January 25th - The diary and Kouts

     It has been quite some time since we last had news that could be shared on the blog. It might seem as though the whole process has come screeching to a halt, I tend to think of it more as the calm before the storm. When entering into this there are so many questions to be asked; is this the right path to take, what about the timing, can we afford it, how will this impact other areas of life just to name a few. We've all been there asking the difficult questions and once past that point the excitement and wonder kicks in to full gear. Well suffice it to that our excitement really took off once we found out back in October that this could actually be happening. Then the great time of telling our church family, going live with this blog and on facebook. At that point there was much to catch everyone up on, then the new hit arrived, the news was already given, there have been times of waiting, exchanges of emails but nothing too earth shattering really.

     We have been building up to our trip to Indiana in February and there has been much to get in place on this side of the ocean before traversing to the other side of the Atlantic. Leading a church as we do, and in our case one that meets in two locations means that walking away for a period of time as a month is not an easy endeavor because there is always something to be done, and certainly on a Sunday morning there is always some kind of responsibility. The way that the calendar has worked for our meetings in Indiana is that the mandatory ones are on the 7th, 14th and another one later in the month of February. We didn't choose the dates they were given to us, but the Sundays that coincide with our trip are 4 Sundays in a row where there is either a larger gathering that we are not responsible for, or it is an All Together meeting in West where there were already other people in charge of that gathering. That means for 4 weeks in a row we did not have any planned responsibility at the meetings, this is the first time since we moved to this country in '08 that has happened. It may seem like a small thing but in our lives that is actually a really big thing, how God has orchestrated the time for us, literally in this case.

     Last night we received an email with some more dates for meetings with an adoption specialist in Northern Indiana. We knew that we would have a couple of meetings in Indy and then a couple closer to Goshen. There has been one place that both of us said we really want to get to on this trip, one location that we don't want to miss this time and that place is Kouts and the surrounding area. There are many people that we have known for a long time, and friends we have not been able to see on the last couple of trips to Indiana. So where does our adoption specialist live that's right Kouts, out of all the towns, cities, hamlets in Northern Indiana that she could live in she's from Kouts, that small town known most for the Pork Fest each summer. This means we are headed  there at least 2 maybe 3 times. That's a little gift from God to us, as He has paid attention to the smallest of details on our behalf. So we leave in a week and a half, there are many details to be tied up on this end, but it seems as though some of the details on that end are already being take care of.

January 2nd - Ch, ch, ch, changes

     The calendar has flipped to 2012, and along with the comes all the possibilities, dreams and hopes for a the new year. Some have famously predicted doom and gloom for this period of time, but I don't see it that way. For us it is a new year full of 'what will happen' not a worried what will happen but rather an expectant 'what will happen'. It reminds me of my last birthday when we were in Canterbury and my actual birthday i had no part in planning, it was all a surprise, I simply had to go along and enjoy. There was no fear of would it be fun, would Rebecca and Lizzie have put together a fun day, I knew it would be a blast, and it was. That is what this year feels like, there is much unknown but excitement ringing throughout.
     A friend in West Church has loaned me a book she was reading it's called Adopted for Life by Russell Moore, and it has been an amazing read so far. He lays out the deepness of the love of God for us as He adopts us into His family, and how this is seen throughout the whole of scripture. Moore is also painting a vivid picture of importance of adoption in our society, how many verses are instructed to care for and love the orphan. The acceptance into a family with all the privileges and inheritance that comes with that name is such hope to those who either have not had family, or who might have been aborted. Reading this book has been like reading our thoughts, as we both taught on the power and privilege of adoption at the Bible College but now truly living out that message, not just saying them or reading them from the written page.
     One of the keywords that is associated with adoption is change, there is much change for all involved. If it is not a newborn then the child will be changing their living situation, their way of life where they have been, probably their school, friends etc... The changes for the family who is adopting are great as well, possibly adding another child to a full brood, maybe it's the first one, an addition to the house, the purchase of bunk-beds. You get the idea there is not much static in the lives of these families. Now to make it more personal, we are the ones going through these changes. Changing our living situation, having to move house in the UK, radical shifting of our schedules for the two months that we'll be in the US, we don't know when it will be so that takes some flexibility on our part and our church's part. Some of the priorities that we have kept may change now, can't predict what they are now but we'll see change. For the one who we see as part of our family a huge change as well, he or she will become a Robinson, have opportunity to see a part of the world that some probably never will, have a church full of people who will show love, many changes will come to this little person. I'll leave with a link to a song that I really appreciate 'Beautiful Things' by Gungor, talking about God makes beautiful things out of us, that is the definition of change, we'll embrace that.