Ethiopia In April??

We have been praying about me going to Ethiopia this April 15 -- 25, 2009, with Children's Hopechest, Tom Davis's organization. As I mentioned earlier, they made a trip to Ethiopia a few months ago to begin their ministry there to care for orphans that most likely will never be adopted. He also travels the country asking churches to "Adopt" orphanages and support the kids not only monetarily, but to establish real relationships with them. Well, he has gotten a church to adopt the Kolfe orphanage as well as several others.

As you all know, a part of my/our hearts are there at the Kolfe orphanage as well. Tom is taking a leadership team back to Ethiopia in April to help launch this program. I would absolutely love to be a part of this team and also have an opportunity to spend some quality time with our son Solomon. It also appears that the Lord is giving us a speaking ministry and I think that this trip could be instrumental in building on our testimony to speak on behalf of the church caring for the orphans. While I am not at all eager to leave my family for 10 days, I just feel a peace about going to be a part of this next ministry opportunity for Kolfe and the other orphanages. There is so much to be done there and I just can't help but think that the LORD has called us to be a voice and a witness for orphans.

So, I am posting this note to ask if you would help us. WE need prayer for the Lord to make it clear as to whether or not I am to be a part of this team. While we are all in agreement and feel peace about it here, the finances are not in agreement. I need approx. $3000. The first non-refundable deposit is due this Friday. I just want to be sure that this is really from the LORD and not me taking the reigns and control. Since I don't have the money, I just thought I would ask the saints to join me and ask the Lord to make it very clear...we need another financial miracle.

Well, thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to care about the crazy Mestas clan. Blessings to you all... stay tuned as this journey continues!

For more info see the side bar of our blog "Tom Davis" or Children's Hopechest.

A GRANDDAUGHTER!!

Congratulations Melissa and Randy! They had their ultrasound Friday and found out we are going to be the grandparents of a beautiful baby girl! She is due to arrive in June. Please keep them all in your prayers. Vaden Elliot is going to be a big brother!!!We are blessed so much more than we deserve. God is so Good!!

Another Speaking Engagement in Raleigh

We have been invited to share God's testimony of our adoption journey on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, at 6:45 p.m. at Crossroads Fellowship Church. If you or anyone you know may be interested in getting more information about adoption or would just like to join us for the evening, please come on!

Crossroads Fellowship has a ministry called Chosen by Grace, an orphan outreach and adoption ministry. They hold community meetings once per month and are seeking speakers who share our heart for James 1:27 ministry. They said our adoption testimony would be especially timely since they are unveiling a "Wall of Waiting Children" in February. It will be displayed for 6 months with rotating pictures of children who need adopting locally and internationally. And, they are still seeking additional children for whom they can advocate and post pictures. http://www.crossroads.org/world2/ChosenbyGrace.htm

Please share this information with anyone who may be interested. We are praying for GOD's people to step out in faith and rescue HIS orphans! Thank you!

Contacts:

Sue Ann Creech
Phone: 919-845-0117
Email: sacreech@crossroads.org

Barbara Hand
Phone: 919-661-0018
Email: bhand@nc.rr.com


CROSSROADS FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
2721 Millbrook Road · Raleigh, NC 27604
Phone: (919) 981-0222 · Fax: (919) 981-0520
Questions? Contact us at info1@crossroads.org

Liberty University Adoption Testimony - The Wolfe Family

One of the young men from the Kolfe Orphanage, Aschalew, and his two sisters have been adopted by the Wolfe family. He was a good friend of our Solomon. Here is the amazing story of their adoption.

Liberty University was in the middle of Spiritual Emphasis Week, led by evangelist David Nasser. Thousands of students were piled into the Vines Center with open hearts, praying for the Lord to do something miraculous during this beginning-of-the-year revival.


Nasser was challenging the student body to match their actions with their confessions through a special offering that would be taken on the following evening, with all the money going toward changing the destiny of people for Christ around the globe.

Nasser showed a picture of three Ethiopian teenagers he had learned about through Scott Brown, the Executive Vice President of the Gladney Center for Adoption, and said that the money collected could be used to make a difference in these three orphans’ lives. It could be used to move this sibling group from “unlikely to be adopted” to “likely to be adopted.” All that would be left was to find a family.

The next night just over 4,000 Liberty students donated a staggering $80,000.

Kristin Wolfe, an LU senior, was in the crowd during Nasser’s presentation.

“When they showed the picture of the three kids, I said to myself, ‘I have to call my family.’” Before the final “amen” Kristin had sent a text message to her mother in Michigan.

Kristin’s parents, Randy and Kathy, had just visited an adoption agency two days earlier as the next step in a journey that had begun with a Thanksgiving conversation between Randy, Kathy, Kristin, Brad and Bonny about the prospect of the Wolfes adopting.

In a fantastic act of sovereignty, involving a family of five Michiganders, thousands of students in Virginia, and three unaware kids in Ethiopia, God was conspiring a miracle of reconciliation. It was Psalm 27:10 in action: “When your mother and father leave you, the Lord will take you up.”

Ten months later Nasser traveled to Ethiopia with the Wolfes to retrieve their three newly adopted children, an adoption fully funded by the student body of Liberty University, and he watched the miracle.

We are planning to attend the ceremony of introduction of Aschalew and his sisters on February 18th at L.U. We are so happy for the Wolfe family and for the Gladney adoption agencey for the answering the call to rescue the orphans!

HANDS OF HOPE ADOPTION FOCUS WEEKEND

Last weekend, Jan 16 - 18, we had the privilege of speaking at Blaise Baptist Church in Mocksville, NC. Pastor Jeremy Amick hosted a weekend seminar and concert to launch their orphan care ministry. Friday night was a concert with Meredith Andrews, worship leader and recording artist. Check out her song on itunes "YOU'RE NOT ALONE". She is such a gifted artist who has a real heart for adoption and orphan care. She has 3 adopted brothers and wants to adopt children herself. Saturday morning was breakout sessions, exhibits and testimonies. Sunday morning was worship, pulpit teaching on orphan care and then we shared the Lord's testimony of our adoption.

Jerry opened with introduction, Ellie shared her adoption journey testimony and how the Lord has given her a passion for orphan care, and then I shared the rest of the story. We were very blessed to have once again, been given an opportunity to give GOD THE GLORY for our journey to adoption. We are so sure that the Lord has told us to tell HIS STORY SO PEOPLE SEE HIM, HEAR HIM and have FAITH TO FOLLOW HIM!




We were blessed to have stayed at a missionary furlough house provided by Paul & Roberta Bonardi. It was a precious little farm house on 200 acres. It was so peaceful and beautiful. The kids did not want to leave. When we were out at the pasture looking at the cows, they suddenly all came running up to the fence to look at us. One of he cows literally ran up and charged at us with the loudest and most invigorating "MOOOOOOOOOO" we had ever heard. It scared the living day lights out of the 5 littles...they all came running up and tried to jump into our arms. It was soooooo funny. After Keren was safe in my arms she got that look on her face like "Hey don't mess with me!" and she let out a loud "MOOOOOO" right back at the cow. WE all went hysterical! The cows, approx. 50 in all, lined up right in front of us and just stared at us. We have never seen anything like it. Paul said he thinks it is because the cows have never seen small children before.








A special THANK YOU to Paige Haven for coming along with us this weekend to be the extra hands and help in caring for the five littles. What a blessing she was to have with us.




Ever since then, Keziah will let out a "MOOOOOO" out of the clear blue and then start laughing. If one of us MOOOO back, she quickly turns her head around to see if there is a cow nearby. She has noticed pictures of cows lately and MOOOO'd every time and then laughs. They are just adorable and so smart. Here are some photos from our weekend.

Snow Day!!!

Today we got about 6 inches of snow and it was absolutely beautiful. Jerry, Ellie and the 5 littles played outside in the snow and I took some photos and then spent the day cleaining and cooking. I made Daddy's favorite albondigas soup and cried for most of the day. It has been a hard day for me today. Daddy would have loved to see this beautiful tapestry of snow-ocovered trees and he would have eaten about 3 bowls of soup!!

Mom's heat isn't working and the repairman has been taking a bit to long to figure out how to fix the problem. I kind of lost it with him tonight and demanded he get it fixed. It has been out of order for 5 days now. I hate it when you have to get stern with someone in order for them to DO THE JOB RIGHT!! He says it will be fixed tomorrow.

Jerry also wrecked his car on the way home from work. His boss had everyone come in only to release them at 10:00 a.m. Jerry's car slid on the icy snow and he hit a tree. Thank God he wasn't hurt and his car is still in running condition.




Jonathan started the Fire academy today. He has officially begun his career as a Fire Fighter. We are so proud of him! The next six months will be very grueling and demanding on him. And he thought we ran a tight ship???










Here are some photos of the first snow day for Josiah, Keziah and Keren. They had so much fun and they literally screamed and threw a fit when it was too cold to stay out any longer. Keziah loved throwing snow at everyone and sliding. Keren loved running in the snow and sliding. Josiah loved it all! He is a natural sled pilot. He knew exactly how to lean and maneuver so as to not the tree.

GOD IS SO GOOD!!!!

The Day My Daddy Died

I opened my email today to receive a very comforting letter from my Solomon. One of the first thoughts I had when my Daddy died last week was about my Solomon. I now know what it is like to lose your father. I had compassion for him when he told me about losing his dad when he was 7 yrs old. But now I personally know the pain of losing my Popo. It really hurts!! Even though we had hospice coming for a little over a year and we knew Daddy was dying, I didn't expect it to hurt this bad. I was praying for the Lord to call him home to put him out of his pain and suffering. I thought his passing would be sad but a blessing and even comforting. But WOW, it really hurts. I feel like someone shot a cannon ball at my house and there is a giant hole in the wall. I feel his absence so strongly. I feel like an orphan...I can never see my daddy again, or ask his advice, or ask him to fix something, or ask him what he wants to eat today! Today, as I was planning our menu I decided to make albondigas soup. Then I burst into tears because this is one of Daddy's absolute favorites!! I met my neighbor in the store today and thanked her for the sympathy card she sent. When she hugged me and told me she was so sorry, I just lost it again! I am almost 50 yrs old and I still just want my DADDY!!!

We have had the blessing of Mommy & Daddy living with us for the past 5 years. Every day we kiss them good morning and goodnight. Every meal is planned with them in mind. Even though they live downstairs, we interact every day and in many decisions. The boys were so blessed to have a special memory with Daddy. The night before he died, they went down to say goodnight. This was the first time Daddy had been unconcious most of the day. When Jeremiah climbed up and said "Goodnight Grampa" and kissed him, Daddy woke up from his unconscious state, looked at him and puckered up his lips to kiss him and mumbled to him. Jimmy was right behind him and then Daddy slipped back into his deep sleep. Jeremiah got so excited saying; "MAMA, did you see that? Grampa woke up and kissed me!"

That night I decided to spend the night with my Daddy. I put a chair next to his hospital bed and laid my head on his shoulder with half of my body in his bed. He was burning with fever and was struggling to breathe. He had pneumonia and his lungs were filling with fluid. I held his hand from 1:00 am until 5:00 a.m when my brother arrived from Florida. I spent the whole time gently rubbing his head and face and talking and singing to him. I am not a singer by any means but I just felt compelled to sing praises and worship songs to help guide him into the arms of Jesus. I was singing "Amazing Grace" and "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus". I put on the Gaither Going Home videos that we bought him for Christmas a few years back and sang along. He told me he always felt so good inside when he watched these videos. They are all gospel songs about going to Heaven. I was telling him all about Heaven as described in the book of Revelation. I was telling him how much I loved him and thanked him for being such a wonderful Dad and Grampa. Even though he was not conscious, he was squeezing my hand and mumbling. When I would let go of his hand to get tissues (I was crying most of the time)he would reach out with his hand for me to hold it again. He would turn his head closer to me when I was singing as if it was comforting to him. I am so grateful that I had this very special and precious time with my Daddy. He was a wonderful father and Grandpa. When my brother arrived, I felt like he should have some quality time with daddy so I said goodbye to my Popo. My brother took the chair and his hand and stayed with him until he passed away 8 hours later.

Daddy departed this earth in the arms of my brother Chuck, my son Jonathan and son in law Randy, with Mommy right there at his feet. He again woke up for a second, looked at each of them, his face looked like he was going to cry and then he sighed as he just quietly left his body. I believe he was saying goodbye... What a blessing to have had him leave us from his loving home and in the arms of his loved ones. This has been a very beautiful yet painful experience. My immediate response when he left was to cry out "THANK YOU JESUS! THANK YOU FOR BLESSING ME WITH MY DADDY, THANK YOU FOR HIS PRECIOUS LIFE, THANK YOU FOR TAKING AWAY HIS PAIN. PLEASE KEEP HIM SAFE WITH YOU. THANK YOU JESUS!!" The room immediately was filled with all of our family and we wept together as we felt Daddy's presence leave the house.

That morning my dear friend Mary had picked the boys up to play at her house. We expected it to be a rough day for Daddy. Sure enough, he passed away at approximately 2:00 pm. Randy went to get the boys so they could say goodbye to Grampa. When they came into his bedroom, I told them Grampa was gone; that he was going to see Jesus and his body was asleep but he was not in it anymore. They all three wanted to climb up on Grampa and kiss him goodbye. It was so precious to watch them stroking Daddy's face, rubbing their fingers through his hair and kissing his face. Josiah was even trying to look into his mouth to see if he was still in there. They stayed with daddy for about 15 minutes, very quiet and just staring at him and rubbing his arms, face and head. They were so serious and we could tell they were just taking it all in. They love their Grampa sooooo much! He was such a joker and always played with them. They loved to climb into his chair, on his lap and watch TV with him, or to climb in his bed and cuddle with him. I thank God that they were blessed to have such a special relationship with their Grampa. It was so precious to have had the experience to be a part of his death as well his life. It was very peaceful.

My entire family and I have been blessed beyond what anyone can imagine! From the day Daddy died and for the next 6 days, our dear friends, our body of Christ started delivering meals three times a day. From drinks, paper goods, meals, desserts, flowers, hugs, kisses and PRAYERS! Our house was full of relatives from NY to FL and the table was constantly full of food. The team of disciples arrived in the a.m. and set up breakfast while we were still asleep. They delivered lunch and dinner and I didn't have to lift a finger. I have never, nor has any of my family from out of state, ever seen such an outpouring of love and support. It was like a revolving door of blessing upon blessing. The day of the Memorial Service, we came home to a full buffet set up in the dining room. It was like a banquet table. My sweet and dear sister/bestfriend Mary stayed the entire time and served us all. When my family came in a saw this, they all burst into tears because DADDY LOVED TO EAT! We all said he would have loved to have been here for this feast in his honor. My dear sweet sister/bestfriend Beth came to me, embraced me and said, "Don't worry, he is eating at the table with Jesus and he is eating a feast so mucn better than this!! We are eating sour grapes compared to what he is eating." This was such a comfort to my heart. I knew that to be true. The heavenly feast can not compare to what we have here on earth. My sweet Beth & Mary have been my dear,dear friends for 14 years now always by my side to encourage me and keep me focused on the Lord. All my sisters in Christ, Beth Herbert, Mary Moore, Theresa Haven, Sue Thorpe, all the sisters from our Homeschool coop, and our church came together as one and the Light of JESUS was radiantly glowing in our home. Many relatives came that are not believers and I am sure they were very aware that there was something very different about this Memorial Service and this 6 day event. Through the entire time, I felt the presence of the LORD, his peace and his comfort and I felt like we were walking on Holy ground. What a blessing, honor, privilege and JOY to be surrounded by the Holy Spirit at work through his disciples. There are truly no words to express the gratitude that Jerry and I feel as well as the entire family. I just can't thank you all enough, I can't adequately express my gratitude . I pray each and every one of you will be blessed tenfold to what you gave us!! You all served the Savior of our souls and HIS LIGHT WAS RADIANT!!!

















This is the letter from my precious Solomon:

Hello my sweet Mom,
I so sorry about your father. I am very sad when I heard about you dad
from Christy and Ryan. I don't know why God do this. I lost all my
family when I was child. In that time I upset by the thing God did to
me. My life was full of sorrow. I hadn't a value for my life at all. I
didn't understand God had a plan for me. After several years he
brought you into my life. This is the special gift that I got from
God. You see mom I lost my parents but God give me a family that I
love them dearly. So mom all the thing happened to you may be God have
his own plan. Be strong ok mom. I pray for your father soul God to put
right side of Abraham soul and to live in heaven peacefully.
I met with Christy and Ryan today and they told me everything about
your father. In that time I couldn't control my self. I was very sad
and cried after they left me. They also gave for me a Mamas kiss, hug
and 200 birr. They are generous and beloved. You have many good
friends.
Mom, I can't say more things now. I am very sad and cry. I hope that
the above words strength you. I know that how it painful to lost a
father.

I pray for all of you the following in every night

"God please keep my family from sorrow and sadness. Please bless my
family and protect my family from any danger." I love all of you to
much.

Your loving son Solomon Mestas

Memorial Service

Thank you to all of you who have been sending notes and prayers on behalf of our family. IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!! For those who are able to join us, the memorial service will be held this Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 11:00 O'clock.

Bright Funeral Home
405 South Main Street
Wake Forest, NC 27587
919-556-5811

Thank you again for all the love, prayers and blessings being sent our way! May the Lord richly bless you all!

Walter Charles "Babe" Farrell 1933-2009

Today at 2:15 p.m. Eastern, Eileen's dad went home to be with Jesus. It is so sad to see him gone but at the same time it is a time of rejoicing that he is in a better place and no longer in pain. Please pray for his wife Betty, Eileen, and her siblings during this time of loss. Many of their family members are here or are enroute. There will be a memorial service on Saturday, January 10. More information to follow.

Prayer Request

May I please ask you all to pray for our family. My dad is officially in his last days of life. Hospice is now coming every day, morphine is now every hour instead of 2x's a day. A lot has changed this past week. My siblings all came from Florida to say goodbye. The LORD is in control of when it will happen, but I ask that the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WOULD OPEN FOR JESUS TO RECEIVE HIM! Thank you in advance for your prayers!