Crazy Confirmation!!

Back in March, we started really praying and seeking God's will about adoption, and we saw God confirm His will in some really cool (and crazy!) ways...this is one of those stories...

Well, if you remember back, one of my fears was that we knew of no other families in our area that had adopted from Africa. Well, God started blowing that fear out of the water really quickly!

It was a Sunday morning, and I was pulling into the church parking lot with my kids. Jody is the small groups pastor at our church, so he is always at church way before we get there. Anyway, as I was slowly pulling into the parking space, I accidentally "bumped" into the blue SUV in the parking space next to us. OH NO!!!

I knew it had made a little dent, I could feel it when we hit it...here is the damage that was done...(can you guess the color of my car?) :)

A small dent, but a dent, nonetheless. Great!! I could not believe it! We were running late (suprise, suprise!) and now this. Exactly what I did NOT need!!

Well, I had no idea whose car it was, so I found some paper and left them a note telling them how sorry I was. I also left my phone number so they could call me, and I could pay to get it fixed. I get into church, and slip in next to Jody, and whisper to him the bad news. He was precious!! His exact words were, "Don't worry about it. It will be fine...we'll figure it out." So sweet...I had felt so guilty, and his words just gave me the freedom to let go of it and freely worship at church that morning.

So a couple of days go by, and we finally get a phone call from a man named Steve...He was the one!! The one whose car that I hit!!

We start talking about how he will get an estimate on the damage, etc. Then, he goes on to tell me that he and his wife had just returned from being missionaries in South AFRICA for 5 years...and that they had a 5 year old ADOPTED SON FROM SOUTH AFRICA!!!! REALLY????

Of course, I shared with him that Jody and I had just started praying about adopting a baby girl from Ethiopia, but that we knew no one around here who had adopted from Africa. He then said that his wife had just met a lady and her adopted Ethiopian daughter at a local Madison park!! REALLY????

How cool is that?! I was so excited and encouraged!! That is just what I needed to hear!! Adopted African children in our community! (I have recently found out the family she met with the Ethiopian daughter have since moved out of state.)

It was then that I realized something...

I truly believe that God allowed me to hit their car...on purpose! He knew that I needed to connect with Steve and Teresa and hear their story! He just made it happen in a very crazy way!! :)

So this past Wednesday night, we got together with Steve and Teresa at the Smith's house. It was so great to meet them and hear their story about serving in Africa and adopting their son...it is a really cool adoption story! Here is the crew...


It was late by the time we took pictures, so Ford and Carson were not feeling it! :)


Now they're a little better...Jody told them to give a "thumbs up" for the camera! Ha!

Oh, I have just loved all the crazy, creative ways that God has used to confirm His calling on our lives to adopt our baby girl from Ethiopia! There is never a dull moment when you are living out God's call on your life...this is truly one of the most exciting rides of our life! We're just holding on tight to His Word, His calling and His promises...can't wait to see what is around the bend!