Crazy Love

I was recently introduced to a blog called "A Place Called Simplicity", among other adoption blogs that's I've started following. Wow, the world is full of cool stories of what God is doing through adoption. In a post this week on Simplicity, readers were invited to participate in "Crazy Love". I invite you to join in too. You've most likely already read about my initial steps towards this fostering and adoption process. If not, be sure to read from the beginning. So here's the additional information I need to add for this post...

I've been a christian since I was eight years old, having been introduced to my Savior at Camp Awana during my first summer there. I didn't start learning how to really live for Christ until I was in high school. Fast forward to when I was 22 and felt God calling me to the Philippines to be a missionary at Faith Academy. My initial commitment was for two years...and that was eight years ago. Around 5 years ago I began attending and being involved in Union Church of Manila. While I am here supported as a missionary (staff at Faith aren't paid by the school and need to raise their own support), I've continued to tithe and give by supporting 4 children through Compassion International, as well as giving to my church. Is giving hard? Certainly, somtimes, but I know that the lives of the four little ones I support in the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Colombia are blessed by it, and as a result, so am I.

For those of you who haven't read it yet... Linny, the writer of "Simplicity" is asking people to explain their needs, link it to her blog, and then challenging people to prayerfully consider giving to those in need. So what are my needs?

Well, there is always the constant of monthly support. God has faithfully provided for my past eight years in the Philippines, and I'm trusting Him to continue by moving in the hearts of current supporters, and praying that they continue to be my advocates in sharing my story with others.

There are some new needs on the horizon for my life, with the new direction my life is taking. Fostering a toddler will increase my monthly budget for sure, though I don't yet know by how much. My landlord is raising my rent by 33% (!!!!) and I currently don't have a housemate to split the cost (please pray hard that God will bring someone!). In addition, the adoption costs are still unknown, and while local adoption costs significantly less than international, its still not within my monthly budget.

Aside from my own needs, I feel VERY strongly about Gentle Hands, a children's home in Manila that I've recently become very involved with. GH is where I found Daniel, and where I now spend most of my free time, playing with kids of all ages and holding babies. My heart is touched daily as I hear the stories of abandonment becoming rescue, of death-door sickness becoming miraculous healing. I LOVE to see God working through the lives of all who pass through the doors of this amazing place. But the reality is that there are 45 children to be fed each day and the medical bills pile up. Currently, Baby Ryan is fighting for his life in the hospital, with a bill mounting of nearly $2000 USD and a need for heart surgery. Two new babies have come in over the past few days, and there are no cribs left for them to sleep in. There are some very real, in-your-face needs that must be addressed immediately. You can read GH's latest newsletter and find out what's happened recently.

So, if you would, please consider praying about giving. It doesn't have to be a lot. As the post said, if everyone gave $5, that would make a huge difference. You can give once, or even consider making a commitment to giving. I know many of you give already, perhaps even to my ministry, and to many other great needs throughout your communities and the world. In this time of economic difficulty, giving is difficult, and not only am I thankful, but I know God is blessed by your giving and returns those blessings to you.

If you are interested in giving to any of the needs I've mentioned, please contact me at audblsmile@aol.com or kim.abels@faith.edu.ph.

Thank you for praying and for being a blessing.