Many will call us CRAZY, but honestly I think it is a compliment ... I am CRAZY about our Lord and all the promises He has in scripture for us ... As I watched the video from HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS by the Dave Thomas Foundation there was one little boy that I couldn't get off my heart ... I called the 800 number and gave them my information  ... I feel as if perhaps we are the family to advocate for him and help him to find a family ... This is all I know - He is 10, been in 5 foster homes in the last month, is now in a children's home w/ 80 other children (you got that right ... here in the U.S. we have a home w/ 80 children living in it w/ no forever families), and he loves to dance  .... Honestly, I can only imagine the type of pain this child has felt to be moved to 5 different homes in one month only to end up at group home ... I get this won't be easy ... He will have many issues ... He will be scared, but aren't we all in some way ???  There is a family out there for him ... I would love to help him find one if they will allow me to help ... 

My friend Tracy sent this to me this morning as a scripture to cling to as I WAIT for my treasures in Africa ... perhaps it can encourage you today ... 

This is what the LORD says to his anointed, 

       to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
       to subdue nations before him
       and to strip kings of their armor,
       to open doors before him
       so that gates will not be shut:

I will go before you
       and will level the mountains;
       I will break down gates of bronze
       and cut through bars of iron.

I will give you the treasures of darkness, 

       riches stored in secret places,
       so that you may know that I am the LORD,
       the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Isaiah 45-1-3----- 

GOD SAYS "I WILL GIVE YOU THE TREASURES OF DARKNESS, RICHES STORED IN SECRET PLACES ..."   so it must be true ... Walk w/ me and let's see if we can find these amazing gifts from the Lord !!!!

As the new year approaches, my house is clean, and I am seriously nesting waiting for the call about Joseph and Daisy, so I thought I would do a post on just the basics of adoption ... I mean if you are on the fence about adoption, foster care, or anything related to orphans perhaps you are just waiting on some clear simple information ... Maybe you just need someone to talk to or ask questions to ... Or just maybe this will be the first time God sparks your heart  ... I want to be a vessel here ... What I am about to type is my family's personal experience ... My personal advice ... My heart's words !!!!

1. Basic questions ... What type of child is God calling you to (age, gender, race, domestic or international), Ransom to bring a child home (anywhere from $10,000 - $40,00), what is the right agency for us (Bethany Christian has a good China program, Gladney has good international programs, AGCI has a fab Ethiopia program, and there are many amazing domestic agencies both big and small to consider) ... try to steer clear of small agencies for international use that require lots of fees upfront, how long will we wait (hard to say, but waiting is just part of the blessing ), or how do we tell our families (If God calls you to adopt then who cares what friends and extended family think) ...

2. Emotional Journey ... This will be one of the most emotional and spiritual journeys of your life ... You will feel amazing highs and severe lows ... This is all a part of the road that will take you to your child ... Some of the best advice I can give you is that you SHOULD PREPARE YOUR FAMILY/YOURSELF FOR YOUR CHILD, NOT TRY TO FIT THEM INTO YOUR LIFE ... Fall deeply in love with them now even before you see their picture ... Begin to put yourself in your child's place ... Attempt to feel what they have felt no matter their age ... Abandonment, hunger, loneliness, loss of culture, loss of birth parents, possible loss of language, and loss of all that is familiar ... If you bring home an infant don't assume that one day they may not still have some of these feelings ... Now don't get me wrong, I fully believe in complete restoration for a child ... I teach all my children that God had them picked out before the beginning of time to be an Oatsvall ... He brought them to us in different ways, but this was always their path to us ... We will always honor our birth parents, pray for them, and remember them ... But at the end of the day THEY ARE MY CHILDREN ... I want them to feel secure in their place in THEIR family ... I would go to the ends of the earth to protect them, stand up for them, and would die for them if that was the price ...

3.  Are you willing to accept change ... Your life will change as it does anytime you add another person to your family ... There will be less time, less energy, less funds, and less of everything, but there WILL BE ABUNDANT NEW BLESSINGS ... This is an amazing way to change the legacy you leave ... I have seen this change with each one of my children ... I have seen them look at people from other countries, w/ other colorS of skin and see no differences ... They just see another person created by God ... Another person to appreciate, another person to get to know, another person to learn a lesson from ... IT IS A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE ...

4.  Have a voice ... When people start to ask questions, use the opportunity to SPEAK UP FOR THOSE WITH NO VOICE, WHO STILL REMAIN ORPHANS ... I don't begrudge people who adopt then come home and want to just be a quiet family and go on about their life, but that is not me ... I want to always advocate for adoptions, bring awareness and get people involved in caring for an orphan and SHINE THE BIGGEST LIGHT I can on an orphan's face so that no one can ever pretend they don't SEE THEM ...

5. Stay in the word ... God will have amazing treasures for you on this journey ... He will teach you things you never dreamed of and He will show you things about yourself you never knew ... He will show Himself to be exactly, who He has always been and always will be ... HE WILL AMAZE YOU AND WILL SHOWER YOU WITH HIS TRUTHS AND PROMISES ...

6. Find someone to walk this journey w/ you ... You and your husband will need a friend to journey with ... Make sure this person is on the same page with you, is walking closely with the Lord, and will love your new family with their whole heart ...

7. Special Needs Angels ... Many people ask me "how do you know if you should apply for a special needs child or not" ... Honestly, I can't answer that question for you ... Search deep in your heart and ask the Lord to point you to your child no matter where they are or what need they may have ... I can tell you that we learned more about the Lord and more about each other by bringing Maggie home ... She is our HOPE and has brought us more than we could  have ever dreamed ...  

Just had to empty my head and heart in this post tonight because I have had a feeling for the last couple of days that someone is reading my blog that just needed a little truth and encouragement to take this next step ... AM I TALKING TO YOU ??? 

I will start by thanking our friends and family for all their prayers !!!! We seriously have some prayer warriors in our life ... A special thanks to our FRA family for their calls, food, and sweet gifts for Elijah ... He is truly enjoying the special attention !!! This is our second year at FRA and the way this community has embraced our family, our calling to adopt, and just our mission to bring light into the darkness of the orphan crisis has been beyond a blessing ... WE APPRECIATE YOU !!!!  I came to realize after bringing Maggie home that we could not journey this path that God had us on alone ... Whether it is financial donations to our adoption, people praying and checking in on us, meals, or just that hug that lets you know you are not alone ... It is all so important and truly helps us to all see God's miracle in the journey ...

As I sit down to write this my eyes are so heavy that I think I could sleep for at least a day and never budge ... To say that the last few days have been packed, emotional, and stressful are an understatement ... I will start with Elijah's accident on Friday ... You know there are moments as a mother when you just know something is wrong ... I walked into the gym a little late to Scott's game and I saw Elijah sitting (red flag #1) and just staring at the court ... I waved at him and sat down on the bottom row and he comes down to sit by me and begins to cry because he has hit his head ... I begin to ask him about his party at school today and he can't remember having a party (red flag #2) ... I am getting a little worried and then a sweet friend's mom comes down and explains what has happened and off to Vanderbilt ER we go !!!  I am telling you that as Elijah sat in the seat next me in the car and I was talking to keep him awake my stomach was folding into knots ... I was praying hard !!!  We walk in and thankfully there was a doctor in the back room and heard the story I was telling the admin person and he came right out and admitted us and away to the CT scan we went ... I truly expected the doctor to come back and say, "Your son has a concussion and you need to wake him every 3 hrs tonight," but that was not his words at all ... The doctor walks in and says, "He has a hair line fracture in his skull and we detect a bleed, so we are going to admit you into ICU and watch him over the next couple of days and do another scan in 8 hours."  I was saying in my mind, hold on wait a minute ... This is my healthy hard headed child ... I have a sweet angel daughter who actually is missing part of her skull, she is my at risk for injury child, CAN YOU REPEAT WHAT YOU JUST SAID ????  My mind was whirling ... We were admitted and they began drawing blood, running an IV and waking him every hour ... I just sat there and thought in my simple mind how thankful I was that Maggie had not had surgery two days before or I wouldn't have come the basketball game and I wouldn't have noticed how injured Elijah was ... I would have had two children at Vandy Hospital at the same time ... God knows my limitations ....

I would ask that you lift sweet Josie Love up also as she is sick with pneumonia ... They were at Vandy with her much of Friday and when I called Suzanne at 5:30, she said, "I am finally leaving Vandy" and I said, "I am heading to Vandy."  We did have to chuckle because we had a very busy 147 week.  We had an event, trying to help fill orders for Christmas, and get everything ready to head to distribution ... These two mamas were tuckered out, but I guess that is when God just kicks us in a little more grace ... 

You see I am a glass 1/2 full kind of girl ... I said thank you Lord my child isn't on a ventilator (like the child in room next to us), thank you for Anna, who left her school's basketball game and stayed w/ the kids while Scott and I were at the hospital, thank you for Nana, who has stayed 3 days with us to just help me keep Elijah still (no easy task let me tell you), and for those who just love on us !!!

We are truly thankful for all God has blessed us with this Christmas season ... There is only one thing missing ????? !!!!!!!!!  Come on God and let that call come from Uganda ~~~~

Anna here....For those of you who don't know, Elijah ran into a door last night and had to go to the hospital. He has a crack in his skull and some minor bleeding. The cat-scan this morning showed NO increase in the crack or bleeding...PRAISE THE LORD!! He will hopefully come home today and will need to take it easy for the next couple of weeks. Thank you all for your prayers and continue to pray for healing and that Elijah and Gwen can come home today.

Much Love,
anna

I can't even begin to measure how 147 Million Orphans (.com) has changed my life ... The purpose and platform it has given Suzanne and I is truly from the Lord ... I love speaking up for those WHO HAVE NO VOICE, I love painting a picture for someone who is blind to the plight of the orphans and helping them to SEE the faces as real, and I adore watching my family, community, and friends rally with us to spread the word, feed children, and help families raise adoption funds !!!! I can't wait to see what the new year holds ... 2010 will be a life changing year in many ways for the Oatsvall Family ... Maggie will have surgery at some point, two new angels will join us, 147 will be speaking at an adoption conference in Illinois, and we will take our first vacation as a family of 8, and all those who have helped us make our adoption possible will see the blessing of their gift !  It seems so far off, yet there are moments when I can feel that it is just around the corner ...

Our 147 web store will be going off line tonight at mid-night, so that our new store can go on-line ... It will take about 3 days to get all the changes made, so don't panic !!!  WE WILL BE BACK ... We are beyond blessed to tell you that we have found a distribution center and will be shipping all of our gear out through them from now on (no more midnight runs to the post office, no more packaging for hours while the kids destroy the house, no more trying to keep up with inventory, NO MORE)  ... The only thing that will not be on-line will be the Ugandan Magazine Necklaces ... YOU WILL NEED TO PURCHASE THEM FROM 147MILLIONORPHANS.BLOGSPOT.COM  ... THE 147 BLOG will have necklaces and other cool stuff we get in for limited times or limited quantities ...

JOIN US THURSDAY AT FRA SOUTH CAMPUS GYM (IN THE OLD CHURCH) ...THURSDAY 12-6 ... Don't go in main entrance ... Drive in the other entrance that takes you around back to the campus and look for the balloons on the door for our location ... WE GOT NEW NECKLACES AND COWBONE EARRINGS IN MONDAY FROM UGANDA ... DON'T MISS YOU CHANCE TO SHOP ... ALL ITEMS COME WITH A TAGE EXPLAINING YOUR GIFT ...

Thanks for all the prayers about Maggie's surgery date cancelation and for my call to come from Uganda ... You guys really all rock ... You are an anchor in my life ... Special thanks to Donna and Amy, who brought me special gifts today and for Ondrea hanging with me today and keeping me laughing !!!!

JESUS CALLING by Sarah Young  for the last few days as we received the news about Maggie's surgery!

Wed ... "Be willing to go out on a limb with ME"

Thurs ... "Make ME the focal point of your search for security"

Fri ... "I am working on your behalf"

Sat ... "I am taking care of YOU"

Sun ... "Take time to be holy"  

If this is not a devo you have then go and buy it today ... As I sat down and read the devo and the scriptures for the day, I was washed over with His love for my family, for the orphans of the world, for the poor, for my friends, for all those in our prayer life and so much more ... I mean it easy to forget on some days that He is the one who owns it all, gave it all, and CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS !!!   I will not stop going to my knees in a very desperate way for Maggie's surgery and for Daisy and Joseph to come home ... I won't stop being broken BECAUSE WHY HIDE FROM MY SAVIOR WHAT HE ALREADY KNOWS ... He created me after all ...

Thank you Holy Spirit for interceding for me when I grow weary ...

Here is the beauty of it ... Maggie has no idea that surgery was canceled and she still goes about her day as a happy little stinker !!! 

When the call came today that Maggie's special expanders for her head would not be here in time for surgery and it would have to be re-scheduled my heart literally dropped and my spirit felt as if it had just left me ... I was lost for a moment ... Asking all the WHY's that I could in my head ... I was actually at an event selling 147 gear and some sweet women just surrounded me and prayed ... I am thankful for sisters who walk with me and understand the struggles that my family as been through over the last couple of years ...

I don't have much else to add except that I KNOW GOD IS IN CONTROL and I am going sit and be sad for a bit ...

Love You All ...

http://nohandscurrentinfo.blogspot.com/2009/12/road-to-recovery.html   Today was my day to guest post ... doesn't God have a sense of humor !!!

147millionorphans.blogspot.com    ... THIS WILL BE A ADDED SITE FOR US ALONG W/ 147MILLIONORPHANS.COM  ... We will be selling speciality items on the blog and keeping you informed on events we will be participating in, places you can buy our products, and anything else that crosses our hearts ... 

www.greenhillschurch.org, 1910 Belcourt Ave, Nashville, TN ... Green Hills Church is were 147 Million Orphans will be tomorrow ... We will be sharing a video from Uganda, speaking about our mission and selling products ... Would love for you to join us if you can !!!! blessings

I joke all the time that if I had a dime for every time one of my kids said my name, then I would be one rich mama ... Over the last couple of days, I have listened a little more to those sweet little voices and have been given a peek into God's newest lesson for me in my REST and PREPARE time ... Early in the mornings when my boys say "Good bye Mom," or Emily says "Mama" followed by a question or Maggie says "Tanks Mom" or Elijah barges in the door after school "Mom, Mom guess what" or my Jeremiah tells me "Goodnight Mom" in the most grown-up, yet childish way... My heart has been leaping at the sound of my name over the last couple of days... My very special name ... My name that means - I will never leave you, I am in your corner, I am your safe place, I will guide you all the days of your life, I will never give up on you, I will treasure who you are, I will be there when you fall and help you get up, I will help you learn from your mistakes, I will not judge you, I will teach you about the one and only GOD ... And then there is the dream of the voices, who will call my name soon ...I have huge hopes of the day when Joseph and Daisy will say my name and understand it meaning, it depth, and its strength  ...

It is in the name JESUS that we can find all our strength, peace, and love ... We should really say it more during the day ... Whisper it "Jesus, I love you" ... Shout it "Jesus, you are my rock" ... Say it "Jesus be with me" ... Cry it "Jesus, you are my savior" ... Sing it "Jesus, the sweetest name I know."  What power in even typing this last part, as I read it aloud I felt WASHED over with the spirit ...

I will never forget the very tough months home w/ Maggie and in my most desperate moments, I would say out loud,  JESUS, I LOVE THIS CHILD ... JESUS, I LOVE THIS CHILD and there it would come ... The calmness I needed to make it through the moment ...

Let's call on the saviour of the world by name !!!! JESUS, JESUS, JESUS !!!!

In the name of Jesus, we ask for protection for Maggie before, during and after surgery ... Lord Jesus, make this procedure go well ... Infection free and help it to be the 1st step to healing her head and restoring my daughter's skull, skin, and hair ... (pic from the last surgery)

The past 4 months have been an amazing blessing and an incredible time to share God's love for the orphans both here and afar.  But here is the realization - my plate is finally full, overflowing, and may even have a few leaks in it ... I am not liking myself much at this moment  ... I am loving what God is doing through me, but I can hear Him also telling me to not miss what is right in front of me ... MY FAMILY ... Scott, Jeremiah, Elijah, Emily, and Maggie have been very patient w/me over the past few months.  With the launch of 147 Million Orphans and so many hearing about Katie/Amazima, my days and much of my nights have been filled w/ working and serving ... Now, please don't get me wrong, it is amazing and such a blessing what is happening with 147 and Katie, but the season has come and it is time to share the load (Suzanne and I will now share the Amazima duties) and 147 is heading to a distribution center soon (you can still shop on-line as usual), but I have an angel to prepare for surgery and a life to prepare for 2 more sweet treasures coming home from Uganda the 1st of the year, so I am changing gears and creating a new daily schedule so to speak ...

I know myself, so I am going to hold off on checking the computer 1st thing in the morning and get back to my quiet time and read some of the amazing books I ordered a month ago (Scared by Tom Davis and What Difference Do It Make by Hall & Moore) ...I promise not to disappear, because I love you all to much for that !!!  I can feel God has a few things to teach me in the coming weeks (all of which I promise to share) ... As I have loved on Josie Love the last couple of weeks, it has just reminded me of the pureness of love ... I know she does this to everyone, but when I walk into the Mayernick's house and say her name she gives me the biggest smile I have ever seen ... It is as if I just gave her a gift ... LESSON #1, when Christ speaks our name each day, shouldn't we turn to Him w/ the biggest smile we can muster and shine His glory through us for others to see ... A fire starts w/ a single flame ...

Please pray for Maggie as we prepare for another surgery ... Pray she stays healthy till surgery and that she will resist any type of infection during and after surgery ... Pray the call comes from Uganda before Christmas about a court date in January (THAT IS TRULY ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS) and continue to remember Katie and all the children she will be caring for this Christmas ...

Love You All ...

147millionorphans.com