Garage Sale Craziness!!!
All week we have been collecting donations for our fundraiser garage sale for our plans to adopt and the Heims family.  They are adopting a sibling group of 4.  Today the Kripples and Davidsons help organize and set up.  We have been blessed with such amazing and generous friends.  I am overwhelmed and feel loved by everyones thoughtfulness and help.  Tomorrow we will price, Wednesday bake bread and brownies and make candy for the bake sale.  Then Thursday, Friday and Saturday is the sale.  Hopefully the weather cooperates and we have a nice turnout.  Come buy something!  I am thankful for such a big garage too.

waiting.....

April 30
I've prayed and asked God to not allow this home study agency to accept me if He does not want me to adopt and if I will not be approved.  I also acknowledge that His plans for me might be to teach me something else and to go forward and still be denied at the end.  I explained to the kids that if this agency will not do our home study we probably will not adopt and our fundraising money will go to another family.  I had so much peace.  But, that was a half hour ago, and now I am anxiously checking me email again to see if I have heard from Sandra.  "LORD, have Your own way."

Well, I have been waiting for what seems like forever to share with all of you what God is doing, but I keep waiting for the "right" time.  When I know for sure what the end result will be.  When it is safe and comfortable to say how this journey will end, but I am coming to believe that I might not know where and why and how God is going to complete what He has started, but I want you to know.  I do not want to forget how He is moving and changing me as He shows me more of His heart.  His hand, His power, His Great Love is being shown daily.  It isnt anymore about where we wind up in the end, its about what He is doing along the way.
First I am going to share a letter that I wrote over a month ago but I have been waiting for good news on how things are progressing.  So far there has been no good news, but daily mountains, faith trying, exhilarating, hopeful, and emotionally draining days.  Here is my plan, my hopes, following hard after what I believe God is wanting me to do.  By faith I am walking down an exciting and challenging path, even though I know lots of obstacles are blocking my way.  I am going because I believe it is Him that is doing this and not me.  I am trusting that He can overcome any obstacles, but I will not find out what the outcome is until the end.  So I am taking the risk of letting you all see the bumpy way, not just the victorious end (that's what I would like to show you, not all the struggles along the way.)  Here is the letter.
Dear Friends and family,

I have been on a very exciting journey these last 3 months.  I have had my eyes opened to the condition of millions of orphans world wide.  What I have read about has sickened me and I did not want to believe that it was true; but the more I prayed and learned the more saddened I was at the fate of so many little children without anyone to love them and care for and protect them.  I felt overwhelmed and helpless, so I prayed.  As God continued showing me the need, I asked Him, "What can I do to help?"  He has begun to show me how He has made me and how He can use me.   As He began to place on me a desire to adopt a young child with Down syndrome, I of course had so many obstacles.  God one by one tore down my fears or impossibilities.  One night I prayed before God and just admitted that I did not know how He could accomplish this but I offered myself to be used in any way  He would desire.  

When I compare all that God has blessed me with, in contrast to the little so many others have, and worse, they do not only have little in the form of food, love, hope, but they also live with rejection, abuse, disease and fear.  I am so thankful that God chose me even though I was unworthy and I desire to let Him show love "to the least of these" through me and the blessings He has provided me with.  I am excited, impatient, and overwhelmed with the process of adoption.  I have found a little boy from Bulgaria that I would like to adopt.  He has just turned two.  He is calm and healthy and has down syndrome.  The process is long, detailed and expensive.  Each day, I commit myself to His plan and try not to get my heart too fixed on what I want.

Please pray for my home study to go through and be accepted.  Please pray for a match with "Jonathon"  (not his real given name, but we are not allowed to use his real name) or whomever God wants to be a part of our family; and for our fundraising efforts.  I am still selling homemade soap for $5.00 a bar and all natural lip balm for $2.50.  Susannah is selling beautiful handcrafted jewelry.  Necklaces $12.00, anklets $9.00, bracelets $8.00, and earrings $6.00.   We will also be having a garage sale the weekend of May 3-5.  I am taking donations of items for the garage sale and am also hoping to have a baked goods table at the garage sale with homemade bread, cookies, bars, brownies etc. Come and shop if you have time.  At a later date I hope to be selling some raffle tickets for items also, but havent figured it out yet.  If anyone else has any great ideas for fundraising or wants to help by making a donation, please feel free to do so.  Also, if you know anyone who might be interested in donating to or shopping at our garage sale, please pass this info to them.  The total cost of an adoption from Bulgaria ranges from 19,000- 30,000.  I will also be looking into grants and we are tapping all of our resources.  

Thanks for all your love to our family always, and your prayers as we follow God in this next year.  Love, Lisa Baffa

This link is to a video that a friend of mine had on her facebook page and it is so cute I wanted to share it with you.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.godvine.com%2FLittle-Girl-Makes-a-Beautiful-Video-for-her-Brother-with-Down-Syndrome-1333.html&h=JAQGWwnLgAQG6g6cOzfLemtLe-ylbVQvgK-H_fDoXLgKwJQ

Sometimes we fear that if we tell others and everything falls through than it is harder.  Actually than we just get to grieve alone.  Even if this story has a different ending for me, I need to take each step as best I can following Him.

Psalm 72:12-14

For He will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.  He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.  He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in His sight.