God At Work

Do you want to hear a really cool story?

A story that illustrates just how amazing God is and how much He cares.  A story that no one could ever say was just chance or circumstance.

I've got one.

As many of you know - We came back across the ocean yelling for two boys.  Brady and Heath.  Brady found a family but Heath sat.  And sat.  And sat.  

Sadly we have not been surprised by this.  He was nine when we left.  That is OLD in the adoption world.  He has absolutely nothing going for him and his ONE picture does nothing to encourage a family to want him.  He is a pitiful little guy who is in the least stimulating environment you can imagine.  Who would want to take the challenge of recalling him back to life? 

But God has not forgotten Heath.  Not by any stretch.  Look at Heath's grant account.  It currently sits at $11,110.00.  THAT IS GOD AT WORK.  Two years ago when Heath's file was handed to our facilitator he was not even listed on Reece's Rainbow.  He was a complete surprise.  He had NOTHING in his grant account.  NOTHING.  In two years God has tapped on hundreds of hearts and Heath's grant account has quietly and steadily grown.  And grown.  Rob and I are not alone in wanting this little guy to find a family.  There are people out there who care deeply for him.  One little dirty boy who sits in a shed all day. THEY CARE BECAUSE GOD CARES AND HE HAS STIRRED IN THEIR HEARTS TO CARE!

In early June I was chatting with a friend.  In the course of the conversation I said to her "If I had a $5,000 matching grant dropped in my lap, I would give it to Heath."  My heart's desire was to see him fully funded.  Understand this.  That was a private chat.  No one else saw my words.  No one else knew I said that.  No one but God.  He knew my desire BEFORE THE WORDS CAME OUT OF MY MOUTH.  He knew what I wanted.  He knew my heart.  How do I know?  How do I know that God knew the deepest desire of my heart before they were even spoken?  Because not five minutes after I uttered those words - not five minutes after saying I wanted to get Heath fully funded, not five minutes after sharing my deep love and concern for one little Lost Boy, I got an e-mail. 

Heath was being offered a $5,000.00 matching grant.  Would I yell for him?

WOULD I YELL FOR HIM???? ARE YOU CRAZY????

YES!! YES!! YES!!

Did you get that? 

Did you get that God was stirring in the heart of one kind and generous donor who LOVED HIM TOO!!

Loved a smelly little shed-sitting boy??

But it doesn't end there.  It was the first of June when I was offered the $5,000.00 for Heath but the donor needed time to gather the funds and I had just finished doing a matching and I was exhausted.  So we decided to wait a few months.   We chose to keep it quiet until then in case something happened.  

But God wasn't quiet.  He was tapping on more hearts for Heath.   In August a group of people all the way across the country got together to celebrate the Erikson's adopting Porter out of Heath's institute.  They gathered and prayed and talked and in the course of the conversation they began to talk about Heath.  My Heath.  Little Lost Boy Heath.  They decided to put LOVE IN ACTION for Heath.  September 15.  They wanted to set that day aside as HIS DAY.  They decided that they would do car washes and bake sales for Heath.  THEY HAD NO IDEA THAT I HAD $5,000 IN A MATCHING GRANT. I had NO IDEA they were planning these events until a few days after they met.  They then began to rally for Heath - getting others to agree to do car washes.  They wanted car washes happening across the country for him.  DO YOU SEE GOD AT WORK?  Their desire was not only to get Heath fully funded but RAISE AWARENESS FOR THE PLIGHT OF THE ORPHAN.  And other people joined in.  There are car washes happening THIS SATURDAY FOR HEATH.  Across this country.  For one little Lost Boy. 

I couldn't script that if I tried.  

But it doesn't even end there...

When August started, Heath's account was below $10,000.00.  That meant that my matching grant of $5,000 wouldn't tip him over the $20,000 I felt he needed to be considered fully funded. GOD HAD THAT TAKEN CARE OF TOO!  He moved in the heart of ANOTHER donor who offered a $450.00 matching grant IN ORDER TO GET HEATH'S GRANT ACCOUNT OVER $10,000.00.

THAT MATCHING WAS REACHED IN JUST A FEW DAYS.

Do you see God at work??  Moving in hearts.  Moving for one little boy?

One little lost, dirty, smelly, boy who sits alone and lonely in a level 4 mental institute across the ocean.  

All I can do is stand in awe before the throne.

All I can do is marvel at HIS LOVE for Heath.

All I can do is shout from my little house in the woods.  Shout for one little boy.  

Join in.  Take part.  Have a yard sale for Heath.  Sell some lemonade.  Wash some cars.  This Saturday.  It is HEATH'S DAY.  A day to share with the world about the plight of one little boy... 

Every dollar donated will be matched up to $5,000.00.

But don't wait until then.  Drop some love in today.  And while you are at it... HELP THE SHARPS REACH THEIR GOAL.  They still need $450.00 so they can send their dossier to Ch*na.  

WE CAN DO THIS!!

-----------------------------------------------

IT'S A MATCHING GRANT AND A GIVEAWAY!!

$5,000.00 is being offered in a matching grant for Heath.  Every dollar is doubled up to $5,000.00. Heath's grant account needs to read $15,347.00 in order for him to get the full matching grant!!! It is currently at $11,110.00. We still need $4,237.00

WE CAN DO THIS!!!

OUR GOAL IS TO GET HEATH AS FULLY FUNDED AS WE ARE ABLE!!
 (Fully funded for an adoption in his country is about 24,000)

As a wonderful incentive.... we are giving away some fun prizes...

$400.00
BRAND NEW Apple iPad 2 
MC979LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi, White) 2nd Generation

$300.00
BRAND NEW Kindle Fire HD 8.9"

8.9" HD Display, Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Dual-Antenna Wi-Fi, 16GB

$100.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE
Take your pick...

OR you can use the $100.00 to PICK A CHILD OR FAMILY on Reece's Rainbow and donate the money into their account!


ANOTHER

$100.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE
Take your pick...

OR you can use the $100.00 to PICK A CHILD OR FAMILY on Reece's Rainbow and donate the money into their account!

A BRAND NEW SIGNED COPY OF PEAS AND THANK YOU
BY SARAH MATHENY!!
Sarah is advocating for Heath on her blog...peas and thank you
THANK YOU SARAH!!

A BRAND NEW SIGNED COPY OF BIBLIOPLAN'S NEWEST COMPANION BOOK...

Honestly - IT IS NOT FINISHED YET so the winner is going to get this HOT OFF THE PRESS signed by my husband and me.  

Pray we get it done by the end of September!! LOL!

THESE ARE THE RULES:

You can enter our giveaway just by making a donation to HEATH'S GRANT ACCOUNT!  I'll leave the amount of your donation between you and the Lord.  Every dollar you donate is doubled!!!  That's it.  One donation to Heath puts your name in our giveaway, with a chance to win one of these prizes!  As an added incentive for making extra donations, we've come up with this simple point system:

We'll put one entry beside your name for every $5 that you donate. 

$10.00 - 2 entries
$20.00 - 4 entries
$35.00 -7 entries
$50.00 - 10 entries
$75.00 - 15 entries
$100.00 - 20 entries
$150.00 - 30 entries
$200.00 - 40 entries
$250.00 - 50 entries
$500.00 - 100 entries

There is also another way to earn entries: by sharing our Giveaway on Facebook, Twitter or your own blog.  After you've donated, just leave a comment on my blog to let me know that you've shared as well.  Every share gets you an entry.

And finally... for the next TWO days...

YOU GET DOUBLE ENTRIES IF YOU NOT ONLY DONATE TO HEATH BUT ALSO TO THE SHARP FAMILY!!



 

They are desperately trying to raise money to send their dossier to Ch*na to adopt two little children with dwarfism.

This is Obrion Sharp and she has been working for THREE WEEKS to raise 1000 prayers (dollars) before her sister's birthday WHICH IS TUESDAY...


She still needs $450.00 to reach her goal!!!

I KNOW we can raise that $450.00 by Tuesday night.... PLEASE HELP... Donate to BOTH Heath and the Sharps...

And for all those who do... as an added incentive.... This sock monkey was made by another set of young girls to raise money for their own family's adoption but they are DONATING it to Obrion to help her raise what she needs....  I LOVE WHEN KIDS GET INVOLVED IN ADOPTIONS!!!

So anyone who donates in the next two days will be given a chance to WIN this Sock Monkey!!!

HERE'S WHAT YOU DO:

• Use the links and go donate.
• THEN, come back to this blog and leave a comment to let me know two things: (1) your first and last name and (2) the total amount that you donated to Heath and the amount you donated to the Sharps. Because I always moderate my comments, I will be able to keep this information private.
• If you prefer not to leave a comment, you can e-mail me at covenantb@yahoo.com.

NOTES:

• None of the money that you donate will flow through our hands; it will all go directly to the people who need it.
• This Giveaway will end on September 30, 2012.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO HEATH

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHARPS