Hello from the Cate crew! We realize that we have been here in the states much longer than expected and many of you maybe wondering what is going on. We would like to take this time to update you on where we are right now in the adoption process and what our plans are in moving forward. We will try and tell you the short version of what has happened, and where we go from here. :)
I guess most of you know us, but for those of you who do not we will try and catch you up a bit. We are a missionary family living in Brazil. We were sent out by our home church, Calvary Chapel Brandon, three years ago. The Lord lead us to plant a church in Rio Vermelho, Brazil two years ago and we have been blessed to be able to be a part of what the Lord is doing in and through Calvary Chapel Mocamba. Besides the normal weekly church services, we are involved in other ministries for the local kids such as surf school, English class, jujitsu, discipleship, etc. Because two of our kids were born in Brazil, we were able to receive our permanent visas which has been a huge blessing.
After not visiting the U.S. for a little over two years, we planned a trip back in December of 2009. The plan was to stay for about 5 weeks to see family, friends, our home church family and also to attend the pastor's conference. Little did we know that two days before our scheduled return date, the Lord would take us on one of the most exciting, faith stretching adventures we have ever been on.
As some of you know, we had Benji (now Josiah Cate) in our home when he was around a year old. We had tried to help out his single mother, and at the time we even talked about adopting him. Being that it was not the Lord's timing nothing happened, and we ended up moving to Brazil a short time later. After almost four years of not knowing where Benji was or how he was doing, we received a call regarding Benji and his younger twin siblings.
The kids and their birth mother were not doing well, Social Services were getting involved, and the kids were going to be placed into the foster care system. The very day that we heard about the situation we brought the kids home. At the time, we didn't know who was going to be their forever family, but we knew that the Lord wanted us to help these kids. After a few days, lots of prayer, and some serious confirmation from the Lord, we knew that these kids were meant to be our kids forever. Nathan stayed for an extra week to work on some of the initial adoption paperwork and then returned to Brazil. Because we were not able to travel with the kids until we had a court order from the judge, Danielle and all 6 kids stayed in the states at our assistant pastor Jim's house. (Praise the Lord for the Randall's hospitality!!) The first few months with the kids were very hard, but the Lord was faithful. The kids had been through a lot in their little lives, and with that comes many, many behavioral, physical, and emotional problems. It is so awesome to look back and see how far the Lord has already brought them in the last five months!
As far as the adoption goes we are almost done-Praise the Lord! We have the most important parts already finished, but it has not been officially finalized as of yet. The kid's birth mother, as well as all of the potential birth father's rights have been terminated. Also we have been completely approved as the adopting family(which is a much bigger process than you would guess if you haven't been through it personally).
Another HUGE praise report is the Lord's provision for the adoption costs that we have had to pay up to this point. When our adoption agency gave us the estimated cost of the adoption, along with airfare, it added up to be a good bit more than our yearly income! The state is not involved in helping us with any financial aid. We knew that God would have to provide. We are so blessed to be able to say that most of the adoption costs have been paid! Praise the Lord!
As this adoption process is coming to an end, we would like to ask you to keep us in your prayers. The judge has given us a court order to enable us to take the kids home to Brazil, and finalize the adoption from there. Now all that needs to be done in order to get back to our ministry in Brazil is to get passports, visas, and 8 plane tickets home. We know that for this to happen it will have to be another miracle from the Lord, being that we have no other financial resources left.
We want to thank all of you who have been there for us these last few months through your prayers, encouragement, and support. We have been blessed beyond measure to be surrounded by our brothers and sisters in Christ during this time! You can find us on Facebook: search “Nathan Cate”, “Danielle Cate”, or “Calvary Chapel Mocamba” for the church in Brazil.
Or you can email us @ nateandani@hotmail.com
Danielle also has a blog @ http://thecate8.blogspot.com
- If you would like to help financially you can give through Calvary Chapel Brandon with a note attached specifying that it is for the Cate Family.
Calvary Chapel Brandon’s Address: 1331 Kingsway rd.
Phone: (813)681-5318 Brandon, FL, 33510
Monday, June 21, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
My Twins. :)
Have you ever had the Lord speak to you? Remind you of things? Like maybe reminding you of things that He had promised you, and you had just forgotten about? Well I have, and I am forever amazed that the God that I serve is so BIG, yet so personal that He would even bother to speak to little old me.
A few months ago I was having a really hard day with this whole adoption process. I was just feeling like this adoption was NEVER going to be done, and my kids were never going to be “my” kids. I was asking the Lord why this was so hard. I mean, were we pushing for something that was not supposed to be?
As I was praying about all of these things on my heart I started to think about my twins. I was thinking about how I had missed so much of their little lives and wishing that I could have been there for them. Anyway, as I thought about them, I started to think about where I had been, and what I had been doing when they were different ages. As I thought about their birth, and where I was the day they were born I stopped in my tracks.
The twins were born on Feb. 4th 2008. On Feb. 4th 2008 Nate and I were at a Pastors Conference in Brazil. At this conference there was an orphanage close by. Before we even arrived at the conference I had joked to Nate saying I wanted to go to the orphanage and maybe meet our next kid. He had just laughed. Anyways, once we arrived at the conference I asked a few people about the orphanage, but they all told me that the doors were closed, and we would not be able to visit. I was a little sad, not that I had really expected to adopt a kid at that time, but I knew that this was a desire in my heart.
I decided to once again give this desire to the Lord.
In my quiet time that day I prayed,
“Lord, You know that I would LOVE to have more kids someday. You also know that Nate and I both have it on our hearts to adopt, and I believe that this desire is from You. I ask that you will bring those kids to us in Your time.”
As I prayed this prayer I felt the Lord like I have only felt a few other times in my life. He said, “Start praying, your kids are already born.” I wrote this down, and I told Nate and my friend what the Lord told me that day. I did start to pray for the kids- whoever they were. I knew that the Lord would bring them in His time, but little did I know that the VERY same day that the Lord told me this, my precious little Lilliana and Jeremiah were born!
How cool is our God?! He knew before these crazy awesome kids were even born that they were going to be a part of our family. He put it on my heart to pray for them from the very day that they were born, and then He reminded me of His faithfulness, and His perfect plan just when I need that extra encouragement! ☺ He is just too cool!!
“ Lord your greatness is just insane! I will never be able to wrap my little head around it. I am so glad that you see our lives from start to finish. Thank you for you plan for my life. Please help me to never get in the way of your plan and always be open to be used by You. I love you!”
A few months ago I was having a really hard day with this whole adoption process. I was just feeling like this adoption was NEVER going to be done, and my kids were never going to be “my” kids. I was asking the Lord why this was so hard. I mean, were we pushing for something that was not supposed to be?
As I was praying about all of these things on my heart I started to think about my twins. I was thinking about how I had missed so much of their little lives and wishing that I could have been there for them. Anyway, as I thought about them, I started to think about where I had been, and what I had been doing when they were different ages. As I thought about their birth, and where I was the day they were born I stopped in my tracks.
The twins were born on Feb. 4th 2008. On Feb. 4th 2008 Nate and I were at a Pastors Conference in Brazil. At this conference there was an orphanage close by. Before we even arrived at the conference I had joked to Nate saying I wanted to go to the orphanage and maybe meet our next kid. He had just laughed. Anyways, once we arrived at the conference I asked a few people about the orphanage, but they all told me that the doors were closed, and we would not be able to visit. I was a little sad, not that I had really expected to adopt a kid at that time, but I knew that this was a desire in my heart.
I decided to once again give this desire to the Lord.
In my quiet time that day I prayed,
“Lord, You know that I would LOVE to have more kids someday. You also know that Nate and I both have it on our hearts to adopt, and I believe that this desire is from You. I ask that you will bring those kids to us in Your time.”
As I prayed this prayer I felt the Lord like I have only felt a few other times in my life. He said, “Start praying, your kids are already born.” I wrote this down, and I told Nate and my friend what the Lord told me that day. I did start to pray for the kids- whoever they were. I knew that the Lord would bring them in His time, but little did I know that the VERY same day that the Lord told me this, my precious little Lilliana and Jeremiah were born!
How cool is our God?! He knew before these crazy awesome kids were even born that they were going to be a part of our family. He put it on my heart to pray for them from the very day that they were born, and then He reminded me of His faithfulness, and His perfect plan just when I need that extra encouragement! ☺ He is just too cool!!
“ Lord your greatness is just insane! I will never be able to wrap my little head around it. I am so glad that you see our lives from start to finish. Thank you for you plan for my life. Please help me to never get in the way of your plan and always be open to be used by You. I love you!”
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
God is Great Not Late. ;)
One of the things that I LOVE about the Lord is His perfection. His decisions are always perfect, His answers are always perfect, and His timing is ALWAYS perfect. I often have a hard time with His timing. I try to tell Him that He is too fast, or too slow but I am always wrong.
I remember 41/2 years ago when we had Benji (Josiah) in our home I felt that the Lord told me that he was going to be our son. After his birthmother decided that she was not ready to give him up, I remember crying my eyes out talking to my mother-in-law on the phone.
“I don’t understand Mom! I really thought that the Lord told me that he was going to be my son! Why would He do this? Why would He tell me that if He was only going to let him be taken away?”
Her answer was (as always) very wise.
“Danielle, if this is the Lord, if this is going to happen, it will happen in His time.”
For the next four years I cried every year on Benji’s Birthday. I guess that I thought that I had just heard the Lord wrong. Little did I know that the Lord was going to bring our boy back into our lives. (If you want to know more about how that happened read “From 5 to 8”)
I was thinking the other day about my newest additions. I was asking the Lord why he would let them go through all of the experience that they have had to go thorough in their little lives. I don’t yet have an answer for this. My prayer is that He will use the things that they have gone through to bring glory to Himself.
Nathan and I will be raising these kids on the missions field. We will have lots of opportunities to minister to kids in the orphanage and on the streets. While Nate and I can love the kids in the orphanage, we will never be able to tell them that we understand how they feel, or that we have been there. My kids will be able to say that. They will be able to say, “ I have been there, and this is how the Lord used that situation and brought me through it.”
So maybe the Lord waited to bring our boy back into our lives because He wanted to be able to use him to minister to others someday, or maybe He waited because we would not have been able to get settled in Brazil with 4 kids, or maybe He waited because we would not have our precious twins if we had adopted Ben when he was a baby. I may never know why the Lord chose to wait, but I know that He knows and I trust Him.
“Thank you Lord for your perfection. Thank you for seeing my life from start to finish and thank you for knowing what is best for me. Please use my life, and the lives of all of my kids to bring glory to You. I love you”
I remember 41/2 years ago when we had Benji (Josiah) in our home I felt that the Lord told me that he was going to be our son. After his birthmother decided that she was not ready to give him up, I remember crying my eyes out talking to my mother-in-law on the phone.
“I don’t understand Mom! I really thought that the Lord told me that he was going to be my son! Why would He do this? Why would He tell me that if He was only going to let him be taken away?”
Her answer was (as always) very wise.
“Danielle, if this is the Lord, if this is going to happen, it will happen in His time.”
For the next four years I cried every year on Benji’s Birthday. I guess that I thought that I had just heard the Lord wrong. Little did I know that the Lord was going to bring our boy back into our lives. (If you want to know more about how that happened read “From 5 to 8”)
I was thinking the other day about my newest additions. I was asking the Lord why he would let them go through all of the experience that they have had to go thorough in their little lives. I don’t yet have an answer for this. My prayer is that He will use the things that they have gone through to bring glory to Himself.
Nathan and I will be raising these kids on the missions field. We will have lots of opportunities to minister to kids in the orphanage and on the streets. While Nate and I can love the kids in the orphanage, we will never be able to tell them that we understand how they feel, or that we have been there. My kids will be able to say that. They will be able to say, “ I have been there, and this is how the Lord used that situation and brought me through it.”
So maybe the Lord waited to bring our boy back into our lives because He wanted to be able to use him to minister to others someday, or maybe He waited because we would not have been able to get settled in Brazil with 4 kids, or maybe He waited because we would not have our precious twins if we had adopted Ben when he was a baby. I may never know why the Lord chose to wait, but I know that He knows and I trust Him.
“Thank you Lord for your perfection. Thank you for seeing my life from start to finish and thank you for knowing what is best for me. Please use my life, and the lives of all of my kids to bring glory to You. I love you”
The Joys of Motherhood! ;)
Oh man what a day! I am starting to get the feeling that life with 6 kids is going to be just full of adventures! This morning started out pretty normal. We woke up by 6a.m., got breakfast for everyone, cleaned up a little.. changed 6 poopy diapers by 7:30a.m. ..then bathed and dressed 6 little stink pots.. same old, same old. E.Z. was not feeling well and because I was planning on some of my very best, very oldest friends coming to visit I decided to lay him down for an early nap. My oldest boy Josiah (or Ben age 5) and Hope (4) were running around the house playing while I took care of the younger 4kids needs. For some reason they kept trying to go into my room . I was not sure what they were trying to get in there, but I had to redirect them multiple times. They both know that they need to stay within ear shot/ eyesight when they play.. they just were having a hard time with the whole “obedience thing” this morning. Anyway, to make a long story a little shorter, soon after Josiah came away from my room we figured out that the door was locked- and Ezekiel was asleep inside the room! After questioning the kids Josiah admitted that he was the one who locked the baby in the room. After sending him to his room (until I could talk to him more in depth about the importance of NOT messing around with locks – again!) the search for the missing key began. We spent the next two hours looking EVERYWHERE for the key. Couches were moved, all drawers were opened, and all purses were dumped out. The key was nowhere to be found. The more time passed the more stressed I got . I knew that Ezekiel was not able to get out of his crib, but because he was a little sick I was afraid that he would soon start to cry. I knew that if he was crying in there and I could not get to him I was going to lose it.
My dear old friends came in the middle of the chaos and tried to help us think of ways to get to the baby. After we had worn out all other options my mother-in-law looked up numbers for a locksmith. In sheer desperation, and as a last attempt to get out of paying a $150 locksmith fee I resorted to bribes for the kid.
“O.K. guys, if you find the key I will give you $3!!” Josiah looked up. Finally I had his attention!
“Ummm…. Do you mean the key to your room?” Josiah asked. “Yeah.” I answered. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the key!
“Josiah, have you had this in your pocket the whole time?!” I asked in disbelief.
“Umm… do I get the $3?” Josiah asked. Ahhh!! I didn’t know what to do.. kiss him or ground him!
All ended well . The baby was fine, we had a great visit with my friends, and Josiah learned never to play with locks. I guess I should just be happy that he thought that a $3 reward was enough to come forward with the key, and he didn’t wait to give us the key until it went up to $5!
Oh the joys of motherhood!
“ Lord thank you for my crazy kids. Help me to always have patience with them. Give me wisdom in raising them. Help me to always have joy in the midst of the chaos.”
My dear old friends came in the middle of the chaos and tried to help us think of ways to get to the baby. After we had worn out all other options my mother-in-law looked up numbers for a locksmith. In sheer desperation, and as a last attempt to get out of paying a $150 locksmith fee I resorted to bribes for the kid.
“O.K. guys, if you find the key I will give you $3!!” Josiah looked up. Finally I had his attention!
“Ummm…. Do you mean the key to your room?” Josiah asked. “Yeah.” I answered. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out the key!
“Josiah, have you had this in your pocket the whole time?!” I asked in disbelief.
“Umm… do I get the $3?” Josiah asked. Ahhh!! I didn’t know what to do.. kiss him or ground him!
All ended well . The baby was fine, we had a great visit with my friends, and Josiah learned never to play with locks. I guess I should just be happy that he thought that a $3 reward was enough to come forward with the key, and he didn’t wait to give us the key until it went up to $5!
Oh the joys of motherhood!
“ Lord thank you for my crazy kids. Help me to always have patience with them. Give me wisdom in raising them. Help me to always have joy in the midst of the chaos.”
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Live, Laugh, Love. :)
I have been thinking that it might be fun to write a little bit about what life has been like being a mommy of 6 little ones under 5 years old. I think that I am going to start doing this more for myself than anything else. I think that it will be good for me to be able to look back in a few months from now and see how far the Lord has grown me up, grown my kids up, and how He has grown us as a family.
The last four months with my three new little blessings has been such an adventure. We have had so many mountain top highs, as well as valley lows. I have moments where I find myself thinking “Wow! Look at how good they are being! I have got this down, this is easy!” These moments are usually few and far between and they go as quickly as they come. Lol!
The other day we were having a particularly good afternoon. The kids and I had been playing games together and we were all just enjoying being together as a family. I decided that because everyone was in such good moods it would be a good time to put everyone in the shower (well the youngest 5 anyway). I knew that it was not going to be easy to convince my twins to get in the shower because they prefer baths, but after lots of convincing I had everyone undressed and the process of “destinking” had begun, A few minutes into the shower I realized that I had to go to the bathroom! I know that it sounds crazy, but when you have 6 kids and you spend the day literally running you can actually forget to go. Anyway, I knew that the timing was not the best, but I hey, you have to do what you have to do (and when you have to do it). ;)
So I very quickly used the restroom and in the matter of half a second all 5 of the kids were SCREAMING! The screams were not the normal screams of whining, they were screams of sheer horror. I looked up to see four of the five kids running out of the shower. Before I even had time to see what was wrong Grace (2) was hiding behind a plant, Hope (4) was hiding under a towel, Lilly (2) was hiding behind the toilet (and flushing it over and over again), E.Z. (9 months) was still in the shower but pretty freaked out that everyone was screaming, and Jeremiah (2) had opened the door and was dancing in the hallway – totally wet and butt naked! ;) Why all the screaming you might ask? The answer – A roach. Yes, that is right. One little roach has the power to strike fear, terror, and wreak havoc in the lives of my little people. I managed to get them all calmed down within a few minutes but it took all week to be able to convince them that the “bug” no longer lived in the bathroom, and that it actually was safe for them to shower there.
I have learned the importance of laughter in times like these. It would be so easy to let stressful moments get me down, but I have learned that it will never help anything to stress. So what do I do when all 6 of kids are having a break down at the same time? What do I do when my 2 year old is dancing naked in the hallway? I LAUGH! That’s right, I laugh, and I thank the Lord for blessing me with these crazy, energetic, awesome, and totally wonderful kids.
“Thanks God for blessing me with every one of my sweet babies. Please help me to be the very best mom for them. I want to serve You as I am serving them and their needs. Help me to raise them to love you , and give me the energy and the strength to do it. Love you Lord! Amen.”
The last four months with my three new little blessings has been such an adventure. We have had so many mountain top highs, as well as valley lows. I have moments where I find myself thinking “Wow! Look at how good they are being! I have got this down, this is easy!” These moments are usually few and far between and they go as quickly as they come. Lol!
The other day we were having a particularly good afternoon. The kids and I had been playing games together and we were all just enjoying being together as a family. I decided that because everyone was in such good moods it would be a good time to put everyone in the shower (well the youngest 5 anyway). I knew that it was not going to be easy to convince my twins to get in the shower because they prefer baths, but after lots of convincing I had everyone undressed and the process of “destinking” had begun, A few minutes into the shower I realized that I had to go to the bathroom! I know that it sounds crazy, but when you have 6 kids and you spend the day literally running you can actually forget to go. Anyway, I knew that the timing was not the best, but I hey, you have to do what you have to do (and when you have to do it). ;)
So I very quickly used the restroom and in the matter of half a second all 5 of the kids were SCREAMING! The screams were not the normal screams of whining, they were screams of sheer horror. I looked up to see four of the five kids running out of the shower. Before I even had time to see what was wrong Grace (2) was hiding behind a plant, Hope (4) was hiding under a towel, Lilly (2) was hiding behind the toilet (and flushing it over and over again), E.Z. (9 months) was still in the shower but pretty freaked out that everyone was screaming, and Jeremiah (2) had opened the door and was dancing in the hallway – totally wet and butt naked! ;) Why all the screaming you might ask? The answer – A roach. Yes, that is right. One little roach has the power to strike fear, terror, and wreak havoc in the lives of my little people. I managed to get them all calmed down within a few minutes but it took all week to be able to convince them that the “bug” no longer lived in the bathroom, and that it actually was safe for them to shower there.
I have learned the importance of laughter in times like these. It would be so easy to let stressful moments get me down, but I have learned that it will never help anything to stress. So what do I do when all 6 of kids are having a break down at the same time? What do I do when my 2 year old is dancing naked in the hallway? I LAUGH! That’s right, I laugh, and I thank the Lord for blessing me with these crazy, energetic, awesome, and totally wonderful kids.
“Thanks God for blessing me with every one of my sweet babies. Please help me to be the very best mom for them. I want to serve You as I am serving them and their needs. Help me to raise them to love you , and give me the energy and the strength to do it. Love you Lord! Amen.”
Coming to the end of myself.
I know that it has been a little while since we have posted anything, but since my sister-in-law convinced me of the importance of keeping up to date I thought I would take a few minutes to catch up.
The kids and I are still in the U.S. waiting to be able to take our family home to Brazil. We are pretty much just in the waiting phase of this adoption. The seemingly endless homestudies and mountains of paper work are almost complete. We are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Now we just need to pray that the Lord will provide the finances so we can get rolling on the next phase of getting our family home (tickets, passports, and visas). We are praying about taking the kids home in the next month or so and then finalizing the adoption over the phone with a notary. We will just need a few more “mountains” to move in order to be able to do this.
The last few weeks I have had so many moments of freaking out. I start to think about all of the “Hows.” “How are we going to get all of this money together?” “How are we going to survive 6 kids under 6 years old on a plane and in airports for 30 hours?” “How am I going to manage raising 6 kids in Brazil when I had my hands full with 3?” “How, how, how?? Holy cow!!!? What are we doing? What have we gotten ourselves into?!”
It is in my moments of freak out that the Lord is always so faithful to show Himself to me. Not having Nate here has made me count on the Lord so much more. The Lord’s answer to these questions is always the same.
“You can’t do it. It is only by My grace that you are going to get through this.”
The Lord knows that I have a personality that I often need to be brought to the end of myself. I love to figure things out, and get things done. I also have times that I think that I love when people think that I am Super Woman! Haha, it is in these times that the Lord always lets me know that I am nothing without Him.
I remember a few months before I came back to visit the U.S.I had a time of being brought to the end of myself. It was shortly after EZ was born so I was still not feeling well after the surgery. It was almost dark, Nate was at a friend’s house, and I was alone with our 3 kids. I was just cleaning up and I heard our pittbull barking. I looked out the window and saw three guys trying to break into our house. I was a little scared because I was pretty sure that these were the same guys that had broke into my girlfriends house a few nights before. Poor thing, she woke up alone in the middle of the night with the guy just standing by her bed. The Lord had given her courage and protected her, but I was afraid of these guys boldness.
I went to the back window and started screaming for our neighbor to come and help but because of the strong wind that night they could not hear me. I gathered my kids, put them in their room, and then went to see if the guys had gotten in. I listened to the guys argue about how they were going to get by my dog. I started to scream again and my dog made it pretty clear that she was not going to let them just pass by. I am not exactly sure why, but they decided to go. Praise the Lord!
Nate came home a little later but the guys were gone. As I sat in my “bathtub” (a little plastic box filled with water) that night I began to think about what would have, or could have happened if the guys had gotten in. How would I have protected my kids when I was still sore from surgery? In that moment of emotions I started to cry.
“Lord, what are you doing?!” I asked “I have done everything that you have asked me to do! I moved here, I learned how to live here, I went through those terrible pregnancies, I have been poor, I have seen so many bad things - even my kids have seen so many bad things. I have had my pets taken hostage, other pets killed. We have had crazy people tell us that they were going to hurt our kids. We have watched adults get beat up, we have watched kids get beat up. I have opened up my home to people I don’t even know.. I have tried to always do what I thought it was that You wanted me to be doing. I LOVE it here Lord, but I am so tired. Please God, I don’t want to do this anymore. Please just send someone else. I am done. I can’t do this!”
As I sat there crying the Lord starting to speak to me. “I know that you can’t do this, but I know that I can.” It was then that I was reminded that the Lord does not need me. I am blessed to be able to be used by Him, but it should always be Jesus doing the work. I am just the vessel .
I think that I always have knows this simple truth, but because of my thick head I need to be often reminded of it. It is an awesome thing that the Lord would choose me to serve Him. I guess when He said He would use the foolish things of the world to confound the wise He was not kidding!
Please pray for us this next month as I am sure that Nathan and I both are going to have many moments of coming to the end of ourselves.
The Lord has already done so many miracles during this journey to adopt. I know that He would not have brought us this far unless He was going to be faithful to bring us to the end!
“Thank you Lord for your faithfulness. Thank you Lord for reminding me that without you I am nothing. Thanks for being my EVERYTHING! I love you.”
The kids and I are still in the U.S. waiting to be able to take our family home to Brazil. We are pretty much just in the waiting phase of this adoption. The seemingly endless homestudies and mountains of paper work are almost complete. We are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Now we just need to pray that the Lord will provide the finances so we can get rolling on the next phase of getting our family home (tickets, passports, and visas). We are praying about taking the kids home in the next month or so and then finalizing the adoption over the phone with a notary. We will just need a few more “mountains” to move in order to be able to do this.
The last few weeks I have had so many moments of freaking out. I start to think about all of the “Hows.” “How are we going to get all of this money together?” “How are we going to survive 6 kids under 6 years old on a plane and in airports for 30 hours?” “How am I going to manage raising 6 kids in Brazil when I had my hands full with 3?” “How, how, how?? Holy cow!!!? What are we doing? What have we gotten ourselves into?!”
It is in my moments of freak out that the Lord is always so faithful to show Himself to me. Not having Nate here has made me count on the Lord so much more. The Lord’s answer to these questions is always the same.
“You can’t do it. It is only by My grace that you are going to get through this.”
The Lord knows that I have a personality that I often need to be brought to the end of myself. I love to figure things out, and get things done. I also have times that I think that I love when people think that I am Super Woman! Haha, it is in these times that the Lord always lets me know that I am nothing without Him.
I remember a few months before I came back to visit the U.S.I had a time of being brought to the end of myself. It was shortly after EZ was born so I was still not feeling well after the surgery. It was almost dark, Nate was at a friend’s house, and I was alone with our 3 kids. I was just cleaning up and I heard our pittbull barking. I looked out the window and saw three guys trying to break into our house. I was a little scared because I was pretty sure that these were the same guys that had broke into my girlfriends house a few nights before. Poor thing, she woke up alone in the middle of the night with the guy just standing by her bed. The Lord had given her courage and protected her, but I was afraid of these guys boldness.
I went to the back window and started screaming for our neighbor to come and help but because of the strong wind that night they could not hear me. I gathered my kids, put them in their room, and then went to see if the guys had gotten in. I listened to the guys argue about how they were going to get by my dog. I started to scream again and my dog made it pretty clear that she was not going to let them just pass by. I am not exactly sure why, but they decided to go. Praise the Lord!
Nate came home a little later but the guys were gone. As I sat in my “bathtub” (a little plastic box filled with water) that night I began to think about what would have, or could have happened if the guys had gotten in. How would I have protected my kids when I was still sore from surgery? In that moment of emotions I started to cry.
“Lord, what are you doing?!” I asked “I have done everything that you have asked me to do! I moved here, I learned how to live here, I went through those terrible pregnancies, I have been poor, I have seen so many bad things - even my kids have seen so many bad things. I have had my pets taken hostage, other pets killed. We have had crazy people tell us that they were going to hurt our kids. We have watched adults get beat up, we have watched kids get beat up. I have opened up my home to people I don’t even know.. I have tried to always do what I thought it was that You wanted me to be doing. I LOVE it here Lord, but I am so tired. Please God, I don’t want to do this anymore. Please just send someone else. I am done. I can’t do this!”
As I sat there crying the Lord starting to speak to me. “I know that you can’t do this, but I know that I can.” It was then that I was reminded that the Lord does not need me. I am blessed to be able to be used by Him, but it should always be Jesus doing the work. I am just the vessel .
I think that I always have knows this simple truth, but because of my thick head I need to be often reminded of it. It is an awesome thing that the Lord would choose me to serve Him. I guess when He said He would use the foolish things of the world to confound the wise He was not kidding!
Please pray for us this next month as I am sure that Nathan and I both are going to have many moments of coming to the end of ourselves.
The Lord has already done so many miracles during this journey to adopt. I know that He would not have brought us this far unless He was going to be faithful to bring us to the end!
“Thank you Lord for your faithfulness. Thank you Lord for reminding me that without you I am nothing. Thanks for being my EVERYTHING! I love you.”
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Jesus Loves Me This I Know!
Hello all you (two) people out there. It is I, Dani. :) If you know Nathan and I at all you will be shocked that we have made a blog for two reasons. The first reason being we are both far too unorganized to ever keep it up. The second reason being that we are both way too busy living our life to ever have time to write about it.
That being said, we are both going to try to be better about keeping people up-to-date on what is going on in our lives, and the work that the Lord is doing in us and through us. :)
One thing I love about growing up and going through life experiences is being able to better relate with some of the different examples that the Lord gives to us in His Word.
When Nate and I got married five and a half years ago I was better able to understand His example of the relationship between Christ and the church in Ephesians 5. When our first daughter was born in January of 2006 I was able to get a glimpse of just how much God loved us that He sent His only Son to die for us as talked about in John 3:16. Now that we are going through this adoption process I am better able to understand His examples of adopting us (found in Gal.4:5, or Eph.1:4).
I have six kids and not one of them is perfect (try not to be shocked). My three new little blessings are handfuls to be sure. Most of it is not their fault. They have been through a lot in their little lives.
A few weeks ago I was having a very tough day. I was sick, super sleep deprived, missing my husband, and dealing with some MAJOR bad attitudes.
By noon I had poop thrown at me twice, been bite three times, dealt with TONS of screaming, and to top it all off my face was dripping with spit from an angry two year old.
After I finally got everyone settled and down for a nap I cried out to the Lord and said,
"Father, are they ever going to realize what we are doing for them? Are they ever going to appreciate what we have given up for them? Are they ever going to love me the way that I love them?"
As I sat on my bed listening to the unusually quiet house I heard my answer in the form of a question.
"Have you My daughter? Do you My daughter?"
Wow! It was in that moment that something in my mind clicked. Jesus ALREADY knew what I was feeling because He had ALREADY done it. He gave up being with His Father (WOW!) - so I should be able to get through being away from Nate.
He knows what it is like to have your kids that you love spit in your face. Why? Because He ALREADY did it - AND (here is the crazy part) He did it for ME!!
So yes, while it may seem to me like no one knows what I am going through at times I have been reminded yet again that HE knows, and He cares!
I am also encouraged to think about the reasons why He did what He did for me. He did this all in order to have a relationship with me. This is my heart's prayer for all of my kids. I want a relationship with them. I want to always be there for them. I want them to always be able to come to me with anything.
I am so excited to see where that relationship takes us down the road in this life. I can not wait to see my kids walking with the Lord, growing in the Lord, and making the world a better place because they are in it.
Please continue to pray for us as we continue to take this step of faith.
Love always, Dani
That being said, we are both going to try to be better about keeping people up-to-date on what is going on in our lives, and the work that the Lord is doing in us and through us. :)
One thing I love about growing up and going through life experiences is being able to better relate with some of the different examples that the Lord gives to us in His Word.
When Nate and I got married five and a half years ago I was better able to understand His example of the relationship between Christ and the church in Ephesians 5. When our first daughter was born in January of 2006 I was able to get a glimpse of just how much God loved us that He sent His only Son to die for us as talked about in John 3:16. Now that we are going through this adoption process I am better able to understand His examples of adopting us (found in Gal.4:5, or Eph.1:4).
I have six kids and not one of them is perfect (try not to be shocked). My three new little blessings are handfuls to be sure. Most of it is not their fault. They have been through a lot in their little lives.
A few weeks ago I was having a very tough day. I was sick, super sleep deprived, missing my husband, and dealing with some MAJOR bad attitudes.
By noon I had poop thrown at me twice, been bite three times, dealt with TONS of screaming, and to top it all off my face was dripping with spit from an angry two year old.
After I finally got everyone settled and down for a nap I cried out to the Lord and said,
"Father, are they ever going to realize what we are doing for them? Are they ever going to appreciate what we have given up for them? Are they ever going to love me the way that I love them?"
As I sat on my bed listening to the unusually quiet house I heard my answer in the form of a question.
"Have you My daughter? Do you My daughter?"
Wow! It was in that moment that something in my mind clicked. Jesus ALREADY knew what I was feeling because He had ALREADY done it. He gave up being with His Father (WOW!) - so I should be able to get through being away from Nate.
He knows what it is like to have your kids that you love spit in your face. Why? Because He ALREADY did it - AND (here is the crazy part) He did it for ME!!
So yes, while it may seem to me like no one knows what I am going through at times I have been reminded yet again that HE knows, and He cares!
I am also encouraged to think about the reasons why He did what He did for me. He did this all in order to have a relationship with me. This is my heart's prayer for all of my kids. I want a relationship with them. I want to always be there for them. I want them to always be able to come to me with anything.
I am so excited to see where that relationship takes us down the road in this life. I can not wait to see my kids walking with the Lord, growing in the Lord, and making the world a better place because they are in it.
Please continue to pray for us as we continue to take this step of faith.
Love always, Dani
Saturday, February 20, 2010
From 5 to 8
Ok so I know I have been needing to start this for a while, but I didn't know exactly where to start. So I have decided to start with the story of how we went from being the Cate 5, to the Cate 8. I think this will give you the background so that you understand as we continue this blog telling the stories of our walk of faith, the spiritual lessons we are learning, and the funny things our kids do, so here is the story...
We went back to the states in December for the holidays and to visit our family and church, planning to stay until the 23rd of January. The trip had been going really well, but then on the 21st of January we got a call from a that lady we used to help take care of her son, Benjamin, 4 years ago when we lived in the states. We used to watch Benjamin to try and help this single mom get back on her feet, but to make a long story short, after months of trying to help, and even talking about adoption, the Lord closed the door, and we ended up moving to Brazil. So we went to Brazil and didn't hear from her at all for 4 years, until 2 days before we were supposed to return to Brazil. While we were in Brazil she had twins. So she had not been doing well, and didn't have the ability or support to take care of the kids. Again to not go too much into detail, there were many problems at home, and social services was called to step in and do something with the kids. So a friend called us(since we just happened to be in the states) when she knew that she was not able to care for the kids anymore. So we went to her appointment she had with social services that same day(two days before we were to leave). Trusting that the Lord had us there at that time to help those kids even if just for a time, we decided to take them home that day, and see what God would have us to do. That morning in my normal daily devotions I was reading in Matt 18, and in verse 5 Jesus says "Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me." So that was confirmation that it was the Lords will to take them in and help them in some way, but thinking that it would be to help find a loving home for them, but not thinking to take them back to Brazil.
So we decided to have Dani stay with all six at our assistant pastors house and try to figure all this out, while I would go back to Brazil to the church, and the ministry. So I get everything packed, rented a car, had my tickets, and begin the 4 hour drive from Tampa to Miami to go to the airport, to go home to Brazil. About 5 minutes into the trip God begins convicting me through a Bible Study I was listening to in the car. The text was 1 Sam 13, when Saul makes a sacrifice without waiting for Samuel, and the whole thing was about being careful not to get ahead of God, even when it seems like a spiritual thing to do. God was convicting me, but I brushed it off and continued driving and put on another study. This time it was 2 Sam 5, when David goes to battle against the philistines and he prays for direction from the Lord, and God gives him victory. Then the philistines come back again, and David does not assume to just go up again, but seeks the Lord again, and God tells him not to go up, but to go a different way, but still gives victory. So God convicted me again that He has a different way for this to happen, and not just to do what I think in my mind, but to be lead by the Holy Spirit. So after an hour and a half of being convicted and fighting against it, I finally listened and turned around and went home.
So I canceled my ticket, and in time God confirmed to us that it was for us to adopt these three kids. So over the next two weeks we had two court appearances, a home study, a stack of paper to fill out that was thicker than a strongs concordance, and several visits from social services. Thank God the judge had favor on us and let the kids stay in our custody until the adoption is finalized, but that will stll take three months to happen. After those two weeks I did end up coming back to Brazil on my own, but in God's timing. If I hadn't been there for those court hearings we would not have been able to keep custody of the kids or do the homestudy, so God had a purpose in mind, and HIS timing is always perfect!
That is our latest huge step of faith in this journey we are on, and now I hope that I can continue to record on a regular basis the way that God is working all these things out on a daily basis as we continue in Him day by day.
We went back to the states in December for the holidays and to visit our family and church, planning to stay until the 23rd of January. The trip had been going really well, but then on the 21st of January we got a call from a that lady we used to help take care of her son, Benjamin, 4 years ago when we lived in the states. We used to watch Benjamin to try and help this single mom get back on her feet, but to make a long story short, after months of trying to help, and even talking about adoption, the Lord closed the door, and we ended up moving to Brazil. So we went to Brazil and didn't hear from her at all for 4 years, until 2 days before we were supposed to return to Brazil. While we were in Brazil she had twins. So she had not been doing well, and didn't have the ability or support to take care of the kids. Again to not go too much into detail, there were many problems at home, and social services was called to step in and do something with the kids. So a friend called us(since we just happened to be in the states) when she knew that she was not able to care for the kids anymore. So we went to her appointment she had with social services that same day(two days before we were to leave). Trusting that the Lord had us there at that time to help those kids even if just for a time, we decided to take them home that day, and see what God would have us to do. That morning in my normal daily devotions I was reading in Matt 18, and in verse 5 Jesus says "Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me." So that was confirmation that it was the Lords will to take them in and help them in some way, but thinking that it would be to help find a loving home for them, but not thinking to take them back to Brazil.
So we decided to have Dani stay with all six at our assistant pastors house and try to figure all this out, while I would go back to Brazil to the church, and the ministry. So I get everything packed, rented a car, had my tickets, and begin the 4 hour drive from Tampa to Miami to go to the airport, to go home to Brazil. About 5 minutes into the trip God begins convicting me through a Bible Study I was listening to in the car. The text was 1 Sam 13, when Saul makes a sacrifice without waiting for Samuel, and the whole thing was about being careful not to get ahead of God, even when it seems like a spiritual thing to do. God was convicting me, but I brushed it off and continued driving and put on another study. This time it was 2 Sam 5, when David goes to battle against the philistines and he prays for direction from the Lord, and God gives him victory. Then the philistines come back again, and David does not assume to just go up again, but seeks the Lord again, and God tells him not to go up, but to go a different way, but still gives victory. So God convicted me again that He has a different way for this to happen, and not just to do what I think in my mind, but to be lead by the Holy Spirit. So after an hour and a half of being convicted and fighting against it, I finally listened and turned around and went home.
So I canceled my ticket, and in time God confirmed to us that it was for us to adopt these three kids. So over the next two weeks we had two court appearances, a home study, a stack of paper to fill out that was thicker than a strongs concordance, and several visits from social services. Thank God the judge had favor on us and let the kids stay in our custody until the adoption is finalized, but that will stll take three months to happen. After those two weeks I did end up coming back to Brazil on my own, but in God's timing. If I hadn't been there for those court hearings we would not have been able to keep custody of the kids or do the homestudy, so God had a purpose in mind, and HIS timing is always perfect!
That is our latest huge step of faith in this journey we are on, and now I hope that I can continue to record on a regular basis the way that God is working all these things out on a daily basis as we continue in Him day by day.
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