Have you ever experienced God when He shows up in a place you would least expect Him to?  That place for me was in a little orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December 2009.  You are probably thinking that you would have expected God to show up there, but I was so focused on being in Ethiopia to adopt our six-year-old son that we had just met for the first time three days earlier. That's why I was shocked to hear God speaking to me in this little orphanage about adopting a girl!

My family had elected me to go on the required tour of an orphanage, while Ted, Hannah, and our new son Abrham waited at the hotel.  As soon as our group pulled up at the orphanage,  a little 10-year-old girl's smile caught my eye.  When the van opened, she grabbed my hand and walked around with me.  She led me to a rock wall to sit and sat next to me, smiling, never letting go.  When the kids were ushered off to their rooms so the orphanage could honor us with a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, she ran off. But she turned at the door and blew me a kiss before she went through it.  Talk about having your heart melt!

Our travel companions also in Ethiopia to adopt seemed to figure it all out before I did.  They were giving me smiles and approving glances during the orphanage visit.  Already, my heart had been transformed by the time at the orphanage.

Our little boy wasn't the only one who needed a home!  There are millions of orphans. Of course we could make room for one more in our home!

When our van pulled up to the hotel lobby, Ted, Hannah, and Abrham were looking down at us from the balcony.  One of our travel buddies yelled up, "Hey Ted...Judi is ready to bring home a little girl, too."  Ted's reply began with a big smile and the words, "Cool...bring it on!"  I knew where God was leading us.

We are not adopting the little girl who held my hand, as she is already going to a family in Belgium.  But God used her to awaken me to the plight of Ethiopia's little girls, who can only remain in an orphanage until they are 12 years old. After that they are released to the street.  Do you know how many little girls are considered "older" (over age three) and who are on their way to never being adopted?!  We know we can change that, at least for one little girl by giving her a family and a home.

And then Jason started to pray. And then our small group started to pray. When people pray for God's will to be done, it gets done! My mind went from "no way" to "I'll think about it." My heart went from "I am terrified" to "Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. He will never leave you nor forsake you." So we began the process. We both pictured one cute, cuddly, little baby boy.

But God's ways are not our ways. After watching some videos, we saw how many older children were waiting for a home. We decided to adopt two brothers, ages six and seven. The process moved along pretty quickly from that point. I questioned my parenting skills, wondering why God chose me. Scatterbrained, unorganized, impatient me. But then it became quite clear that this adoption wasn't about me. It never was about me. My faith, my redemption, my life.

In April 2008, our sons Ty and Aden became a part of our lives and family forever. It was very difficult at first. One of the boys suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, making him extremely emotional and challenging to parent. We assumed that since we were doing God's will, it would be easy. God was always faithful to us, though. When we felt like we couldn't handle things, He would show up and show us the way.

It's been almost two years now since the boys came home, and we are growing and thriving like a regular family. We are all learning how to live together and love each other selflessly, the way Christ calls us to do. There are times when we do things as a family that will live in our hearts and minds for a lifetime.

Adoption is such a gift. It reveals to us the way God accepts us into His family through faith and by His grace alone. He chooses us because He loves us. We are grafted into His family forever, never to be the same again as we grow in His grace, holiness, and love until the day He calls us each by name.

Our adoption journey which led to Grace began on Valentine's Day 2005, when we attended a Stephen Curtis Chapman concert. As he showed a video of his three adopted daughters from China, Kirk was weeping! I knew God was starting something in him with regard to adoption.

As we left the concert, Kirk said, "Her name is Grace". I freaked out! All the way home, I came up with every excuse in the book as to why we could not pursue adoption. But I did agree to pray about it.

Over the following week, God transformed my heart completely. I read devotions about risk and faith and crossed paths with people who had adopted Chinese girls. Our sons, Wade (then 17) and Joey (then 14), were much more open than I was and jumped onboard with the idea quickly.

Soon thereafter, I visited our agency's web site, where I couldn't consume enough information! The rest of our story is history. After our acceptance to the program through our agency, we began a four-month paper chase. Our six-month wait to bring our daughter home turned into a 13-month wait.

In August 2006, we received our match picture of Lin Le Qing, who we renamed Grace Le Qing. The day we met Grace for the first time in China was an incredible moment in our lives. We walked into a building a family of four and left 30 minutes later a family of five! God had already begun grafting her into our family, just as He has done through the adoption of all of His children.

We are certain that God has led us on this journey every step of the way. We don't feel capable in our own flesh to start over as parents of a little one, but we know God is up to something much bigger!

Update: Kirk and Jane are in the processing of adopting a 10-year-old girl from an orphanage in Haiti. Please see International Adoption, Haiti for their story.

Several years ago, we found out that we were expecting a third child. The pregnancy turned out to be very different than for our other children and very difficult. In January 2008 at a routine doctor's appointment, we learned that our baby no longer had a heartbeat. Being that we were seven months along in the pregnancy, it was a very trying time in our lives.   A couple of months later, Chad expressed an interest in adoption. It took me a couple of months to warm up to the idea. (Pastor Kirk's sermons helped a lot.)

We began researching countries and mutually agreed upon Asia, with an interest in South Korea after learning I was too young for consideration for the Chinese program. South Korea had a solid adoption program that had been in place for more than 50 years. Nice and stable. Just what we were looking for.

We entered into adoption with the theory that if it's not meant to be, then God will close the proverbial door. We found a local agency, wondering if this group was indeed the agency for us. God confirmed our selection of an agency by putting the agency on the show "Adoption Stories," a program we watched twice a day. Things seemed to be falling into place.

In August 2008, we filed our formal application and paid the initial fee to begin the process. We were #25 on the list and were told to expect a 12-month to 18-month wait for our little girl. It was a huge leap of faith for us, but it felt right. We didn't have any money saved for the adoption. We moved forward trusting God completely to provide.

Through the 14-month wait for our referral, God changed us for the better. We learned how to be patient. He revealed to us that nothing is for sure but salvation and heaven. We had a firm grip on the details and time frames and had a vision of how our adoption journey should go. But over time, God showed us how to let go. Let go of the process and of the control we thought we had.

We finally let go...and let God have His way. We submitted and surrendered everything to Him. It's HIS adoption, HIS child, HIS responsibility not ours. Since that day, God has granted us a life of peace in which we know just how perfect His timing is.

When we finally got the call that we had been matched with our daughter, the money for the adoption was in place, though we still don't really know how He did it. We are awaiting travel to bring home the most beautiful baby girl who is perfect for our family. We expect to bring her home in April 2010.

Had God allowed our third baby to be born healthy, we wouldn't be the people He created us to be. We would have missed out on THE greatest blessing and most exciting journey in the world.

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Nearly a year after we brought home our adopted daughter Grace from China, God called us from Canon City to Grand Junction to pastor the Vineyard church there. Within a few weeks, Kirk was broken over a video he saw at a leadership summit. He came home and said he felt we were to adopt a black child.

I was just getting used to the move and our new family with Grace. But deep in my heart, I felt that we weren't going to stop at one adopted child. A year passed in which we prayed and sought the Lord's guidance.

Meanwhile, we began an adoption ministry in the church. God gave us a vision of seeing many children adopted into the church from the same orphanage somewhere in the world. A few months later, we met some people who were supporting and directing an orphanage in Haiti. God began to work on our hearts again. We felt that we were to lead the church in beginning a movement of support and adoption of children in Haiti.

With some fear and trepidation, we began the paperwork process in January 2009 to adopt a little girl from Haiti. While in Haiti to meet a five-year-old girl we had originally thought we might adopt, we met a girl named Gerdy who moved our hearts in such a way that we knew she was the one to become part of our family.

Gerdy had given a letter to the director of the orphanage that read, "My name is Gerdy. I don't have an adoption family. I am 10 years old. I want you to help me pray and find me a family please because both of my parents died. Their lives is gone. I love you. Thank you for taking this letter." Gerdy had a testimony much like the other children in the orphanage. She pours out her heart and loves to serve others.

Adoption reflects God's heart for each of us, his adopted children. We hope to continue to pour out our lives for children in crisis, so we can witness orphaned children all around the world finding forever families.

Update: Because of the earthquake in Haiti, Kirk and Jane were able to bring home their daughter Gerdy in January 2010.

We had been enjoying our new marriage for nearly 3 1/2 years. After many moments of excitement and anticipation followed by the letdown and disappointment we experienced as we tried to conceive, we decided we would buy a dog instead of trying to build a family. We took on the philosophy of that couple who travels, retires early, and enjoys life as a married couple with no children.

You've probably heard the story before. People who try to plan and do things in their own time don't allow God, who is ultimately in control, to do what He is going to do in His time, not theirs. A month after getting the dog, we realized we were expecting.

Fast forward six years. We found ourselves in almost the exact situation again. Even though we were enjoying life with our daughter Katie, we wanted to have another child. Doctors' visits, tests, medication, and even a new dog couldn't and didn't answer God's call on our hearts to grow our family. It became increasingly difficult to endure the excitement of "maybe this month" and the heartache of learning we were back at square one the next month. So we stopped trying. By this point, we were over it and truly at peace with the decision to stop trying to expand our family.

Shortly after this time, we went to church and heard a message on the plight of the orphan, specifically in Haiti. We were wrecked by the message. Despite our best efforts to do otherwise, we had to respond. Once we made the choice to surrender to His plan and stopped making excuses, it all became clear. We had to adopt. We had to answer the call, not just because of the children desperately needing what we had to offer, but out of obedience to the Lord.

To see His financial provision for our adoption and perfect timing unfold before us has been the greatest blessing. It is almost surreal to think that we are in the process of adopting a two-year-old boy named Jamesley from an orphanage in Haiti. All of these blessings pale in comparison to the joy and peace we have in truly serving the one true God!

Update: Greg and Jessica welcomed Jamesley home in January 2010 after the Haiti earthquake.

Nearly two years ago, I felt very cluttered in my thoughts, like I wasn't listening as well as I should to what God might be trying to say to me.  I decided that I would fast on the coming Sunday, so I could focus on listening to God.

I went into church, forgetting that it happened to be communion weekend.  My thoughts were, "How perfect. This will be great."  The worship team started to play the first worship song, and tears started welling up in my eyes.  The sermon happened to be about taking care of the orphans and the widows, with an emphasis on adopting.

The sermon featured a woman from Colorado Springs who helped oversee an orphanage in Haiti and a Haitian pastor who operated the orphanage with her.  They began talking, and I became very overwhelmed with emotion and, of course, started crying.

In church we had heard from representatives of other orphanages and plights of children before, but none of it affected me like this. There was a luncheon after the service for those who wanted to hear more about the plight of Haitian children. I walked out of the building thinking, "I'm fasting, I'm not going to the luncheon."

But I proceeded to walk back into the building and go into the meeting.  After hearing more about the crisis in Haiti, especially how the orphanage had to turn away more than 80 children a month and how boys are harder to place with adoptive families than girls, I went to the orphanage representatives after the luncheon and said, "I will take the boys. I just don't know how I will do it."

Later I spoke to my then 15-year-old son, who was not sure about the adoption. But as time passed, he agreed to adopt one child. On the orphanage web site, there was a sibling set of three children, twin boys (now 9) and their little sister (now 8). My son was not convinced about adopting three children until we went with the church on a mission trip to the orphanage the following summer.

One night during the mission team's devotion time, my son announced to everyone, "You know, this whole adoption thing, you need to go big or go home."  He jumped into it with both feet. Little did we know after the earthquake in Haiti that we would welcome the children home in such a short period of time.