Wednesday, October 1, 2014

LONG OVERDUE!

Friends and family this blog post is way to long overdue! So much has happened since we last shared with you!

Kelly and I were blessed with the opportunity to visit our boys in the DRC in April of this year!










These little boys had our hearts long before we ever met them! This is a journey that the Lord began in us so long ago. We had an amazing visit with them and knew before we ever went home that with things up in the air with their homecoming we would be making a return trip every 6 months until they are on US soil!

Trip two happened a little faster than we expected but my amazing momma and I were able to return to the boys in August!









This trip was amazing, an awful and words just cannot describe it! Seeing my boys for a second time was such a blessing, I am no longer just a random visitor, it was so clear that for them the Lord has made me MOMMA and Kelly DADDY and my mom got to be mama KOKO!

It was so wonderful to see more of their personality, but so heart breaking for my sweet Liam! We were blessed to celebrate his 6th birthday with the FIRST birthday cake he had ever had!!!!!!!! WOW!

It was such a hard trip for this little guy though because he just does not understand why he is not HOME?! Thanks to an amazing friend I did my best to explain to him but his little heart is so broken! and so are ours!


So here we are on October 1, 2014. days after the 1 year suspension was supposed to end, with no end in sight? Do we know what the Lord is doing? NO! Do we trust him fully? this answer hurts... WE ARE TRYING TO! everyday we are walking this road not knowing when our boys will come home. Every day children in the Congo are getting sicker and sicker because of the conditions they are living in. But every day God is writing HIS story! We are lost on this road and do not know when it will end, every day our boys grow up without us feels like eternity. Their sisters ache for them to be here with them to share their childhood with.

But I was hit with this realization the other day:
The Lord calling thousands to his throne for the cause of the fatherless in the DRC! Just a thought, nothing too amazing but struck me in my anger about our situation, who are we to say that God is not going to use these endless road blocks to show his power in an even greater way! He is the God who moves mountains, parts seas, stills storms, heals sick, raises the dead! He can and will bring our children home!


I believe that the Lord is setting the stage to literally part the sea and bring these children home! We that are waiting are at the end of our rope, we are literally at the end of what can be humanly done to bring these children home. Its not just our two boys, there are hundreds of children legally adopted by their families just waiting on a single piece of paper!

So we are begging...would you intercede with us on behalf of these kiddos that the Lord would work in a MIGHTY and POWERFUL way and bring these children home! Would you join us at the alter in prayer for those in decision making power that the Holy Spirit would make himself known in their lives and they would see no other alternative but to send these babies home!

Our prayer is that our babies get to enjoy Thanksgiving 2014 here in their home! Would you please join us in prayer?!

What a great and mighty God we serve! Won't you take a minute to be reminded just who he is?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzqTFNfeDnE

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Day of fasting and prayer for the Congo and Adoption

As you know our family has been pursuing the adoption of two little boys from the Congo! We have finalized our adoption, filed all of our paperwork, readied their room, checked all the boxes on every check list, and still our boys are not home! On January 2 we marked one year of pursuing our boys! Every time I consider everything that 2013 meant in the life of the brewer family I can't help but think, and yet how long does our God pursue us!? We are promised:

Romans 8:38-39

New International Version (NIV)
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
 
What an amazing God we serve that has promised that he has gone before us, he goes with us, and he will hem us in from behind!
 

Deuteronomy 31:8

New International Version (NIV)
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. 5 You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.   

We will celebrate Hank's 3rd birthday on February 1, never did I think that our boys would not be home by now, but we are trusting in God's plan and God's timing! We are walking in faith knowing that they are not with us for a reason!

Jeremiah 29:11-14
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[b] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Currently the Congo has suspended exit letters for all adopted children making it impossible for our boys to come home although they are legally ours! Many families have set today aside to fast and pray specifically for the Congo, and for adoption as a whole.
 
Matthew 18:
18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be[e] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[f] loosed in heaven.
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

I would greatly appreciate all the prayer and support we can get! If you are willing to join us would you please pray for the following:

 For adoptions in general...
 Favor
 Peace, wisdom and guidance for all of the "decision makers"
 Pray against any and all plans that the enemy has for adoptions
 Please pray specifically for…
Exit letters to be issued again soon.
 Bordereau Letters to begin to be issued again soon (Many of us call these B letters)
 Passports to be issued again
 Swift and accurate investigations completed and visa’s issued
 Families/Children to pray for specifically…
(Most of these families have completed the adoption of these children in the Congo. They are the legal parents to the children, but are unable to bring them home because of the suspensions.)
 Ada & Jackson
 Agnes & Billy
 Amaya
 Benediction
 Ezra
 Fiston & Marie
 Jerome
 Seth
 Ackler Family
 Brewer Family (Hank & Liam)
 CadmanFamily waiting for their sons
 Campbell Family (Sam)
 Carsrud Family waiting for their son
 Chubb Family waiting for their son
 Clements Family (Elijah)
 Dougless Family (Bienvenue)
 Dreher Family (M & G)
 Gibbs family (Atticus)
 Harlow Family waiting for their son
 Hein Family (Kathy and Bo)
 Hopkins Family (Mimi, Therese, Marie and Generose)
 Houser Family waiting for their little girl
 Kelley Family (Selah)
 Koprowski Family and their 2 little girls
 Krotzer Famliy waiting for their twin girls
 Merklein Family (Elysee and Taya)
 Lagemaat Family waiting for their daughters
 Phillips Family (Suzana & Ezra)
 Siebert Family waiting for their two children
 Spooner Family (Felly and Dimercia)
 Smetana Family (Henry)
 Stephens Family (Jose, Maya)
 Taylor Family (Roland)
 Troxel Family (Elijah & Nalah)
 Wolverton Family waiting for their boys

 Pray for the Congo…

 Peace
 Blessing
 Blessing, protection and restoration for the children and women of Congo
 Blessing, protection, wisdom, guidance, and restoration for the men of Congo
 Protection and restoration of the family unit
 Blessing, wisdom, protection, courage, and support for the leaders
 Pray that a move of God’s love would continue to grow in the nation
 Pray against any and all plans that Satan has for the DR Congo and its beautiful people


 Thank-you for taking the time to pray for this wonderful country and beautiful people!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

The Great Transformation

Over the past year the Brewer Fam has had a lot of changes! Moving, getting going on our adoption, fundraising and on and on!

One of the most exciting changes has been in mine and Kelly's health.

For a long time I have struggled with my weight, and many health issues that accompanied that!

Kelly has only struggled with his for the past few years (that's what you get when you work a desk job!)

We decided enough was enough! How can we be healthy active parents to FOUR kiddos if we are unhappy, unhealthy and always tired?!

My journey officially began December 6, 2012. Here are my before and after pics!

 
Most days I almost don't recognize myself! and I feel soooo much better!
 
Kelly only began his journey about a month ago:
 
Already he has lost not only pounds but inches! He has soooo much more energy and not near the appetite that he used to have!
 
Kelly is using something called Plexus Slim. We have been really impressed with this product! Its all natural and works together to reduce appetite and boost energy. I am so excited to watch Kelly continue to loose weight and be more healthy!
 
I do want to make sure there is no confusion, unfortunately I missed out on the plexus opportunity for weight loss, I did not know about it at the time that I made the much more drastic decision to have surgery. Had I known I would definitely have tried Plexus! I have seen so many people have success with this product! I will be using it for the energy boost and multivitamin as there is not another one that compares to theirs!
 
I will definitely be posting more pictures of Kelly as he continues his journey! If you want to hear more about plexus let me know!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

My God is Bigger!

Some of you may have heard, from me, or other sources over the past few days that some not so good things have occurred in the Congo over the past few days.

For some of you dearest to me some not so good things have occurred in your life these past few days!

I keep hearing God speak quietly to me... "Even in the valley I am writing my story"

Over and over again I feel like God is saying this to me. I think of the times I have been in the valley, and now when I am in the valley, where can I look? No where but up!

Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from?2My help comes from the Lordthe Maker of heaven and earth. 3He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; 4indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; 6the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; 8the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Right now in The Congo there is a group of people saying my boys cannot come home, maybe not for an entire year! But I am reminded... my fight is not against flesh and blood!


Ephesians 6:10-20
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.


Right now a family that I love dearly is struggling through some rough times. But God is writing his story!

Already God is moving, and people are hearing his name praised. I am saddened by all that has happened but I am rejoicing that God is telling his story. I know that as much as I want to control every situation I cannot, as much as I want my boys home right now God is in control of their story and he has a greater plan for their lives! Clearly God has more to do here and it is my job to listen and as my pastor would say " to put my yes on the table before I know the question!"

I pray that even when we dont know Gods plan that we would trust that he is in control, and that we would put our yes on the table even before we know the question!

Love this song!




Thursday, September 12, 2013

GASP... A NEW BLOG POST!

okay okay... I know I have horribly neglected our blog! Things have been so busy! But we are getting sooooo close!

We have officially cleared court! Woo hoo! We are just waiting our translated documents to submit our final step!

We have been humbled by how quickly God has moved this process and are praying that he would continue to move mountains! Would you join us in praying that we would have our boys home to celebrate Thanksgiving with is this year!?

On another note, we had another AMAZING garage sale last weekend, we were gratefully overwhelmed with donations!





















 










 
Sorry for the photo overload, but there was just no way for you to get the idea unless you saw all of it! WOW are we grateful for your support!

In the end we made just over $1000.00

I can officially say WE ARE FUNDED! Praise him from whom all blessings flow! Everything that we raise from here out with go to pay back a few small loans we have taken out along the way and prepare for the boys arrival! I guess they do need clothes right?!

Right now our case workers are in the Congo with our boys! Oh how we wish we could be there, but it feels so great just knowing that people we trust are with them! Would you join us in praying for great meetings, and lots of progress while they are gone?

and I promise I will no be so neglectful this month!