Shirt Design Contest

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Quinn's First Haircut

For the first time in 5 years Quinn got an actual haircut...her first haircut ever!  She has been begging me for short hair for about 6 months now.  I wanted to make sure that is what she really wanted!  

Yep, it was.  She loves it.

The before picture.  She was too excited!!!

Rebecca made a pony tail and the chopped it off!  Then the best part was when she held it behind her and galloped like a pony around the salon.  ;)  Quinn thought that was so funny!

Quinn was all smiles when she saw her hair hanging beside her head instead of on it!  That sort of thing makes me sick-I'm a long hair girl.  Buuut, Quinn was all smiles so I was happy for her.

She loves it and feels like such a big girl!

Risk: Is It Worth It?

If our single, and-all embracing passion is to make much of Christ in life and death, and if the life that magnifies him most is the life of costly love, then life is risk, and risk is right. To run from it is to waste your life.
John Piper further says that "risk is an action that exposes you to the possibility of loss or injury."


Throughout scripture there are not many prophets, and followers of God that were practical and didn't take risks. They all took risks. Why? For 2 reasons: 1) They wanted to obey God (Jesus says if we love God we will follow his commandments). 2)Because God gets the glory when things don't make any sense but we step out in faith. This is seen throughout the Bible too. Look at Elijah, Jonah, Abraham, all the prophets, and all the disciples. The hardest part of taking a risk for God is the question, "What if He doesn't pull through for me?" Which really means, "What if God doesn't do what I want him to do, or the outcome is not what I expected." 


Good thoughts from a new favorite blog of mine: http://ourheartfortheleastofthese.blogspot.com/


We will get a lot of questions in the near future from friends and family alike wondering if what we are doing is worth the risk.  The Bible never says following Christ will be easy...or even always comfortable.  But we know we can always find comfort in the one who created us and gives us life.  I love life, and I love what I live for!  I want to share my hope, joy and love with others.

Our Future Part 2-Open Hands

I have no idea what the future holds.  I mean, really, I might THINK I do, but I really don't.  We can make plans-but as you see from my post, Our Future Part 1, plans sometimes just lead you to where you are going and don't always lead you to where you think you are going.

Let me rewind...one year ago I was in a very different place emotionally.  I was coming out of some hard times and Sole Hope was a gift to my soul that really changed who I am at my core.  I have seen the greatness of God revealed and have seen how much better life is if I surrender.  The love of God has manifested itself in my life and flipped my world upside down!  Even though I've been a Christian all my life, I have had my doubts, fears and the like.  You have to get to that point in your life where you question all the nity-gritty of what you believe.  One thing I struggled with was God's love.  Sometimes I just didn't get it.  Sometimes I didn't feel it.  I wrestled with what his pure love-stronger than any love I've ever experienced- perfect love...what does it look like?!  Long story short, I've been changed...in large part due to the side effects of Sole Hope.  My children's eyes have been opened to the needs of their neighbor on the other side of the world.  Our view of what is important has been changed, drastically.  I had to examine my heart...and inside I found fear.  Fear that if I gave God all of me he would take me somewhere I didn't want to go, like Africa-"never" I said, "I just don't get it...why would I want to go there.  I'm just one person...I can't do anything to make a real difference."  You see where I am at now.  I obviously was drawn to Africa...my heart changed and when it did I wanted to be in Africa more.  But, fear crept in.  I had so many fears that I would literally stay up at night and just cry.  I knew which direction I wanted to head but I was too afraid.  

God comforted me.  

God changed my heart.

God changed my family's heart.

And so now we are wrapped in God's arms walking along the path he has for our family.  And with great joy, excitement and a teeny bit of nervousness we want to announce our family's move in the near future to Uganda, Africa.  We will be moving there to start Sole Hope headquarters in Africa.  Among many things this will enable us to travel to the other African programs we've started more frequently and will give us the opportunity to build stronger relationships with the Sole Hope shoemakers.  We will learn a lot by living in country and being one with the people.  There is so much to do in country so we really need a team on the ground in Africa.  We are selling all our possessions and will build a small and modest house there on some land we are in the process of buying.  We will be in a rural village and we hope to have running water and electricity at some point.  We will live simply, very simply.  In fact, we will be moving with a few Rubbermaid's and the clothes on our back.  Many will call us crazy...and maybe we are.  But we want to live every day as if its our last.  We would rather be loving on those who have not seen love and giving hope to the hopeless over doing anything else.  This is where we are called to go.  And when we are called we will go, for His names sake.  

Our family will have to raise our own support to live over there.  Selling all our possessions will get us over there and hopefully put some money in savings in case of an emergency.  We will rely on the donations of others who want to have a hand at helping us accomplish God's work on the other side of the world.  

"How can people tell the Good News if no one sends them? As Scripture says, "How beautiful are the feet of the messengers who announce the Good News."" -Romans 10:15

If you feel compelled to have a part in this story and want to make a tax-deductible donation please donate to Sole Hope by going to www.solehopeafrica.blogspot.com and make sure you write Mission: Collie in the notes section.  

We are living with open hands-

It Is Well...Even Now

I seemed to skate through the first 11 days home in America with only a couple graceful emotional pitfalls. Much of my time was taken up unpacking, telling African stories, being hostess to one of my favorite "guests"-my sister, or being sick...very, very sick with the flu.
Today is day 11 and I am wrecked.  I long for the community I had, the Jesus I saw, the joy that flowed from believers hearts, the simple life, the songs of praise, the humbleness I touched and absence of everything we think in America that will make us full that just robs us of experiencing true joy.
I'm tired of people saying they understand...because unless you were Holly, Patrick or Hugh I don't think you do understand exactly what I'm feeling.  In all this, it is WELL with my soul.  I know and trust that I will go back to Africa at exactly the right time.
To add to my sorrow of not being in Africa I will admit my heart is feeling very heavy over this child I feel like we have some how lost from Ethiopia.  I trust in God's sovereign plan and I want to rely on his provision. He knows my desires.
And in all this I say, "It is well, with my soul"  I don't like how much I miss Africa, but it is WELL.  I can't wait for the day I return but in the here and now, it is WELL.  Only God knows how our family will grow and he will hold my heart until I can hold another child because HE is good and faithful and no matter what comes our way, it is WELL.

{Queen and myself with the headband I made for her}

Our Future Part 1

In the past few weeks our family's plans have changed drastically.  One thing I can say with confidence though is that I feel like we are following God's plan for our family-even right now when it does not really make sense.  I feel a strange peace in all that is going on...and I'm a little hesitant to share our story with the world in totality just yet because I am still very emotional about everything-even though I know we are doing what is right.

So, for those of you who are not aware of the adoption process in Ethiopia, right now it is a little bumpy.  Adoptions are being slowed down drastically so that they can be done in a more detailed manner.  The government want to make sure they are being ethical about adoptions and adopting out only true orphans or children who were given up willingly, not just taken to an orphanage by some family member when in reality the mom or dad might be looking for them.  This is respectable...it of course makes me sad for the orphans who do have to sit and wait for families longer when they truly need homes but I like that they are being handled with care.  Finding this out was discouraging to us for a few reasons I won't share right now...then, we had some issues with our agency that were just kind of the straw that broke the camels back.  So, one night last week I had this confirmation that we were not supposed to use the agency we were going with, and that Ethiopia was not the place we are supposed to adopt from.  I wondered why would God have had us walk down this path if it was going to end like this.  Why did we "waist" a year, hours and hours of paperwork, doctors appointments and lots of waiting for what seems like nothing.  Then, as I was getting my hair cut and talking to my hair dresser she spelled everything out for me.  She said, "You had to walk down that path.  If you had not pursued adopting from Ethiopia you would not have been doing research on Ethiopian adoption blogs and you would have not seen the video that was the catalyst for Sole Hope."  Oh.  My.  Gosh!  She was right. 

At this point we are not pursuing an adoption through Ethiopia.  I still love that country and maybe one day we will have a child from there.  At this point we feel drawn toward doing and independent adoption from either Zambia or Uganda.  We have had several doors open for us and we are just praying for the right timing on everything.

If I had my way I would adopt this sweet boy below...

I've told you about Maybin in a previous post.  He has stolen my heart!  We were connected instantly and I knew there was something different about this kid.  He wants to be a doctor when he grows up and is literally thirsty for knowledge.  He is a double orphan and cares for his grandmother who is in her 70s.  When Maybin's grandmother dies he will have no one.  Literally no one.  He knows that he has our family now.  We are his distant adoptive family and he knows that we are here for him if he ever needs anything.  

(Maybin's grandmother, Madilina)

There are other big decisions that we are making right now that will come up at a later date and time.  :)  Sorry to leave ya hanging!  

Sole Hope Africa Trip

A picture is worth a thousand words! Here are some photographs from our trip last week.