Here is what is sticking in my heart right now and swirling around in my mind .... I can trace back all the people who have helped lead Scott and I on the journey of adoption ... How God placed people in our paths, who had gone before us and could give us godly advice, point us towards books to read, took time to share things they would not normally share w/ the world, and bathe us in deep prayer ... God has grown our family spiritually and unleashed in us a passion for the orphans that spreads from Emily, who prays daily for her brother / sister in Uganda, to Jeremiah, who prays for Abe (an angel adopted from Ethiopia by our friend's the Alexanders), to Elijah, whose FAITH in Katie caring for the children of Uganda inspires me, to my sweet husband, who takes on the responsibility to provide for a family of 8 on a teacher's salary, and to myself, who has taken on way more than I ever thought possible w/ Amazima and 147MillionOrphans ... It is our journey together and we have a story to tell ...

Here is what my heart has been wanting to share .... Each family will make their own journey and none of us will take the same journey ... Your story must be unique in that you have taken it with the Lord and not for your story to look like someone else's .... Feel the Lord's presence in your journey and let HIM guide you and mold you to bring Him glory ... I saw this on a facebook picture today and it really struck my heart at how special each person is and how individual and unique we are and our story is ... Check this out and let is sit with you for a while ...

blessing dear companions on this amazing journey that has wrecked us all and blessed our socks OFF!!

I am WORKING my hiny off here to get 147MillionOrphans.com off the ground ... I want it to succeed for no other reason than I want everyone to understand the orphan crisis .... I want to feed children that Katie loves on each day and I want to give families, who feel the adoption fees are beyond their reach a since of HOPE ... People keep telling Suzanne and I that this could be BIG ... Well, what does big really mean ...If it means we feed a lot of children in Uganda, help families bring home more babies, and bring awareness where there wasn't any then BRING IT ON ... I WANNA BE BIG !!!! I am obviously LONGING for my babies in Uganda and feel a since of emptiness w/out them here, but I do trust God's perfect timing ... I am thankful for Auntie Renee and Uncle Mark ... These are two of our friends that traveled with Suzanne and Mike to just help and HELP THEY HAVE !!! They have loved on my kids, sent me pictures and video each day ... How do you say thank you for that ??? How do you say thank you for hugging, talking to, or just holding your child when you aren't there ... I am a WORKING, LONGING, and a THANKFUL woman today !!!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ... Just heard the sweet voices of my Joseph and Daisy today on the phone ... How surreal that is, How pumped heart is, How rejoicing my spirit is and How funny did I look on the treadmill crying ( I was at the YMCA when Suzanne called) .... I am so out of this world in love with these two kids that I can hardly function on a daily basis ... Dinner last night was ravoli from a can,  my house looks like a pig pen, I can't find two matching shoes for the girls, and I am useless helping Jeremiah with his homework ... BUT YOU KNOW WHAT ????  I don't care because I talked to my kids today on the phone in Uganda .....

I was thinking today as I was cherishing the sound of their voices .... I would love for someone right now to say .... I THOUGHT ABOUT ADOPTING, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE MONEY or I AM JUST TO BUSY TO ADD ANOTHER CHILD TO OUR FAMILY or I DON'T THINK I COULD LOVE AN ADOPTED CHILD AS MY OWN or DON'T YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ROBBING YOUR OTHER KIDS OF THINGS IF YOU BRING ANOTHER CHILD HOME or YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T SAVE THEM ALL or I COULDN'T DO WHAT YOU DO ...

Boy, could I give someone an ear full today ... I could speak boldly about what miracles God is doing in our family because of ADOPTION ... I could show scripture that says God never promised us life that would be easy, happy, or conflict free ... I could hand you my heart in your hands and let you try it on for size today and let you feel the depth of love and joy that is in me because I said YES to God's calling to care for the orphans of this world ....

I mean right now I could preach a day long sermon on how fulfilling our God ordained mission here on earth could truly be if we say YES  ... How looking into the face of an orphan (hungry, abandoned, lonely, desperate, sick, afraid) could bring you closer to Jesus and bring Him honor and glory, yet also give you the purpose we all long to feel here in earth ...

This post could go on for days ... I love my husband today more because he took that step of faith blindly when he didn't really want to, I love my kids today for praying and wanting their brother and sister home even if it means less of everything for each of us, I love my friends more today because they rejoice with me and love my kids, I love God more today for once again revealing to me His purpose for the OATSVALL team's life and for showing me His face in the VOICES OVER THE PHONE ...


DID I MENTION I TALKED TO MY KIDS ON THE PHONE TODAY !!!!!!!!!

GO HERE TO SEE MY DAISY TALKING !!!!!!

hawaii2africa.blogspot.com

Love You All !!!!

(my baby signing I, LOVE, YOU) ... ok, tell me that is not just the cutest thing ever !!!

OK, so you know I can't sleep with my babies and friends in Uganda !!! So since the website is still not quite ready (we want it to be just right), I have added some new products to the temporary site and I am ready to package and ship them out  ... HELP A SISTER STAY BUSY WON'T YOU (hee hee ) ...

Think Christmas shopping, birthday presents, and teacher gifts ... Free gifts for orders over $100 (this will last till Suzanne comes home) ... We are working with about 10 families now on wholesale, so please help us spread the word on this ... Would love to help people bring their babies home ...

What a surprise it was to open my email and to get these amazing pictures of my Daisy from last year at Amani and then to my surprise who was sitting right next to Daisy, but sweet sweet Josie ... Lord, these two could be life long friends here in TN ... Please continue to lead us !!! Please heal sweet Josie and show us your face ... I tell you when I saw that picture I had a vision of Josie and Daisy playing out in my backyard, splashing in the pool, or at Suzanne's pulling wagons and playing dress-up together ... They could forever be in each other's life ... I mean picture the Mayernick Family and the Oatsvall Family standing in church side by side with the girls just toddling around our legs as we sing praises to the Father ... They can share clothes and both fight w/ their big sisters and brothers ... What will it be like those first few months when they are home and we go to visit and they walk in the door and see each other .... AMAZING ... Lord to give us these gifts here on earth is a truly OUTSTANDING ... THANK YOU !

I know some people look at us and wonder ... Why would you put yourselves through the waiting, the fundraising, the pain of all the unknowns, the sacrifice of sharing so much (time, money, material things, energy, sleep, and yourself) and I have two simple answers ... Picture 1 and Picture 2  ... I mean look at those faces that just scream, "I will help you see God clearer,"  "I will bring you joy you never dreamed of," "I will touch lives of people you don't know," and "I will surely bring peace and strength!"  ... I am a thankful woman today that God has chosen these two children for our family and I am thankful the journey will teach us much ... patience, suffering, love, joy, sorrow, hope, and an understanding of more of God's children ... I have never been to Africa, even though I know so much about it and it is deep in my soul ... I can imagine all the things I will see that are very unfamiliar to me and I can try to prepare myself, but I know this journey will not be like anything I have in my head and what a vulnerable place to be ... Funny though because I think GOD wants us to stay vulnerable, so we will stay dependent upon HIM ... The last two days have been hard and spent in prayer for my sweet sister Suzanne and there is another friend in Uganda bringing home her child ... We will cover them all in prayer and we will surround Amani (Staff, volunteers, mamas, and children) with special prayers because they face all that Africa has daily and they do it voluntarily ... They are there serving everyday !!!

Lord make our path straight as we walk blindly forward with you ...

This was not mine to share yesterday, but I know many of you prayed and now you can pray more specifically ... When one of us is hurting we are all suppose to hurt, so in truth a life lived following Christ is truly in the suffering and my friends are suffering right now and my heart has not stopped breaking ... Please read their words and be a bridge to the FATHER that speaks on their behalf ... JOININGTHEJOURNEY

I need you to pray every hour on the hour for those in Uganda ... Let God speak through you on behalf of all those in foreign countries standing with a child in their arms asking the Lord to make a way ....

Please go and read Suzanne's post ... To be able to see so many children that will be going home soon is something that will truly be a moment Suzanne will never forget ... To look into the faces of children who have been orphans and tell them YOU ARE GOING HOME ... Isn't that what Christ wants to do for each lost soul .... He looks into our hearts and says you don't have to be lonely, sad, forgotten, or cast aside ... You simply need to take MY hand and you can go home !!! Oh, Joseph and Daisy, your family loves you so much !!!

Just got some news from Curry (former player of Scott's who will be voluneering at Amani for the next 3 months) ... Check out her blog ... Anyway, she is cuddling with Daisy and Joseph came running to her ... How do you explain what it feels like to know people you love are there in Uganda loving on your children ... My heart is in such an emotional tornado right now ... Curry will show them the new picture books we sent along w/ a toy and a blanket .... I am just so thankful for her and for the others that will love on my children till I get there ... Curry has done some amazing growing with the Lord over the last couple of years ... If you have a young daughter then you should send her to Curry's blog and let her read how God has transformed and strengthen Curry for this task and given her direction ...  Hope to have some new pictures to post tonight ...

Love You All and thanks for praying

Let me be honest and say I am overjoyed for Suzanne, who just landed in Uganda and will be holding her sweet angel Josie Love tomorrow morning ... You can follow her journey here JOININGTHEJOURNEY.BLOGSPOT.COM   .... I know Katie is excited to have her there along w/ her mother (Mary Pat) ... BUT LET ME CONFESS I AM BEYOND JEALOUS .... I just want the call to come that says COME get your children, COME hug Joseph and Daisy, COME touch the faces of those you have fallen head over heals in love with, COME see Jesus in the street child of Uganda, COME walk alongside Katie and feed the Karomajongs, COME walk hand in hand with Daisy and Joseph down the streets of Jinja to get a milkshake, COME hear praise and worship of over 400 children in Katie's yard, COME fall in love with a country in desperate need, yet joyful in the Lord's provisions for them and so much more ... I take my phone in to each room as I move about the house (yes, it goes to the bathroom with me) just in case Amani calls .... I am not sleeping AT ALL and my heart is just aching ... God's timing is perfect and I am clinging to that fact, but it doesn't change my heart's desire that wants His timing to be my timing .... I know many of you out there have the same desire for their own WAIT.


Please pray for Suzanne, Mike, Dana, Renee, and Mary Pat while they are in Uganda and follow along on their amazing journey ...

Love You All and off to try and find some chocolate in my house to drown my happy/sad heart !!!!

CHECK OUT 147MILLIONORPHANS.COM  

ACCEPT EACH DAY EXACTLY AS IT COMES TO YOU .... First line of Jesus Calling today ... I love this book and how it keeps me connected to God's word, His presence, and His power ... HE will be my strength today as I allow Him to guide my day.  I will need Him extra in my mind and in my heart, but I serve a Living Savior, who is in the EXTRA business ...

I appreciate all who said they would pray for my MIRACLE travel time and Daleea, reminded me about the time God did a miracle for Maggie's travel and how late in the midnight hour God turned the impossible in to the POSSIBLE ... Now whether that happens again is completely out of my hands, but I will rest in the hands of the Father ...

I haven't commented on many blogs lately, but I have been checking in on you all and what a blessing to pray, follow along your life, see pictures of your families, and get a peak into your life ... What a blessing for us all to be friends and uniquely bonded by Christ through the internet ..

Now aren't those some cute faces ... Our new baseball Tee will be ready for sale soon ... Love You All!

I often think about my sweet friend Jamie, who has two children waiting for her in Haiti over almost 3 years now.  She goes to visit them often each year and her heart is amazing.  I will never forget sitting across the table from her right before going to get Maggie when I said, "Jamie, I couldn't do what you do (go visit your children and then come home time after time)" and she said words I will never forget, "Gwen, you would do it if you HAD to." ... Jamie is a brave and loving mother and I am proud to call her friend.  I think of all the friends who have adopted from Russia and had to take several trips there and back only to be able to visit their children and not know when they will be able to come home ... I sit here today a mother trying to work out a plan to best meet the needs of all my family (both here and in Uganda) and not sure what it looks like ... 

It is time to do a little bragging ... When #2 took the field this past Saturday, this mama got really teary eyed ... This was his first ever school football game. He ran out on the field like a warrior ... He was up at 6 am for an 11:00 game (you think he might have been a little excited) ... He had a look on his face of pure joy and determination. This is his first year at FRA and he is loving his new school and being a part of this community. The stands were packed with proud parents and the FRA 5th grade team put on a great show and we won 13-0 !!! Jeremiah has been gifted by the Lord athletically and we pray daily that he always honors the Lord with his actions and how he treats his teammates with kindness and respects his coaches (no choice there since Scott is one of the coaches ... hee hee) ... Jeremiah, I am proud of who you are on the inside ... Watching you play football is just a fun bonus to life ... AND I AM NOT KIDDING YOU ALL BETTER GET YOUR AUTOGRAPHS NOW BECAUSE THIS KID IS GOING PLACES ... hee hee