7 years!

Monday we celebrated our 7 year anniversary! We're amazed at how time has flown. We spent a relaxing evening together enjoying some good food and some peace and quiet.

living by faith

Neither of us would say that we've enjoyed the past year's lessons on faith. Since we started support raising, we've had several major financial crises (like both cars needing unexpected huge repairs at the same time) and too many months when we didn't know how we were going to pay the mortgage because we weren't receiving full support. One month Becky collected all the change in the cars and the house and deposited it in the bank just so our mortgage would clear. However, we have not missed any major bills, and God has always provided in surprising and exciting ways through unexpected gifts and unusual circumstances.

Over the next 3 weeks, we have 2 major bills due to Home Depot and Lowe's. We thought we were smart by paying for our kitchen cabinets and 2nd floor carpet last year on "no interest no payment for 12 months" deals. We're very careful savers, and we calculated that we'd have plenty of time to save the total amount. However, we did the math based on a full salary and no major crises. So for the past 2 months we've been debating where the money to pay these bills will come from... retirement funds from our previous jobs? a loan from friends or family? a home equity loan? Over the past few weeks, we've had some unexpected opportunities to earn a few extra bucks here and there... slowly moving us closer to our goal. Unfortunately, there is still a large gap, and time is running out. TODAY someone approached Peter with a HUGE job that needs to be completed before July 4 and offered him a large sum of money to complete it. It will require several days and hiring several workers. Peter did the math on supplies and paying workers, and we are pretty sure that the remaining profit will be just a tiny bit more than we need to pay off our debts!

When we get distracted by the busyness and struggles of everyday life, it's easy to forget that God really can take care of every detail of our lives. We're so thankful that despite our lack of faith, God continues to be faithful to us. Some people can't understand the fact that we're in the process of adoption and don't have a single penny in the bank to pay for it. We realize that this seems insane and at times we doubt, but times like today remind us that God will accomplish the things on His heart. We just need to do our best to listen and follow Him. Please praise God with us for His provision!!

interesting and powerful challenge

While researching for a sermon, Peter came across this challenge from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. It's especially interesting because it originates from a reformed tradition. It's well worth reading.

http://warc.jalb.de/warcajsp/side.jsp?news_id=157&part_id=0&navi=1

World Refugee Day

We just learned that today is World Refugee Day. CNN in particular is looking at the global refugee crisis. If you are interested in learning more, there is a special show tonight with Anderson Cooper and Angelina Jolie tonight at 10pm.

Dunbar family welcomes new addition

Late on June 14 Becky's brother Phil and his wife, Megan, welcomed Ava Grace to their family. She is the first grandchild for Becky's parents as well as the first great grandchild for her paternal grandparents. As you can imagine, such a momentous occasion caused lots of excitement. We appreciate your prayers for Phil, Meg, and Ava as they settle in to their new life together.

preaching & presentation on Sunday

Please pray for us this week as Peter prepares to preach at our home church on Sunday and we both prepare to share an update on our life and ministry after the service at a luncheon for anyone who is interested. Pray that this will be an encouraging time for the congregation as well as a challenging opportunity for them to consider how they can be more involved in missions both at home and abroad.

pray for patience

It's Becky here... wishing I had something positive to post today. The fact is, I'm sitting at the computer on the verge of tears. Most of you know that our adoption has been significantly delayed due to lots of problems as well as changes in the Liberian government. Some of you know that we've been handling the delay relatively well and trying to keep ourselves busy as we wait. What none of you know is that we were told last Thursday that we would probably have a referral (meaning names, ages, and faces) by last weekend. We didn't tell anyone just in case it didn't happen. Well... it didn't happen, and now it looks like it could be even more waiting.

We didn't realize how anxious we really were until we were given empty hope about a referral. We were on pins and needles all weekend. Now we're both really struggling. Please pray that God would encourage us as we wait. I can only speak for myself, but I'm ready to give up on the entire process at this point.

crepe business

Some of you know that Becky has been recruited as the "executive chef" (a title she gave herself) for a new crepe restaurant venture. The process is moving along slowly but surely, and we expect to open some time this summer. We have been receiving lots of questions from those of you who have never seen a crepe being prepared, so we thought we'd post some pictures from Becky's crepe debut back in April at our friends' house in northern VA.

adoption seminar

Thanks to all who prayed for us this weekend as we shared our adoption story (so far) with other potential adoptive families at Family Life's If You Were Mine seminar. Several families we spoke with were just beginning to consider adoption. At least one is definitely interested in Africa. It was encouraging to us just to be there with other people who understand the journey we are on. We also had a good conversation with Andy Lehman who works with Life International (the great organization that is helping us raise adoption funds).

oh my!

We're trying to teach our cats some sense of propriety, but Toffee just doesn't seem to get the idea!

speaking engagement

This week we received an unexpected last minute invitation to lead a breakout session at Family Life's If You Were Mine adoption conference this Saturday at Church of the Savior in Wayne, PA . We will be the sole representatives for African adoption. We will be sharing our adoption journey for 15-20 minutes and then answering questions for about 30 minutes. Please pray that this opportunity will open the doors for many African orphans to find forever families in this area. Pray that our presentation will be clear, compelling, and helpful to all those in attendance.