That's My Boy! He is Mine! That's My Girl! She is Mine!

This morning I was in the middle of grading, and I needed a break.  So, I went to check Facebook.  I know this is dangerous, and it really has the potential of disturbing productivity for the day...here is one of the postings that was right at the top of my news feed (thanks Jessica for posting this):

Can you hear God shouting from the heavens, "That's My Boy!  He is Mine!" or  "That's My Girl, She is Mine!"  Whew....it took quite a while to recover from this video and the message therein.

I then read another post a little further down on Facebook that stated, nearly one-third of families in the United States consider adoption, but only two percent actually are willing to see it through and allow a child to have a forever family.  Beyond the strong leading for years from God, this is why Sarah and I are pursuing adoption.  We want to be able to say when our referral comes in the near future, we will also do everything it takes to say "yes, that's my boy, he is mine, welcome to our family!" or "yes, that's my girl, she is mine, welcome to our family!"

One of my favorite quotes is from Hudson Taylor.  He said:
"I have found that there are three stages in every great work of God: first, it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done."

Though Sarah and I are the ones specifically being led to say yes to a child or sibling group to joining our family, it will take many of you to help make this happen.  From the Taylor quote above, we are beyond the impossible stage, but we are definitely in the difficult phase.  We are never completely comfortable asking for financial support, but after being missionaries on partial support for over eleven years, we know that the truths of Matthew 7:7 and John 14:13-14 have rung true over and over throughout the years.  State the need, ask, and see how God will use people around the world to respond.  You can see the information in the top right hand corner about our remaining need and how you can support our family.

We are potentially as early as simply weeks away from being in a position to receive a referral from The Good Shepherds Fold in Uganda.  Depending on the timing of the referral, we may be travelling to Uganda within a few months to meet our child(ren) and bring them home.

During this season of giving with Thanksgiving and Christmas, will you give financially to our family to help make this adoption process a reality?  Will you pray for our upcoming homestudy revision process to go smoothly?  Will you pray for the staff at The Good Shepherds Fold for wisdom to know the right match of child or sibling group for our family?

Thank you for your consideration as to how God may use you to meet this need and putting us in a strong position to say yes to a child or sibling group.  May God bless you this holiday season.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Be blessed,
Joey, Sarah, Zoe, Micah, & Caleb

Life on Pause

Wow, has it really been nearly five months since we updated our blog?  We realize that this is way beyond acceptable, so let’s break the silence and let you know what has been occurring in the Beeson household over the past few months. 

Sarah said it best a couple weeks ago, it has felt like the pause button was hit on our lives since we made the decision in May to move from Mississippi to the Northeast.  So, without trying to bore you too much, here are some brief highlights of the past few months.

• May: We put our house on the market after Joey accepted a new job to teach at Cairn University (formerly called Philadelphia Biblical University) in PA.
• June: We started the craziness of packing and moving.
• July: We started the tough process of saying goodbye to our friends and church in MS.  After a two day journey, with Sarah’s parents there to help, we arrived at their house on July 29.
• August: Joey started his new job at Cairn, and we found out that all of our children were accepted to be able to go to school in the district where Sarah’s parents live.  This was a major praise for Micah and Caleb so that their speech delay needs would continue to be met. 
• September: Our kids started school right after Labor Day, and we finally started getting into some good routines while living with Sarah’s parents.  We also started looking more for a new home; we did make an offer on a home in PA, and it was accepted.
• October: Closing on our new home was set for the end of the month, but then Hurricane Sandy paid a visit to the area.  So, we continued to wait for closing to be rescheduled.  We also had a good update conversation with Good Shepherd Fold (GSF) related to our adoption process, which is further detailed below.

While Joey is thoroughly enjoying his new job at Cairn University, we are ready to begin to make some roots here.  We have enjoyed our time living with Sarah’s parents, and we are extremely grateful for all of their help with this transition so far.  The kids have especially had some invaluable time with their grandparents. 

However, it has been difficult transitioning to this area with the unknown of where we would live, where we would go to church, where the kids would go to school, etc.  Through all of this, God has been faithful and is continuing to teach us to surrender to His will, timing, and plans.  

We do have some great news that occurred on November 1.  We were able to close on a new home, and we will be moving soon to Morrisville, PA.  We will live two blocks away from our kids’ school, and it will only be a 10-15 minute commute for Joey to work.  We will also still be around 30 minutes away from Sarah’s parents.

Not only will this give us the space to begin a new chapter as a family, but it also places us in a position again to be able to restart our adoption process.  A major component of an adoption process is the home study, and because of our move from MS to PA, we will need to specifically revise the section related to our actual house.  We appreciate your prayers that we will find a helpful social worker who will guide us through this process, and then after our home study has been revised, we will need to update our approvals with the various US government offices.  As mentioned above, we had a good conversation with GSF back in October, and it appears that things are moving again with children to be placed, so we are hopeful the timing of us revising things on our end will coincide with processes in Uganda and at GSF. 

Would you commit to praying for the following for our family?

1. The sale of our home in MS.
2. A smooth transition into our new home in PA.
3. That God would lead us to a new church home and a new set of friends, connections, etc.
4. A smooth transition for our kids into a new school.
5. A smooth home study revision process and that God would lead the leadership of GSF in making a referral to us in due time.
6. That God would provide for the financial needs related to our adoption process.  We are open to a single child or a sibling group, and so far God has provided nearly $9,000 toward the estimated need of $15,000.  If we do get a referral for a sibling group, this would increase our financial need. Information for supporting our family can be found on the top right-hand corner of our blog, and do feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Blessings to you all.  Have a wonderful November!

Joey, Sarah, Zoe, Micah, and Caleb

PS: Here are some fun pictures of our family from the past few months.

Zoe with Annie & Lorena before leaving Mississippi.

Zoe & Micah with their cousin Rhys in Texas.

First day of school in New Jersey.

The boys love riding the bus!

Riding on Thomas in Pennsylvania.

Micah on Thomas.

At homecoming at Cairn University

Post Hurricane Sandy damage at Mimi & Papa's House.