Speechless

School starts tomorrow. 

I should be thinking about the last few things I need to get done before then.

Actually, I should be sleeping. 

Instead, I'm thinking about this handsome little man: 

 

That's him on his first day of school recently.

Last week he celebrated his fourth birthday.

Who is he exactly?  I'm going to let my precious friend Megan tell you.  Megan and I were roommates our sophomore year in college.  By the grace of God and the persistence of a few other friends of ours who are better at staying in touch with people than Meg and I are, we have continued to be friends, even though we live in different hemispheres.  

Since January of 2011, Megan has been living in Zambia working for Family Legacy.  Our other former roommate Katy has worked for them for several years as well, and after quite a few trips back and forth, she joined Megan as a resident of Zambia at the beginning of this summer.  

Even though they are so far away and seven hours ahead, the wonders of technology have enabled us to keep in touch... as much as, if not more than, we did while they were living in the United States.  Just yesterday, I got to face time with Katy for a full hour!  

Okay, enough background.  The following is Megan's blogpost about the boy pictured above.  With her permission, I copied and pasted it directly onto mine, but you can read it also on her blog here.

"I have an amazing story to tell you about a little boy. He turned 4 years old this week. He is a sweet, smart, and precious boy who is already displaying the Lord's glory.

When he was about a year and 6 months old, he was admitted into the hospital because of severe malnutrition.  Feeling the weight of taking care of him, his biological mother decided to abandon him at a hospital in Lusaka.  His father called the hospital a few weeks later to see what happened to his son.  By this time, he was sent to a local orphanage in Lusaka.  The father left his phone number, but nothing else.  His dad phoned rarely to check on him, but never intended to step in and take on full responsibility.  The orphanage was able to care for him more than his family ever could.  He was being fed 3 times a day and had housemothers who watched over him day and night.  Overtime, all his friends and the housemothers knew him as a joyful boy—even though his circumstances did not seem joyful.  Although he lived in an orphanage and was taken care of, he didn't have the one-on-one parenting, love, and support he should have had by his birth parents.  He stayed in the orphanage for almost 2 years. During this time, not one family member visited him.

I had the pleasure of meeting this sweet boy when I visited an orphanage one weekend in January. He was the happiest one of them all.  He ran and played with a huge smile on his face.  His personality and demeanor was intriguing. Even his house moms testified to his happy nature.  Although this little boy spent almost 4 years of his life without a mom and dad who truly cared for his well being, his Heavenly Father never left him.  His Heavenly Father already had a plan for him, and boy is it an amazing plan.  His Father not only has never forsaken him, but he has already destined an earthly mother to step in and care with ALL of her heart for him.

And that mother is me.

The Lord started speaking to me about becoming a mom in November of 2011.  I had 2 dreams about a little boy, I didn’t know who he was, but I knew that I was his mom.  I remember waking up both times and feeling a weight from the Lord. After my second dream, I asked the Lord to clarify if the dream was from him. In the next 3 days, I was without a doubt certain that he was calling me to motherhood--to adopt a little boy.  Now, you can only imagine the thoughts running through my mind.  I'm single. I live in Africa.  I work to educate orphans, not take on full care for them. How am I going to do this alone? When will I know that I've found my son? Is he already born? But the Lord is faithful.  Over time, he answered different parts of my anxiety and worry in a gentle way.  He even gave me a name to pray over: Elijah. Although I was staying obedient and waiting patiently, I went through many doubts of whether this is actually what the Lord was calling me to do.

On May 15th, I saw this picture of the sweet boy from the orphanage I visited in January.  When I looked at the picture, the Lord said, “Megan, this is what Elijah looks like.”  I was confused, because I wasn’t sure if the Lord was actually telling me that my Elijah will look similar or if this boy was actually Elijah.  I didn't say anything to anyone yet, but a few hours later, my roommate brought her computer to me with that exact same picture and said the exact same phrase, "Megs, this is what Elijah looks like." That’s when I felt this could possibly be my son.

The next day, I went to visit him. The Lord instantly connected my heart to my son.  He IS the boy I’ve been praying for. When I saw him, held him, played with him, and looked in his eye, I knew that it was my Elijah. Although that was not his birth name, the Lord placed it on my heart to change it too Elijah.  I’m very excited and humbled that the Lord has chosen me step in and care for this sweet boy!

The process of adoption in Zambia is a long and hard road.  It’s not easy.  There are many steps and tiny details that are not laid out specifically on paper.  This makes it very hard to get the right paperwork with the right documentation to finalize everything.  For example, it took me 3 months to finalize paperwork just for fostering him.  But, as I’ve said, the Lord is faithful.  He has walked ahead of me each step of the way.

On August 7^th, Elijah came home with me, and yesterday my sweet son turned 4 years old.  He is such a joyful and clever boy.  He is strong, content, nervous, scared, excited, but is now being loved the way God intended for him to be loved.  He is going to be a powerful man of God—he IS anointed. He has already begun praying and speaking with authority, like a pastor would. J Although the road ahead of me is long, bendy, and bumpy at times, I know it’s the straight and narrow path the Lord is calling me too. 

I am truly blessed that the Lord would not only call me to provide a home and a family for Elijah, but, to also work for Family Legacy, a ministry who provides support and families for hundreds of orphans within their home country. As of now, I’m taking one day at a time.  I don’t know what the future holds, but I intend to stay in Zambia as long as the Lord calls us here.

Malachi 4:6 is the verse the Lord has given me for Elijah:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.  And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.”

Even in the small amount of time I’ve known my son, I’ve seen this verse displayed in his life. He will be the man of God he is called to be, in Jesus’ name.

Eli's Coming Home!!

Wrapped up after his first bath time at home! First car ride! Off to Pre-School! My Little Aggie! Mommy and Eli!

Precious Baby Boy, I see SO much of Jesus in you already.
You are home."

 

 

 I cannot even begin to express my excitement for Megan and Elijah.  For those of you who know me, though, perhaps you will understand just how overjoyed I am when I tell you that I start weeping every single time I look at a picture of this mother and son together.  I am so proud of my friend for taking a gigantic leap of faith and trusting in God's provision for her.  I eagerly look forward to the day when I get to meet Eli and wrap him up in a big hug!

If you are interested in contributing to Megan and Elijah with financial support,  you can click here to make a one-time donation or set up recurring monthly support.  You can also support Katy by clicking here.