Christmas Letter Continued....

“You will be with child and give birth to a son…”
“’How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel…”
“The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.’”
- Luke 1:31a, 34a & 35a

“HOW WILL THIS BE?” asked Mary. This year I spent so many days asking the same question. Isn’t the angel’s reply perfect? The answer given to Mary is God’s same answer for me. Not by my own strength, but everything “by the power of the Most High.”

Many of you have already heard about our journey this year. Some of you walked with us. You have prayed us through bumps, bruises, surprises, starts, stops, and everything in between. Whether you have heard, watched, or helped us live it, I hope our story encourages you as you read it today.



January - Through a series of God-ordained circumstances, I felt compelled to seriously talk with my husband about adoption. International adoption…. from Ghana….. AFRICA!

The subject of adoption has come and gone in casual conversation between Nathaniel and me since before we were married. However, the night I opened up the topic with certainty that the Lord was calling us to adopt a child from Ghana, the discussion seemed to go terribly. Nathaniel agreed to pray about it, but he did not have the immediate eagerness I expected. After an agonizing 45 days of being divided about adoption yet faithfully praying for God’s will to prevail, Nathaniel directly heard from the Lord that it was time to move forward. So we did!

March - Together, we contacted multiple Adoption Agencies to find out that some recent changes meant all doors to adoptions from Ghana were closed until further notice. Talk about defeat! I was ready to fly over and adopt this child I’ve been longingly praying for only to find out that we could not even start the process. My heart struggled to be at peace and I realized God doesn’t call the weak to embark on the journey of adoption. You adoptive mommas out there are strong and brave and patient!

April - Nathaniel was certain that adopting a child would be the completion of our family. Our 3 biological blessings were “enough” in terms of his perceived parenting capacity. A fourth child was going to be a stretch. Nathaniel (with my blessing) booked the next available vasectomy appointment for June 17th.

We have come to know and love “Grandma Judy” who lives full time in Ghana as an American Missionary. She is 78 years old. She served at Alafya House shelter for kids and continues to minister to many villagers there, as well as raising 3 orphan boys entirely on her own. She mentioned needing help during the month of August while all the kids at the shelter would be on summer break and in her full time care. I sought the Lord fervently on how I could help and became certain He was calling me to “GO”. Nathaniel approached the opportunity with contemplative discretion. Eventually he prayerfully agreed it was important for us to go serve together. These kids are not adoptable so this would be a trip entirely separate from our call to adopt. Still, God opened every door in front of us and laid every step before us. Without asking a single person for financial support, God provided complete funding for both of us to go to Ghana.

May - We found an agency that would accept our Adoption Application and hold on to it until the doors to adoption from Ghana reopened. They were hopeful that it would be “soon.”

Meanwhile, we booked our tickets to Ghana, applied for our Visas, scheduled vaccinations, and made all the arrangements for a 3-week trip away from our kids in August.

June - We completed our Adoption Application and sent it to our agency. Guess what happened on June 12th…. We found out that we were pregnant. How can this be?!”

Days of unanswered questions took over our life. What about adoption? What about our trip? What about Nathaniel’s vasectomy in 5 days? We were stunned. Neither of us knew how to move forward, so we prayed (a lot). And begged others to pray for us. Thank you to each of you who prayed.

God used this surprise and every person walking with us to speak truth and life, keeping our spiritual armor intact. Satan was trying to convince us that our world was falling apart. Now as I look back, I see a rich season of growth and refinement in our faith. After all, soldiers are not created in the training, but are made in the battlefield.

In the end it was clear we could not travel to Ghana this summer. I was shattered, but God already had a bigger plan. He sent 2 friends in our place, one of whom was adopted from Ghana and got to reunite with friends and family from her childhood. God knew they were going all along, we were just pieces of the puzzle that got them there. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” - Proverbs 19:21

August - Our Adoption Agency re-opened their Ghana program and we could now proceed with the application process. After much prayer we took the next step towards adoption, knowing that it might still take years to complete.

September - We found out that Baby Mouw is a BOY and the very next day got approval on our Adoption Application. The Lord’s timing is perfect. He does not want us to forget about our adopted son or daughter amidst the excitement of our new baby.


Today - We want to obey the Lord without hesitation and faithfully steward our call to adopt. Through Nathaniel, the Lord is leading us to focus on one child at a time for this season. God is helping me understand that submission to Nathaniel is obedience to Him. As a wife, my heart seeks to bring peace to our home in the midst of Satan’s attempts to cause division. But my mommy heart fights with tear filled prayers for our child who is somewhere in the world without us. Nathaniel is so gentle with me, praying for and with me as we pursue unity. My anxious flesh wonders if we will ever see adoption through to the end. I still struggle some days to believe that the child inside me is ours too. The gift is too generous and I am undeserving. Daily, I have to fight the fear of not being in control of labor and delivery, adoption, and someday managing a household of 7. But I claim, out loud and often, “The Holy Spirit will come upon {me} and the power of the Most High will overshadow {me}.” In it all, we are abundantly blessed. God is using this journey to prove our faith genuine and bring glory to His name (1 Peter 1:7). He is so good.



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