only two weeks ago DENIED Kirill a family because he has Down Syndrome will be deciding the future of little Evan

{and there is another little Down Syndrome treasure - Baby J - 
whose adoption papers are waiting 

in Russia to be heard by the exact same Judge - 
if she is even willing to!} 

The situation is serious. 

The call is urgent.

The need is huge.

But 

our comfort remains in Christ ALONE because:

1.  God's heart is for the orphan

2.  He desires to set the lonely in families.

3.  He can move any mountain in the universe in a blink of an eye.

That is why, in our home, we refer to Him as

our 

Miracle-working, Mountain-moving, 

Awe-inspiring, Gasp-giving God.

BUT 

We MUST pray!

We MUST fast!

We MUST stand in the gap.

Can you imagine if you were Evan or Kirill?

What would you want the body of Christ to do for you?

Pray for sure!!

And skip a meal.  Or two.  Or all three.  All the while, joining with other believers 

asking Almighty God to move on your behalf.  

It is so timely to get these words just this morning from my bloggy friend, Debbie.  

Here is a portion of what she said.

"Thank you for introducing me to fasting. I never thought I would love fasting, food is my crutch, but find God gives me the strength and energy I need each time I do it."

Sadly, many, many, many Christ-followers today have never fasted, 

let alone even thought about fasting.

Here is one of the best resources, that I have found, on fasting:  

Your Guide to Prayer and Fasting

If you haven't already committed to, 

would you consider joining us tomorrow 

as we go before God's throne of

 grace asking Him to set Kirill and Evan free?  

Please spread the word.

Will You Join Us?

 If you have been hanging around our Place Called Simplicity for any length of time,
you know how important prayer and fasting is to me.  

Why is that?

Cause God's word says that there are some things that just don't happen without prayer and fasting.

But why does God do things like that?

I frankly have no clue, but I suspect that it has something to do with the body of Christ joining together for a common cause.  Scripture is filled with verses about unity and the importance of it.  

Remember Queen Esther {who by the way was adopted - how sweet is that?} and how the Isrealite nation was about to be annihilated until she calls for a three day fast?  Remember how God moved and spared the nation of Isreal?  Remember? 

Since I started asking my bloggy friends to join in days of prayer and fasting, many, many, many of you have written and said that you have seen your life change as a result.  And many, many, many of you had never fasted before!!  Your letters have encouraged my heart - there is no doubt that God moves when people fast.  

So sweet friends, let me tell you what is going on....

On the other side of the world {in Russia} there is a little boy....

His name is Kirill.

Kirill was found by his mommy and daddy on an adoption list.  They worked feverishly to get all his paperwork in so they could bring him home.  And during that time of working to bring Kirill home they found that Kirill is the first child from his region in Russia EVER to be adopted with Down Syndrome.  

A birth mother keeping her child with DS is unheard of in this area of the world.  Adoptions of children with DS just don't happen in this region, these children are literally hidden away from society in orphananges and mental institutions.  As it turns out Kirill would be a pioneer.  If Kirill's adoption was approved, it would pave the way for other children with special needs to be adopted from this region as well.  

And so just two weeks ago, Kirill's mom and dad were there in Russia headed to court to fulfill the necessary steps to bring Kirill home...

and they were loving on Kirill....

and after enduring five agonizing hours of difficult questioning before the judge...with strong statements on their behalf from two doctors, two social workers and the Minister of Children's Services fighting on their and Kirill's behalf...and prepared for the court's stamp of approval,

the Judge gave her ruling:

"Your application to adopt is rejected" 

The Judges reasoning:

Kirill is "not socially adaptable" due to his "medical condition" and he is better off in an institution than in a home with a family.  The Judge did state several times that Greg and Tesney were a good family, that they met all the criteria to adopt a child, but that she would not approve the adoption because Kirill has Down Syndrome.  She told them that they could adopt another child, because legally Tesney and Greg's application had no problems according to Russian adoption law.  The judge said she would approve their adoption for a 'typical' child, but not this child.  

The ONLY reason?

Because Kirill has Down Syndrome. 

{Home study approved and Immigration approved for a child with Special Needs}

BUT 

and so here's where we come in...

I just can not believe for ONE second that Kirill is supposed to stay in an 

institution in Russia for the duration of his life.  

NOT A CHANCE.

Almighty God's heart is for the orphan and it is attentive to their cry. 

Almighty God's heart longs for every child to be in a forever family.

"He sets the lonely in  families" Psalm 68:6

Soooooo

If God's heart is for the orphan and He longs for every child to be in a forever family...then God wants to and will move to bring Kirill home.

But some things do not happen without prayer and fasting....

So I wrote to Tesney and asked if I could call for a fast on Kirill's behalf...

Her response:

Linny,

Yes! We would LOVE this...Wednesday is better for us; and it coincides with our appeal being filed at the Supreme Court. It should be filed on Tuesday of this coming week, so the Supreme Court will hopefully begin the review shortly thereafter.............and we are humbled and honored....

 THANK YOU!

Would you be willing to join with us in a day of 

prayer

and 

fasting?

{possibly a meal, two meals, all day}

When:

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Will you do battle on your knees for Kirill?

For the other families who are in the process of adopting treasures with DS from this same region....

one even going to court on Thursday for a daughter with DS...

Will you please pray {and fast}with me?

Please spread the word to every one you know 
{Bible studies, small groups, bloggy friends, relatives, your children}

a world wide fast this Wednesday to set Kirill free!!


"Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows what we know, and holds us responsible to act." Prov. 24:12

Something Very Important

Dear Bloggy Friends,

Something very important is going on at this very moment.  

I am writing a post that you won't want to miss.

In fact there will not be a Memorial Box Monday tomorrow.

It's just that important.

Check back in the morning.  

Gettin' Packed Up in Idaho...

Did you ship wedding feast things to Idaho?  

Three sweet ladies are coming to Uganda from Idaho and 

they were graciously willing to have things shipped to them, 

so they could help us carry it to Uganda in their luggage...

So if your wedding feast clothes went to Idaho, 

then check this out! 

And I recognized some of the names that Stacy mentioned....

{like you Stephanie!}

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

And if you sent packages to our church here in Colorado, scroll down and check out don't yesterday's post....

cause you just might see your picture or clothes getting ready to go...

YOU guys truly are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Last night we invited some friends to help....

and the assembly line begins...

Everyone seriously got into it!

 Everyone got into it!

Jubilee thought it was a complete hoot!

Slowly the van got emptied.... 

And everyone helped the entire time!!
I was so proud of them all...

 And we ladies piled them on the island

and on the stools...

 End to end and side to side....

Do YOU see your package in there??

The opening began...

And the sorting started....

some sent shirts,

some sent ties....

some sent both...

some sent shorts...

and some sent undies....

and it was absolutely amazing....

we ran out of shorts and all of a sudden Dw opened a box and there it was...

Only shorts....

and the letter said, "I could only get shorts..."  

Perfect Shirley G., Perfect!!

Only God. 

 Only Him.  

I regret that I didn't get a posed picture of April, Emma and Misty...

everybody worked so hard....

 Matching shirts with ties....

and shorts with sets....

and making sure everyone got clean undies and a note!!

And then each set was packaged in gallon bags and marked...

Ohhhh how you love the orphan!!

Beautiful people from around the globe...

Loving and praying for kids that they will likely never meet

{this side of eternity}

 Friends praying already for the little ones that will wear these clothes....

And you know what was one of the very funnest parts for me?  

Actually seeing many of you...

I have to tell you....

the men unpacked the stuff and they would say, 

"Oh here's one from Australia!"

 and I said, "Is it from Susan?"

{and yes it was -and Susan - by the way - beautiful picture of you, dear friend!!}

And then they would say, "Lisa" in A, CO and I would say, "Oh, she gave me the "Simplify" sign that hangs above our TV when she came to meet me in Denver at the mall last year." 

{pictured below}

And there was Melissa!

And sometimes the men would mention a name like Jen and her family in California and I would say,

 "Oh she's expecting a baby soon and she sooo wishes she could go with us for the wedding feast!"

{pictured below and by the way Jen - I know that background}

And this one below?  I said, "Dw, do you recognize them? It's Jackie and Bruce and they were in China with us when we brought Isaiah home....remember?"  {And everyone here thought Bruce was Steven Curtis Chapman - he does look like it in the picture!}

 And then there was AnneMarie....

And my dear friend Kimmy and Bryan {Kim is the bloggy friend who has designed the site for the non-profit we are starting  - which is just about ready to launch ** squeals of joy**!}

And Justin at one point said, 'Something from Amelia" and we said, "Oh! That's where we pastored"....and it was you, Marci!  {But you didn't send a picture! Send one now and I will pass it along!}
And then there was Victoria....

You all are soooo beautiful!!  

I am so blessed to call you my friends....

At one point Justin said, "There's one from C..., NY"

And I said, "Lisa!"  She lives not far from where Dw grew up!
Beautiful family Lisa....

and later Justin and Dw showed me the picture {below} and I instantly recognized you and said, 

"OH! That's Rachel - she and her husband are in ministry too!!"  

{And Rachel, by the way, when I read that you wrote to the street boys, "God knows your name..." I literally started to cry and started again as I typed this.  Beautiful.  Beautiful. Beautiful.  God does know their name and He cares so much.}

Serious, serious fun!!  

I was loving seeing you all....

and it really was crazy how many of you I knew and 

could tell my sweet friends helping pack the things bits about you...

Then, of course, there were the 'lurkers' who came out of hiding to send something.

  

So thankful something finally, finally, finally, drew you out. 

Now that you've delurked - say something once in a while, will ya?

And I was thinking, that 

if 

Lisa 

and 

Rachel 

and 

Susan A. 

and 

Kimmy

 and 

AnnMarie

 and 

Jen

 had stayed lurking 

I wouldn't know them...

but they didn't  

and I DO!!!!!  

And my life is soooooo abundantly blessed!

And check out this precious little guy...who wrote a letter and stuck in his picture...

How stinkin' cute is he??

Thank you Zachary...

I am sure that the treasure who wears your outfit and gets your note

will never, ever, ever forget you...and will hold onto your picture forever.

Promise.

And some of you took such special care to wrap things so beautifully....

And Justin and Dw became our official tie-tiers.

Saving us lots of time getting the boys dressed.  

And before long one suitcase was filled to 70 lbs. 

and another and another and another and another....

Emma posing...she loved how whoever put the outfit together with pins and all,
she could totally picture it and kept saying, "That is sooo cool!"

And some gorgeous princess dresses arrived and were packed with new undies....

and labeled...

And these were sealed, so we don't know who worked so hard on them....

but they were definitely done with love!!

And about 20 minutes before opening the bows below, Emma said, "We need to go buy some hair things for the girls...." and

Voila!  Look at what God did through you being HIS hands and feet!!

Yippee Jesus!!

Most left about 10pm.  

Emma stayed up with me continuing to work until about midnight

and then I started to head to bed, but couldn't until I had read all the letters and cards 

many of you had sent.  

It just hadn't even crossed my mind that so many of you would write me a personal note...they all meant so much....thank you!

And thank you to those who stuck a monetary gift in to help get the extra suitcases to Uganda...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

YOU guys truly are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Tonight

Tonight a couple of sweet friends are gathering at our home to help us sort thru the clothes that were sent by many of you.  The amount of things we have received is overwhelmingly beautiful.

You guys are completely amazing!

Some might wonder why we didn't just collect money to buy outfits there.  Oh.my.  The response to actually purchasing an outfit has been unbelievably, wildly, wonderfully overwhelming!  

Totally and completely God.  

And really, this is such a tangible way to love the orphan....each of you who sent the outfits will remember what you sent, you will picture it on the kids, you and your families have been praying, you will continue to pray and Lord willing, when we post pictures of the wedding you will see the very outfit  you hunted for being worn by one of the forgotten treasures of Kampala!! 

 And many will cry because it will be such a tangible expression of love in action.  And many of you will print that picture off and post it on your fridge and pray for that little street boy.  

And God will break your heart as you pray....and this wedding feast will always be remembered for God's faithfulness to those who society would say are the least....but God says are HIS favorites!

One bloggy mom, Melanie, emailed me a letter and attached pictures of her kids 

writing their letters to send with the outfits. 

Way to go Natalie and Spencer!! 

People have often asked me how to get their kids to really care about the orphan.

This was one sure way!!

And really, isn't it beautiful when an entire family gets involved loving the orphan?

At this very moment, our giant 12 passenger van is loaded with all the packages that were in my office - {thank you Whitey for going to get them all and bringing them home - 

you{!}, my hunka-hunka burnin' love - are soooo amazing!}

Check it out!!!

Oh!  And don't forget the ones that we already moved into our foyer....

So we will have an assembly line to get all the ones waiting in the car into the house tonight.

And we will be praying over the outfits as we sort through....

Can't wait to post pictures of tonight!!!