Our Gotcha Day Celebration

Last Wednesday, January 15th, we celebrated our Gotcha Day.  Two years from that date, we met our son Zalen for the first time.  In fact most of the month of January I am a bit of an emotional mess.  I was so excited to try out some recipes from my new "Congolese Keepsake Cookbook".  Interested in snagging a copy, just head over to CreationsForCongo.  I do believe she has a few more copies for sell.  Last year I cooked mpondu from frozen cassava and chicken in peanut-tomato sauce.  If you want a few more ideas on celebrating Gotcha Day or just some fun ideas to share Congolese culture you can check out that post as well: One Year Celebration.

When the kids arrived home from school we had french fries (pomme frites) that we dipped in mayo.  The Congolese love their mayo and when dining in-country they always served fries with a side of it.  

I decided as a main course I would make Meat Moambé.  Moambé is often considered the national dish of Congo.  What I really missed was the pili pili.  Last year I found a sauce at a store that sold ethnic foods.  I had picked up some palm oil at the natural foods store and some Cassava chips as well. I served the Moambé over rice.

 

After getting the rice on, I started on simple nguba soup, another recipe found in my Congolese Keepsake cookbook.  I wanted something we could dip our Fufu in.

 

With the nguba soup simmering I was ready to test out my arm muscles on some good ol fufu.  For the record I am not a fan of fufu.  Last year Zalen ate it up.  This year even he didn't like it as well.  

 

Even after stirring it like crazy and having Craig come in to help I still don't think I got it to the desired consistency.  The year before I had used a mix that I found at the same store I got the hot pili-pili like sauce.  I was hoping the above combination would make the fufu taste a little better.  It really didn't.  

Here is a look at the finished meal.  Everyone enjoyed the Moambé.  They said the peanut soup was ok.  I don't think anyone was a fan of the fufu.  

 

 

This boy was excited about the food and celebrating his beautiful Congolese heritage.   Of course we had Fanta to drink. 

The best we saved for last - Fried plantains rolled in a bit of sugar.  Yum! 

All in all, it was a fun celebration.  Craig asked if I was going to cook Lebanese next year because we ate that a few times while in-country.  We will see.

Happy Two Years home Zalen Moise Fuller!  

We are so thankful for the gift of you in our lives.

Happy Gotcha Day

Happy Gotcha Day! JANUARY 15TH - Remembering so many moments from two years ago.  It still catches me off guard, the rawness of that emotion still fresh on my heart.

 

 

And if you haven't seen it here is our Gotcha Video

Meeting Zalen for the first time - It gets me every time.

Feeling beyond blessed!  We will be celebrating today with a special Congolese meal this evening as we celebrate Zalen joining our family. (can't wait to try out the recipes in my Congolese Keepsake Cookbook)  I will post pictures of our celebration on Friday. 

Don't Chicken Out

It is hard to imagine, after enjoying the beautiful 50 degree day yesterday, that schools were closed just last week due to the bitter cold.  During that bitter cold spell many advisories were issued.  One of those advisories was to make sure you made proper arrangements for your outside pets.

Our pets are two Bantam roosters named Roadrunner and Speckles.  Due to the limitations of their coop, there was not ample space for them to nest under a heat light so I grudgingly agreed to allow the duo to move into the garage.

The thing is, the garage is right next to our bedroom.  The other thing is, I have this super sonic hearing issue and noises drive me crazy.  I knew there would be a lot of late night ruckus and early morning crowing and I was not looking forward to it. 

The husband lovingly set up their temporary space in the garage.  He crafted a comfortable bed of hay adorned with a top notch heat lamp that would ebb out the creeping cold during the freezing temperatures.  Around the nest of hay, he provided complimentary feed and drink to make their stay as comfortable as possible.  He deposited the chickens into the bed of hay and bid them good night. 

Before the evening ended he returned back to the garage to see how the chickens were doing in their new environment.  As he swung open the door he took in Road Runner and Speckles perched upon a pile of sleds and other garage goodies.  They cackled their alarm at his arrival and he shook his head in disbelief.  The comfortable bed of hay lay empty.  They had made preference their instinct to roost elevated, hoping to escape the potential danger that lurked below.  In their fear they rejected the protection of the bed of straw and warm light their keeper had set up for their benefit.  There was no way for them to know that the forecast would plummet to temperatures that would threaten their safety, but my husband, the keeper, did. 

I wonder how many times in this life do we respond to God’s leading with such absurd measures?  We go with the comfortable, with what we know, and take our perch.  We reject the new, due to fear of it being different.  We settle with how it has always been instead of trusting in the light and protection of the keeper.  To put it simply, we chicken out.

The problem in the above scenario is that the chickens did not trust their keeper.  They quickly reverted back to their primal instinct, fear.  If we allow that fear to reign it pushes out trust.  If we don't trust, we tend to fight.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.....” -- 1 John 4:18

I am not sure where you are at in your journey, but I do know this: You have a keeper that dearly loves you.  I do not know the avenue of fear that may hold you hostage, but I do know this: He is worth the risk to leave the perch you have always known.  

This life, that is just a vapor, was meant to be lived in the the light and warmth of His goodness.  It was not meant to be lived in darkness, clinging to regrets.  Even our stubborn chickens eventually realized this.  It took some coaxing from the keeper, but eventually they trusted the light and realized his set up was way better then their own.  I think we would be well off to do the same.

My friend, life is too short and precariously precious to chicken out and let fear rule.  Let it go, and trust God to be your keeper.



Heart to Heart

I have been doing a little dreaming lately.  I have watched this little blog of mine evolve over the past few years.  I feel a soul itch to take it even further.

This past year it has taken on a "community" feel that I love.  It has grown to be a hub of many things that I love.  The addition of the facebook page has helped me connect more with my readers.  It has stood as a gateway to connect community to some great non-for-profits and projects.  I pray that it has been a source of encouragement as well.

I am going to let you in on a little secret, I have always dreamed to be a writer.  To encourage people through sharing my story and words written.  This blog has in many ways reawakened that dream.  Your feedback and comments have unshackled some bonds of fear in this area.  I thank you for that and those that dared me to live out this dream. 

With that said, I soon plan to move "Divine Moments" to a new home.  We have greatly enjoyed our time here but to achieve some of the goals I need to complete on the daunting task of "taking writing more seriously" we must move on.  I will announce our new address soon.  I invite you to be a frequent guest.  Once I move in, I hope you will invite your friends to visit as well.

Since Africa, my passion has not ebbed a bit.  If anything it has grown.  I have come to realize the importance of not just telling my story, but connecting with the story of others as well.  I hope to do more and more of this in the year ahead. 

I want to encourage others in their journey, no matter their passion.  Yes, there will be many a verse about Africa/Congo, adoption, orphans, and social justice as that is the current song of my heart.  While that is a lot of the content, it is not my dream.  It is the rhythm that I want you to feel.  It is the rhythm I pray you find... as you and I both learn to dance in moments divine.  

In the weeks ahead, I will be busy moving and then I will announce our new home.  I am sure there will be a giveaway.  I hope you will continue to be part of this as we encourage one another in this journey of life and faith. 

Dreaming big in 2014 and I hope you will join me!

The mess of being real

In our house it is normal for us to keep up our Christmas decorations to usher in the New Year as well.  I always feel the house seems so bare when I take it all down.  On Jan 2nd, with mixed emotions I started to put everything away to store away for another year.

I started taking off the ornaments and with every unhooking the tree looked more barren.  The branches seemed to sigh with relief when the heavier ornaments were removed.  Despite the weight of the ornament, with each removal the needles would fall silently as I stripped it from the branch.  There was already a good pile assembled on the skirt below to cushion the descent of the freshly fallen.  The tree devoid of all adornment, I dragged Mr. Peppy across the snow to the burn pile in the backyard.  I then turned and followed the trail of needles back into the house.  As I grabbed my broom and dust pan the conversation I had with my oldest during the putting away replayed in my mind.

"Mom, look at all the mess this tree makes.  Are we going to have to clean up all those needles?  Why don't we just get a fake tree?  If we did, you would not have to clean up all those needles everywhere.  I think we should get a fake tree next year.  It would be so much easier."

The needles swept up easily on the hard wood floor, but I had reached the part of the trail that had turned carpet.  I sighed.  It was quite a mess.  I swept up what I could but there is always the ones that some how manage to weave into the fibers of the carpet.  I eased myself down onto the floor and started weaving out the ones that had intended to stay.  My heart was an emotional mess.  The new year had not started as I planned.  Emotions were brimming just below the surface.  As I plucked them out one by one... this thought came to mind... there is a price for being real.  Real is messy.

With every brittle pine needle I plucked I could feel the very cost of that, being real.  I have never been much of a pretender.  If I am hurting, you will know it.  If I am happy, you will know it.  I have coping mechanisms like everyone, but I am horribly awful at putting on a farce.  Be careful when you ask me the rhetorical question, "How are you?"  I am not the one who always answers "Fine."  I truly wish at times I was better at waltzing around the fragile questions of the heart.

A few tears slipped down my cheeks.  The burdens I was bearing seemed overwhelming, but living life less because you don't want the mess is just not an option for me anymore.  I want the real.

I love real Christmas trees and the adventure of picking out a different tree each year.  They are never the same and each year seem to have their own personalities.  In fact, so much so my children started a tradition of naming the tree each year.  This year Zalen named our tree Mr. Peppy.  Besides that, no scentsy or candle will ever suffice to the earthy fragrance of a real tree.  In my opinion the benefits far outweigh the cost of the mess.

I struggle with being real sometimes.  I feel I threaten those that live in glass castles.  With all the needles plucked from the carpet and swept from the floor I stood.  I leaned backward, feeling the crook in the back where I had leaned and swooped during the plucking.  With that task done, I picked up the pile of Christmas books to stow back away into the almost full tote.  On top of the pile was the "Velveteen Rabbit".  A wry smile played upon my lips.

It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand. ― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

  God answers us in funny ways sometimes.

I was struggling a lot with people who didn't understand. Even then, in that moment, where I was feeling loose in the joints and quite shabby, I found a deep seated comfort in embracing the mess that makes me real. 

For those of you who are living life real and feeling defeated, alone or misunderstood, hang on.  We are in a process of "becoming" and it is a process.  

Reflection of 2013

Dear Divine Moments Community,

I can hardly believe that 2014 will soon be knocking on our door.  This leaves me reflecting over the past year and what a year it has been.  I started this blog to chronicle my adoption journey.  I kept it going after Zalen was home because I wanted it to be a resource for orphan care, adoption, and a sounding board for all I was experiencing post-Africa.  This little space has helped me to find my place after the airport.  This past year my goal was to focus on uniting a community that was passionate about serving and being a voice for "the least of these" so I started a facebook fan page.  

My goal was inspired by an adoption T-shirt that I bought from a friend.  (I'm a bit of an adoption T-shirt addict)  On the front the shirt reads UBUNTU, an ancient African philosophy.

Something in this resounded deep in my soul.... individuals getting connected and therefore affecting the world. It was a deep soul sigh that could not be ignored.

I really struggled that first year after bringing Zalen home.  God had opened my eyes, left a chunk of my heart in Africa, and completely messed up my world.  I felt lonely, misunderstood, and separated from my pre-adoption life.  I knew life would never be the same.  I couldn't continue to live the same way I did before.  God had showed to me a piece of his heart and it ignited a zeal that could not be put out.  I began to pray about all of this and what I could possibly do to make a difference.  I heard one whisper over and over "Be a Voice and Share this Passion!" 

I sit here today humbled that God has connected each of you here, through this blog and the simple obedience to share my heart and be a voice for the children/people I met.  I no longer struggle with feeling alone because God has surrounded me with people who share this passion.  I have been moved to tears as children, teens, and adults have started to believe that together we can make a difference.  I have experienced many divine moments this past year through your willingness to put love in action. 

 

 Thank you for believing that every life matters!

Thank you for putting LOVE in ACTION.

Thank you for always responding to the Rally Call.

Thank you for every encouraging e-mail you have sent my way.

Thank you for allowing me to pray your children home.

Thank you for sharing your fundraisers and ideas.  

Now rejoice with me as you see how working together we can make a difference!

Highlights of 2013:

• School Sponsorship for 14 children through Mwangaza International

• Seeing pictures of the school near the orphanage we visited in Africa finished!!

I blogged about this project in April here: Kaka school update

LOOK AT THIS:

 

• Raising around $1500 for two Christmas Projects - 

SHOES for the Pygmy Children and 

$$ for a Community Christmas program for the Goma area through Rudi International.

 

Youth volunteers who helped coordinate the activities through Rudi International

(photo by Rudi International)

 

The kids excitedly showing off their art projects!

(photo by Rudi International)

 

 Due to exceeding the goal Rudi was able to also gift some of the mothers in the area.

Here are the mothers gathered in our "Encourage Mothers" program. 

Each one of them received a package!

(photo by Rudi International)

• Growing the community to almost 200 fans via facebook

 I am looking forward to seeing what God will do with the Divine Moments 

community in 2014.  I hope you will join us for another exciting year as we 

continue to put LOVE in ACTION!

Christmas Miracles

January 15th is what the adoption world terms as our "GOTCHA DAY".  The day that we met our son for the first time.  I will never forget that moment.  If you want a glimpse into it you can view our "Gotcha Day" video  It is still so vivid in my mind, meeting him for the first time.  Being so unsure but knowing that this moment had been waiting for me my entire life.  God had etched it in my journey and here it was... this divine moment of meeting my son.  I will not forget the miracle of provision after provision that led up to that very moment.

You may think that I am naive, but I still believe in Christmas miracles.  To tell you the truth, I believe in everyday miracles as well.  I know that many of you are praying for just that.  A miracle that will unbound the restrictions in the process.  I know many of you expected to have your child home this Christmas and my heart hurts for you.  I remember the hole in my soul the Christmas before we traveled.  It was so unsure when we would be able to go and get him.  Not knowing how much longer we would have to wait due to travel restrictions caused by the election.  Everyone saying it was unsafe to go even if we got his Visa.  If a new president was elected would adoptions continue?  If the rioting didn't cease, would we be able to even travel? 

So today my attempt is to encourage you to just keep holding on.  Don't give up hope.  I was so encouraged in my advent devotional at this verse in Zephaniah:

¹⁷ The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.

I love that God is our mighty warrior.  He is fighting alongside us.  He goes before us.  Our prayers are mighty as well.  I know He hears the cries of our heart.  I know that our God delights in these children.  Every Wednesday afternoon, I am spending a concentrated time in prayer for those of you that will be experiencing Christmas this year with an ache in your heart.  If you have specific prayer request please e-mail them to me.  I believe there is power in prayer and I would love to pray for you even more specifically. 

I also want to share a Christmas miracle that happened this season with you to encourage your hearts.  A prayer that had been earnestly prayed for over and over that God answered in his own time.  As you know I work with a few non-for-profit organizations in the DRC as a volunteer.  One of those organizations is Mwangaza International. Many of you have sponsored children through the Back to School campaign through this organization.  More recently we raised $400 for shoes for the Pygmy children as part of Mwangaza's Christmas Project.  I was blessed to meet the founder, Trésor Yenyi, a few months ago when he happened to be in town for a wedding.  His testimony is amazing. God worked many miracles to get him to the states to go to Bible college.

Meeting Trésor Yenyi, Founder of Mwangaza International

Recently, Trésor sent me an e-mail telling me about this miracle of provision.  I asked his persmission to share here on my blog.  It is a praise report that encouraged my heart.  A prayer that he had prayed since 2006 was finally fulfilled.

"Write down this vision; clearly inscribe it on tablets so one may easily read it.For the vision is yet for the appointed time;it testifies about the end and will not lie.Though it delays, wait for it,since it will certainly come and not be late."(Habakkuk 2: 2-3)

  If you are receiving this email its because I know you care about our ministry and pray for us. I wanted to share with you about something expected, a special Christmas gift we received at the ministry. In 2004, I came to Ozark Christian College. My teaching ministry of the church was one of my favorites. Doug Marks the teacher asked me to write my project in french. He said write about the dream God has given you for the ministry. I wrote my project about a "healing center" the place of my dream sat on 10 acres, it was a farm, but a farm that was a healing place and a place of ministry. Through the years, I asked God when I would see at least the beginning of it. I met a man who reignited that dream in 2010. We made plans, we prayed about it but like every other attempts finances never followed and it fell through.

  This January I joined a 21 days fast that pastor Jentezen Franklin has each year. I prayed that this would be the year I would see part of that dream come true and I added to my prayers that I would like the Lord to reward my team in Kinshasa with a vehicle. For the past 7 years, they have been faithful, they walked, took buses to cover the Kinshasa area. They never complained, people made fun of them, they trusted God. I said Lord I want to see this true. We were given a place for your offices and to put our souvenir store in downtown Kinshasa. 6 years now that the place has been unused and even deteriorating because we did not have the finances to fix it. I told the Lord that I needed $20,000. I prayed specifically for that amount. To purchase the land, purchase a vehicle and finish the office. The year was ending and I was telling a friend to join me next January to pray for the same things.

  God did not see things that way. 3 days ago I had diner with a friend of our ministry. Unexpectedly at the end of the diner. He says : "What would you do if you had $20,000?" I mentioned to him this 3 things. I told him that with the growth we have experienced, they weren't wants anymore they were pressing needs because for all the good we do with children, we have volunteers who work in terrible condition to bring the smile. He looks at me and said: "I feel like I am supposed to bless them with this" We knelt and prayed over the check and my prayer I sent for since 2006 found the answer. I also know that you pray for this ministry.
   This has been the a year of miracles. 118 children are now sponsored through our education program in 5 provinces, 10 women have started their businesses, our hospital rescue fund has helped 45 chlidren receive proper care. we have built a chicken coop to support the orphanage of Bakole. He has been faithful. We will never be alone, He is with us.

  The Lord has taught me that the most important was to be faithful with the small things and for the past 8 years, we have. In this year were the Lord blessed us to see some of the fruits of the work, I am thankful that the Lord reminds us that we are to go one small thing at a time.

  This is what we are going to to do:

1. We will purchase the vehicle as soon as we find one. For those of you who traveled us and had to ride in a rusty taxi, this will be a change :)

2. We will purchase 10 acres of land. and we will continue to pray for the project to come to fruition. We are planing on doing poultry and planting crops on it first. We also envision outreach activities on that land that the Lord has given. Please be praying that the right 10 acres be found and that the beginning of this new adventure will bless many lives. let me know if you know a farmer willing to help us with the God-size project :)

3. The office will be worked on and we will also have the Telema store downtown. This will help improve the sales of items women make since we will be closer to people who can purchase. Pray that the store will be successful and that the office will improve the abilities of our team in Kinshasa.  --Trésor Yenyi, Servant

Don't stop praying for your miracle, my friends!  Don't give up hope!  Sometimes our dreams/plans are not fulfilled in the time or way we hope, but TRUST today that our God is a mighty warrior that delights in us, hears our prayers and knows our hearts.

PRAISE GOD!  WE DID IT!  THANK YOU TO EACH OF YOU WHO GAVE!

Another Christmas miracle for the children in Goma!