An Update

 The last month and a half have been very successful during our adoption process! I’ve received many opportunities to speak at churches about my experience in China and how it has changed our lives through adoption. The word has got out about the needs of orphans; my family has received great support financially through family, friends, and new friends….and I have conquered that great fear of mine, many times! Public speaking still scares me, but, I believe that I get better every time I put myself out there.
 Every time money is needed, it is there, right at that time. The words, “God will fund what He favors,” still send chills down my back. Last weekend, we were in need of $700 to complete the next step in our adoption. Sophie’s story was shared at two places last weekend. So, my brother and I came home from a church that I was speaking at, Sunday; and that weekend…..we were given $614. Just enough! God is so cool!
 Sophie’s book is coming along, as well! A friend of ours is working on the illustrations and they are beautiful. I’m so excited. We’re hoping that they will be done in time for Christmas gifts!

 Prayer requests:
 Please pray that God will speak to so many hearts, through our story, about His passion for the fatherless. Pray that God will speak to our fearful hearts of certain decisions that will be made. Pray that God will do GREAT things through our little children’s book. Pray for Sophie’s safety while she is a world away from her forever family. Pray that God will continue blessing us financially through this journey. Pray that everything will go smoothly and quickly so that Sophie can come home as soon as possible, and for the rest of us here waiting for her…pray that God will give us the strength that we need. Pray for my family, please.

 Since it is Thanksgiving weekend, I wanted to let everyone know how thankful we are for you. We are beyond thankful for your support and your prayers and even just reading this! We are so so thankful for your love to our family.
 Thanksgiving has been kind of hard this year, since part of us is across the world. Even though, I am incredibly thankful that God brought me to Sophia Grace when He did. And that goodbye wasn’t for forever….I’m thankful that God made Sophia and I sisters! I’m thankful for my little brothers and big brother that I am blessed with, and my amazing parents….soon we will be complete! I have faith that by next Thanksgiving, we’ll have more mouths to feed!

Thank you. So much. Every one of you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Emily

I ♥ Happy Weekends

Have you ever had a person in your life that just makes you happy? Maybe even several? Like, no matter how uncomfortable, scared, uneasy, upset, or just moody you are, you can’t walk away from that person without a smile on your face.
 Almost two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of spending time with my cousins in Kentucky to speak about my precious Sophia at their church! A couple of blogs before this one, I was writing about this, kind of, nervous feeling I had about going. I honestly don’t understand why now, but it took a lot of courage to do that.
 While I had this uneasy feeling, I had a great hour and a half chat with my cousin, Howard, on the way down. When you talk with Howard and his wife, Tammy, together, you can’t walk away not smiling.

 One thing that I’m assured of every time I talk with Tammy, is that we serve a God of details. Every tiny detail matters!
 I think one reason why we have a special bond, is because she told me that before I was even born, she knew what I looked like. Before my mom was even pregnant with me, Tammy had a dream that my mom was holding a baby…about a four month old baby girl, with dark, dark hair! She said my parents looked at her like she was crazy when she was telling them this, but just months after, my mom was expecting a little girl….me!
 I love that story she tells.
 And, one of the very many people that make me feel so loved, and so happy is Tammy Houston. She makes me feel like I can do anything.

 I got back from China on a Tuesday in hot, humid June weather. I don’t see Howard and Tammy a lot since they live so far away, but I saw them the Saturday after I got back from China, at our cousin’s graduation party. It was no mistake.
 I brought my laptop and showed everybody pictures of the sights, the children at MBHOH, and the little girl who captured my heart…..Miss Franky.
 Being back in the states for just a few days from a trip like that, I was still trying to process everything. I was still very emotional. A long talk with Tammy was just what I needed at that time. I told her all about Franky, story after story of her sweet smile and personality. I cried in fear that I would never see her again, but I left with faith that if it was in God’s favor, that He would move mountains.
 Weeks after, I received text messages out of the blue from Howard about God’s faithfulness, almighty strength, and encouragement to not lose hope.
 About a month and a half later, Howard and Tammy were very happy to hear that we had been matched with our girl and that Franky would soon be Sophia and have a family and home!

 Flash forward to the random text message just two weeks ago, asking if I would come and sing a few songs and tell my story at the Houston’s church in Kentucky.

 Although I’m not a great public speaker, I really feel like I was meant to go down there. As God spoke to me through the sweet people at Paint Lick Baptist, I’ve heard that God spoke through me as well.
 I went about 20 minutes over of my time I was told to talk, but…..you can’t say that I didn’t warn them that I was a talker. ;) It was really great. I was happy with how I did, and I’m usually not that way. I sang a couple of songs and quickly told my story of finding Franky.
 Aside from that, I had a wonderful weekend spent with my cousins, Howard, Tammy, Blake, April, and Brandon. I love you guys!

Oh! And get this! Just a few days ago, I was asked to come back! Whooo!

 I love happy weekends in the life of Emily Edwards. And, I feel like there will be many more to come! I have the pleasure of singing a song written by myself, called, “You Are Loved,” (otherwise known as “Sophie’s Song.”) tomorrow at my homeschooling co-op’s program. I’ve had a cold this week, so please pray that I will get my voice back in time! We will also have a table set up with info about adoption how you can help bring our Sophia HOME! :) Thank you all so much for your encouragement, kind words, and love towards my family.

 Happy Weekend!
-Emily

The Human Hand

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” -1 Corinthians 12:27

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same  function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” –Romans 12:4-8

 Throughout my life spent as a child of God, I’ve always wondered where in the body of Christ I belong. For every Christian, God has made special plans for their life and has a special part for him to serve. And, in a spiritual sense, I’ve always liked to believe that I serve in the hand area.
 In Science books, encyclopedia’s, or if you look up the human body on the internet, it always gives you this kind of map of man’s body. It lists organs, muscles, bones; where they are placed and how they are used. Every single part of our body works to let us do what we do.
 I’ve always been incredibly interested in learning about the body. And, I love how God uses the human body to set an example of the body of Christ: everybody as a purpose.

 My mother has always told me that my hands are pretty. Actually, a lot of people have told me that. I always thought it was kind of a weird compliment. My wrists are very tiny, and my fingers are long and boney. Even though my hands are very little, they have a great purpose in my body.
 My whole life, I never had one thing that I wanted to be when I grow up. Usually, children’s desires always are changing constantly, though. At my age today, 15 years old, I still have not narrowed any down. I’m a sophomore in high school and I’m starting to look into colleges and what I plan to do after I graduate. I eventually come to the answer, “I just want to be everything!” The truth is, I love too many things to pick one. I love to sing, play music, teach children, make short films, write, design clothes and houses, act, style hair, paint, take pictures, draw, travel, and make friends, and the list goes on. How could I possibly pick ONE for my future? Not to mention get married and have lots of children, start a family! People are crazy to try to make students believe that they can only choose one thing to do their whole life.
 Anyway, if you look at all of these things that I love doing and am somewhat good at…..you’ll find that the majority of what they all require are hands. God gave me my hands for all of these things.

 On this gloomy, rainy, October day, I was reading in my Biology book. I just started to become interested in it a few weeks ago after we got to the, “Human Anatomy and Physiology: Purpose and Design,” part.
 I was reading about muscles and bones, and there was a side note about the hand. I’m going to share what it said because I just thought it was awesome:

The Human Hand

Ordinarily, we give little thought to the mechanism of the hand. We simply take it for granted. And yet, the hand is one of the most wonderful features of the human body. The hand is so unique and so wonderful in its construction and function that it alone marks man as apart and distinct from every other creature. No other creature in the world, not even the ape, is equipped with an instrument comparable to the human hand. Normal human life without the hand would be inconceivable; without it man could never have become what he is or could have achieved what he has accomplished. Without it our civilization would be impossible. In everything that man has created, his hands in one way or another have been involved.
 Like the foot, so also the hand consists of a bony framework: muscles, tendons, fats, and nerve fibers. There are a total of 27 individual bones in the hand: 8 of these are in the wrist, 5 in the palm, and 14 in the fingers. The hand is so constructed that is lends itself to an unlimited variety of functions. But every act of the hand sets in motion a whole series of operations of the human mechanism. For example, to close the fist or make a simple grasping motion involves an array of muscles, joints, and tendons, all the way from the shoulder to the fingertips. Doing such a simple thing as lifting a spoonful of soup to one’s mouth involves more than 30 joints and 50 muscles, all of them functioning together in perfectly synchronized order.
The five fingers of the hand determine the variety and character of the manual manipulations. The most important of these is the thumb. It is the strongest and has a wider sphere of motion than the rest of the fingers. It provides the base against which the hand can perform a grasping or holding operation. The hand without a thumb has lost most of its usefulness, but a thumb with only two or even one finger is still an efficient mechanism.
While the hand is of the greatest importance to everyone in normal life, it is especially important to such people as musicians, artists, craftsmen, physicians, engineers, machine operators and, of course, many others. The hand can be developed and trained to perform astonishing feats. For example, it is estimated that a master pianist can strike over a thousand notes a minute. The well-trained typist will accomplish a similar feat. With the fingers of the hands, the skilled surgeon is able to perform a delicate operation which requires the precision of a mechanical instrument. The trapeze artist can develop the muscles of his hand to such a degree that he is able to hold with his hands and fingers many times his own weight and perform the most breathtaking stunts.
No other part of our body is intimately associated with man’s moods and general behavior. With our hands, we work and play. We create and destroy, we sow and reap, we build and construct; with them we love and heal, we communicate and express our emotions, we write books and create works of art. With our clasped hands, we express love, faith, and friendship, and with the clenched fist we threaten and attack. With the open hand we welcome friends and loved ones; the caressing hand expresses deep emotion and attraction, and with a handclasp we seal a solemn covenant. With our wringing hands we reveal the anguish of our soul, and with folded hands we express our devotion and reverence to our God.
The hand is a wonderful gift of the Creator to man. It is one of the seven wonders of the human body. Only and omnipotent and all-wise God could have designed and created the human hand.

 Everybody's hands has a miraculous purpose. They were given to you for a reason. "You are meant to be touching the lives that you touch." Go, touch the world with your God-given hands!!

"...There's not much I can do to repay all You've done. So, I give my hands to You..." -Jeremy Camp

 Happy Friday, bloggers!
-Emily

Fingerprints & Fundraising!

Rob, Caleb and I got up early this morning and made our way to the Indianapolis Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to be fingerprinted for our adoption.  Needless to say, we had never been there before.  It was a happy day bringing us one step closer to our little one. 

The waiting sometimes makes her seem like a dream to me.  I know she exist because I have pictures, videos and a huge spot in my heart for her but yet often I find myself wondering if this really will happen.  But while we wait, we have almost completed her room.  It is so cute!  Emily outdid herself again painting and sketching until it was perfect!  Her little clothes are all folded and hanging in her closet.  All awaiting her arrival! 

We continue to raise funds for the mountain of expenses that still are ahead of us.  Here are a few ways you can help if the Lord leads:

1.       We have an account set up at Lifesongfororphans.org that donations may be made on our behalf.  All donations are tax deductible.  Please use our account number: Edwards/#2406 when online.  Or donations may be mailed to:

Lifesong for Orphans

            PO Box 40/ 202 N. Ford St.
            Gridley, IL  61744

            lifesongfororphans.org

All donations will be put towards our puzzle that we are completing.  Each sponsored piece will have your name on it so Sophie will one day know the names of everyone who helped bring her home!

2.       We also have an account set up with Ordinary Hero where lots of cool merchandise can be purchased with 40% of all sales benefiting Sophia’s adoption expenses.  Make sure to click Rachel Edwards in the Affiliate box when checking out.   Not only will your purchase benefit us now but we could also win a $500 grant!  Three grants will be awarded to the affiliate who sells the most between the dates of Nov. 4 to Nov. 13!  So, go!  Start your Christmas shopping and change the world one heartbeat at a time!!!

      http://ordinaryherostore.org/

Thank you once again for your continued support and prayers.  It has carried us through some very dark and scary times! 

God bless,

Rachel