After 9 months on the race, I became a mom! Wow what an experience! Who knew you could have a baby while on the race!!!
You may be confused, that’s okay. You may think I’m kidding, or you may think I’m crazy. I’m probably both, but I’m not a liar, that I can promise.
Last week, the same night I was healed from my allergies (read blog “present day miracle”), my mentor Madie gave a prophetic word saying, “It’s no wonder all these things are being birthed in you all right now and in this coming month, because it takes 9 months to have a baby, so the 9 months you’ve been on the race God has been growing passions, desires, dreams, etc. in you to be birthed in this season.” This is a metaphor for most of my group, except me. But I also have not physically been pregnant on the race (my goal is to confuse you right now, how am I doing so far?)
On May 19, just three weeks ago, I was praying while in church, and Holy Spirit started leading my prayer and praying through me. He started praying what he wanted to pray, which was praying for my future son(s). One who would come from me, and one who would come from another woman. (This was weird because for the longest time I haven’t even wanted children of my own, but slowly and surely on the race, God has been growing this desire in my heart to have my own children, so praying this prayer aligned my spirit with his. I have, however, always wanted to adopt, so this prayer made perfect sense. ) While he was praying – still through me- he started asking God for protection over the other boy’s mother and for him. He told me that I would meet my son next (aka this) month, here in Ethiopia. I only told two people about this prophetic prayer the Lord himself prayed over me, but nevertheless I was so excited to meet this future son of mine.
When I landed here in Ethiopia, I found out that the organization we are partnered with for the month is actually an orphanage!!! I’ve been waiting the whole race to work at an orphanage, and of course it’s in the country God told me I’d have my own in, 16 years ago! Wow! I’ve never been more excited for a ministry!! However, when I got here, I found out international adoption is actually closed now here in Ethiopia. The only adoptions allowed are national. I hadn’t forgotten about what God told me, and I know he’s not a God to tell a lie, so I just sat in confusion (as I’m sure you did at the beginning of this story). I thought the prayer he gave me about my future son(s) meant one biological and one adopted, so naturally I started assuming and trying to put the pieces together in my head that maybe international adoption will be open again when I’m married and/or financially stable. I tried to think of an plausible explanation of what God might’ve meant.
Then yesterday, another local missionary, Gadisa, came to share his testimony with us. As he was sharing, one of the babies was in the room with us, his name is Fedassa who is 2 years old. Well, he started climbing across us like we were a jungle gym. After he had jumped on and flipped over about 4 people, he landed on me. This little guy has been my little man all week- since day one- swinging on the swing together and running around, so when he landed on me, he didn’t go any further. For about 20 more minutes he climbed all over me and jumped on me like a trampoline, but suddenly he stopped, sat down, closed his eyes, and passed out in my arms (no exaggeration, Fedoassa was asleep for 2 hours in my arms). Ralph- the orphanage founder- who was here with Gadisa sharing his testimony, started speaking when Gadisa finished. Ralph was explaining the miracle of how mostly all his kids were sponsored, so now they’re working on getting locals in the surrounding village sponsored. But as he looked around the room while he spoke to us, he stopped when he saw me with the baby in my arms, and said “Except that one. He’s one of the few we have here who isn’t sponsored yet.” In that moment many things happened seemingly simultaneously. I started bawling because I heard Holy Spirit say, “That’s him, that’s your son I told you about three weeks ago,” and at the same time I immediately shot up my hand and said “I’ll sponsor him!”
After we finished speaking with the big group, we went outside to take a group picture- Fedassa still asleep in my arms. I then had the chance to speak to Ralph and explain how serious I was about sponsoring this child, and he told me how to contact him to get it official. I was overwhelmed and overcome with joy to see how God unraveled this story, even though it didn’t turn out how I expected, he still stuck to his word. And let me tell you, I was dead set in taking a kid home if God told me to. I didn’t know how it would logically work especially as a young, single, college aged woman, but I know I don’t live this life by logic, I live it by faith. So if God asks me to do something, I’ll do it even when it doesn’t make sense.
So I now claim to be a mom, because I have a child I get to sponsor here in Ethiopia- which gives me even more reason to be excited when I return after the race!!
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There’s even more to this story, that I think is just way too special not share.
When I got here, we learned that Ethiopia has it’s own calendar and it’s own time. They’re about 5 days behind the rest of the world, 6 hours behind their timezone, and 8 years behind the world. So when we landed on June 2, it was May 27 here. When it’s 9pm here (and the sun sets at 7pm) it was 3pm their time. And even though the rest of the world is living in 2019, Ethiopia is still in 2011. Their new year is in September.
As soon as I heard it was 2011 here, God told me that it’s because he’s redeeming that year for me. You see, 2011 is the year my life fell apart. In January of that year is when my dad suddenly passed away from a sudden heart attack. My family struggled hard- in many different ways- from extreme loss. I personally, became very depressed and suicidal. I just wanted the pain to end, but 6 months later, I went to a church camp. This camp rocked my world and turned my heart back to the Lord. I realized bad things happen to all people, and it’s a lot easier to go through the trials and heart ache with God on your side rather than trying to do it on your own. So on June 2nd, 2011, I rededicated my life to the Lord and got baptized again (I felt I needed this act to physically start walking out my faith). Over the years God has continued to show me how he is my father, that he takes care of me, loves me, provides for me, etc. Everything my dad did here on earth, my heavenly father now truly filled that place in my life. Because I lost my dad, I understood what it was to be “half orphaned”. Have you ever thought why the bible puts “orphans and widows” together in the same scriptures? Well I realized what it is to not have a parent in my life, but also how beautifully and wonderfully God the father fills that void in your life. This has drove my heart deeper and deeper in love with orphans with the desire to care for them and teach them who their father is and lead them to the Lord to be filled in the areas they are lacking.
Well my sponsor child, Fedassa, has a mom. A 16 year old girl who was unable to care for him and no father. So he’s also half-orphaned, but the orphanage took him in (this orphanage actually has as many “half” orphans as they do full orphans). The day God revealed to me/ called me to sponsor him was June 7, 2019. But do you know what day that is in Ethiopian time? June 2, 2011!!! The day I found God as my father, he called me to care for one of the fatherless, to care for and love the way he cares for and loves me, so that one day, when he can understand, he can be lead to find God as his father too!
Talk about redemption.
And this is still just the start!!!!!
Just a reminder, I’m off of social media for the rest of the race, so if you want to stay updated with my journey please feel free to subscribe to my blog and feel free to share the stories with others!
