See this from Lifesong:

"And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" Matthew 25:40

One Child. One Life. One Soul.
An ongoing theme of our ministry is the power of ONE. Not to ignore the often overwhelming 147 million orphan statistic, but to focus on making an impact on ONE child. As Andy Stanley says, "Do for ONE what you wish you could do for every one. And when do you for ONE, you often end up doing for far more than just one." 
Please enjoy these ONE child stories...

IN THE MIGHTY NAME OF JESUS // Lifesong Zambia

In Zambia, like many parts of the world, witchcraft is very prevelant. At Lifesong School in Zambia, we teach the children that God is more powerful than witchcraft and the witchdoctors that practice it. They can have power through Jesus Christ to fight off evil, through HIS NAME! Listen in as Paul shares the experience that he and his friends had with a local witchdoctor...

Pray that God will continue to show himself to Paul and use this experience to build his trust and faith in our Father God.
Learn more about Lifesong Zambia >>

GROWING THE NEXT GENERATION // Lifesong Liberia

Thomas grew up on the streets without any parents to care, protect or provide for him. A missionary brought Thomas to Lifesong's Master's Home of Champions, knowing he would be cared for. Listen in as Thomas shares his heart for the people of Liberia and the role he sees for himself to bring Christ's name known!

Pray that Thomas will continue to grow in His relationship with Jesus Christ and with boldness, share the gospel to others. Learn more about Lifesong Liberia >>

Read more ONE child stories...

Katie Rescued from Orphanage -- Katie, born with down syndrome, was 9 years old and weighed only 10 pounds when Joe & Susanna traveled to adopt her. Read Full Story

Natasha Breaks the Cycle -- "I was looking for someone to understand me, to love sincerely...I received all this!" Read Full Story

"I am your mommy!" -- Beautiful account from one of our Lifesong Adoptive families, sharing their first moment they met their son Cohen from Congo. Read full story

Back To Normal

We've been home for almost three days now, and I'll tell ya . . . it feels good.  It was a teary reunion at the airport between us and our family, and we've settled back into routines.  It feels good.

Ryan, Gavin and myself headed back to Birmingham today to do a radio interview with John Walden at Revocation Radio.  Ryan has become a regular listener and he's been pretty interactive with the guys that run the show in the mornings.  A few weeks ago, he mentioned to them that we were adopting from overseas and they gave him an invitation to come to the studio and talk about where we were in the process and provide some advocacy for adoption in general.  It was a neat experience for him . . .

 

Unfortunately for me, I was warned immediately as I walked into the studio that I would have a mic, too, in case of emergency.  Ryan did a really good job, but there were definitely times that he needed a back-up.  I ended up talking a little more than I probably would've liked, but all in all, I think we got our point of the importance of adoption across.  Ryan said he was both nervous and excited about being heard all over the airways, but in the end I think he enjoyed himself.  If you'd like to hear the interview, you can shoot me an email at paigestewart0120@hotmail.com and I'll send you the audio.  I'd put them on here, but I don't know how, and Craig isn't here to flex his technology muscles.

 

We're in the process of filling out more paperwork for Maya's arrival home.  Here's our next big prayer request for you:  we think we need a court date by May 15th for her to be able to come home by (hopefully) June.  The government in her country is going through some 'stuff' right now, and they're holding new elections on that date.  So . . . pray that things go through and we get something before then.  If we don't, there's a possibility that we could experience some delays.  WE DON'T WANT DELAYS.  We just want to get her home yesterday (did I say that?), so we want things to go through as quickly as possible.

 

So there ya go.  A quick little update, but that's all I've got.  Just remember to pray for our girl!

 

Love,

 

Paige

 

 

 

Heavy-Hearted and Homesick

I'm writing tonight with the feeling I knew would eventually arrive.  Its here, and its coming a little stronger with every passing hour. 

I want to come home.  I want to hug my kids, give my parents a monster hug for the help they've been in caring for them while we've been gone, I want to drive my own car, and I want to blow the doors of Taco Casa clean off their hinges.  What I wouldn't give for a hot tacoburger right now . . .

However, you know exactly what's coming.  I don't want to leave my daughter here. I want to somehow sneak her into my suitcase until we get past all of the official people at the airports,  and bring her home to a warm bath and lots of Baby Magic lotion and hairbows.  I want to bring her home to a big village of people that love her, and I want to rock her to sleep at night while she sucks her little thumb.

I told Craig a few hours ago that he was on emotional alert.  That means that at any given moment I could burst into tears for any or all of the reasons listed above.  We don't have to make a big deal over it when it happens, but its coming, and I think tomorrow, especially, is going to hurt.

When the staff handed her over today, her clothes were leaking from her own waste in her diaper.  I'm hoping that they just didn't notice.  I'm hoping that this isn't a common occurrence.  I wanted to give her a bath right then, but they wouldn't let me.  I'm hoping that she doesn't lay there for hours, sometimes, covered in stuff that makes her skin hurt.  I'm hoping that God will pour his mercy over her for the next few months until we can return for her.  I'm hoping . . .

Tomorrow completes our stay in Bulgaria.  I'm so ready to see all of those that I love and cherish so much, and I'm ready to look into the eyes of our church members, our family, and our friends that have loved on us so and tell you all how worth it your support, in every way, has been.  Maya saw Jesus this week, and for that, we're thankful.  I pray that in the time she's left behind, she'll continue to see and feel him in a way that only a precious child can do.

I love you, my baby girl . . .

Fun Post :)

After yesterday's heavy, maybe even 'TMI'  post, I thought I'd lighten the mood a little bit.

Tuesday night, our attorneys here took us and our Lifeline team to an authentic Bulgarian restaurant.  It was an hour away.  I can't tell you how bad that was.  Not the restaurant, but the drive.  People drive CRAZY here.  I mean, I think there may be traffic laws, but nobody follows them.  I don't even know why lanes are marked, because I have yet to see one of these huge electric streetcars actually stay in its lane.  There's more jerking around than a bumper car ride, and more stopping and starting than and game of red light/green light.  So . . . all that to say that I've been car sick a lot this week.  When we left for the restaurant, we just thought we were going somewhere in the city.  But we kept driving, and driving, and driving, until we started going up the mountain.  By this time, we'd been going for 50 minutes strong, and I felt like I was on a tilt-a-whirl for the 5th go around. 

After another 10 minutes of going up the mountain, we made it.  Snow was everywhere.  From the outside, you could tell we were going somewhere that was very Bulgarian-ish.  The waiters were dressed in authentic attire, and the food was as Bulgarian as you can get.  This made us kind of nervous, but to my surprise, it was actually very good.  We all shared these huge platters of food that had roasted peppers, chicken kabobs, some kind of chicken meatballs (can't tell you much about those . . . I don't eat unidentified ground up meat), pork steaks, and different sauces and breads.  The real treat was when the waiters and waitresses, along with the Bulgarian band, broke out in song and dance.  For a minute, I felt like I was in the lower-class section of the Titanic with all of the pan flutes and violins and drums.  You've seen that part where Rose slips down there with Jack when she's not supposed to be hangin' with him?  She has the time of her life, and I seriously felt pretty in-the-moment when they started all of this jivin'.  I didn't think it was gonna get any better, until one of the dudes came and got Craig and took him up to the stage.  People, Craig now knows how to do a Bulgarian dance in front of a lot of people.  I wish so badly that I had a picture or video to show here, but unfortunately I left my phone in the car and didn't take it in.  Craig took some pictures of the inside, though . . .

 

 

Before it was all over, he and I both were up dancing in the big circle with all the others, and it was just lots of fun.  I guess it was good to let go for a bit and be a little goofy.

 

 

Today we got to take Maya out of the orphanage for a little while to take her to get a picture made for her Visa.  Car seat?  Nope.  I don't even think they use them here.  I haven't noticed one in any cars, and I've looked.  Maybe they do, but we weren't even offered one.  She hung out with Craig in the back seat on the way . . .

 

 

 

It's obvious she hasn't been in a car much.  She got a little sick on the way and upchucked a tiny bit.  No biggie, though.  We cleaned her up, and she was good as knew.  We took her back to the orphanage and played for the rest of the visit.  Our afternoon visit was really sweet.  We introduced her to music.  I had some worship music on my phone that she listened to, along with a 'Les Miseables' song or two.  She seemed to really like it.  She'd get still every now and then and just seem to listen. Be sure to watch the video that's on here.  Her laugh is PRECIOUS. 

 

Before I get to the pics of today's visit, I wanted to show you where she spends her time when she's not with us.  This is her crib . . .

 

 

 

And here's the happy pics and the video.  I'll leave you with these.  But first, keep praying for us about our leaving her on Friday.  With everyday that passes, we realize a little more how incredibly hard it will be to walk away without her. 

 

Thanks, again, for all of the support and encouragement from blog comments and Facebook comments and messages.  We cherish every one!

 

 

 

 

Love,

 

Paige

 

 

 



All About Maya

Yesterday, I didn't want to tell you about our first day with Maya in lots of words, just because sometimes I think pictures can tell a story that words can't.  I've had that in my mind all along.  I really just wasn't sure how to describe what a day like that was like.  Now that I think most of you can understand, I'll tell you now a little about our little girl.

Maya is two years old, and she'll be three at the end of April.  However, she's wearing 9 month clothing.  She doesn't look all that small, but its just because her overall growth has been somewhat stunted, so everything appears to be proportional.  Her feet are teeny-tiny.  My guess is that she might wear a shoe size that a six to nine-month-old baby would wear. . .

 

But they're cute feet :).

She can make some sounds, but she doesn't speak any words at all.  It seems her heart condition may be a little more serious than we first thought.  She has had surgery already, and that has repaired the major issues, but she's still taking two types of medication.  When they closed her up from her surgery, the doctors left part of the site open (on the inside, not the outside).  We're not entirely sure why they did this, because when the explanation was interpreted to us yesterday, it was a little hard to understand.  Once we're given more information, we're considering taking her file to Dr. Colvin at UAB.  He was my pediatric cardiologist when I was pregnant with the twins.  I have no doubt that she would be in excellent hands with his care.

However, she's happy, she's content and she took to us very, very well. 

When we visited yesterday, we were pleasantly surprised that the orphanage seemed to be doing a good job at taking care of her and it appeared that they were also very involved in the care of the other children there.  We're afraid, though, that today we may have found out a different story, and that's very worrisome to us.  Our social workers from Lifeline, Jana and Stephanie, arrived yesterday.  Today they went with us to the orphanage for our morning visit, and while we played with Maya, they toured the facility.  They saw some things that are just.  plain.  wrong.   Its was the kind of things that broke my heart two years ago that made me realize that these children DESPERATELY need rescue. 

It was the 5-year-old little boy that was wearing an infant onesie . . . because its what fits.  It was the little girl that constantly took her lowered head in her hands because she wasn't used to all the attention that she was being given at the moment.  Its the little baby that stares through the rails of her crib 24/7 with brain cysts that probably won't survive.  And its the little girl who was picked up by a single arm placed in a chair. 

Its these things that were happening in Maya's home.  The place she'll be until we can get back here to take her home.  We really felt ok about things yesterday, but its what we didn't see that we know now.  That's such a problem with us . . . all of us.  We're so ignorant of things that happen in other places.  I truly don't mean that in an 'ugly' way, but 'ignorance' just means we don't know.  Well . . . we didn't know.  Now we do.  Now YOU do.  There are horrible things that are happening to kids in these places.  Things that, if they happened in America, wouldn't be tolerated at all.  What gives us the right to know about it now and wash our hands of it?  Just because its not our country?  Well, maybe not, but its God's people.  We're ALL God's people, and we're commanded to do so many things . . . love our neighbor, treat others as we want to be treated, take care of those who can't care for themselves . . . all of these things are so important.  ESPECIALLY to those that are so innocent.  It just hurts.  It hurts to see this all over, and now it hurts to know that Maya may be subjected to things that are so wrong.

But, she looks good.  I'm kinda shaking my head at myself for getting off on something that wasn't exactly meant to come out in this post, but I have a true passion for this now.  I think its really just beginning with us, and I want to do all that I possibly can to get people involved.

Here's a few more pics of our visits from yesterday afternoon and this morning . . .

 

Here's a couple of videos from my phone . . .

 

 

 

 

These pictures were taken during our afternoon visit today.  Maya wasn't quite as active during either visit as she was yesterday, but knowing what we know now, I guess I'm not surprised.  She was 'rocking' herself today a lot.  This is a typical behavior that institutionalized children will display.  It's their method of soothing themselves when there are no other options available.  She's still content and you can tell she really likes the attention . . .

 

 

Don't ask me what's in this bottle.  I don't know, and until I have to, I don't want to . . .

 

 

 

I expect that with each visit, we'll all get used to one another, and that's a great thing.  The only part that stinks is that we'll walk out of that orphanage Friday without her.  Man.  I'm still not sure what kind of superpower emotional support the Lord is going to give us, but I have no doubt that his hand will walk for us, reassuring us that in his perfect timing, we'll be back to bring her home, never to darken those doors again.

 

Love,

 

Paige 

 

**Ok, so here's an update 20 minutes after I posted the first part.  Craig thinks I'm too critical.  Let me clarify something:  Not a single person, whether in the orphanage, in the community (well, except for the guy in the change office . . . long story), or on our team has been anything but kind to us.  When I talk about the problems with the orphanage, I'm not exactly sure who to blame.  Maybe its a problem with resources?  I'm not sure.  All I know is that things are bad, and I don't know who or what to place 'blame' on with that.  The natural thing for me to do when I'm referring to issues within the orphanage is to say just that:  the orphanage.  You can blame the walls, the floors, the lack of grass, whatever.  There's just problems there that need to be fixed by somebody.  And . . . I also don't mean to sound critical of anybody to doesn't specifically throw themselves out into a foreign country to do whatever.  I honestly believe that not everybody has the same purpose.  If we did, then we'd all chase the same ball while others were still flying.  Not everybody should adopt, not everybody should give thousands of dollars to specific organizations, and not everybody should go and live in foreign countries for purposes that God has intended.  Absolutely not.  We all have different tasks we're supposed to accomplish.  All I want you to know about is a need.  If that so happens to be something you can help with, then by golly, your field is wide open.  PLEASE don't take anything I've written here as a judgment call, because it isn't at all.  This is just where my heart is now, and I guess the blog is a sounding board.  I'll say this again . . . we've been supported in so many ways by so many, and that, in itself, is a call to action that many have taken, and its appreciated by us so very much.  This is serving!  This is helping!  You're doing it! 

 

Ok...that is all :)

 

 

She's Our Girl...

Sometimes a lot of words aren't needed, and I think this is one of those times.  Here's a video of our experience getting to meet our new daughter for the first time...

 

If you can't load the video above, click this link to view it on YouTube: http://youtu.be/F6oi34pQjI0

Bulgaria, Day One

After a hayday of airplane rides and airport tours, we're here in Sofia.  We arrived at our hotel around 11:45 last night (that's 3:45 in the afternoon in the US)  and we were so incredibly tired...and emotional.  I think that we were both nervous about our surroundings and the fact that we were just so far away from home and everything and everybody we love.  Things are much, much better today.  We slept REALLY late, and finally got out of our room and downtown around 3 this afternoon.  We're right in the middle of town, so we were able to walk everywhere.  Some things are very different, some things are very much the same.  The weather (today) is very similar to a cool day in Alabama.  Probably upper 40s, but, in the picture below, you'll notice the mountains in the background.  What you think may be a cloud is actually a snow-covered mountain . . .

 

Some of my stuff got trashed at the airport, because I got kinda careless in what you can and can't put in your carry-on.  My brand new Mary Kay facial moisturizer, that I hadn't even opened yet, was one of those things, along with my body lotion.  So, our main goal (or mine, I should say) was to find somewhere that sold stuff like that I could recognize.  Let me tell you, it wasn't easy.  There are more people here than I thought that can understand English, but there's a lot that don't.  Same goes for products in a store.  I could recognize that things were some kind of personal hygiene products, but I couldn't tell what kind . . .like, was it shampoo, lotion, conditioner?  We found a shopping mall with a kind-of Bath and Body Works type store in it, and luckily the girl that worked in there was very helpful and spoke some english.  I found just what I needed, and took some pictures of the mall . . .

 

 

The city is a little 'dirtier' than I expected.  Everything is pretty run-down, but I read some about that before we came.  The government here still has a very post-cold war mindset, and the infrastructure is very indicative of that.  The pictures below were taken off of the balcony of our hotel room . . .

 

 

 

I might not go as far to say that our hotel is in the slums, but I'm certainly not walking out of here at night.  This is our hotel . . .

 

 

The rest of these pics are just places that we know well in America.  Eastern Europeans seem to find them good, too . . .

 

 

Dinner tonight consisted of these next two . . .

 

 

The next few pics are just out and about downtown.  The 'official' looking buildings are the President's office and the Prime Minister's office.  Walking around down here is the equivalent of walking around Washington D.C. in the states.  You'll notice that the first pic is the same pic as one of the mall pics. That's because the President's office is connected to the mall.  You wouldn't see that in the US . . .

 

 

 

 

This is a pic of ruins that were just recently discovered under the city.  Sofia officials were beginning to build a subway system, and in the beginning stages of that, they discovered old ruins underground that are remains of an ancient Roman city.  They're in the excavation process, but you can see evidence of their work in a large section of the underground parts under the bridges . . .

 

 

These pics are some I took yesterday during our trip.  I wanted to make sure I got a pic of the Airbus that seats 525 people.  Do you know how big that is?   Ginormous!  I was absolutely amazed at the size of this thing . . .

 

 

 

People were loading on the top deck of this thing the same time we were loading on the bottom.  I realize my love of planes is a little unnatural, but really . . . I enjoyed that piece of aircraft.

 

This pic was taken as the sun came up from the plane.  It was neat to see the sun rise and set from the air . . .

 

 

When we flew over Austria, snow was covering EVERYTHING.  It was so pretty from above . . .

 

 

And here's a pic of us as we were on our way, when we still resembled well-rested humans . . .

 

 

Our driver/translator will pick us up here at the hotel at 9:30 AM tomorrow.  He'll take us to the orphanange, and there we'll meet our girl.  We're so excited to get on with the real reason we're here.  Pray for us tonight, that we won't be nervous, because, believe it or not, I am a little.  I'm not sure why . . .maybe I'm scared that a two-year-old little girl isn't going to like me!  I know we're ready for her, though, and we just want her to be ready for us.

 

I'll update again after our day tomorrow.

 

Much love to everybody,

 

Paige