Adoption Conference

Last weekend I had the opportunity to join 250 other mamas who have either adopted or are waiting to bring their child home! The retreat was at Lake Lanier Islands - which i never knew was so nice! Oh what a great grown up getaway! I roomed with two friends who I rarely see and we got to talk and stay up late with no distractions from all the little ones. We ate a lot of food and inhaled a lot of Jesus! Before I adopted Neema I really didnt know very many other people who had adopted, but to be in a room with this many other people who share my same heart was incredible! I even got to meet the super mamas who run http://www.147millionorphans.com - celebrities in the adoption world! :) There blogs got me through many a tough night in ole Tanzania town.

There were amazing break out sessions with speakers from all over the country. The ones I attended were (1) Finding strength in the Lord as a busy mom - yep, definitely attended that one! (2) Parenting your child in the Spirit - loved this one! (3) Something to Talk About. This was all about how to go about talking to your child about their history and where they came from and helping them find their Identity as a child of God. Learned some great truths in this one. I am so thankful that Neema has a beautiful story and began with a family who loved(s) her so much!

In between break out sessions I caught a class on African American Care! Yes I did. And left more overwhelmed than when I started. You should have seen the amount of products the speakers were displaying....According to them if Neema had been with me she would have needed a suitcase of hair products alone....Still trying to wrap my head around this. How old does she have to be to do her own hair? :)

Another fantastic highlight was something that was set up called "Date with God" and I have to say I want more of these! It was a room set up with soft music and little stations all around the room. You could go lie down in a tent with pillows to just rest and listen to Him. Sit at the foot of the cross with scripture and put prayers on post its to be put on the cross. Art tables with painting, drawing, and play doe...each table had you pray what God would have you create to draw you closer to Him. Really powerful. The last station was an area with maps all over the walls with different countries to pray for...to pray for the orphans in each place. I ended up staying in there and overlapping with the next group because it was just such a peaceful place and wonderful time with my maker.

One thing we were challenged to do by one of the speakers was for all 250 of us to aim to impact the lives of 100 orphans this year! To think that the lives of 25,000 babies (children) could somehow be uplifted and/or placed in families this year is incredible to think about and so doable! I am taking it to heart and praying how God can use me in bigger ways to advocate for orphans and vulnerable children. I learned so much about FAITH this weekend and believing in the "impossible." THE GOD WHO GUIDES PROVIDES!

My roomies


This is the video they showed on Friday night. Oh my preciousness!! How this Neema girl has changed my life!!! Maybe someone is waiting out there to change yours.........