7th Anniversary Reflections

Mark and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on Monday, July 26th.  We spent the weekend in Orange Beach and enjoyed the almost vacant beaches, almost oil-free waters, and glistening sand.  The ocean is one of God's most amazing creations.  There is another world living below the horizon of blue/green waters that we know so little about.  The power of the current as it pulls you deeper into the gulf is startling.  Yet, its sound is one of the most relaxing, calming reverberations known to man.  The sound reminds me of Don Piper's description of angel's wings in his account of 90 Minutes in Heaven, “a beautiful, holy melody with a cadence that seemed never to stop.”  Hebrews 1:7 says, "In speaking of the angels he says, 'He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.'" I imagine the sound to be like that of waves crashing on the beach in a constant rhythm and with the intensity of Niagara Falls.  Angels aren't the wimpy cupids we've made them out to be.  They're warriors, ambassadors, and messengers!  


In the midst of complete delight and beauty, I could not help but think of our little Zane, and the millions of children who have never seen the ocean, experienced the power of the water, and felt the salty splash of the waves.  My heart hurts for children who do not have the opportunity to experience such magnificence.  Even more disconcerting is the fact that experiences such as these are rarely even a thought to a child who has no time for such luxury and leisure.  Monumental issues, such as poverty, disease, hunger, and homelessness are barriers to such dreams and thieves of one's innocence.  Many children between the ages of 6 and 10 are parents, providers, and caretakers to baby brothers and sisters.  Their jobs?  Begging, stealing, sex-slavery, forced labor... Life is about survival, and this kind of survival is dismal at best.  Who will see them?  Who will rescue them?  Who will restore their innocence?


Isaiah 57:18 - "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him,"


Jeremiah 30:17 - "But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,' declares the Lord, 'because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares."


Psalm 71: 20 - "Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, You will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up."


God is El Roi, "the God who sees".  He will not forget the oppressed.  Through adoption, God is restoring dignity, health, and opportunity to children who otherwise would end up trafficked, homeless, or dead.  I'm so thankful to hear from so many families who feel God's call to adopt children.  His heart is becoming our heart for the lonely and oppressed.  


I pray for Zane's mother, though I have never laid eyes on her.  I wonder what kind of life she has had.  I wonder if she was once a middle class woman in the beautiful country of Ethiopia, living comfortably with her young, hard-working husband like Haregewoin (learn more at http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com/ and click on the video to hear a summary from the author).  Was her husband diagnosed with "the unmentionable disease" and fired from his job?  Was he out-casted by society and left to die a painful death in destitution on a cold dirt floor?  What happened to her?  Did she also catch the disease?  Was she raped by deranged and defiled men who took advantage of a vulnerable woman?  How does she eat when her family has been ostracized because of disease?  I wonder what she is thinking now...knowing she will never be able to provide for Zane, and loving him enough to let him go.  Does she pray for him?  Does she beg God for a Christian family to raise him with love and opportunity?  Does she know that God is answering her prayers?

In an ideal world, Zane's birth-mother would receive the health care she needs, eat healthily every day, and live a long, productive life.  She would love her son, send him off to school with a kiss everyday, and tuck him in to bed each night.  While I know I will love Zane with my whole heart, he will one day long for his birth-mother, and wonder about her just as I am today.  Together we will grieve the insurmountable loss he will experience and the injustices of a fallen world.  We will cry, call out to God, hold each other close, and rest in the hope of one day seeing her again in a place where there will be no more death, no more crying, no more pain.  And as He always does, God will fill us with His unexplainable peace, until that day when Zane, his birth-mother, and I will stand on Heaven's shores hand-in-hand, engulfed in the beautiful thunder of angels wings. (Ephesians 2:14 - "For He Himself is our peace..."

This is just the toddler room...

I saw this on a blog that I follow and I couldn't help but post it here.
Bethzada Toddler Room
This is one of three rooms in an Ethiopian orphanage.  This one is the toddler room.  There are two other baby rooms full of children.  I can't imagine what it must feel like to live communally like this when you are so young.  Who comes in to kiss them good morning and lay out their clothes for the day?  Do they have anything that is just there's?  A special blanket, a stuffed animal, a picture of a mother or father?  Or do they lose themselves in the shuffle, expecting only daily necessities:  food, water, shelter?  I wonder what these children think about when the go to sleep.  Do they run to anyone when they've had a bad dream?  Who's telling them they will be alright?  They will be alright, won't they?
Adoptive children coming in to the United States was at an all time high in 2004, with 22,990 adoptions.  Last year there were only 12,753.  With more orphans today than there were at any other point in history, I am concerned about the decreasing number of adoptions.  There is nothing more important to a child's development than having a loving family.  Without a family, where will the children in this video be in the next 10-20 years when they age out of their country's system?  Will they be trafficked by work and sex trade predators?  Will they live on the streets and steal from local markets?  Will they be dead from disease and hunger?  Let's be real...they won't have money to go to the University, travel abroad, get well-paying jobs.  The reality is...without people accepting the challenge of adoption by faith, these children are on a fast-track to destruction.  We have a short window of opportunity while these orphanages protect these children physically, to get them into loving homes where they can make something of themselves.  The time to adopt is now.

Paperwork is nearing an end! YEA!

Last Friday, Mark and I headed to Baton Rouge to get our dossier documents certified by the secretary of state! It was a great birthday present to get that behind us.  Check out the videos below to see a quick snap shot of our "adventure."

The "Official" Secretary of State's Office in the "Old Capitol Building".  Of course great work is done everyday in our state's capitol...just not the kind of work we were interested in getting done!

We thought we followed the visitor's office directions exactly as we were told...

But apparently we missed a key turn somewhere along the way....

In order for the state to certify our papers, they have to be signed in front of a notary....

Where better to find a notary than your local grocery store?

Finally back at the right S.O.S. office...

So it turns out LA is very efficient about getting the documents certified, and I recommend that anyone adopting internationally from LA just take it to Baton Rouge, instead of mailing it in. They finished it in about 5 minutes after we FINALLY figured out where we were going.

Mark took me shopping in BR after getting the papers certified at the Mall of Louisiana. What a happy birthday! :)

Father to the Fatherless

On Sunday, our church celebrated Father's Day, as did most churches in the United States.  I love Father's Day.  I have such a wonderful Dad who always showed me how much he loved me.  My dad is funny, sociable, sensitive, and all-around great.  I wish everyone had a dad like my dad.
I realize that many people don't have the capability to celebrate on Father's Day.  Maybe they don't have a dad, or maybe there dad is absent.  Even worse, maybe Dad is hurtful and abusive.
This Father's Day I realized more than ever that Father's Day, like EVERY day, is all about Him, our Heavenly Father.  We celebrate Him when we celebrate the love that our earthly dad's have shown us because it is He who empowers that love.  Likewise we celebrate Him though we have no earthly father because He is the only one that can provide, love and care for us perfectly anyway.  I love that God calls Himself our Father.  I think of all of the children who have never known a Father, who are orphaned, abandoned, or neglected whether physically or spiritually.  He knew that in life, we would be vulnerable and lonely without fathers, so in His love, He decided to be the BEST at it.  I love this verse..."Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families."

Psalms 68:5-6

So whether you have a father or not, like your father, or hate him, we can all celebrate Father's Day; the day that God became our Father and gave us a place to belong.  I hope that you know Him as your Father today.

FRIENDS!

THERE IS ANOTHER ADOPTIVE FAMILY IN NEW ORLEANS!!!!  YEA!  The Jeansonnes!  Anna, I hope your reading this.  We are not alone!  HOLLA AT US if you are adopting in NOLA!
Here's my new friend, Kristy's, blog:
http://jeansonneadoption.blogspot.com/

SIMBRY!

You won't believe this.  After my post about names I met a girl on facebook named Simbry.  Not only that, but she was named after someone her mom went to high school with like I was.  Not only that, but she went to TEXAS A&M like me.  Not only that, but she majored in English like I did.  Not only that, but she took education classes too.  Not only that, but we had the same professors.  Not only that, but she is from the Houston area.  GETTING WEIRD YET?????  Turns out, the girl I was named after is most likely the girl she was named after because both our parents went to high school in Abilene.  Whoa.  I'm freaked out.  THIS IS AWESOME.

What's in a Name?

Names are very important to me.  I guess growing up with an unusual name caused me to feel the impact names can have on a person.  For years, I had no idea what my name meant.  Cimbrey is NEVER defined or explained when I look it up; however, there was a shop in Branson, MO that made name souvenirs that looked it up for me when I was in middle school.  He said it was derived from Kimberley and meant "from the royal fortress meadow."  I'll take it.  It made me feel like a princess, and what girl doesn't need to be reminded that she is a princess now and then?
I've always had to explain my name and spell it for other people.  There's not a very interesting story behind it.  My dad new a girl named Symbre in high school and my mom and dad loved the name.  They decided to spell it differently, and Cimbrey became my name.  I don't mind questions about my name.  I don't even care about misspellings, mispronunciations, etc.  It happens.  What having a name like Cimbrey has made me care about is the importance of names themselves and how much a part of your identity the become.  Because I have such a unique name, I really value uniqueness in myself and other individuals.  I value going against "status quo" and making a difference in the world.  I am very comfortable being the "only one" to do something.  I've even been comfortable going to a public restroom by myself my entire life! (Shocking!  I know.)  Being unique, independent, and deviating from the norm has been a compelling force in my life, and I believe it has a lot to do with my name.
When I read stories in the bible about God changing a person's name, it has a profound impact on me.  I immediately think of the confusion that must have caused.  When Saul ("asked for" or "ditch, death"), a persecutor of Christians became Paul ("small, humble"), a zealous apostle of Jesus Christ, I wonder if he had to get his carriage license and registration, birth certificate, mortgage, fishing license,  hunting license, etc. changed as well.  How does one go about changing their name?  If someone calls your house asking for "Saul", do you say, "Saul no longer lives here?"  Really.  What do you tell your mom and dad?  "Mom and dad, what drugs were you on?  My name stinks.  My new name is Paul." People's questions alone would be enough to make me want to change my name back to Saul.  I can imagine the impact of changing your name is far more involved that we might think at first glance.
Jesus' encounter with Saul on the road to Damascus completely changed his life.  Saul was physically blinded for a time, emotionally traumatized (I'm sure), and spiritually, he was never the same again.  There is no greater change of heart than the one we see in Saul, turned Paul.  Saul was ravenous for the blood of Christian men and women, and he thought that he was justified in his cause.  After all, he was a Jew, and a very pious one at that.  He thought he was doing God a favor by exterminating Christians.  When he encountered God that day, God changed a hateful heart into a passionate love for people everywhere to know Christ.
In the same way, we who have been changed by God through a relationship with Jesus Christ, have been given a new heart.  When God met us on our road of destruction, he demonstrated His love and power by making us a new creation.  My name may not be changed in the literal sense, but I know I will never be the same again.  Being adopted and grafted into God's inheritance changes us in every way.
When Mark and I meet our little one in Ethiopia, there will be many experiences, mindsets, fears, and joys that he will have.  His adoption into our family will change his life forever.  He will no longer be called "forgotten", "orphaned", "alone", "abandoned".  Instead, he will be given a new name, "accepted", "loved", "valued", "blessed".  Like our stories of adoption into Christ's family, our son's story will forevermore be marked by reckless love and devotion.
It is for this reason, that Mark and I have searched and discussed names that reflect our son's new live as an adopted son.  We love unique names because we know our son is special and unique to God.  We also know that God is with him even now when we can't be with him.  We know that God rescues the weak and He never leaves any of us as orphans, but He comes to us in our distress.  Therefore, Mark and I have decided that Baby Brannan will be named...
ZANE - "God has been gracious."
GABRIEL - "messenger of God" and "devoted to God"
It is our prayer that Zane Gabriel Brannan will know God's grace and love at an early age and devote his entire life to sharing the message of God's grace to the world.
We invite you to pray with us for Zane!