Friday, March 14, 2008

"Family Matters"

Our local newspaper, The Wake Weekly, has published our adoption story in the new "Inspiration" section this week. Our prayer is that this story will help encourage readers to have faith and hope to trust and follow after God in whatever situation they are in. We also desire to encourage others to step out in faith to pursue adoption. I know many people who are thinking about it but always say, "But we don't have the money, or we don't see how it would be possible". So, we hope this journey of faith will be an encouragement to inspire many to step out in faith. The article is in two parts, this week covers our first adoption-the adoption of our twins, Jeremiah and James and next week's issue will continue with our second adoption, the adoption that took us to Ethiopia. If you would like to read it, check it out here

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just finished reading the AMAZING article in the Wake Weekly and forwarded it to Max and Jes Heintzelman. I am so encouraged. I thought I knew your story already, but reading the details of how God led your family to adopt in the least likely of circumstances is such a blessing. I have been praying too, asking God if we have a son or daughter in Ethiopia waiting for us, almost feeling ashamed to do so because of our finances...not dire, but not adoption-friendly. After reading your testimony, I'm not going to stop praying until He answers. It may be years, but seeing your example, I am thrilled to do so. Thank you for sharing, and praise God, His story is being told to so many this week and next! Como siempre, Dios les bendiga muchísimo. Jacqueline Guzman

Anonymous said...

Loved your story. Had to relay ours. We are not a 'religious' family. That said,I felt for a long time we needed to adopt. (my husband and I talked about it before marrying and agreed we should) Then our 2nd son was born with severe health problems. I thought we would not be able to adopt. After a year of dealing with his health, he was 'miraculously' healed. That feeling of adoption came back. I thought it was only in me. So I prayed for God to either take the feeling away from me or put it in my husband's heart. I was tired of feeling so 'sad'. one day, DH said, so we need to start pursuing adoption. We did and brought our daughter home. Then last year, "that feeling" came back. I was not as patient this time. I was getting really grumpy. FInally, I could tell God was working on DH and I asked, do you want to adopt again? the answer was a hesitant "Yes". I KNEW we were supposed to go to ET. Again, it took God working on him to convince him. Now we are adopting from ET. We've asked for 1 boy. However, we've both had dreams (or nightmares, not sure) of TWINS. We'll see what is next for us. Thanks for sharing your story. Jan

Eileen and Jerry Mestas said...

Jan,
Yours is a wonderful story that simply reflects what God is doing in the hearts of regular people. We are not "religious" people either. If you knew us personally, you would know that we are simply normal, imperfect people, walking by faith and obedience, but falling short every day. Because we have placed our trust in Jesus Christ, we have been forgiven of our sins, and we can cling to the assurance of our salvation. It is not a question of being "religious", but rather of entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In fact, this is one of the reasons we are so passionate about adoption. Nothing else so clearly illustrates the essence of the Gospel. When you adopt, you take a child and you rescue him from a life of poverty, disease, and abandonment, and you make him a part of your family, with all the same rights as any biological child. By the same token, when you confess your sins and place your trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, God adopts you into His family; He rescues you from a life consumed by the poverty and disease of sin, and you are assured of a future with Him in Heaven. It is such a beautiful parallel. God bless you. We pray that God will continue to manifest Himself in your lives. Please contact us if we can be of any assistance to you in this journey.
Jerry Mestas