Here We Go...

Dear Friends,

Amy and I have big news to share with you and a great need for your prayers. Many of you know that for the last four years we have been licensed foster parents hoping for the opportunity to open our home and our family to a child who needs both. Our ultimate hope is to adopt, as we believe this is a ministry to which God has called us. This sense of calling has been developing from the early days of our marriage and we have been praying for God to send the right child at the right time. Well…

A week ago we received a call from the Methodist Home for Children (our agency) asking if we were willing to be considered for a foster placement for a baby boy that is due to be born in early January. The boy’s mother is a 15-year-old girl, herself under the care of DSS. Amazingly, this is very much the kind of scenario that we have hoped for in this process… the opportunity to come alongside a girl in a tough spot and provide a tangible alternative to the easy way out she could have taken. However, there is the reality of our current situation… new community, new church, new four-month-old baby. Well, much to both of our surprise, Amy and I both felt a sense of excitement about this possibility even in the face of the chaos that is our life at present. Along with this, we have a deep conviction that when our Lord calls us He always leads and provides everything needed for the journey. Therefore…

We said, “yes.” Now, in this system “being considered” does not mean that you will be selected from the pool of potential foster parents. However, yesterday we received word that the May family has been chosen. Again, the question was asked, “Are you willing to proceed?” After prayer and a family meeting, again we said, “yes.” So…

Sometime in the next few weeks will have an addition to our family… at least for a time. We really are aware that this will be a crazy season of life – likely the most difficult we have yet encountered. We see that reality, however, within the context of a greater reality in which our Lord gave us a home and called us family in our hour of greatest need. We now have the privilege of honoring the One who so welcomed us by welcoming this child, and we are excited and grateful… and, of course, scared out of our minds! All that to say…

Please pray. Pray for the young mother who is facing such difficult circumstances. Pray for a healthy delivery of this baby boy. Pray that, even now, the Holy Spirit would incline this child’s heart to Jesus, and that the season spent in our home as a part of our family would serve to demonstrate the love of Christ to this little one. Pray for us and for our kids, that we would be prepared and equipped for what lies ahead. Pray for anything else that comes to mind. And then…

Pray some more!

We are so grateful for each of you and the role you play in our lives. We look forward to giving you updates soon.

Merry Christmas!

Cleve & Amy